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/ 22 January 2008

Rivals talk up ‘beatable’ Federer

A bullish mood is spreading among his rivals that dominating world number one Roger Federer is beatable coming into the showpiece rounds of the Australian Open. The Swiss top seed, the winner of 12 Grand Slam titles, second only to Pete Sampras’s 14, has ruled men’s tennis for four years and has been a constant in the last 10 Major finals.

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/ 22 January 2008

Dhoni dismisses talk of Ganguly rift

Indian wicketkeeper and one-day captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni dismissed talk on Tuesday of a dressing-room rift over former skipper Sourav Ganguly’s omission from the upcoming triangular one-day series against Australia and Sri Lanka. Dhoni became a hero when he led India to their first major trophy in 24 years at the Twenty20 World Cup in September.

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/ 22 January 2008

India risks bird-flu ‘disaster’

India’s worst-ever outbreak of bird flu could turn into a disaster, an official warned on Tuesday, as five people were reportedly quarantined with symptoms of the virus. Eight districts in the eastern state of West Bengal have been hit by the virus, and dead birds are being sold and locals said to be ”feasting” on cheap chicken.

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/ 22 January 2008

SA property market ‘to take a pause in 2008’

The South African residential property market is poised for another year of slowing price growth — but the news is ”not all bad”, said Herschel Jawitz, chief executive of Jawitz Properties. ”With double-digit growth since 2000 and eight rate increases over the last 18 months, it is no surprise that the market is set to take a pause in 2008,” he said.

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/ 22 January 2008

Annan prepares to mediate in Kenya

Former United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan was due to arrive in Kenya on Tuesday to try to mediate in a post-poll crisis that has torn the country in two and triggered weeks of violence that has killed hundreds. A hotly disputed election returned President Mwai Kibaki to power last month amid cries from opposition leader Raila Odinga that he rigged it.

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/ 22 January 2008

SA HIV vaccines on brink of human testing

Researchers from the University of Cape Town have developed two test HIV vaccines — the first wholly South African-developed products to enter the human clinical-trials phase, the Herald Online reported on Tuesday. The vaccines are just months away from being assessed in human clinical trials, the report said.