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Harry Potter uncovered By Simon Freeman, Times Online Four months before its release, the latest instalment in the adventures of Harry Potter is already the fastest-selling book in British history. Today, the frenzy of anticipation among young old fans alike was cranked up a notch with the publication of the front covers of J K Rowling's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The cover illustration, by Jason Cockcroft, for the children’s edition, which is due to be published on July 16, shows Harry and Professor Dumbedore, the headteacher of Hogwart's wizarding college, surrounded by a circle of flames Dumbledore has...

BESLAN, Russia — Zalina Dzandarova cradles her son Alan as he sleeps with his small face buried against her stomach. He is the child Dzandarova was able to save. The child she chose to save, really. It is the other one, little Alana, her 6-year-old daughter, whose image torments her: Alana clutching her hand, Alana crying and calling after her. Alana's sobs disappearing into the distance as Dzandarova walked out of Middle School No. 1 here Thursday, clutching 2-year-old Alan in her arms.

<p>Federal authorities in New Jersey and three other states charged members of an animal rights organization yesterday with domestic terrorism after a probe into what they said has been a surge in crimes by militant activists fighting to stop product testing on animals.</p>

Monument Honoring WWII Japanese-American Soldiers Defaced Police Not Sure If Vandalism Is Hate Crime POSTED: 2:27 pm PST March 23, 2004 UPDATED: 7:43 pm PST March 23, 2004 LOS ANGELES -- Police are trying to find those responsible for defacing a monument to Japanese-Americans who fought during World War II even as their loved ones were held in internment camps at home. About 20 star-like symbols, each surrounded by a circle, were carved into the Little Tokyo monument at Temple and Alameda streets, said Diane Tanaka of the Go For Broke Educational Foundation. The vandalism, discovered last Friday, occurred some...

Satanists hack 46664 site December 12 2003 at 09:56PM The Independent On Saturday Nelson Mandela's 46664 Aids awareness campaign is synonymous with good intentions and positive messages. But web users eager to give a minute of their time to the fight against Aids may be in for a nasty surprise when they hit the site and antichrist symbols and degrading images of Christ appear. When a Cape Town web user, who did not want to be named, logged on to the site earlier this week to find out why the official 46664 T-shirts were sold only in the United Kingdom,...

Last Updated: Wednesday, 27 August, 2003, 18:29 GMT 19:29 UK Occult trial opens in Brazil By Jan Rocha BBC correspondent in Sao Paulo The trial has begun in the Brazilian city of Belem of five members of a satanic sect accused of sexually mutilating and murdering young boys in Altamira, a town in the Amazon. One of the five, Valentina Andrade, is the leader of an occult sect based in Argentina and two are doctors. The crimes were practised over 10 years ago, but only now are the accused being brought to trial. Between 1989 and 1992, the Amazon town...

QUESTION: Should the Bible say "Lucifer" or "morning star" in Isaiah 14:12? And does it refer to Satan?

Sat 8 Feb 2003 Russians take action to combat Satanist crime TOM PARFITT IN MOSCOW WHEN police found her body, Elizaveta Kuzmina was lying with her throat slit on the floor of her flat in western Moscow. Chillingly, on the door, someone had written in red chalk: "My matrix has found me." Friends said Ms Kuzmina, 19, the daughter of a popular Russian rock singer, Vladimir Kuzmin, had been dabbling with the occult. It was a claim taken seriously by detectives; they said their inquiry was starting with acquaintances of the young woman, who had been known to frequent Satanist...

Teens forced to make very public apology FAIRPORT HARBOR, Ohio (Court TV) — Two teenagers were forced to parade a donkey through a town after they admitted defacing a statue of the baby Jesus. Jessica Lange and Brian Patrick, both 19, were ordered by a judge to make the Feb. 2 march through the northeast Ohio town after they admitted stabbing and desecrating the statue with Satanic symbols at St. Anthony Roman Catholic Church on Christmas Eve. Groups of residents watched as the two walked and asked for forgiveness. The repentant duo led a donkey provided by a petting zoo...

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- A man who beat his 79-year-old mother to death, cut her open and ate some of her heart was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years in prison. Joey Cala, 41, had pleaded guilty Monday to murder in the 2001 death of Lydia Cala, a 76-pound retired teacher and church volunteer. According to Cala's sister, he wanted their mother's money. But there was no indication the inheritance amounted to much. The woman lived in a modest, one-story house. Cala's attorney, Robert Ford, had been planning an insanity defense before reaching a plea bargain that spared Cala a...

Christians have long been criticized for their disunity, for splitting up over theological differences and for disagreeing about the nature of their faith. Now atheists are having their own theological disputes and are trying to excommunicate each other over differences as to the nature of godlessness. The catalyst for this schism is the Godless Americans March on Washington. This event, scheduled for Nov. 2, is designed to emulate other aggrieved groups—from liberal civil-rights advocates to pro-lifers—in putting together a huge crowd to march on the nation's capital to publicize their cause. Godless Americans, inspired by the ruckus raised by the...