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/ 26 December 2007

It’s a small world — for the rich and famous

Care to rub shoulders, virtually speaking, with the likes of supermodel Naomi Campbell or fashion icon Jean-Charles de Castelbajac? If the answer is yes, then the solution is aSmallWorld.net, an exclusive social networking website for the wealthy and glamorous — that is, for those wealthy, glamorous and lucky enough to be admitted.

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/ 26 December 2007

eBay launches microlending website

Online auction giant eBay has launched a microlending website that lets people invest in entrepreneurs in poor communities around the world and get a return on their money. Microplace.com offers investors profits for funding folks trying to build better lives, said founder Tracey Turner.

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/ 26 December 2007

Opposition holds poll advantage in Kenya

Two heavyweights of Kenya’s post-independence politics square off in a presidential vote on Thursday after a campaign that has overshadowed Christmas and seen the opposition holding a small lead in opinion polls. The closeness of the vote has raised fears that fraud and intimidation may be used to try to swing results.

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/ 26 December 2007

Somali police chief survives attack

Gunmen threw grenades at the home of the regional police chief in south-western Somalia, killing two of his grandchildren and a bodyguard while he escaped injury, authorities said on Tuesday. Seven other family members were wounded in the Monday-night attack, which police said was a failed assassination attempt.

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/ 26 December 2007

More bodies found in collapsed Egypt flats

The death toll from the collapse of a block of flats in the Egyptian port city of Alexandria has risen to 14, the official Mena news agency reported on Wednesday. The toll could climb even further as about 15 people remain trapped in the rubble of the flattened 12-storey building, a security official said on Tuesday.

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/ 26 December 2007

Sharapova’s got a sweet tooth

Self-confessed chocoholic Maria Sharapova will get a chance to taste some post-Christmas forbidden fruit in the privacy of her hotel as she arrives on Friday in Singapore for a weekend tennis exhibition. The Russian former number one is facing compatriot Anna Chakvetadze on Sunday night.