Semenya given rousing South African reception

New 800 meters world champion Caster Semenya received a rousing welcome after touching down in Johannesburg with her South African team-mates on Tuesday. The 18-year-old, who made global headlines last week after doubts were raised over her gender at the World Championships, was accompanied by the country’s two other medallists from Berlin — men’s 800m champion Mbulaeni Mulaudzi and long-jump silver medallist Khotso Mokoena. Thousands of supporters crammed the OR Tambo International Airport — waving placards, singing, dancing and simply hoping to catch a glimpse of the teenage heroine

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Apple to release Snow Leopard on Friday

Snow Leopard, the highly anticipated new operating system for the Mac, will be released ahead of schedule Friday, Apple announced Monday. The Mac OS X Snow Leopard will be available as an upgrade to the current Leopard system for $29 and can be pre-ordered now, the company said. “Snow Leopard builds on our most successful operating system ever, and we’re happy to get it to users earlier than expected,” said Bertrand Serlet, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering

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Nokia pledges smartphone assault on Apple

Nokia has pledged to strike back at Apple and produce mobile phones that will compete effectively with the U.S. technology company’s iPhone. Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, chief executive of Nokia, the world’s largest mobile phone maker, said that it was aiming to be “even more competitive” following criticism that it had failed to come up with a handset to match the iPhone.

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Modest Yang savors historic PGA triumph

South Korea’s Y.E.Yang is still coming to terms with his historic victory at the PGA Championship where he became the first Asian-born golfer to win a major title. It was a triumph made the more remarkable because he was paired with overnight leader Tiger Woods in the final round and even Yang could scarcely believe he had defied the odds to win. “If I were to tee off tomorrow, I wish it wouldn’t happen,” Yang told CNN, acknowledging that the prospect of going head-to-head with Tiger is never a prospect to be relished

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Bolt smashes 200 meters record to claim gold

Usain Bolt broke his own world record in the 200 meters as he completed the sprint double in the world championships in Berlin in sensational style. The remarkable Jamaican took gold in 19.19 seconds, shaving just over a tenth of a second off the mark he set in winning the 200m at last year’s Beijing Olympics.

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Mexico City bans stores from distributing plastic bags

Mexico City’s thousands of stores went green Wednesday, as amended ordinances on solid waste now outlaw businesses from giving out thin plastic bags that are not biodegradable. The law affects all stores, production facilities and service providers within the Federal District, which encompasses the city limits. Nearly 9 million people live inside the district and another 10 million reside in surrounding communities that make up greater Mexico City

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