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 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 …

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 Text of report in English by Israeli Government Press Office on 8 July     [Report by Foreign Ministry Spokesman: "MFA Launches Persian-Language Website"]     The web-launching ceremony of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' new Persian-language website will take place tomorrow (Monday 9-Jul) at 12:00 P.M. Vice Prime Minister and Minister …

BBC Monitoring Text of report in English by Iranian news agency IRNA website     Tehran, 07 July: The Iranian news agency [IRNA] on Saturday expressed outrage at detention of reporter and three Iranian diplomats, accompanying him, for 25 years in Israeli jails and called for the international organizations to help secure …

BBC Monitoring Text of report by Qatari Al-Jazeera satellite TV on 7 July     An Algerian court in the Kabylie region has sentenced an Algerian journalist to 10 years in prison on charges of spying for Israel.     Journalist Said Sahnouni was found guilty of passing information relating to the Algerian [People's …

BBC Monitoring Text of report in English by Palestinian Ma'an News Agency website     Gaza, 7 July: Last week, the chief editor of Ma'an News Agency received direct threats on his mobile telephone from Hamas spokesperson, Fawzi Barhum, who demanded that Ma'an avoid criticizing the Hamas movement. He threatened that, if …

BBC Monitoring Text of report by London-based, Saudi-owned Elaph website on 6 July     [Report by Bahiyah Mardini in Damascus: "Newspaper Owned by Son of Former Official Returns After Suspension"]     A Syrian daily newspaper owned by the son of a former official has returned to the markets after it was hinted …

BBC Monitoring Dubai Al-Arabiya Television in Arabic at 1940 gmt on 4 July carries live within its daily "Panorama" programme a panel discussion on the release of British journalist Alan Johnston. To discuss this issue, anchorwoman Muntaha al-Ramahi hosts in the studio Jon Wilks, official spokesman for the British Government; …

BBC Monitoring Al-Jazeera Satellite Channel Television in Arabic at 1201 gmt on 5 July carries the following announcer-read report over video: "Imad Ghanim, a journalist at the Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa Satellite Channel, was seriously wounded as a result of an obvious Israeli insistence on directly shooting him. The videotape shows Imad …