Algeria acknowledges they have work cut out against England, US

Cape Town - Algeria acknowledged Friday they had their work cut out after being drawn in a tough Group C alongside England, the United States and Slovenia in the first round of the World Cup. "We'll see what we can do. We have to get work with it," he said, adding: "It's a group that's balanced, I think."

"We will try to score with a good display," he said.

England, particularly, had a strong chance of advancing to the round of 16, he said.

England had both good individual players, who benefited from playing in one of the best championships in the world, and a good Italian coach, he said.

Algeria, who beat African champions Egypt in the play-offs to secure their berth at the finals since 1986, will be facing Fabio Capello's side for the first time.

"It's a very interesting group, you don't get easy games at the World Cup," former England captain David Beckham said.

"Every opponent will be strong because when you play in the World Cup, every game is not easy," said Capello.

No easy games, say Serbian players

Belgrade - Serbian players were reserved Friday after the World Cup draw in Cape Town placed them in Group D with Germany, Ghana and Australia, saying they consider each game "crucial." "I think every match in the World Cup is crucial, the first of them certainly the most important," Wolverhampton's midfielder Nenad Milijas told radio B92. He said he knew little about Australia and Ghana.

Serbia, who were in a tough group with the Netherlands, Argentina and Ivory Coast, losing to all three, at the 2006 World Cup, are to face Ghana first, on June 13.

Striker Marko Pantelic, now with Ajax Amsterdam after leaving Bundesliga side Hertha Berlin, told Beta news agency he was unconcerned with Serbia's opponents.

"I'm not interested whom we drew. The group is as it is, we should be what we are," he said. "If the Germans are happy with the draw, we should be, too."

Striker Milan Jovanovic of Standard Liege said the draw "could have been better, but also worse."

"There are no easy groups and easy opponents in football today, so our success depends only on us," he said.

"Each match is equally important, but it would be very good to have a positive result in the opener and carry the momentum further."

After Ghana, Serbia are scheduled to play Germany on June 18 and Australia on June 23. The Balkan country qualified for the World Cup on top of its group, ahead of France, which made it to South Africa through play-offs.

Swine flu cases decline in US; false H1N1 emails noted

Washington - The number of swine flu cases in the United States has declined slightly for the fifth straight week, but the proportion of deaths from the virus remains "above the epidemic threshold," health officials said Friday. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) also warned of false emails that offer flu vaccinations but in fact infect computers with malware if readers click on them.

Hospitalization rates continued to be highest in children up to four years old in the week that ended Saturday, the CDC said in its weekly briefing that covered the week ending November 28.

Another 17 flu-related pediatric deaths, in children up to 18 years old, were recorded by the CDC, bringing to 251 the total of confirmed US children's deaths since the epidemic began in April.

The CDC did not say how many adults had died, but noted that the national rate of new infections among all age groups was still above normal seasonal flu levels.

In its warning about the emails, the CDC said the messages urged readers to register on the CDC website, which they claimed was necessary to receive a vaccine.

No such registration is necessary to receive vaccines, which are being distributed mostly by local health departments around the country.

Some health departments, however, have priority groups for shots that include pregnant women, children and adults up to age 24, people who work with children and people with underlying disease such as asthma or diabetes.

Only 25 US states were reporting widespread influenza activity in the last week of November, down from 32 the previous week, the CDC said.

Group G favorite to claim dreaded 'Group of Death' tag

Cape Town - No World Cup would be complete without a "Group of Death" and Friday's draw for the 2010 edition in South Africa seems to have bestowed the honor this time around on five-time winners Brazil. The Selecao will need to overcome the challenge of Portugal and Ivory Coast as well as unknown quantities North Korea in Group G if they are to remain in the hunt for a record sixth crown in the final on July 11 at Soccer City in Johannesburg.

"Our group is the most difficult of the World Cup," said Brazil coach Dunga. "The footballing world has drawn so close together that there aren't any easy games any more."

However, hosts South Africa could also lay claim to the dubious honor after being pitted against Mexico, Uruguay and 2006 finalists France in Group A, although coach Carlos Alberto Parreira refused to claim the moniker for his side.

"This is the first time since many, many World Cup competitions that there is no Group of Death and no easy groups. All the groups are finely balanced," the Brazilian, who coached the Selecao to success in 1994, said.

"I think that we probably have the toughest group of the balanced groups. We are the only group which has two former world champions."

Germany shouldn't be too pleased either after being drawn alongside Australia, Serbia and Ghana in Group D although, like Parreira, coach Joachim Loew remained upbeat.

"It's a relatively evenly-matched group," he said. "What's important is that we win our opening match against Australia to build up our self-confidence."

SWAPO, Pohamba win Namibia elections by landslides - Summary

Windhoek - Namibia's ruling SWAPO party clinched its fifth straight landslide election victory in last week's presidential and parliamentary elections, in which President Hifikepunye Pohamba also trounced his rivals, the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) announced Friday evening. SWAPO won 74 per cent of the vote against 11.4 per cent for the newly formed Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP), the ECN said.

The RDP, which was formed by former cabinet minister Hidipo Hamutenya and other former SWAPO stalwarts two years ago, had been expected to make far greater inroads, but still becomes the official opposition of the desert country.

The RDP has said it suspects the ECN of tampering with the results, saying the slow counting of votes from the November 27-28 vote made it suspicious.

The RDP and seven other opposition parties said they would institute legal action against the ECN for alleged irregularities.

"We are not going to attend the final announcement of the results, because we are not prepared to legitimize a rigged election," the party's information secretary Libolly Haufiku told the German Press Agency dpa.

In the presidential poll, Pohamba won a little over 76 per cent of the vote, giving him a second five-year term. Hamutenya trailed in second place with around 10 per cent.

Following the result, Pohamba appealed to his rivals "to work together for our people - for social and economic development."

The ECN insists the counting process was done in accordance with the law and that the verification process was slow because it wanted to ensure that it published the correct results.

The former liberation movement SWAPO has ruled Namibia, an impoverished country of around 2 million people, since independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990.

Despite rising corruption and the slow pace of development, the party is popular among many voters for maintaining peace and stability among the 13 ethnic groupings in the country.

Sahara Festival draws Star Wars fans to Tunisian desert

The central Tunisia oasis town of Douz will host the 42nd International Festival of the Sahara on December 27th. The four-day event will feature Berber dancing, Bedouin horse races and other traditional offerings. Each year, the festival draws thousands of international visitors eager to see nearby Matmata and other locations from the Star Wars movies. An international conference will also be offered by the Ben Ali Chair for the Dialogue of Civilizations and Religions.

Algeria, Tunisia hold bilateral talks in Tunis

Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci visited Tunisia on Wednesday and Thursday (December 3rd), to hold bilateral talks with his Tunisian counterpart, Abdelwahab Abdallah. An agreement on the demarcation of sea borders between the two countries was signed during the visit.