BBC Monitoring A new character, Nahoul the bee, has appeared this week on children's programmes broadcast by the Hamas movement's Al-Aqsa TV station.     Nahoul - who says he is the "cousin" of Farfur, the Mickey Mouse look-alike character recently killed off on Al-Aqsa TV's children's series Tomorrow's Pioneers - has …

BBC Monitoring Text of report by Palestinian Filastin al-An website on 16 July; subheadings as published     The clear change in the media policy of the Ma'an News Agency was not coincidental. The sudden change in its policy and its bias in favour of the Fatah movement was preceded by threats …

BBC Monitoring Al-Zawraa TV, the pro-Sunni television channel known for showing footage of insurgent attacks on US-led coalition forces has apologized to its viewers for the constant interruption to its signal, which it claims is caused by jamming.     An on-screen ticker observed since 7 July states "The channel apologizes to …

BBC Monitoring By Muhammad Shukri of BBC Monitoring on 17 July     A recent bill passed by the US House of Representatives setting conditions on the payment of 200m of 1.3bn billion dollars the USA annually gives Egypt in military aid has drawn angry reactions from Egyptian official and independent media. …

BBC Monitoring Text of report by London-based newspaper Al-Quds al-Arabi website on 13 July     [Article by Ahmad al-Misri, datelined London: "A female broadcaster accuses the Saudi Information Ministry of administrative corruption. A journalist expelled for writing about the squandering of public funds. The freedom of the press in Saudi Arabia …

BBC Monitoring Al-Jazeera Maghreb's "Issue of the Night" on 10 June, part of the 2200 gmt news bulletin, was devoted to the issue of "freedom of the press in the Arab Maghreb region and the obstacles facing it". The presenter started his programme by reporting the announcement of the setting …

BBC Monitoring Text of press release by International Federation of Journalists press release on 11 July     The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today welcomed the launch in Morocco of an observatory on press and media freedom to monitor the state of press freedom and document the social and professional conditions …

BBC Monitoring By Saeed Barzin of BBC Monitoring on 11 July     Control of the Iranian media is tilting in favour of the government and the right wing as increasing number of news outlets are put under pressure or banned.     Government supporters say opposition journalists are campaigning to bring down the …

BBC Monitoring Text of report by London-based newspaper Al-Sharq al-Awsat website on 7 July     [Article by Tariq al-humayd: "Hamas's Image"]     It is clear that the Hamas government, which has been dismissed [by President Mahmud Abbas], has done and is doing its utmost to exploit the release of British journalist Alan …

BBC Monitoring A tour of North Africa or a single visit to any country of the region by a serving French president always comes under scrutiny on both sides of the Mediterranean to detect any sign of support for any particular country to the detriment of the other. In this …