BBC Monitoring Text of report by London-based newspaper Al-Sharq al-Awsat website on 1 September [Report by Muhammad al-Shafi'i in London: "Fundamentalists' Lawyer Replies to Extreme Right Wing's Accusations: I Am Not Talebani or 'Terrorists' Lover'. Mudassar Arani Faces Questioning Following Allegation of Bribing One of the Defendants in Failed London …

BBC Monitoring Text of report by independent Afghan newspaper Arman-e Melli on 1 September The High Council of the Supreme Court summoned the chief editor of the daily Arman-e Melli [Mir Haidar Motahar] on Thursday [30 August] to explain the editorial published on Monday [27 August]. The editorial had commented …

BBC Monitoring Text of report in English by Egyptian news agency MENA Cairo, 1 September: The Ministry of Awqaf denounced Saturday [1 September] the publication of a blasphemous caricature insulting Islam's Prophet Muhammad. Such irresponsible acts would not serve relations between the Islamic world and the West, the ministry said …

BBC Monitoring Text of report by Jordanian newspaper Al-Ra'y on 26 August [Report by Khalaf al-Tahat in Amman: "Failure of a popular rally organized by the Islamic Action Front Party"] The [Islamic] Action Front [IAF] Party failed to ensure the success of what it called a popular rally that it …

BBC Monitoring Text of press release by Paris-based organization Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF) on 24 August Reporters Without Borders is worried about the state of health of journalists Adnan Hassanpour and Abdolvahed "Hiva" Botimar, who are under sentence of death and who began their 42nd day on hunger strike today. …

BBC Monitoring Text of report by independent Iraqi Kurdish newspaper Hawlati on 26 August The General Security Department in Sulaymaniyah seeks to try Hawlati daily on terror charges following the publication of a report on the presence of Al-Qa'idah in the city in the previous edition. The report suggested that …

BBC Monitoring Text of report in English by Afghan independent Pajhwok news agency website Peshawar, 25 August: The Pakistani government has allowed Afghan print and electronic media organisations to set up offices in the neighbouring country. Salim Safi, head of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Journalist Union Association, told Pajhwok Afghan News the …

BBC Monitoring Text of report in English by Palestinian Ma'an News Agency website Ramallah, 25 August: Dozens of Palestinian journalists and representatives of foreign and local news outlets on Saturday held a sit-in demonstration in the central West Bank city of Ramallah. The sit-in is intended to show solidarity with …

BBC Monitoring Text of report by Sudanese independent Al-Mashahir (Almshaheer) website on 23 August Security authorities yesterday confiscated copies of the Al-Ra'i al-Sha'b newspaper affiliated to the opposition Popular Congress led by Hassan al Turabi without giving any explanation. Editor in chief Yasin Umar al-Imam said the government was still …

BBC Monitoring Text of report in English by Jordan Times website on 24 August The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) announced on Thursday [23 August] that it will launch a private radio station in an effort to establish a dialogue with the capital's residents. The station will focus on GAM affairs …