CAIRO - Egypt's Orascom Telecom is still negotiating the sale of some of its African assets, a newspaper reported on Sunday, reviving hopes for a possible deal after failed talks with South Africa's MTN. MTN had been in discussions to buy some or all of Orascom's operations, a deal which could have created the world's third-largest mobile operator if all the Egyptian firm's assets had been included. The talks collapsed after the Algerian government refused to let Orascom sell its lucrative unit Djezzy, seen as the deal's crown jewel, to MTN. "Orascom Telecom Holding continues to hold a number of negotiations to sell its African units, with the exception of its (Algerian) unit Djezzy," the daily al-Mal said, citing an unidentified source closely connected with the talks. Orascom said it had no comment on the report. In April, a source close to Orascom's negotiations told Reuters the firm was also talking to a regional operator and a European group present in emerging markets, but did not name the firms. Analysts say there are plenty of candidates to buy the Egyptian firm's far-flung operations, which run from North Korea to North Africa. "A deal to sell African assets, excluding Algeria, should be easier, given the obstacles placed by the Algerian government for the sale of Djezzy," Beltone analyst Sally Gerges said.