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Cian Stokes (5) from Rathfarnham, waiting to meet Manchester United players Rio Ferdinand and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer when they opened the new Nike store in Grafton Street, Dublin, yesterday.

Photograph: Aidan Crawley

Turmoil in financial markets could halt rate rises
The turmoil in world financial markets could save homeowners from interest rate rises later this year and ease pressure on high rates of inflation, economists said yesterday.
FF TDs criticise Cabinet's silence on Shannon decision
The Government has been attacked by its own TDs for failing to respond to the decision of Aer Lingus to transfer its Heathrow slots from Shannon airport to Belfast.
MRI scans better at detecting breast cancer, research finds
MRI scans may provide a far more sensitive method for detecting early breast cancers than conventional mammography, according to new research.

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Ireland

Fire victim may have been beaten
Gardaí believe a man who burned to death in a well-known period house may have been assaulted before the fire was started deliberately. p
CAO points set to stay at same low level as last year
CAO points for this year's Leaving Certificate students are set to be broadly unchanged from last year, when they dropped to their lowest-ever level. p
€300m scheme for Greystones gets approval
An Bord Pleanála has approved a €300 million marina, residential and commercial redevelopment scheme for Greystones harbour in Co Wicklow. p
Quinn 'memo' a forgery, Garda investigation finds
A document alleging serious malpractice by leading insurance company Quinn Direct was a forgery, a Garda investigation has concluded. p
ID rules warning as RDS suspends two horses
Horse Show Day Two: Stricter enforcement and inspection of passports and ID for horses to ensure compliance with EU regulations, were announced at the Fáilte Ireland Horse Show in Dublin yesterday. p
Minister intervenes in Nigerian boy's deportation case
Green Party Minister Eamon Ryan has personally intervened in the case of a six-year-old Nigerian autistic boy facing deportation from this country, by writing on his behalf to his Cabinet colleague, the Minister for Justice, Brian Lenihan. p
Sex offender sought after attacks in Carlow and Cavan linked
Gardaí have launched a public appeal in their search for a man they believe has carried out 15 sexual assaults and attempted assaults in Cavan and Carlow over the past two years. p
Two businesses put their expansion plans on hold
Local reaction: More than 50,000 tourists a year and tens of millions of euros in investment will be lost to the west if Aer Lingus goes ahead with its decision to end its Shannon-Heathrow service, business interests in the region have claimed. p
Shankill hit-and-run victim assaulted by passersby
A young Protestant man who was beaten up on the Shankill area in Belfast because he did not know the words of The Sash My Father Wore has insisted that while the incident scarred him physically, it would not scar him mentally or affect his non-sectarian, peaceful view of life. p
€39,000 'average cost' to educate a child
The average cost of putting a child through the education system is almost €39,000, according to new figures. p

Finance

One51 valued at €1bn ahead of grey market
One51 chief Philip Lynch has put a valuation of at least €1 billion on the investment firm ahead of grey market trading in its stock in September and the introduction of a new private-equity fund next year. Arthur Beesley , Senior Business Correspondent reports p
Growth in mortgage lending sees NIB's profits jump 181%
National Irish Bank's (NIB) underlying profits jumped 181 per cent to €34 million in the first six months of the year, as mortgage lending at the bank soared well ahead of the market average and the bank attracted a number of corporate banking clients, writes Laura Slattery. p
Iseq slumps 2% over concerns about US subprime market
A late rally could not prevent the Irish Stock Exchange slumping by more than 2 per cent yesterday as shares in Dublin plunged in line with other European markets. Investors were spooked by subprime credit problems in the US. Ciarán Brennan reports. p

World

Outrage as Mbeki sacks Aids activist minister
SOUTH AFRICA: South African president Thabo Mbeki has enraged HIV treatment activists and has sparked a fresh political rift in government circles by sacking an outspoken junior minister who had championed the Aids issue. p
Musharraf denies he planned state of emergency
PAKISTAN: Pakistan's president, Gen Pervez Musharraf, poured cold water on speculation that he was planning a state of emergency yesterday, declaring instead that he would hold free and fair elections. p
Discovery of fossil skull and jaw in Kenya challenge linear evolution theory
KENYA: A 1.5-million-year-old skull and an equally old jaw found in Kenya are helping rewrite the history of early man, eliminating one reputed ancestor from the human lineage and suggesting that another was much more primitive than previously believed. p

Sport

Kennedy returns to the starting line-up
GAELIC GAMES: Waterford hurling manager Justin McCarthy has named a team for Sunday's All-Ireland semi-final against Limerick in Croke Park. It must be noted, however, that none of these announcements during the 2007 championship have mirrored the actual positions taken up by the players when they take the field. p
Quinn pledges to 'live or die' by Keane
SOCCER: Even when banging the Sunderland PR drum Niall Quinn is realistic enough to accept that his club's return to the top flight could easily turn into a familiar struggle and, in preparation for such an eventuality, he has not only pledged to "live or die" by Roy Keane but says that if things do go wrong and the supporters call for Keane's departure, "they'll have to have me out as well". p
Fighting fit and eager for the fray
RUGBY: Gerry Thornley talks to Alan Quinlan about his hopes of making the Ireland squad for France p