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 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 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 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 …

BBC Monitoring Text of report by Iranian Baztab website on 24 September Following seven months of extreme pressure from the government on the Judiciary, the office of the Baztab website in Tehran was finally sealed by officials from Tehran Prosecutor's Office on Wednesday afternoon [18 September]. According to this report, …

BBC Monitoring Text of report in English by Egyptian news agency MENA Cairo, 24 September: The Council of the Syndicate of Journalists called on the crisis committee it formed recently to hold an emergency meeting on Wednesday [26 September] to tackle measures to be adopted after a court issued a …

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 report by London-based, Saudi-owned Elaph website on 16 September [Report by Khudayr Tahir: "Did the Iraqi Satellite Channel spy on Abu-Rishah?"] The Iraqi Satellite [Al-Fada'iyah al-Iraqiyah] is the official state-run television station. It is currently under the hegemony of pro-Iranian militias that have transformed it into …

BBC Monitoring By Saeed Barzin of BBC Monitoring on 23 September The Iranian government suffered a defeat at the Majlis parliament on Sunday 23 September when it failed to rush through a bill which critics say aims to limit press freedoms. The bill had asked the conservative-controlled Majlis to discuss …