BBC Monitoring This new Libyan TV, which broadcast on NileSat, was thought to have been set up as an alternative to the state-owned first TV channel, hence the name Al-Badil, which means alternative in Arabic. But judging from its content, the word "alternative" seems to refer to "the alternative thinking …

BBC Monitoring At 2058 gmt on 18 January, Ma'an reported that Jibril al-Rujub, a leading figure in Fatah in the West Bank, had made a statement to the Hamas-run Al-Aqsa TV in which he said that "there is a possibility to circumvent the domestic crisis in order to confront the …

BBC Monitoring At 2058 gmt on 18 January, Ma'an reported that Jibril al-Rujub, a leading figure in Fatah in the West Bank, had made a statement to the Hamas-run Al-Aqsa TV in which he said that "there is a possibility to circumvent the domestic crisis in order to confront the …

BBC Monitoring Text of report by Iranian news website Norooz on 20 January Dastranj website, at www.dastranj.ir, has joined the country's electronic media. ["Dastranj" means "product of toil" or "wage".] The site's director told Norooz: The site has been launched on the basis of a reformist policy and with the …

BBC Monitoring Text of report by Palestinian newspaper Al-Risalah on 17 January [Unattributed report: "Shin Bet Establishes Psychological Warfare Unit Against Hamas Using Fatah Media Outlets"] Gaza, 17 January (Translated [into Arabic] by the Palestinian Media Network) - Israeli television revealed that the Internal Security Service (Shin Bet) has decided …

BBC Monitoring Doha Al-Jazeera Satellite Channel Television in Arabic at 0617 gmt on 19 January carries the following announcer-read report: "As an interesting phenomenon, the number of private radio stations in Jordan has increased and mounted to 27. Observers see that private radio stations have gained the trust of the …

BBC Monitoring Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has filed a lawsuit against Hawlati newspaper for publishing an article by an American writer, the website of independent twice-weekly Hawlati reported on 18 January. The Political Bureau spokesman of Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), Mala Bakhtiyar, said: "The whole report is fabricated …

BBC Monitoring Excerpt from report by Palestinian newspaper Al-Hayat al-Jadidah on 17 January [Report by Bashar Daraghimah, Rumil al-Suwayti: "Amr Addresses Thousands Celebrating Anniversary in Nablus; Fatah Will End Embargo on Gaza, Palestine"] Nablus - Thousands of Nablus Governorate inhabitants commemorated the 44th Fatah anniversary in a popular rally yesterday. …

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BBC Monitoring Text of report in English by Dubai newspaper Khaleej Times website on 16 January Abu Dhabi: The first step has been taken by an Abu Dhabi company to launch the UAE's first communications satellite. A letter of intent (LOI) has been signed by Al Yah Satellite Communications Company …