WASHINGTON, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) - German telecommunications giant Siemens AG paid about 17.5 million dollars (12 million euros) in bribes to government and industry officials in Nigeria, Russia and Libya in a bid to win contracts, The Wall Street Journal Europe reported on its website Saturday.

Using documents released last month by a court in Munich, the newspaper published a list of alleged recipients of 77 bribes from the three countries, detailing how much money went to each of the officials.

WASHINGTON, Oct 2, 2007 (AFP) - Online auction giant eBay announced that it is replacing the founder and chief executive of its Skype online telephone subsidiary and would take a charge of 1.43 billion dollars two years after buying the company.

Niklas Zennstrom, who founded Skype in 2003 together with Janus Friis and sold it to eBay for 2.6 billion dollars, is stepping down as the company's CEO to become non-executive chairman of the company's board of directors.

FRANKFURT, Sept 28, 2007 (AFP) - German telecommunications group Deutsche Telekom pursued its international offensive on Friday, annoncing the purchase of Dutch operator Orange Netherlands from its parent group, France Telecommunication.

Deutsche Telekom is to pay 1.3 billion euros (1.8 billion dollars) for the mobile telecoms company, increasing its Dutch customer base 'by more than 2.1 million to around 4.8 million,' a statement said.

The deal, which has already been approved by the European Commission, was expected to be closed on October 1.

STOCKHOLM, Sept 24, 2007 (AFP) - Swedish-Finnish telecommunications operator TeliaSonera said on Monday it would form a new fully-owned Telecommunication infrastructure subsidiary in Sweden.

It said the infrastructure company, which will launch operations in the fourth quarter, will sell its products on equal terms to TeliaSonera's wholesale customers and the company's own operations.

SEOUL, Aug 21, 2007 (AFP) - South Korea's SK Telecommunication said Tuesday it would become the second-largest shareholder in China Unicom by converting bonds worth one billion dollars into shares.

The company, South Korea's largest mobile phone operator, said the move to forge a stronger strategic partnership would help it make inroads into the Chinese market.

PRETORIA, Aug 20, 2007 (AFP) - More than 500 delegates are expected to attend an international conference in Rwanda in October aimed at providing Africa with greater access to information technology, the UN Information Centre (UNIC) said on Monday.

The two-day conference, which is expected to draw participants from China, India, the European Commission, the Group of Eight nations, Arab countries and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, as well as major companies, is scheduled to begin on October 29, the UNIC said in a statement.

HARARE, Aug 10, 2007 (AFP) - Zimbabwe has cancelled the operating licence of one of its three mobile phone firms for having a majority foreign shareholding in breach of local laws, the state telecommunications agency said Friday.

'In terms of the conditions of this licence, the foreign ownership of the company should be limited to not more than 49 percent,' said the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) in a statement.

BANGALORE, India, Aug 1, 2007 (AFP) - Finnish mobile-phone maker Nokia on Wednesday opened a global design studio in India to stay ahead of rivals such as Motorola in the world's fastest-growing wireless market.

The studio will be located in Bangalore, known as India's Silicon Valley, and will be the first of a series of 'satellite' design centres being established by Nokia, which plans to open the next in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

SEOUL, July 24, 2007 (AFP) - South Korea's Samsung Electronics said Tuesday it is considering an arrangement with Italian luxury goods designer Giorgio Armani to develop new premium products.

He refused to confirm a report by Yonhap news agency that the two firms have held talks on developing premium mobile phones and televisions.

Samsung's domestic rival LG Electronics has tied up with Italian luxury goods designer Prada to develop a mobile phone which is also a fashion accessory.