VimpelCom acquires Cambodian operator Sotelco

Russian and CIS mobile operator VimpelCom has acquired a 90 percent stake in the Cambodian operator Sotelco, which owns a GSM 900/1800 licence and related frequencies for the local market. VimpelCom's largest shareholder Altimo has acquired the majority stake in Sotelco's parent company, Atlas Trade Limited, for USD 28 million. The remaining 10 percent of Atlas will remain with a local partner, a Cambodian entrepreneur. In addition, VimpelCom has acquired a call option to purchase the 10 percent interest from the local partner.

Karachi Transporters Announce Strike From Tomorrow

KARACHI: Transporter organizations from allover city announced unspecified-period strike from tomorrow (Tuesday) against the recent fuel-price hike.It was deiced in a meeting on Sunday hosted by President Karachi Transport Ittehad Irshad Bukhari to chalk out a joint reaction against recent raise in fuel prices.Transporters in the meeting demanded the government to fix the fuel-prices as those were before February-18 general elections.

Leave ‘em wanting more

LONDON: Twenty20 started in England, as is the tendency with new forms of cricket, but soon received a considerable boost when Texan entrepreneur Allen Stanford invested some of his millions in the Caribbean in the format.Then India gave the game widespread publicity, pizzazz and pull by unveiling the IPL. Now there is a planned EPL in England, and Australia is considering an upgrade to their competition; Twenty20 cricket is suddenly all the rage, just like global warming, high fuel prices and the iPhone.

Skipper Malik backs Shoaib to fire in Champions Trophy

KARACHI: Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik is anticipating that his comeback pacer Shoaib Akhtar will regain full fitness ahead of September’s Champions Trophy. Malik said on Sunday that Shoaib’s expected return to the Pakistan team is good news for the country pointing out that the ‘Rawalpindi Express’ is a match-winning bowler. “Shoaib is a great fast bowler and has won many a match for Pakistan in the past,” Malik said at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore where he and fellow teammates had assembled to give urine samples for dope tests. “Shoaib has some fitness issues but we are all hopeful that he will overcome them in time to bowl in the Champions Trophy at full throttle.”

AB de Villiers strengthens Proteas’ grip at Headingley

LEEDS: AB de Villiers continued to defy England’s attack with an unbeaten century as South Africa all but batted Michael Vaughan’s men out of the second Test here at Headingley on Sunday.South Africa, at tea on the third day, were 480 for seven in reply to England’s first innings 203 - a lead of 277.De Villiers was 158 not out and Paul Harris 11 not out after vice-captain Ashwell Prince had made a Test-best 149, his second hundred in as many matches.South Africa wicket-keeper Mark Boucher, dropped twice on eight, helped de Villiers add 67 for the sixth wicket.

ICC can’t guarantee players’ safety

DUBAI: Cricketers were warned on Sunday that their security couldn’t be guaranteed in Pakistan during September’s Champions Trophy with the ICC delaying a final decision on the tournament venue until later this week.“If it was up to player representatives, they would prefer not to be in Pakistan because of the environmental or external risks,” ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat told The Associated Press.“They have got concerns because no guarantees, as far as safety and security are concerned, can be given by the PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board), the ICC or security consultants.“We can do everything in our power to secure and safeguard officials, but we can never issue guarantees.”Lorgat said he knew of no threats to the September 11-28 tournament. However, he acknowledged that overcoming the perception of danger will be difficult before the ICC executive board delivers a definite decision within the next 72 hours on whether to move the One-day International tournament to an alternate host.Lorgat said Sunday’s briefing by the ICC’s security consultants stressed “great satisfaction” about the measures implemented by Pakistan at the recently completed Asia Cup.“But there are still concerns stemming out of the environmental and external factors — those issues are largely beyond our control,” Lorgat said.“Those external factors create the perception around the security and it is really difficult to deal with those perceptions ... but there is no specific threat to any sport, particularly cricket.”

Rain lashes Frontier districts

PESHAWAR: Weather turned pleasant as rain hits different districts of Frontier including Peshawar on Monday.According to met office, rain recorded in Syedo Sharif 30 mm, Balakot 17 mm, Parachinar 7 mm, Bannu 6 mm, Chirat 5 mm and 20 mm in Peshawar.Rain spell would likely continue during next 24 hours, met office predicted.

Blast injures 5 cops in Thai south

YALA: Five police officers were injured Monday when a bomb targeting their patrol exploded in Thailand's far south, where a bloody separatist insurgency is raging, police said. The blast was on a road leading to a village in Yala, one of the three Muslim-majority provinces beset by violence. Three of the policemen were seriously injured, while all of them have been hospitalised, local authorities said.

Inflation would be eliminated by positive policies, says PM LAHORE: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani said that inflation would be eliminated through positive policies.Addressing a function here on Monday, Premier Gilani said that through appropriate planning, power load shedding would be ended within a year. Oil prices have been increased globally and it is not only the problem of Pakistan.Prime Minister Gilani also held the question-answer session with children at the beginning of the function.

7 including 3 kids die in Somali mortar attacks

MOGADISHU: Hours of fighting in the Somali capital killed at least seven civilians, including three young siblings who were leaving a religious school when a mortar landed nearby, witnesses said Monday. ``One of the shells landed near a Quranic school, killing three children from the same family,'' said resident Abdi Moalim Haji, who saw the carnage and recognized the children, aged 6, 8 and 11. About11 other people were injured, he said. His account was confirmed by another witness, Abdi Nur Ahmed. It was not immediately clear how many combatants died; each side claimed to have inflicted heavy losses.