Italy expels Moroccan convicted of terrorism Italian security officials say an Islamic extremist who was part of a cell that planned attacks on the Milan subway and a cathedral has been expelled to his native Morocco. The Interior Ministry said extremist Khalid Khamlich was flown to Casablanca on Friday after his early release from a 5 1/2 year sentence. It cited “reasons of public order and state security.” Khamlich was convicted of terror ties in 2007. Algeria says Renault revives factory talks French carmaker Renault (RENA.PA) is in talks to build a plant in Algeria, reviving a stalled plan to tap growing demand, local media reported an Algerian minister as saying on Thursday. Renault plans to produce 75,000 cars per year from 2012 for the north African country, Algerian Industry and Investment Promotion Minister Mohamed Benmeradi was quoted as saying by several newspapers. Tunisia's STEG Wins $68.6 Million Electricity Contract in Rwanda Societe Tunisienne del L'Electricite et du Gaz, or STEG, signed a $68.6 million contract to connect 50,000 households to Rwanda's electricity grid. STEG will build the electricity network over two year, while Rwanda pays in installments over five years, Yves Muyange, managing director of Rwanda's electricity and water utility, said by phone from the capital, Kigali, today. The project is part of a $380 million program to increase the number of households with electricity to 350,000 from 110,000 as of June. The program is being financed by the government and its development partners, Muyange said. Libya, German oil companies sign prospecting contract The Libyan Oil Company (NOC) and the German oil company, RW Dia E North Africa and Middle-East, here Wednesday signed a deal for the exploration and sharing of products under a new formula. PANA recalled that the new sharing formula, introduced recently by Libya, gives a greater percentage of the share to the NOC. Signed by the Secretary of the committee on direction of the NOC, Choukri Ghanem , and the director of operations of R. W. A.D, Ralph Tobabin, the new oil deal makes provision for the foreign company to carry out seismic studies in three oil blocks in addition to the drilling of four prospecting wells during a period not exceeding five years. Sudan extends vote registration after huge turnout Sudanese authorities said on Friday they would give southerners an extra week to register for a referendum on the independence of their region, but promised the extension would not delay the January 9 vote. The announcement will add to concerns over the tight schedule for the politically sensitive plebiscite, already plagued by logistical delays and wrangling between northern and southern leaders. The referendum gives people from the oil-producing south the chance to decide whether they should secede or stay part of Sudan, a vote promised in a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of north-south civil war. BM
