BBC Monitoring International Reports articles from December 2005

BBC Monitoring International Reports archives from December 2005

BBC Monitoring News Diary for Saturday 31 December 2005.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Main stories at 0200 gmt PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES: Watching for reaction following release of British hostages in Gaza (as available) MIDEAST: Watching for reaction after former Syrian...

SKorean scientist denies stem cell research fake, calls for probe.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report in English by South Korean news agency Yonhap Seoul, 31 December: Disgraced South Korean scientist Hwang U-so'k [Hwang Woo-suk] has denied his landmark 2005 paper on cloning...

Rebels group blames Ethiopia for kidnapping Oromo refugees in Kenya.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report in English by Ethiopian opposition radio Voice of Oromo Liberation text website on 28 December The Ethiopian regime, faced with a growing popular discontent inside the...

Ethiopia: Rebel group reportedly pledges to help aid delivery in southeast.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of statement in English issued by the opposition Ogaden National Liberation Front concerning the imminent famine in southeastern Ethiopia, broadcast by Ethiopian opposition Radio Freedom...

DRCongo: Fighting between government army, Ugandan rebels pushes people to flee.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by DRCongo's UN-sponsored Radio Okapi on 30 December Displaced people continue to flock into Eringeti [to the north of Nord-Kivu, eastern DRCongo] fleeing clashes between...

Indonesian police say six killed, 45 injured in Sulawesi blast.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report in English by Indonesian newspaper The Jakarta Post website on 31 December Palu, Central Sulawesi (JP): At least six people were killed when a bomb exploded outside a house...

Kenya: Health ministry issues measles alert.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Excerpt from report by Kenyan KTN TV on 30 December [Presenter] The Ministry of Health has issued an alert over a measles outbreak in the country and is now urging parents with children...

Death toll in Sulawesi blast rises to seven dead, 47 injured.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report in English by Indonesian newspaper The Jakarta Post website on 31 December Palu, Central Sulawesi (JP): The casualty from Saturday [31 Dec] morning's blast outside a shop...

NKorea blames stalled nuclear talks on US "hostile policy".
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report in English by North Korean news agency KCNA Pyongyang, 31 December: The United States is chiefly to blame for inciting confrontation with the DPRK and blocking the...

Tajik Speaker says Iran visit results positive - radio.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Iranian radio from Mashhad on 30 December The Speaker of the Tajik Assembly of Representatives [lower house of parliament], Saydullo Khayrulloyev, has rated the results of...

NKorea pledges to settle nuclear issue through dialogue - Xinhua.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report in English by official Chinese news agency Xinhua (New China News Agency) Pyongyang, 31 December: The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) reiterated on Saturday (31...

Afghan, Iranian, Tajik leaders to meet in Tehran 16 January.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Iranian radio from Mashhad on 30 December The Iranian ambassador to Tajikistan [Naser Sarmadi-Parsa] has announced plans to hold a joint meeting of the three...

Tajik border troops seize some 2 t of drugs in 2005.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Russian news agency Regnum Tajik border guards seized about 2 t of drugs, including 838 kg of heroin, and destroyed 159,040 plants of wild hemp as of 30 December 2005,...

NKorea accuses USA of "aerial espionage".
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report in English by North Korean news agency KCNA Pyongyang, 31 December: The US imperialists committed at least 180 cases of aerial espionage against the northern half of Korea by...

Xinhua reports reshuffle of Indonesian military.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report in English by official Chinese news agency Xinhua (New China News Agency) Jakarta, 31 December: The Indonesian Military (TNI) has announced its latest reshuffle affecting...

Iran Press: Senior cleric invites scholars to debate Holocaust.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of unattributed report under the headline: "Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi invites scholars to investigate the Holocaust" by Iranian newspaper Iran website on 29 December During his...

Uganda: Army to remain neutral during campaigns - official.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Joyce Namutebi entitled "Army to remain neutral - publicist" published by Ugandan newspaper The New Vision website on 31 December The army shall not campaign for anybody,...

East Uzbek authorities send 800 on Mecca pilgrimage.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Excerpt from report by Fargona-based state television on 28 December A group of Muslims has started a holy pilgrimage to Mecca on New Year's eve. Our correspondent reports. ...

Nigeria: Lagos State assembly removes impeached Speaker.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Idowu Ajanaku and Oluwole Farotimi: "Lagos Assembly removes Speaker, Pelumi", published by Nigerian newspaper The Guardian website on 30 December Leadership of the Lagos...

Iranian daily calls on American people to "wake up, listen to the world".
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report in English by Tehran Times website on 31 December "America's coming year" By Don Monkerud Only fortune-tellers, the simple minded, and the politically naive brave...

Iranian daily says West should stand up to US "gung-ho policy".
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report in English by Iranian newspaper Iran Daily website on 31 December "Frist's proposal, yet another proof of America's unilateralist tendencies" Senator Bill Frist, the US...

Iranian daily warns against Western "cultural onslaught".
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report in English by Iranian newspaper Iran Daily website on 31 December Siyasat-e Ruz: Although all domestic and international thinkers and intellectuals believe that cultural...

Nigeria: Kaduna State Governor seeks end to north, south feud over presidency.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Nigerian newspaper The Guardian website on 30 December Governor Ahmed Makarfi of Kaduna State has called for understanding between northern and southern leaders over the...

Chinese businessmen urged to invest in Zambia.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Zambian newspaper The Post website on 30 December The time has come for Chinese investors in Zambia to play a stronger role in the country's social life, newly formed...

Malawian leader returns home after Zimbabwe visit.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Malawi Institute of Journalism (MIJ) radio on 30 December President Bingu wa Mutharika, Friday [30 December] arrived from Zimbabwe where he had gone for a Christmas...

Russian ex-minister for atomic energy put in Moscow remand prison.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Excerpt from report by Russian news agency Interfax Moscow, 31 December: The former head of Minatom [Russian Atomic Energy Ministry], Yevgeniy Adamov, has been delivered to Moscow from...

Patriotic campaign in Uzbek east promotes military service.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Excerpt from report by Uzbek Namangan TV on 28 December With 14 January - Motherland Defenders' Day - approaching, the Month of Patriotism campaign has got under way in our region [Namangan,...

Kenya: Row over registration of copycat political parties.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Excerpt from report by Tony Kago entitled "Group registers copycat KANU party" published by Kenyan newspaper Daily Nation website on 31 December A new row over copycat political parties...

Syrian writer questions timing of Khaddam's "shocking" remarks.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Syrian journalist and writer Ahmad al-Haj Ali, in Damascus, discussed the statements made by former Syrian Vice-President Abd-al-Halim Khaddam about the Syrian leadership in a four-minute live...

Liberian president-elect holds talks with legislators.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by independent Liberian Star Radio on 30 December [Presenter] President-elect Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf today held discussions with members of the transitional assembly at the...

Uganda: I will not run away, says jailed opposition leader.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Hussein Bogere entitled "I will not run away, says jailed Kizza Besigye" published by Ugandan newspaper Daily Monitor website on 31 December Detained Forum for Democratic...

Senior Indonesian military posts reshuffled.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report in English by Indonesian newspaper The Jakarta Post website on 31 December Jakarta: The Indonesian military (TNI) [Indonesian National Military Forces] announced on Friday...

Macedonian president's New Year's message pledges economic growth, stability.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report in English by Macedonian news agency Makfax I am certain that 2006 will be happy and successful year for Macedonia, said today President Branko Crvenkovski in his New Year's...

South African president wishes fellow compatriots happy, prosperous New Year.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of President Mbeki's new year message, published by South African news agency SAPA website; Subheadings inserted editorially Fellow South Africans: As we bid farewell to the year...

Tajik fuel prices down in 2005.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Tajik news agency Asia-Plus website Dushanbe, 30 December: The prices of oil products in Tajikistan have dropped by 18.78 per cent compared to early December last year, the...

Somaliland paper reveals plans of covert fundamentalist group.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Somaliland independent daily newspaper Haatuf on 30 December Secret documents about a conference by a religious fundamentalist organization known as Al-Itisam, held in...

Afghan refugee centre opened in Tajik capital.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Iranian radio from Mashhad on 30 December A centre for Afghan refugees has been opened in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe. Our correspondent reported that the centre was...

Russian penal service confirms incarceration of ex-minister - agency.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Russian news agency Interfax Moscow, 31 December: Russian Federal Penal Service [FSIN] has officially confirmed to Interfax the fact that the former Atomic Energy Minister...

Bomb went off in Russia's Republic of Ingushetia.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Russian news agency ITAR-TASS Nazran, 31 December: An unspecified explosive device went off near the VILS light alloys plant in the centre of the city of Nazran at about...

Iraqi leaders' meeting delayed "for no less than 10 days" - TV.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Iraqi Al-Sharqiyah TV on 31 December Well-informed Iraqi sources said on Friday [30 September] that the meeting scheduled to take place between the heads of main political...

Australian police union says boosting airport security will affect policing.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Radio Australia on 31 December [Newsreader] The Australian government is being urged to review a plan to use state police to boost security at airports. The union...

Iraqi oil exports still suspended, ex-minister in London.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Excerpt from report by Iraqi Al-Sharqiyah TV on 31 December Maritime agents have said that oil exports from southern Iraq, where the largest portion of the country's production comes from,...

Jerusalem Fatah candidates pull out of polls to protest "Israeli terms".
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Palestinian radio Voice of Palestine on 31 December The Fatah Movement candidates for the occupied Jerusalem legislative elections have announced the withdrawal of their...

Chinese embassy in Tokyo issues statement on Japanese diplomat's death.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report in English by Japanese news agency Kyodo Tokyo, 31 December: The Japanese government urged China not to disclose the suicide of a staff member at the Japanese...

China, South Korea to continue developing cooperative partnership.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report in English by official Chinese news agency Xinhua (New China News Agency) Beijing, 31 December: Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing and his ROK [Republic of Korea]...

Staff of Chinese paper resume work after protest at editor's transfer.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Irene Wang enitled: "Staff back to work after protest at editor's transfer"; published by Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post website on 31 December Most staff at...

Montenegrin police ready to prevent independence referendum incidents - minister.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Excerpt from report by O. Lakic entitled "I do not interfere with Veljovic's job", published by the Montenegrin newspaper Vijesti on 30 December - subheadings as published Podgorica - "The...

Montenegrin NGO to initiate setting up of broad opposition bloc.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Excerpt from report by R.R entitled "Medojevic: Anti-regime front for changes being set up", published by the Montenegrin newspaper Dan on 30 December After the New Year's Eve and Christmas...

Zimbabwe: Cholera outbreak kills seven, 170 others infected.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Zimbabwean radio on 30 December [Presenter] A cholera outbreak has been reported in Chikomba and Chivhu in Mashonaland. This was revealed by the Minister of Health and...

Estonian editorial hails 300 births in 2005, laments over 600 new cases of HIV.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Estonian newspaper Eesti Paevaleht website on 28 December [Editorial: "No Lessons Learned From Old Mistakes"] Last week brought us some happy news: there have been 300...

Estonian legal expert proposes extending maritime border in Gulf of Finland.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Estonian newspaper Postimees website on 29 December [Interview with Maritime Law Professor Heiki Lindpere by Tuuli Koch; place and date not given: "Law Professor Favours...

Southern Russia on standby to take gas diverted from Ukraine.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Russian news agency ITAR-TASS Stavropol, 31 December: The Kavkaztransgaz joint-stock company is capable of taking surplus gas in the event that deliveries of the fuel to...

Convicts amnestied in Uzbek east.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Fargona-based state television on 28 December [Presenter] The Senate, the upper house of the Uzbek parliament, has made a decision on amnesty on the occasion of the 13th...

Georgia amends election rules.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Georgian news agency Prime-News Tbilisi, 28 December: The provision allowing a non-partisan candidate to be elected in parliament from a single-seat constituency has been...

Nepal rights body says 50 soldiers, 24 Maoists killed during cease-fire.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Nepalese daily newspaper Nepal Samacharpatra on 31 December Kathmandu: During the three-month cease-fire announced unilaterally by the Maoists, 24 civilians and 50...

Bangladesh police arrest suspected militant, seize explosives.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Bangladesh newspaper The Daily Star website on 31 December The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested a Khulna divisional second-in-command of Jamiat-ul-Mojahedin...

Nepalese Speaker says parties' decision to disrupt polls "unfortunate".
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Excerpt from report by Nepalese state-owned newspaper Gorkhapatra on 31 December Kathmandu, 30 December: Speaker Tara Nath Ranabhat has said dialogue, agreement and reconciliation between...

China's central government website to open formally on 1 January 06.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report in English by official Chinese news agency Xinhua (New China News Agency) Beijing, 31 December: The website of China's central government - www.gov.cn - will open formally on...

North Korea critcizes "offensive moves" by South pro-US conservatives.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report in English by North Korean news agency KCNA Pyongyang, 31 December: A spokesman for the Central Committee of the Korean Educational and Cultural Workers' Union in a statement...

Spanish premier to meet president-elect of Bolivia on 4 January.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Spanish newspaper ABC website on 31 December Madrid: The meeting which the prime minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, will have with the president-elect of Bolivia, Evo...

North Korean reunification front calls for settlement of crimes of "traitors".
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report in English by North Korean news agency KCNA Pyongyang, 31 December: The Central Committee of the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland made public militant...

Armed men storm Palestinian Authority office, demand help with employment.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report in English by Palestinian Ma'an News Agency website on 31 December Gaza: A group of armed Palestinian men broke into the PNA [Palestinian National Authority] offices at Dayr...

Student wing of Nepalese party sets up cells to boycott February polls.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Nepalese daily newspaper Nepal Samacharpatra on 31 December Kathmandu: The All Nepal National Free Student Union (ANNFSU), a sister organization of the Communist Party of...

Iranian MP questions report on 400 per cent increase in pollution related deaths.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Iranian newspaper Sharq website on 31 December A Majlis deputy from Tehran, Abbasali Mokhtari, has responded to a recent date showing a 400-per cent increase - compared to...

North Korean radio reports December US "aerial espionage" incidents.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by North Korean radio on 31 December According to military sources, the US imperialist warmongers dared to viciously commit aerial espionage acts against our Republic even in...

New Egyptian government sworn in.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report in English by Egyptian news agency MENA Cairo, 31 December: Egypt's new government under Prime Minister Ahmad Nazif swore the oath of office before President Husni Mubarak on...

Fiji military head says no longer recognizes home minister's authority.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Fiji newspaper Fiji Times website on 31 December The military has decided it will no longer come under the jurisdiction of Home Affairs Minister Josefa Vosanibola because...

Fiji army spokesman plays down clash between government, commander.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Fiji newspaper Fiji Sun website on 31 December Army commander Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama has assured his senior officers there will be no more coups in the country....

Fiji awaits PNG government decision on nationals in Bougainville.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Fiji newspaper Fiji Times website on 31 December The Papua New Guinea government will formally convey its decision about the Fiji nationals in Bougainville to the Fiji high...

Fiji food, fuel prices to fall from 1 January as tax reduced.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Fiji newspaper Fiji Times website on 31 December From midnight tonight the price of fuel and basic food items will fall. Fuel prices will drop by as much as 31 cents a...

Fiji official says tax cut on food, fuel to benefit low-earners.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Fiji newspaper Fiji Times website on 31 December The Fiji Islands Revenue and Customs Authority estimates the removal of value added tax from six basic food items will cost...

Railway bridge damaged by explosives in Pakistan's Baluchistan.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Pakistan's PTV World television on 31 December A railway bridge between Harnai-Sibi railway section and Babar Kach was damaged by [the blast of] explosive material last...

Fiji gold mine reinstates 141 workers.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Fijilive website on 31 December Emperor Gold Mining Company Limited has agreed to reinstate 141 permanent employees after they were made redundant late this week. Mine...

Indian ruling party leader Gandhi denies possibility of midterm elections.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Indian Doordarshan DDTV news channel on 31 December The UPA [United Progressive Alliance] chairperson has denied the possibility of midterm elections. In an interview with...

\E\I\I\a\E\I\I\aTaiwan premier says economic growth expected to reach 4.5 per cent in 2006.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Lilian Wu, carried in English by Taiwanese Central News Agency website Taipei, 31 December: Premier Frank Hsieh said Saturday that the nation's economy has registered...

\E\I\I\a\E\I\I\a"Change in senior management" at China's Southern Metropolitan News.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Hong Kong newspaper Wen Wei Po website on 31 December There has been a change in the senior management of Southern Metropolis Daily [Nanfang Dushi Bao- a newspaper known...

\E\I\I\a\E\I\I\aPutin hopes for expanded ties with China in 2006.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Russian news agency RIA Novosti Moscow, 30 December: Vladimir Putin believes that relations between Russia and China have entered a fundamentally new stage of development....

Militants shoot senior police officer in northeast India's Manipur.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Indian Doordarshan DDTV news channel on 31 December In a deadly incident, the Manipur IG [Inspector General of Police for] Intelligence, Thangthuam Peti, was shot dead by...

\E\I\I\a\E\I\I\a(Corr)"Change in senior management" at China's Southern Metropolis Daily.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) (Correcting the name "Southern Metropolitan News" to "Southern Metropolis Daily" in the headline of the item catchlined AS1-CHINA-MEDIA-NANFANG) Text of report by Hong Kong newspaper Wen...

North Korea reports "giant stride" in medical, scientific research.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report in English by North Korean news agency KCNA Pyongyang, 31 December: This year has witnessed a giant stride in scientific researches into protecting and improving the life and...

Avalanche in Slovak mountains kills five Czechs, two missing.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Excerpt from report by Slovak commercial news TV station TA3 on 31 December [Presenter] An avalanche, which has also hit the Rohace ski resort in [Slovakia's] Western Tatras mountains, has...

India's Bharatiya Janata Party names new leader.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Indian news agency PTI Mumbai, 31 December: L.K. Advani today stepped down as BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] president. Rajnath Singh is the new president of the BJP....

Palestinian president begins Gulf tour, meets Jordanian FM.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Palestinian radio Voice of Palestine on 31 December President Mahmud Abbas today starts a Gulf tour that will take him to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar,...

\E\I\I\a\E\I\I\aChinese businessmen urged to invest in Zambia.
December 31, 2005... (From BBC Monitoring International Reports) Text of report by Zambian newspaper The Post website on 30 December The time has come for Chinese investors in Zambia to play a stronger role in the country's social life, newly formed...