StanaCard: 5 News Snippets From Around the World

Hewitt and Djokovic at
the Rally for Relief

Australia: As the flood relief effort swings into full effect, the Australian Open has begun in Melbourne. On Sunday, the day before the start of the Grand Slam tournament, many of the premier tennis players in the world devoted the day to the “Rally for Relief.” The athletes, including Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick, Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin and Australian’s Lleyton Hewitt and Samantha Stosur, organized and played in a series of casual exhibition matches to help raise money for the flood relief in Queensland. Queensland Energy Resources pledged to match the donations dollar-for-dollar, and the event raised over AU$1.8 million by the end of the night.

Pakistan: With the 2011 Cricket World Cup beginning in just a month, Pakistan has announced its final lineup for the World Cup squad. The biggest surprise was that the experienced batsmen Mohammad Yousuf did not made the 15-man roster. Though the captain has suspiciously not been named yet, many speculate that it will be all-rounder Shahid Afridi. Pakistan, the 1992 world champions, will play its first match against Kenya on February 23.

Kenya: The CEO of leading telecoms operator Safaricom announced today that he believes that the recent price wars in Kenya could threaten the entire telecoms industry as a whole. He was very critical of Bharti Airtel, an Indian service provider whose Kenyan unit is Safaricom’s top competitor. Safaricom, which controls over 70 percent of the market, says that Airtel’s decision to cut the tariffs from six shillings a minute to one shilling a minute in just months is irresponsible. He explains that these rates are unsustainable, and they are using what is called predatory pricing to try to gain market share. Since Kenya is not Airtel’s main unit, they can afford to price tariffs this low, but will most likely raise prices once they have a hold on the market.

Rwanda's young players have already
made history by reaching the semi-finals

Rwanda/Ivory Coast: Rwanda and Ivory Coast will meet in the semifinals of the U-17 African Cup of Nations tomorrow, fighting for a spot to play Burkina Faso in the finals on Saturday. Being the host nation, Rwanda will have the home field advantage and the staunch support of their countrymen. This is just Rwanda’s second time participating in the senior AFCON, and no one expected them to make it this far. They have automatically qualified for the U-17 World Cup along with the three other semi-finalists.

India: West Indies Cricket legend Brian Lara recently put his support behind the Indian cricket team, stating that he believes they are the favorites to win the 2011 World Cup. Lara stated, “With the World Cup being held in Asia, India are definitely the favorites.” India haven’t won the Cup since 1983, and are coming off a disgraceful first round exit in 2007, but they have played extremely well leading up to the main event.

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