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1.5m mobile numbers blocked
DHAKA
DHAKA, Mar 11 - Bangladesh has blocked 1.5 million mobile numbers and tightened regulations for buying and selling SIM cards following a spike in cellphone-related crime, an official said Thursday.
Under new rules, children under 18 will be barred from buying a SIM card and adults will have to show their national identity cards to register new mobile numbers, Home Secretary Abdus Sobhan Shikdar told AFP.
"Police have disconnected over 200,000 phones which were being used in cases of extortion and hasslement," he said, adding that a further 1.3 million numbers were blocked because they lacked full registration documents.
SIM cards, the unique data card for each phone, can currently be purchased without providing any identification which has led to a spike in abusive or criminal calls that are hard to trace, he said.
Under the new rules, which have been approved by the home ministry, licensed SIM card retailers must also obtain police clearance.
KAMPALA, Mar 11 - Uganda will next month decide which international oil firm will carry out production and development of its nascent petroleum industry, an energy ministry official said Wednesday.
BANGKOK, Mar 10 - Thailand's main airport, which was besieged by protesters in 2008, said Wednesday it had made contingency plans for protests this weekend, as ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra rallied supporters by text message.
SEOUL, Mar 10 - GM Daewoo, the South Korean unit of struggling US auto giant General Motors, said it intends to return to profit this year and currently needs no further financial support.
HOUSTON, Mar 10 - East Africa has become a promising new frontier for oil exploration and major multinationals are jostling for the rights to search for black gold, industry experts said Tuesday.
