BBC Monitoring An Iranian official in Esfahan Province has said that Esfahan provincial TV has played the biggest role in informing the public. During a ceremony to mark the anniversary of the publication of the daily Esfahan-e Ziba [Beautiful Esfahan], Esfahan Mayor Saqai'an said that Esfahan is an international tourist …

BBC Monitoring Sudanese newspapers have welcomed the return of the former rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) to the unity government that ended weeks of a debilitating political crisis. The return to government of the SPLM, which is the main political grouping in the south, was announced on 12 December, …

BBC Monitoring Text of press release by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on 10 December New York, 10 December, 2007: The Committee Protect Journalists is deeply concerned that the criminal hearing for an Associated Press photographer accused of collaborating with Iraqi insurgents is being held in secret. …

BBC Monitoring Bethlehem-based, independent Ma'an News Agency in Arabic reports at 2026 gmt on 11 December: "The Jaysh Al-Basha'ir unit of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the military wing of Fatah, claimed responsibility for firing at an Israeli bus near Qedumim, east of Qalqilyah on Tuesday evening. A statement issued by …

BBC Monitoring Text of press release by Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (HRinfo) on 12 December HRinfo condemns the continuing wave of collective legal cases brought against journalists in Egypt, as six lawsuits for insult and defamation were brought before the Misdemeanors Court of Al-Agouza on 10 December 2007 …

BBC Monitoring Text of report by Lebanese newspaper Al-Safir website on 7 December [Report by Muhammad Hasan from Cairo: "Al-Sukkari: BBC Arabic Television Will Be a New Launch for the Entire Service. Al-Safir Met the Man Entrusted With This Television on the Sidelines of the Arab Media Festival"] On the …

BBC Monitoring On 8 December, Al-Aqsa Satellite Television carries a 40-minute computer-animated film entitled "Martyr of the World" [referring to Muhammad al-Durrah, a child who, according to Palestinian media, was shot by Israeli forces during the second intifadah]. The film features Umar, a Palestinian boy living in the United States …

BBC Monitoring President Mahmud Ahmadinezhad has said there is no major problem in Iran's relations with Britain. He welcomed "friendly relations" if Britain "adopts an independent stance towards Iran". At a news conference in Tehran on 11 December, BBC correspondent Jon Leyne, asked Ahmadinezhad: "Mr President, in the light of …

BBC Monitoring Text of report by Iqbal Khattak headlined "Pakistan's nuclear assets: Western reports are international terrorism - Memon; caretaker information minister says ZAB, Nawaz, Musharraf shaped nuke plan; appeals to journalists to end protest" published by Pakistani newspaper Daily Times website on 9 December Peshawar [North-West Frontier Province (NWFP)]: …

BBC Monitoring Excerpt from report by private Sudanese newspaper Al-Ra'y al-Amm on 10 December The National Press and Publications Council [PPC] has directed the press and complaints committees to take legal and administrational measures against newspapers which have recently been inciting religious, ethnic and racial hatred and advocating violence which …