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/ 29 July 2005

London police chief condemns use of stun gun

The head of London’s police has slammed as ”an incredible risk” another force’s use of a high-voltage stun gun to subdue a suicide bomb suspect, saying it could have set off explosives. Somali-born Yasin Hassan Omar was subdued with the stun gun as West Midlands police raided his hideout in Birmingham on Wednesday.

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/ 27 July 2005

‘Someone drank my work of art’

An artist appealed on Tuesday for the return of an art work that consisted of a bottle of water on a plinth, saying he fears it was stolen and then drunk. United States artist Wayne Hill had devised the art work, a two-litre clear plastic bottle filled with melted ice from the Antarctic, to highlight the dangers of global warming.

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/ 26 July 2005

Warne: England undone by Ashes hype

Shane Warne insisted on Tuesday that England had paid the price for getting caught up in the hype surrounding the Ashes after Australia’s crushing 239-run first Test win at Lord’s. ”I think what certain players said in the build-up was important. It was surprising to hear some of them come out with such strong opinions,” Warne wrote in his column in The Times.

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/ 26 July 2005

Blair’s make-up budget shames British women

The secret of British Prime Minister Tony Blair famous all-year healthy glow has been revealed — his spends almost twice as much on make-up as the average British woman. Figures released by Downing Street show that Blair spent more than £1 800 (R20 900) on make-up and make-up artists over the past six years.

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/ 26 July 2005

London bombers go to ground

British police were hopeful on Tuesday that the trail of evidence uncovered so far would lead them closer to the fugitive London bombers, after naming two of the wanted men. Detectives were continuing a thorough search of a flat north of the city linked to the duo on the run.

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/ 25 July 2005

UK shoot-to-kill policy draws fire

The British press on Monday questioned the police handling of investigations into the July bomb attacks on the London transport system in the wake of the fatal shooting of an innocent Brazilian man. Lawmakers also joined the debate about the police shoot-to-kill policy after 27-year-old Jean Charles de Menezes was shot dead on Friday by police who mistook him for a possible suicide bomber.

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/ 25 July 2005

An invention worthy of Willy Wonka

Nitrous oxide — laughing gas — is the best for creating the right-sized bubbles in chocolate, British scientists working with a recipe from NestlĂ© have discovered. That melt-in-the-mouth sensation that the Swiss-based chocolate maker strives to achieve in its Aero brand is best achieved with this ”dentists’ gas”, according to researchers working at Reading University.

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/ 23 July 2005

The first woman over five metres

Yelena Isinbayeva cleared five metres to set her latest world record in the women’s pole vault on Friday at the Crystal Palace Grand Prix. Ten minutes earlier, the 23-year-old Russian jumped 4,96m on her second attempt, surpassing the world mark of 4,95m she set last Saturday in Madrid, Spain.

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/ 23 July 2005

London police arrest second bombing suspect

The police in London said on Saturday they’d arrested a second man in London in connection with this week’s failed bomb attacks. Scotland Yard said the man was arrested in Stockwell, the south London neighbourhood where another suspect was detained on Friday and another man was shot dead by the police in a subway station.

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/ 22 July 2005

Soccer star in cricket whites

Eleven years ago Shane Warne had the record book in his sights. The leg-
spinner had taken only 141 Test wickets when he said he intended to beat Kapil Dev’s record of 434. One commentator wrote: ”Experts are projecting an eventual tally of 500 wickets, even 600, which is surely fanciful.”

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/ 22 July 2005

Britain widens terror net

British Home Secretary Charles Clarke on Wednesday broadened Britain’s response to the 7/7 bombings in London with plans to allow him to exclude or deport from Britain Islamist militants whose inflammatory language or behaviour is judged to foment or provoke terrorism. His announcement immediately preceded another wave of attacks on London transport.

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/ 21 July 2005

London bombs were ‘intended to kill’

The four bombings or attempted bombings that rocked London’s transport network on Thursday were intended to kill and bore similarities to the deadly blasts in the city two weeks ago, the city’s police chief said. ”I think the important point is that the intention of the terrorists has not been fulfilled,” he said.

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/ 21 July 2005

London in shock over latest attack

Shock and bewilderment were etched on the faces of Londoners on Thursday as blasts struck the British capital’s transit system for the second time in as many weeks. British Prime Minister Tony Blair told a press conference the blasts were ”serious” and intended to scare people.

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/ 21 July 2005

Blasts hit London transport system

Explosions struck London’s transport system on Thursday, shutting down three underground train stations and blowing out the windows of a double-decker bus, authorities said, two weeks after four deadly suicide bombings. Metropolitan police Commissioner Ian Blair said there were four attempted explosions.