BBC Monitoring The Saudi Press Agency, SPA, in English on 1 October issued a note, withdrawing the referent item on a statement issued by the Saudi Grand Mufti warning Saudi youths against travelling abroad for jihad. No reason was given for pulling the item. The note reads: "Editors note: Please …

BBC Monitoring Text of report by Afghan independent Tolo TV, part of the Moby Media Group, on 2 October [Presenter] The National Radio and TV [RTA, state-owned national broadcaster] has been detached from the framework of Information and Culture Ministry. The decision was announced at the two-day meeting of the …

BBC Monitoring Text of article entitled: "Media should stop broadcasting un-Islamic programmes" published by independent Afghan newspaper Rah-e Nejat on 26 September Yesterday [25 September], media owners were summoned by the religious and cultural affairs commission of the Wolesi Jerga and the parliament members urged the media owners to stop …

BBC Monitoring Text of report by Egyptian newspaper Al Ahram Weekly website on 27 September [Article by Karim al-Khashab: "The Changing Face of the News"] Karim al-Khashab reviews the emergence of an "adversarial" press unseen in Egypt since the 1920s. The number of journalists facing prison sentences is growing. On …

BBC Monitoring Text of report by Syrian newspaper Al-Ba'th website on 27 September [Report by Tafid Abu-al-Khayr in Damascus: "Workshop at Al-Ba'th House on the Role of Media in Enhancing the Culture of Resistance."] The Role of the Media in Enhancing the Culture of Resistance was the title of the …

BBC Monitoring Text of report in English by Egyptian news agency MENA New York, 26 September: The latest White House statement on press freedom and civil society in Egypt is an "unacceptable interference in Egypt's domestic affairs," an Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman said late Tuesday [25 September]. The US statement …

BBC Monitoring Text of report by Muslim Brotherhood website Ikhwanonline on 25 September The Al-Duqqi criminal court [in Cairo] has issued a sentence imprisoning for two years the editor-in-chief of the newspaper Al-Wafd, Ali Anwar al-Huwwari, and two journalists at the newspaper after indictment on charges of slandering and insulting …

BBC Monitoring In the days leading up to Ahmadinezhad's speech at Columbia University (delivered on 24 September), Iranian radio and TV made many references to Ahmadinezhad's planned appearance at the university, presenting it as a sign of great US public interest in Ahmadinezhad to the dismay of US officials. But, …

BBC Monitoring By Saeed Barzin of BBC Monitoring on 24 September The Iranian government has shut down an internet news outlet known for its harsh criticism of President Mahmud Ahmadinezhad, and critics say the move will put pressure on the country's loyal opposition in the next parliamentary Majlis elections. "After …

BBC Monitoring Text of article by Awat Ali entitled: "Mr Fatihi and Mr Ferhadi"; published by independent Iraqi Kurdish newspaper Hawlati on 23 September The incident of the arrest of Mr Fatihi [Tariq Fatih], Hawlati newspaper's concessionaire, at Hawlati headquarters, and the incident of the arrest of Mr Ferhadi at …