BBC Monitoring International Reports articles from December 2009, page 169

BBC Monitoring International Reports archives from December 2009

Russian interior minister hails success of special police units.
December 1, 2009... Excerpt from report by corporate-owned Russian news agency Interfax Domodedovo (Moscow Region), 1 December: Russian citizens expect the law-enforcement agencies to carry out effective measures in the fight against crime and public order...

Namibian poll results so far show SWAPO leading with 62.04 per cent of votes.
December 1, 2009... Text of report by Namibian radio on 1 December Election results announced so far by the Electoral Commission of Namibia show SWAPO is leading with 62.04 per cent of the votes in 13 constituencies. The latest ECN results indicate that SWAPO...

Russian navy considering options for purchase of foreign helicopter carriers.
December 1, 2009... Excerpt from report by corporate-owned Russian military news agency Interfax-AVN website Moscow, 30 November: Russia is considering options for purchasing a helicopter carrier not only from France but also from other countries, a source in...

Death toll in Russia's St Petersburg train bombing rises to 27.
December 1, 2009... Excerpt from report by corporate-owned Russian news agency Interfax Moscow, 1 December: According to revised information, the number of people killed as a result of the [27 November] Moscow-St Petersburg train crash has reached 27. "The...

Libya-based Islamic body condemns "racist" Swiss vote on minarets.
December 1, 2009... The General Secretariat of the Tripoli-based World Islamic Popular Command [WIPC] on Tuesday 1 December released a statement condemning "the racist measure taken by Switzerland to prevent Muslims from building minarets for their mosques", the...

Number of attacks on policemen in Chechnya this year totals 99 - official.
December 1, 2009... Text of report by Russian state news agency RIA Novosti Moscow, 1 December: The number of criminal cases launched by the Investigations Committee under the [Russian] prosecutor's office [SKP] for Chechnya under the article 'attempt on the...

Afghan Taleban commander hints they would not allow Bin-Ladin to use Afghanistan.
December 1, 2009... Text of report by Dubai-based, Saudi private capital-funded pan-Arab news channel Al-Arabiya TV on 1 December Sayfollah Jalali, commander of the Taleban Movement in Kabul Province, Afghanistan, has denied that the Taleban has opened dialogue...

Taleban report fighting in Afghan south.
December 1, 2009... Text of report by Afghan Taleban Shahamat website on 1 December Police patrol comes under attack in Khashrod [Taleban spokesman] Qari Yusof Ahmadi: The mojahedin of the Islamic Emirate carried out an attack on a patrol of internal soldiers...

Taleban report fighting with foreign forces in Afghan east.
December 1, 2009... Text of report by Afghan Taleban Shahamat website on 1 December Face-to-face fighting takes place with invaders in Andar [Taleban spokesman] Zabihollah Mojahed: Face-to-face fighting took place between the mojahedin of the Islamic Emirate...

Jordanian cabinet sets up ministerial committee to amend election law.
December 1, 2009... Text of report in English by official Jordanian news agency Petra-JNA website ["Cabinet Sets up Ministerial Committee To Amend Election Law" - Petra News Agency Headline] Amman, Dec. 1 (Petra) -The cabinet has decided in its weekly meeting...

Taleban claim inflicting casualties on British forces in Afghan south.
December 1, 2009... Text of report by Afghan Taleban Shahamat website on 1 December British soldiers suffer casualties in Helmand [Taleban spokesman] Qari Yusof Ahmadi: Heavy casualties were inflicted upon the invading soldiers by the mojahedin of the Islamic...

Russian official says Chechen activist's killing not linked to her work.
December 1, 2009... Excerpt from report by Russian state news agency RIA Novosti Groznyy, 1 December: The head of the charity Let's Save the Generation, Zarema Sadulayeva, who was abducted and killed along with her husband Alik Dzhabrailov in Groznyy in August...

Russian interior minister to answer police questions in new regular radio show.
December 1, 2009... Excerpt from report by corporate-owned Russian news agency Interfax Moscow, 1 December: Russian Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev will be answering provocative, funny and rhetorical questions on the ministry's radio station, the Interior...

Ugandan central bank suffers bomb scare.
December 1, 2009... Text of unattributed report entitled "Bomb scare at central bank" published by state-owned, mass-circulation Ugandan daily The New Vision website on 1 December Police and sniffer dogs were this morning deployed at the Bank of Uganda head...

Iranian Al-Alam TV's "With the Event" programme on Lebanese Hezbollah document.
December 1, 2009... Today's episode of Iranian TV "With the Event" programme was on Lebanese Hezbollah's political document. The guests of the programme Nawaf al-Musavi, the director of Hezbollah's external relations office, and Hasan Khalil, publisher of Lebanese...

Ukrainian premier vows to back "democratic" candidate in presidential run-off.
December 1, 2009... Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko has called on her rivals in the presidential election to vote for the candidate from democratic forces who will make it to the second round, the Ukrainian ICTV television channel reported on 1 December. ...

Dubai ruler says "solid future" awaits UAE, national economy "cohesive".
December 1, 2009... Text of report in English by UAE news agency WAM website ["Mohammed Bin Rashid addresses the nation on 38th National Day" - WAM headline.] Abu Dhabi, 1 December 2009 (WAM) - Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai His...

US withdrawal would not be a catastrophe, says Afghan daily.
December 1, 2009... Text of editorial, "Americans' departure will not be crisis", by pro-government Afghan newspaper Weesa on 1 December A very interesting issue being discussed in Afghanistan's media is the issue of the American forces' withdrawal from...

Office of progovernment party vandalized in eastern Ukraine.
December 1, 2009... Text of report by private Ukrainian news agency UNIAN Kharkiv, 1 December: The office of the Leninskyy district branch of the [Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko-led] Fatherland party has been vandalized in Kharkiv. The press service of the...

Russian permanent-readiness brigades now have sniper platoons - general.
December 1, 2009... Text of report by corporate-owned Russian military news agency Interfax-AVN website Moscow, 30 November: Chief of the main directorate for combat training and service of the troops of the Russian Armed Forces Lt-Gen Valeriy Yevnevich has said...

Iran cannot be isolated - Ahmadinezhad.
December 1, 2009... Speaking during a live televised interview on Iranian state television channel one, Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinezhad said that Iran could not be isolated because it is the most important region in the world is the Middle East and that...

Russian economy to benefit from increased defence production - expert.
December 1, 2009... Excerpt from report by corporate-owned Russian military news agency Interfax-AVN website Moscow, 1 December: There is real state support for efforts to modernize national industry, including the defence sector, State Duma deputy and former...

Ukrainian TV shows former speaker's election broadcast.
December 1, 2009... The Ukrainian state-run TV channel showed a 10-minute election broadcast of the former parliament speaker, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, on 1 December. During the broadcast Yatsenyuk was shown addressing a rally and explaining key points of his election...

Yemeni source says Al-Qa'idah kidnapped, killed Ma'rib detective.
December 1, 2009... Text of report in English by state-run Yemeni news agency Saba website SANA'A, Dec. 01 (Saba) - A source at the Interior ministry has said that al-Qaeda was behind kidnapping and murdering a detective in Ma'rib province, 130 km from Sana'a....

Yemeni authorities arrest would-be bomber in Aden.
December 1, 2009... Text of report in English by state-run Yemeni news agency Saba website SANA'A, Dec. 01 (Saba) - A man has been arrested after he planned to blast the people in the Gold Market in the district of Shaykh Othman in Yemen's business capital of...

Afghans need to play a role, Afghan article tells USA.
December 1, 2009... Excerpt from article, "Wrong decisions do not produce positive results" by privately-owned Afghan newspaper Rah-e Nejat on 1 December US President Barack Obama is expected to announce his new Afghanistan strategy today [1st Dec 09]. ...

Croatian president entitled to office after expiry of presidential term.
December 1, 2009... Text of report in English by Croatian state news agency HINA Zagreb, 1 Dec - After his term in office expires, President Stjepan Mesic will move from his presidential office in Zagreb's residential area of Pantovcak to an office in...

UAE newspaper boasts about Dubai's ability to recover from current crisis.
December 1, 2009... Text of report in English by Dubai newspaper Gulf News website on 1 December [Unattributed Report: "Dubai Will Emerge as Strong as Ever"] It is a difficult time to borrow, but the UAE's fundamentals remain sound. Markets rise and fall,...

Iran president says nuclear issue is "resolved".
December 1, 2009... Speaking during a live televised interview on Iranian state television channel one, Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinezhad said that Iran considered the nuclear issue to be closed. He said: "As far as we are concerned, [the] nuclear [issue] is...

Iranian daily urges parliament not to give up scrutiny over foreign affairs.
December 1, 2009... Text of unattributed editorial entitled "This government at the head of state affairs!?" published in Iranian newspaper Aftab-e Yazd website on 29 November One of the statements of the late leader of the revolution, still cited from time to...

Russian envoy says new hope for compromise after latest meeting with NATO chief.
December 1, 2009... Text of report by corporate-owned Russian news agency Interfax Brussels, 1 December: Russia's permanent representative at NATO, Dmitriy Rogozin, has said that he met NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Tuesday [1 December] evening...

Iran president dismisses military attack against nuclear installations.
December 1, 2009... Speaking live on state-run Iranian TV channel one, Iran President, Mahmud Ahmadinezhad, has dismissed possible military attacks on Iran's nuclear installations saying: "Any hand that goes on the trigger will be cut off". The president was...

Afghan paper says Pakistan opposes troops surge in Afghanistan.
December 1, 2009... Text of article, "Pakistan's fear of troops build-up in Afghanistan" by Afghan independent secular daily newspaper Hasht-e Sobh on 1 December As US President Barack Obama is set to announce his new Afghanistan war strategy, the Pakistani...

Britain of tainted the "tranquillity" of the nuclear talks - Iran president.
December 1, 2009... Speaking during a live televised interview on Iranian state television channel one, Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinezhad accused Britain of tainting the "tranquillity" of the nuclear talks. He said: "Some countries and governments were...

Belarusian president upbeat about CIS customs union, EU cooperation prospects.
December 1, 2009... Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has said that all problems within the Customs Union of Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan have been taken into account, the Belarusian Radio has reported. He said that the union would help protect domestic...

Ahmadinezhad says Iran to produce own nuclear fuel.
December 1, 2009... Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinezhad has said Iran will build its own 20-per cent enriched uranium if the International Atomic Energy Agency does not provide it with the nuclear fuel that it needs for its Tehran reactor. In a live television...

Afghan paper says announcement of any exit strategy by US untimely.
December 1, 2009... Excerpt from editorial entitled: "Exit strategy prior to victory" by Afghan independent secular daily newspaper Hasht-e Sobh on 1 December While the US President Barrack Obama has reviewed his war strategy in Afghanistan and while he is going...

Russian patrol ship heading for Atlantic after repairs.
December 1, 2009... Text of report in English by corporate-owned Russian military news agency Interfax-AVN website Kaliningrad, 30 November: The Neustrashimyy patrol ship of the Russian Baltic Fleet has started an Atlantic voyage. It may fight the sea pirates...

Complaint on Russian president's blog to influence anti-drugs strategy.
December 1, 2009... Text of report by Russian state news agency RIA Novosti Moscow, 1 December: The results of an inspection into cases reported in a comment by a Live Journal user on the Russian president's blog will be taken into account when the strategy of...

One NATO Division Worth Three Russian Divisions - Duma MP
December 1, 2009... Text of report by corporate-owned Russian military news agency Interfax-AVN website Moscow, 30 November: In terms of their combat efficiency, three Russian divisions would be inferior to one modern division of NATO, State Duma deputy and...

Moldovan police did nothing to prevent post-election riots - minister.
December 1, 2009... Text of report by Moldovan news agency Infotag Chisinau, 1 December: The Interior Ministry's former leadership has taken no measures to prevent the 7 April violent actions in the centre of Chisinau [post-election mass protest rallies followed...

Al-Arabiya says Mauritanian army "close" to pickup hostages.
December 1, 2009... In two "urgent" screen captions aired at 1939 gmt, Al-Arabiya reported the following: "Al-Arabiya's reporter: Mauritanian army close to recover Spanish hostages", "Kidnappers abandon hostages in desert area north of Mauritania." Source:...

US inspectors leave Russian plant producing strategic missiles.
December 1, 2009... Excerpt from report by corporate-owned Russian military news agency Interfax-AVN website Moscow, 1 December: US inspectors are ending their mission at the restricted-access Votkinsk plant in Udmurtia, where Topol-M and Bulava strategic...

Russia slams Georgia's refusal to grant entry to two scholars.
December 1, 2009... Text of report by Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs website on 1 December Press Release In connection with the refusal to grant Russian scientists entry to Tbilisi 1834-01-12-2009 The actions of the Georgian authorities have...

Iran president discounts possibility of new sanctions.
December 1, 2009... Speaking during a live televised interview on Iranian state television channel one, Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinezhad made light of possible new sanctions and that he did not think there would be any new sanctions. He said: "They threw...

(CORR) Britain tainted "tranquillity" of nuclear talks - Iran president.
December 1, 2009... [Correcting headline to Britain tainted "tranquillity" of nuclear talks - Iran president.] Speaking during a live televised interview on Iranian state television channel one, Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinezhad accused Britain of tainting...

Russian Defence Ministry in legal dispute over air navigation services debt.
December 1, 2009... Excerpt from report by Russian state news agency RIA Novosti Moscow, 1 December: The Russian Defence Ministry's debts to the state air traffic management corporation for air navigation services currently stand at more than R300m [10.3m...

Ahmadinezhad says Iran not obliged to inform UN nuclear agency of new sites.
December 1, 2009... Speaking about Iran's recent announcement that it is planning to build 10 new nuclear enrichment sites and how some analysts have said that this is an impossible task, President Mahmud Ahmadinezhad said: "You see, when we announced that we had...

Moroccan journalists abroad worried about press freedom at home.
December 1, 2009... Text of report by Boualam Ghabchi, from Paris, headlined "Moroccan journalists abroad concerned about press freedom in Morocco", published by Moroccan privately-owned newspaper Assabah website on 1 December In a statement, a copy of which was...

St Lucia re-affirms commitment to Taiwan.
December 1, 2009... Text of report by Caribbean Media Corporation news agency website on 1 December Castries, St Lucia: The St Lucia government Tuesday said it was pleased with the contributions made by Taiwan to the socio-economic development of the island. ...

Algerian security forces arrest two "terrorists" in Algiers paper.
December 1, 2009... Text of report by Madjid T. headlined "Two Terrorists arrested in Algiers: After the surrender of two of their henchmen", published by privately-owned Algerian newspaper Liberte website on 1 December Acting on intelligence, in recent days the...

Algerian minister delivers Bouteflika's message to Mauritanian president.
December 1, 2009... The Algerian Minister-delegate for African and Maghreb Affairs, Abdelkader Messahel was received by the Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz. Messahel delivered a personal message from President Bouteflika to his Mauritanian counterpart...

Paper asks US to stop neighbouring countries from interfering in Afghan affairs.
December 1, 2009... Text of editorial entitled: "Second military strategy!" by privately-owned Afghan newspaper Rah-e Nejat on 1 December Today the people of the world, particularly the Afghans, are waiting for US President Barack Obama's new Afghanistan war...

Health official confirms 84 swine flu cases, one dead in Libya.
December 1, 2009... Libya's secretary of the National Centre for Prevention and Combat of Contagious and Endemic Diseases told Libyan TV on 1 December that so far 84 cases of swine flu have been confirmed in Libya and one of those infected has died. The official...

Tunisians from Guantanamo arrive to face charges in Italy.
December 1, 2009... Text of report by Italian privately-owned centrist newspaper La Stampa website, on 1 December [Report by Paolo Colonnello: "Obama Sends Two Tunisians to Italy"] Milan - Riad Nasri (also known as Abu Dujana) and Abdel Ben Mabruk, two...

Ahmadinezhad says Russia "made mistake" over IAEA Iran vote.
December 1, 2009... Speaking live on state-run Iranian TV channel one, Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinezhad said that Russia had made an error in voting against Iran in the 27 November resolution at the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency....

Moscow satisfied with progress in drafting new Russia-EU agreement - envoy.
December 1, 2009... Excerpt from report by Russian state news agency RIA Novosti Paris, 1 December: Russia is satisfied with the pace of the preparation of a new framework agreement between the Russian Federation and the EU, Russia's permanent representative to...

Serbian minister meets US counterpart, says Biden's visit demonstrated "respect".
December 1, 2009... Text of report by Serbian Studio B TV [Presenter] Defence Minister Dragan Sutanovac has met his colleague, Robert Gates, in Washington. He assessed that the meeting had been one of the most significant since he was at the helm of the...

Iran: Critics of Geneva negotiations are misguided, say senior figures.
December 1, 2009... Text of interview with experts headlined Studying some criticisms of the Geneva talks: Some insiders are showing lack of taste published by Iranian newspaper Siyasat-e Ruz on 24 November After the Geneva Talks 2 and the [media] uproar which...

USA won't succeed in Afghanistan unless it tackles heroin problem, says Russia.
December 1, 2009... Excerpt from report by corporate-owned Russian news agency Interfax Moscow, 1 December: In the opinion of Russian special services, the USA, which is building up its military grouping in Afghanistan, should give this grouping a wide mandate...

Politicians urge Moroccan king to block Saharan activist's return.
December 1, 2009... On King Mohammed VI's orders, Minister of Foreign Affairs Taieb El Fassi Fihri held a meeting today in Rabat to discuss the case of the Western Saharan activist Aminatou Haidar with leaders of national political parties, Moroccan TV reported on...

Iran daily urges political unity, "sympathy," public support for regime survival.
December 1, 2009... Text of editorial entitled "This is our need today" published in Iranian newspaper Jomhuri-ye Eslami on 30 November In the Name of God the Merciful and Compassionate The condition for the continued existence of any phenomenon is the...

Iran: Daily warns of far-reaching regional consequences of Yemen crisis.
December 1, 2009... Text of commentary by International Desk headlined "Moving on the razor-sharp edge of Yemen war" published by Iranian newspaper Iran website on 25 November At the present, with the war that has got under way in northern Yemen against the...

Iranian navy commander says Iran able to repulse all threats.
December 1, 2009... Text of interview with Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, the commander of army's marine forces, by Fatemeh Amiri headlined "We will not allow any violation of sea borders of the country" published by Iranian newspaper Jam-e Jam on 01 December 2009 ...