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SYDNEY: Some court cases will soon be heard online in
Australia, with judges receiving lawyers’ arguments by e-mail, a
state minister said Sunday. The system, known as JusticeLink, is to
be rolled out in courts across Australia’s largest state over the
next 12 months, New South Wales state Attorney General John
Hatzistergos said. Prosecutors and defense lawyers will log on to a
bulletin board and type their arguments, which would then be sent to
the judge by e-mail. The judge would make orders in real time. The
cost of the scheme is put at $48 million. Nine firms have tested the
system on a trial basis and the state Supreme Court has used it,
already holding 167 hearings on civil matters online.
-- AFP
BEIJING: China’s central authorities on
Saturday responded to Taiwan authority’s declaration to hold a
“referendum on UN membership in the name of Taiwan” on March 22,
saying such a move could seriously disturb peace in the region. The
decision of the Taiwan authority led by Chen Shui-bian to hold the
“referendum” is a significant step in its attempt to change the
status quo that the Chinese mainland and Taiwan belong to one China
and attain “de jure independence” of Taiwan, said the statement.
It’s a referendum on “Taiwan independence” in a disguised
form, said the statement released by the Taiwan Work Office of the
Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Taiwan Affairs
Office of the State Council with an authorization.
-- Xinhua
RAFAH, Gaza Strip: Egyptian and Hamas forces
closed the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt on Sunday, nearly
two weeks after militants blew open the frontier amid an Israeli
blockade, witnesses said. One gate remained open to allow
Palestinians to return to Gaza and Egyptians to return home, they
said. Other than people returning home, no pedestrians or vehicles
were being allowed to cross.
-- AFP
COLOMBO: At least four visitors were injured
after a suspected hand grenade exploded in Sri Lanka’s main zoo on
Sunday, one day ahead of celebrations to mark 60 years of
independence for the island nation. The blast ripped through the
aviary of the Dehiwala Zoo just outside the capital Colombo, police
said. The four people, who were wounded by shrapnel, were rushed to
a nearby hospital, police said. The blast caused panic at the
crowded zoo and police said they rushed reinforcements to the area
to restore order.
-- AFP
NEW DELHI: A four-story building collapsed in
western India, killing eight people and injuring 12 others on
Sunday, according to a local official. The building, which housed a
hotel and a bank, apparently was weakened when a foundation for a
new building was dug nearby, the official said. People were asked to
evacuate the building several days ago after authorities noticed a
tilt in its structure, he said. Those killed were mainly hotel
workers and some guests, the official said, adding that the 12
injured have been sent to hospital for treatment.
-- Xinhua
TOKYO: Winter’s heaviest snowfalls hit Tokyo
on Sunday, hampering traffic, forcing sports events and air travel
to be canceled and seeing more than a dozen people hurt, officials
said. Three centimeters (1.2 inches) of snow was observed in the
capital by noon, with a low-pressure system moving northeast along
the archipelago’s Pacific coast, the Japan Meteorological Agency
said. At least 16 people were sent to hospital in snow-related
incidents in Tokyo, said a spokesman for the Tokyo Fire Department.
Japanese airlines canceled 50 domestic flights mainly en route to or
from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport.
-- AFP
NEW YORK: Punxsutawney Phil, the famous
groundhog and weather forecaster, emerged from his burrow and saw
his shadow Saturday, a traditional prediction of six more cold weeks
of winter in the United States. As in every February 2, crowds
gathered in the town of Punxsutawney in Pennsylvania to watch
members of the town’s groundhog club pull the toothy woodchuck out
of his burrow and announce whether winter will be trailing off, or
if Americans should brace for more cold.
-- AFP
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