BBC Monitoring Text of report by Lebanese newspaper Al-Safir website on 3 August Those working in the field of internet publishing were fighting the "ghosts" of censorship - given the lack of any Syrian law that organizes their work - when they received a blow from where they did not …

BBC Monitoring Text of report by Qatari Al-Jazeera satellite TV on 7 August A Casablanca printing firm has refused to print "Journal Hebdo" weekly until it received permission from the Ministry of Communication. The paper's editor Ali Ammar described the behaviour of the printers as a pre-emptive confiscation. A special …

BBC Monitoring Islamists demanding the release of Red Mosque cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz have threatened Pakistani media over coverage of their protests at the mosque, according to Geo TV. Geo TV has also received several phone calls warning the channel to refrain from reporting about the issue. Reporters were forced …

BBC Monitoring Text of report in English by Palestinian Ma'an News Agency website Gaza, 25 July: Palestine TV started broadcasting again this evening from the Gaza Strip, after a hiatus of more than a month since the Hamas movement took control of the strip. Journalist Hassan Kashef stated: "The voice …

BBC Monitoring Analysis by Steve Metcalf of BBC Monitoring on 25 July     Another channel has entered Lebanon's competitive and politicized television market, two months ahead of presidential elections. OTV, the channel of Christian opposition leader Michel Awn, finally launched limited transmissions on 20 July.     Starting with broadcasts for several hours …

BBC Monitoring Text of press release by Amnesty International (AI) on 20 July     Amnesty International condemns the broadcast by Iranian television of "interviews" with two dual, US-Iran nationals, Haleh Esfandiyari, 67 (f) and Kian Tajbakhsh, 45 (m), who have been detained in Tehran's Evin prison since 8 and 11 May, …

BBC Monitoring Text of report in English by Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post website on 21 July     Opposition leader Michel Awn has launched his own television channel, OTV, hoping to set "new standards of objectivity" at a time when Lebanon is facing its most serious political crisis in years.     OTV, …

BBC Monitoring Baghdad Al-Iraqiyah Television in Arabic within its 1700 gmt newscast on 21 July carries the following announcer-read report:     "Major General Ahmad Abu-Raghif, director of the Internal Affairs Directorate at the Ministry of Interior, has said that the rumours spread by some media outlets about him are a desperate …

BBC Monitoring Text of report from Syrian newspaper Al-Watan website on 19 July     Information Minister Muhsin Bilal yesterday issued a verbal decision to remove Al-Watan newspaper from the market after more than four hours of circulation (from 0700 to about 1130).     For the sake of clarification, we tell all those …

BBC Monitoring  Text of report by Dubai-based news channel Al-Arabiya TV on 18 July     [Announcer-read report over video]     Parties affiliated with Hezbollah and its media outlets have been launching a campaign against Al-Arabiya TV Channel. This campaign is characterized by being far from the truth from all sides and by …