Asia Africa Intelligence Wire articles from July 2004, page 6

Asia Africa Intelligence Wire archives from July 2004

Jordanian-Iraqi delegations to discuss outstanding issues soon.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of unattributed report: "Official source: First meeting between two countries' officials not set yet; outstanding files between Jordan and Iraq to be discussed by the two countries'...

Ukrainian president condemns terrorist acts in Uzbekistan.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Kiev, 31 July: Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma has condemned the terrorist acts that happened in Tashkent on 30 July, and expressed his condolences over the casualties. He was having a working...

BBC Monitoring quotes from Middle East Arabic press 31 July 2004.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) The following is a selection of quotes from editorials and comment published in the 31 July editions of Arabic language newspapers in the Middle East and north Africa, as available to the BBC at...

Hong Kong Newspaper Society meets graft watchdog over press freedom fears.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) [Newsreader] The Newspaper Society has accused the ICAC [Independent Commission Against Corruption] of trampling on press freedoms by conducting raids on newspaper offices. The society met...

South Korean aid to North reaches 145.6m dollars in first half 2004.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Seoul, 31 July: South Korea sent 170.6bn won (145.6m US dollars) in humanitarian aid to North Korea in the first half of this year, the Unification Ministry said Saturday [31 July]. The...

India announces cooperation measures at regional forum in Thailand.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Bangkok, 31 July: India Saturday [31 July] announced a slew of measures such as a ministerial conference on energy, sharing experience in remote sensing and a tourism round table to strengthen...

Situation in Georgian-Ossetian conflict zone stable - Russian peacekeepers.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Moscow, 31 July: Last night and this morning in the zone of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict were "surprisingly calm", the commander of the joint peacekeeping force, Svyatoslav Nabzdorov, told...

Iraq seeks return of aircraft in Iran, modernization of army.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of an interview with Iraqi Defence Minister Hazim al-Sha'lan by Jamal Banun in Jedda; date not given: "Hazim al-Sha'lan: We want to recover our aircraft from Iran. Our accusations of...

State of emergency declared in Russia's Chita region because of drought.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) According to preliminary estimates, the damage from drought in Chita Region [Russian Far East] is thought to be over R450m. Grain and fodder crops were wiped out in 22 districts of the region....

South president urges opening inter-Korean industrial complex by end 2004.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Seoul, 31 July: President Roh Moo-hyun Saturday [31 July] urged the government to make efforts to open a pilot industrial complex for South Korean firms in North Korea's border city of Kaesong...

North Korean defectors request South help over relatives detained in China.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Seoul, 31 July: A group of North Korean defectors has asked the Foreign Ministry to launch diplomatic efforts for the freedom of about 20 of their countrymen, including some of their relatives,...

Arab paper: Saudi initiative to dispatch forces to Iraq serves US.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of article by Abd-al-Bari Atwan entitled "Saudi Arabia volunteers to legitimize the occupation", published by London-based newspaper Al-Quds al-Arabi on 30 July We cannot understand...

Turkish ruling party to support call for extraordinary parliamentary session.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) [Announcer] The Justice and Development Party [AKP] has expressed support for the Republican People's Party call to convene the National Assembly in an extraordinary session on 4 August. Prime...

Philippines "anxious" to resume normal ties with USA, Australia.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Daily Inquirer web site on 31 July The Philippines is anxious to "resume normal relations" with Australia and the United States following the commotion over the pullout of Filipino troops...

Iran: Union official calls for better medical facilities in Lorestan Province.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Tehran: Women who are in need of surgery in Lorestan Province are forced to pay huge fees because there is a lack of medical centres run by the Social Security [Organization], Mohammad Hasan...

Lebanon protests at French ban on Hezbollah Al-Manar TV.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) [Presenter] Lebanon has officially protested to French officials the decision of the French Higher Broadcasting Council to stop transmitting Al-Manar satellite channel on the French satellite...

Philippine president praises US missionary for returning to give evidence.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) American missionary Gracia Burnham contradicted herself in her testimony Thursday [29 July] when she cleared the military of accusations of collusion with her Abu Sayyaf kidnappers, opposition...

Chinese academic seeks political asylum in Australia.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) asylum in Australia", carried by Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post web site on 31 July A prominent mainland dissident is seeking political asylum in Australia after leading a...

Leading Polish politicians appeal for help for Ukraine on road to EU, NATO.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Warsaw, 30 July: A dozen or so political and state activists have issued an appeal to "the highest authorities of the Polish Republic to actively support the aspirations of Ukraine for...

Iraqi imams slam US "interference", denounce killing.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Friday preachers in Iraq addressed political developments and criticized the US interference and what they called the groups coming from outside Iraq and their killing of Iraqi policemen and...

Central China's Wuhan planning to build seven rail lines by 2050.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) (New China News Agency) Wuhan, 31 July: Wuhan, the most important industrial city on the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, will construct seven new rail lines for urban transport in the...

Egyptian architect arrested in London thanks Mubarak for concern.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) London, 30 July: Egyptian veteran engineer Dr Mamduh Hamzah, who was arrested in London for involvement in plans to assassinate public Egyptian figures, thanked Egyptian President Husni Mubarak...

Clan rifts delay creation of new Somali government.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) [Newscaster] As today is 31st of July, a date which regional body IGAD [Inter-Government Authority on Development] had set for the formation of a new Somali provisional government at peace talks...

Lasting return to Montenegrin Assembly hinges on TV coverage - opposition party.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Podgorica, 30 July: The Serbian People's Party [SNS] will return to [the Montenegrin] parliament when the debate on the law on direct elections for the state union assembly begins, while further...

Yusra and Hanan Turk turned down by Nicole Saba.
July 31, 2004... (From Al Bawaba) Lebanese singer Nicole Saba was to star alongside prominent Egyptian actress Yusra in a new film written by Zainab Idrees and directed by Ali Idrees. Negotiations between Nicole and the makers of the film did not succeed...

North Korean daily urges US to comply with "action for action" principle.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Pyongyang, 31 July: Nodong Sinmun Saturday [31 July] in a signed commentary demands the US clarify its commitments in accordance with its promise to observe the principle of "words for words"...

Hong Kong rights group concerned over Chinese criticism of talkshow issue.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) The director of Human Rights Watch has demanded clarification from mainland authorities concerning Xinhua news agency's criticism of local talkshow hosts. Xinhua described their stepping down as...

Israeli army reportedly kills Palestinian, wounds others in series of raids.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) July Two citizens sustained light wounds when Israeli occupation forces shelled a blacksmith workshop in Al-Zaytun neighbourhood, south of the city of Gaza, last night. Our correspondent...

Al-Aqsa Brigades chief says Palestinian intelligence spying on militants.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of telephone interview with Zakariya al-Zubaydi, commander of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, in Jenin, by Al-Jazeera presenter Ali al-Zufayri in the Doha studio; broadcast live by Qatari...

North Korean official attacks "sinister purpose" of US military relocation.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Pyongyang, 31 July: A spokesman for the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland gave an answer to a question put by KCNA Friday [30 July] as regards the recent moves of the...

Cambodian king ready to present himself at trial of Khmer Rouge leaders.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk has said he will present himself to a "special Cambodian-UN court" set up to try former Khmer Rouge leaders for crime of genoce, even though he could not be held...

North Korea details US "aerial espionage" in July.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Pyongyang, 31 July: The US imperialists committed more than 170 cases of aerial espionage against the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] in July by mobilizing strategic and tactical...

Egyptian foreign in Khartoum to discuss Darfur.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Khartoum, 31 July: Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abu-al-Ghayt arrived here on Saturday [31 July] accompanied by Minister Umar Sulayman on a 24-hour visit to Sudan. During the visit,...

North Korean body attacks US human rights record.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Pyongyang, 31 July: Permanent co-representatives of the Solidarity for Implementing the South-North Joint Declaration reportedly made public a special statement titled "We vehemently condemn the...

Kyrgyz TV "Ala-Too" news bulletin summary 1400 gmt 30 Jul 04.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) 1. Headlines. 2. Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev signed several laws. (COVERED) 3. Kyrgyz Prime Minister Nikolay Tanayev has congratulated the Kyrgyz railway company on its 70th...

Foreign relations essential to Romania's economic development - premier.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Bucharest, 30 July: The ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD)'s president [and Romania's prime minister], Adrian Nastase, said on Friday [29 July] that the visits he had recently paid to the...

North Korean envoy meets Nepal's prime minister.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Pyongyang, 31 July: The Nepalese government will send invariable support to the Korean people's struggle for national reunification and believes that the nuclear issue between the DPRK...

Algerian deputy mayor found with throat slit, "terrorist group" suspected.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) The Messaad Sbiha Municipality National Gendarmerie unit discovered the body of the deputy mayor of Deldoul Municipality in Djelfa Province yesterday. His throat had been slit and his head had...

Spanish minister talks of UK's "unfriendly gestures" over Gibraltar.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) [Presenter] The Spanish government has summoned the British ambassador in Madrid as a sign of its unease at the visit of this country's secretary of state for defence, Geoffrey Hoon, to...

India sends envoy to Iraq to negotiate release of hostages.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) New Delhi, 31 July: The Indian government Saturday [31 July] named Indian Ambasssador to Oman Talmiz Ahmed as its negotiator to Baghdad for the early release of the three Indian hostages being...

Efforts to negotiate between Somaliland, new Somali government on - diplomat.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) [Newscaster] A British diplomat in charge of Somali affairs, David Bell, has said plans are going on to prepare a meeting between the self-proclaimed Republic of Somaliland and the new Somali...

India needs nuclear submarines, new naval chief says.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) New Delhi, 31 July: India needs nuclear submarines and it was up to the government to take a decision in this regard, Admiral Arun Prakash said Saturday [31 July] soon after taking over as the...

Police recover more weapons stolen in rebel raid on Russia's Ingushetia.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Nazran, 31 July: When conducting operative procedures and searches, staff of the Ingush Interior Ministry's directorate for combating organized crime have found two Kalashnikov automatic rifles,...

Yangtze River Delta provides one third of China's exports.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) (New China News Agency) Shanghai, 31 July: The Yangtze River Delta, mainly composed of Shanghai and Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces in east China, contributes to more than one third of...

Sudan "expresses deep regret over hasty steps taken" by UN Security Council.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) The government official spokesman, Al-Ustadh [honorific] Al-Zahawi Ibrahim Malik, minister of information and communication, has issued a statement expressing deep regret over the hasty steps...

Thai PM says talks on Burma to continue after convention second round.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) on 31 July Thailand plans to continue multilateral talks on Burma's political situation soon after the second round of the constitution-drafting Burmese National Convention begins, Prime...

Serbia-Montenegro seeks extradition of Djindjic murder suspect from Greece.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) [Announcer] Representatives of Serbia-Montenegro late last night lodged an extradition request with the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Dejan Milenkovic Bagzi [Bugsy], who is accused of...

Serbian analyst warns of double digit inflation.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) site on 30 July Belgrade, 30 July: Prices in Serbia rose 1.4 per cent in July over June, bringing the total increase for the first half of the year to 6.6 per cent. Belgrade Institute...

Foreign Minister Kharrazi says Iran has resumed making centrifuge equipment.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Our country's foreign minister [Kamal Kharrazi] has stressed that the Islamic Republic of Iran has a definite right to enjoy nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, and that and our country...

Video of Ingushetia operation proves falsity of Russian reports - Chechen agency.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) The Russian authorities have released video footage saying that the attack on the Ingush Interior Ministry in June was carried out by Ingush "militants", but the close similarity between the...

International Esperanto conference ends in Chinese capital.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) (New China News Agency) Beijing, 31 July: The 89th International Esperanto Conference concluded here Saturday [31 July]. A declaration praised China's support for the Esperanto campaign and...

Iran's foreign minister criticizes mismanagement in Iraq for anti-Tehran remarks.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Tehran, 29 July: Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi here Saturday [29 July] referred to the anti-Iran remarks made recently by certain Iraqi officials and said they constituted proof the...

Turkish border police seize nearly 300 kg of heroin in Istanbul.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Istanbul, 31 July: Security forces impounded 274 kg of heroin at Istanbul's Ambarli border gate on Friday [29 July]. Acting on a tip-off, security forces searched a truck at the border gate...

China's Yunnan Province to open more airports, railway depots.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) (New China News Agency) Kunming, 31 July: Southwest China's Yunnan Province plans to open more airports, railway ports and land ports along the border from 2006 to 2010 to promote trade and...

Al-Aqsa Brigades say it torched intelligence office in West Bank.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) site on 31 July Jenin, 31 July - Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades' gunmen have broken into the Palestinian intelligence headquarters in Al-Marah neighbourhood [in Jenin], setting it completely...

Northern Afghan Balkh Province governor receives head of gas department.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Ustad Atta Mohammad, the commander of Military Corps No 7, has received Mohammad Asghar [phonetic], the head of Balkh gas department today. First the chief of the gas department explained...

Hong Kong paper reports anticorruption agency denial on press raids.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) by Hong Kong newspaper The Standard web site on 31 July The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has denied a report that the raids on seven newspapers last Saturday [24 July]...

Hong Kong opens web site to air public opinion on controversial issues.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) issues", carried by Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post web site on 31 July A new platform for airing public opinion on controversial issues was launched yesterday amid continuing...

Chinese article assails US-led sanctions against Iraq.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of "Roundup" by Rong Song: "US-led sanctions cause serious catastrophe for Iraq", carried by official Chinese news agency Xinhua (New China News Agency) Beijing, 31 July: One year...

Greek Cypriot, Turkish Cypriot politicians agree on need for Cyprus settlement.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Nicosia, 30 July: The right-wing Democratic Rally [Disi] president and opposition leader, Nikos Anastasiadhis, and the leader of the Republican Turkish Party and so-called prime minister in the...

Night curfew imposed in Pakistan border area.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) in South Waziristan"]by Pakistani newspaper The News web site on 31 July Peshawar: A vast area of South Waziristan agency is under night curfew for the last three days amid exchange of...

Kyrgyz border controls to be tightened after Uzbek blasts.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Bishkek, 31 July: The Kyrgyz Border Service has been put on alert in connection with the blasts in Tashkent on 30 July. This is connected with the terrorist acts in Tashkent, the Kyrgyz...

Morocco tells Algerian paper abolishing visas is gesture of good will.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) The Moroccan minister of foreign affairs and cooperation, Dr Mohamed Benaissa, expressed yesterday evening "the desire and intention of King Mohammed VI to strengthen relations with Algeria",...

IMF approves 661m-dollar loan to Turkey.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Washington, DC, 31 July: International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board completed the eighth review of Turkey's economic performance under the Stand-By Arrangement, and released another...

Australian prime minister says election will be "hard to win".
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) [Newsreader] Australia's prime minister has ended four days of campaigning in Western Australia [WA], with a speech attacking the opposition leader as unpredictable and unreliable. Rebecca...

Jailed activist reportedly ordered to be freed on bail.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Tehran, 31 July: Iran's detained academic Hashemi Aqajari has been ordered to be freed on a bail of 970m rials [65,000 pounds] and on an agreement by the judge in charge of the case to lower the...

Group of suspects detained over Uzbek blasts - interior minister.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Tashkent, 31 July: The death toll from Friday's [30 July] terrorist attacks in Tashkent has reached three, Uzbek Interior Minister Zohirjon Almatov has told an ITAR-TASS correspondent by phone...

Kazakh reformist party endorses candidates for parliamentary poll.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Almaty, 31 July: The Ak Zhol [moderate opposition] party [led by young reformists Uraz Dzhandosov, Alikhan Baymenov, Bulat Abilov and Altynbek Sarsenbayev] determined its candidates for the new...

Shanghai Cooperation defence, security seminar held in China.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) (New China News Agency) Beijing, 31 July: The first Defence Security Seminar of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) closed here Saturday [31 July]. Senior military officers said the...

UK minister expresses concern over Nepal's human rights situation.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) July Kathmandu, 31 July: UK Minister for Department of International Development [Parliamentary Undersecretary of State of International Development] Gareth Thomas has expressed deep...

Chinese commentator views land requisition anomalies.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of "Xinhua current affairs commentary" by Zhang Jiangao: "The system pain of unlawful land requisitioning", carried by official Chinese news agency Xinhua (New China News Agency) ...

Northern Afghan Balkh Province governor receives top housing officials.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Ustad Atta Mohammad, commander of Military Corps No 7 [and the new governor of Balkh Province], has received Mohammad Anwar, deputy minister of housing and town planning; Gen Mohammad Azim,...

South Korean parties clash over president's human rights probe comments.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Seoul, 31 July: South Korea's rival political parties clashed Saturday [31 July] over President Roh Moo-hyun's raising of a need to expand the activities of a presidential panel to human rights...

Cuba: Highlights of Radio Rebelde news 1000 gmt 30 Jul 04.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) 1. Headlines. Tonight's 2230 gmt will discuss: "Film: political reality and anti-imperialism." Julian Robert Hunte, president of the 58th period of sessions of the UN General Assembly...

South Ossetia "can repulse any Georgian aggression" says minister.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Tskhinvali, 31 July: South Ossetia has no intention of fighting against Georgia, but it is capable of repulsing any aggression, the interior minister of the self-proclaimed republic, Robert...

Uzbek health centres get German equipment aid.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) The German Red Cross has sent Uzbekistan's Red Crescent Society [RCS] humanitarian cargo consisting of medical equipment and bandaging materials, all worth 340,000 euros in total. The aid, sent...

South agency reports North Korea denounces US aircraft carrier deployment.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Seoul, 31 July: North Korea on Saturday [31 July] accused the United States of seeking to reinforce its fleet of aircraft carriers in the seas near the Korean Peninsula. The (North) Korean...

Poland: Warsaw Rising Museum opened.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Warsaw, 31 July: "In losing their memory, nations lose their lives" - these words of Primate Stefan Wyszynski were recalled on Saturday [31 July] by [former minister of foreign affairs]...

Heroin abuse on the rise in Chechnya.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Groznyy, 31 July: Over the past week, the Chechen law-enforcement agencies have seized several dozen kilograms of marijuana and a significant amount of opium and heroin as part of the Mak-2004...

Cuba: Highlights of Cubavision NTV news 1700 gmt 30 Jul 04.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Figures in brackets indicate length of time of each item: Headlines "Santiago de Cuba commemorates National Martyrs Day" "Social Forum of the Americas concludes today in Quito,...

Somalia: Puntland president orders his forces to disarm rival militia.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) [Newscaster] The president of Puntland who is in Nairobi for peace talks has ordered officials in Puntland to disarm militias loyal to his rivals, former regional commissioner of Bari Region...

Over 16 kg of drugs seized in Russia over past 24 hours.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Moscow, 31 July: The Russian police have confiscated over 16 kg of drugs in the past 24 hours, ITAR-TASS learnt from the Russian Interior Ministry today. A total of 2.7 kg of heroin was...

South Ossetian interior minister calls for talks with Georgia.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Tskhinvali, 31 July: Robert Guliyev, the head of the South Ossetian Interior Ministry, told RIA Novosti today he believed that the Georgian-Ossetian conflict should be settled through talks. ...

BBC Monitoring Quotes from Iranian Press 31 Jul 04.
July 31, 2004... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) The following is a selection of quotes from editorials published in the 31 July editions of Persian-language Iranian newspapers available to the BBC via the Internet at 0730 gmt. Iraq ...