UN to hold Western Sahara talks in New York Representatives of Morocco and Western Sahara's independence movement, Polisario, will meet next week to try to break an impasse over the resource-rich territory's future, the U.N. said on Tuesday. The two sides, along with officials from Algeria and Mauritania, will meet in the town of Manhasset near New York City on November 8-9, U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters. Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony with a population of under half a million and large mineral resources, was annexed in 1975 by Morocco, which has been calling on the Algerian-backed independence movement to free a Polisario dissident. Algeria tightening grip on Orascom Algeria seems determined to prolong the agony of Egyptian mobile group Orascom Telecom. The authorities have already imposed tax bills on Orascom's highly-profitable Algerian unit, Djezzy, while making clear they intend to nationalize it. Now the government has hardened its position even further, saying it will not buy Djezzy until the company has paid all fines and liabilities imposed by the state. That may jeopardize the deal between Orascom's owner Naquib Sawiris (pictured) and Russian group Vimpelcom, which is set to create the world's fifth largest telecoms group by customers. Unsurprisingly, Orascom's stocks are tumbling. Expro inks fresh deals in Tunisia Expro, the UK oil services company with offices in Dubai, said on Wednesday it has won two new contracts in Tunisia. The first contract is for an integrated well testing project located offshore in the Gulf of Hammamet, northeast Tunisia. The second deal is an extension of an existing integrated project in Tunisia, that will now include sampling and analysis, drill stem testing and data acquisition. Chad sees telco growth from Libya stake purchase Chad is looking to boost the number of its mobile phone users to two million from 100,000 following the purchase of a majority stake in the local telecoms company by Libyan state-owned firm LAP Green Network. The purchase of a 60 percent stake in Sotel for $90 million came with a commitment by the Libyan company to invest up to $100 million in the domestic player and its network, Chad's Trade and Industry Minister Abassallah Youssouf said on Tuesday. Sudan Downplays US Sanctions Renewal The Sudanese government has scoffed at the value of the US decision to renew sanctions against Sudan. Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Muawia Osman Khalid said that US Administration failed to take any action that would contribute in pushing Sudanese issues towards a resolution at this stage which necessitates the lifting of sanctions from Sudan. He added that lifting the sanctions was a permanent article in all talks between the Sudan and US Administration since 1997. BM
