BBC Monitoring International Reports articles from February 2002, page 12

BBC Monitoring International Reports archives from February 2002

Ukraine: Opposition bloc says government disrupting its campaign.
February 27, 2002... Kiev, 27 February: The youth campaign headquarters of the [opposition] Yuliya Tymoshenko bloc in Kiev were smashed into and office equipment was destroyed on the night of 26 February, the bloc's campaign chief Oleksandr Turchynov has told...

Kazakh, Mongolian rail officials to discuss new line.
February 27, 2002... Text of report by Kazakh Commercial TV on 27 February Kazakhstan is ready to build a railway line to Mongolia. A delegation of officials from Kazakhstan's railways will leave for the Mongolian capital, Ulaanbaatar, on 1 March in order to...

Turkey will not see another economic crisis like in February 2001 - minister.
February 27, 2002... Text of report in English by Turkish news agency Anatolia Ankara, 27 February: State Minister Kemal Dervis for Economy said on Wednesday [27 February] that Turkey would not experience February 2001 economic crisis once again. ...

Over 0.5 kg of heroin seized from Tajik court bailiff.
February 27, 2002... Text of report by Tajik television on 27 February Staff at the Drug Control Agency under the Tajik president have arrested a bailiff of one of the Dushanbe district courts. Exploiting his official position, he was involved in stealing and...

Hungarian parliament approves decision to bid for 2012 Olympic Games.
February 27, 2002... Text of report by Hungarian radio on 26 February The Hungarian parliament supports the [government] intention to bid for the organization of the 2012 Olympic Games. At its last session before the elections [due on 7 and 21 April],...

Ukrainian president blames Crimean scandal on imperfect court system.
February 27, 2002... Odessa, 27 February: Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma has said that the poor state of the Ukrainian court system, "where a judge rules, but a district court becomes the an institution with a final say" has led to the latest developments in...

Sharon urges Israelis to show no "weakness" and "confound" enemy plans.
February 27, 2002... [Studio Presenter Ron Nesi'el] Prime Minister Ariel Sharon says that Israeli society must foil and destroy the enemy's plans. Sharon was speaking at the inauguration of the new Ashdod flyover. Our correspondent Ido Tandovsky is at the...

Angolan president pledges to secure cease-fire.
February 27, 2002... Text of report by Radio Mozambique on 27 February The latest developments in Angola featured high on the agenda of the Afro-American summit involving Presidents George Bush of the USA, Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique, Jose Eduardo dos...

Danish PM tells Lithuanian counterpart to shut down nuclear power plant.
February 27, 2002... Text of report in English by Baltic news agency BNS Vilnius, 27 February: Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen told Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Brazauskas that Lithuania must make a firm pledge to close Lithuania's Ignalina...

Briton arrested at Helsinki Airport.
February 27, 2002... Text of report in English by Radio Sweden text web site on 27 February It's been reported that a British citizen was recently arrested at Helsinki airport after acting violently and talking about terrorist connections. According to...

Pro-Taiwan independence group asks Bush to abandon Shanghai Communique.
February 27, 2002... Text of report by Flor Wang; carried in English by Taiwanese Central News Agency web site Taipei, 27 February: A pro-Taiwan independence group issued an open letter in Taipei Wednesday [27 February], urging US President George W. Bush...

Lithuanian leader adamant on keeping nuclear plant despite EU pressure.
February 27, 2002... Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus has reinforced his 26 February statement on nuclear energy, saying that Lithuania must not decommission its Ignalina nuclear power plant and should consider modernizing it instead. Adamkus also said that...

German cabinet agrees financing of Galileo satellite project.
February 27, 2002... Berlin: Progress has been made concerning the realization of the European Galileo satellite navigation project. Open questions concerning the financing of the project were clarified by the cabinet today, Transport Minister Kurt Bodewig said...

Bulgarian president addresses Macedonian Assembly, urges cooperation.
February 27, 2002... Bulgaria's President Georgi Purvanov has become the first Bulgarian president to address the Macedonian Assembly. Purvanov promised that Bulgaria would continue to cooperate actively with Macedonia. He said that Bulgaria was interested in...

Taiwan approves electronics indirect investment projects in mainland.
February 27, 2002... Text of report by Elisa Kao; carried in English by Taiwanese Central News Agency web site Taipei, 27 February: The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) Wednesday [27 February] approved 15 local indirect investment projects in mainland...

Three French fighters land at Kyrgyz airport, more set to arrive.
February 27, 2002... Text of report by Kyrgyz public educational TV on 27 February [Presenter] Three French Mirage-2000 D bomber fighters and one support plane landed at Manas international airport today. They were sent to Kyrgyzstan from France. They...

Russian expert warns USA of possible casualties in Georgia.
February 27, 2002... Text of report in English by Russian news agency Interfax Moscow, 27 February: If US units become involved in any operations in Georgia's Pankisi gorge, Russia will have some serious questions to ask, a senior Russian expert told the...

Foreign Ministry official stresses value of new Russian-US arms agreements.
February 27, 2002... Text of report by Russian news agency ITAR-TASS Moscow, 27 February: Moscow and Washington "have reached a single understanding that the treaty on reducing strategic offensive weapons will be of a legally binding nature". Aleksandr...

Russian defence minister says US bases in Central Asia temporary.
February 27, 2002... [Presenter] At last the Russian Defence Ministry has responded to the reports alleging that US special forces may be dispatched to Georgia. Defence Minister Sergey Ivanov, who is chairing a meeting of the CIS defence ministers, called for...

Visiting Palau president reaffirms support for Taiwan's UN bid.
February 27, 2002... Text of report by Sofia Wu; carried in English by Taiwanese Central News Agency web site Taipei, 27 February: President Chen Shui-bian presided over a ceremony Wednesday [27 February] to welcome Palau President Tommy E. Remengesau, Jr.,...

Uzbekistan to close five rice mills due to water shortage.
February 27, 2002... Text of report in English by Uzbek UzReport.com web site on 27 February The Uzbek Cabinet of Ministers has adopted a decision to close five of the seventeen rice treatment factories, which are integrated into the Uzbekkhlebprodukt...

Yeltsin "alarmed" at state of freedom of speech in Russia.
February 27, 2002... Text of report in English by Russian news agency Interfax Moscow, 27 February: The first Russian president, Boris Yeltsin, received the leader of the Union of Right Forces, Boris Nemtsov, at his country home in Barvikha-3 near Moscow on...

US thinks its companies being discriminated against by Kazakhstan - TV.
February 27, 2002... Text of report by Kazakh Commercial TV on 27 February The USA believes that Kazakh-US companies, particularly oil companies, are being discriminated against. The special advisor to the US president and secretary of state for Caspian...

Mideast: Palestinian official outlines reasons for continuation of violence.
February 27, 2002... Text of report by Palestinian radio Voice of Palestine on 27 February Colonel Jibril al-Rujub, head of the Preventive Security Service in the West Bank govenorates, has said that there are four reasons for the continuation of violence....

Taiwan: Legislature head criticizes decision on Mongolian status.
February 27, 2002... Text of report by Deborah Kuo; carried in English by Taiwanese Central News Agency web site Taipei, 27 February: The cabinet's decision to alter Mongolia's status may involve changing the boundaries of the Republic of China's [ROC]...

Nigeria: US bomb experts begin clean-up explosions site.
February 27, 2002... As Nigerians mark one month after the sad events of Sunday 27 January, which led to death of about 700 people and displacement of thousands of others, areas within 500-metre radius of Ikeja Military Cantonment, scene of the devastating bomb...

Armenian Republican Party to run in 2003 polls alone - faction head.
February 27, 2002... Text of report by Armenian news agency Noyan Tapan Yerevan, 26 February: Political forces united in the "Constitutional Six" are not opposed to a presidential version of the Constitution, but to the president himself, thus hoping to gain...

Vietnamese president, Chinese couterpart agree to "help and tolerate" each other.
February 27, 2002... Chinese President Jiang Zemin and Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong have signed two accords in Hanoi on a Chinese preferential loan and on economic and technical cooperation. The Chinese leader highlighted five areas for "all-round...

Denmark to back Baltic states' admission to NATO, PM tells Lithuania.
February 27, 2002... Vilnius, 27 February: Denmark supports "ambitious enlargement" for NATO to include the three Baltic states during the coming summit meeting in Prague this November, Danish PM Anders Fogh Rasmussen told a press conference in Vilnius after...

Moldovan state journalists formulate anti-censorship demands.
February 27, 2002... Text of report in English by Moldovan news agency Basapress [No dateline as received] Protesting journalists from National Television wrote on Wednesday [27 February] "immediate" and "strategic" demands that would be handed over to the...

Angolan president optimistic about future peace.
February 27, 2002... Text of report by Angolan government radio on 26 February The summit at the White House is over. On the line from Washington, is our correspondent Alberto de Sousa: [Sousa] This has been a very positive summit. The four presidents...

Estonian parliament endorses sending peacekeepers to Kyrgyzstan.
February 27, 2002... Text of report in English by Baltic news agency BNS Tallinn, 27 February: The Estonian parliament sanctioned on Wednesday [27 February] the dispatch of up to 15 members of the defence forces to take part in the US-led international...

Switzerland widens investigation into former Peruvian intelligence chief.
February 27, 2002... Zurich's district attorney, Cornelia Cova, has revealed that more money than previously thought could be held in Swiss bank accounts in connection with the former head of Peru's intelligence service, Vladimiro Montesinos. Cova made her...

Nigeria: Four persons feared dead in Delta State communal clash.
February 27, 2002... Uwheru, Delta: No fewer than four persons have so far lost their lives and property worth millions of naira destroyed in a bloody clash between two quarters in Uwheru community in Ughelli North local government council of Delta State. ...

Russian minister keen to find compromise on Europe flight restrictions.
February 27, 2002... Text of report in English by Russian news agency Interfax Moscow, 27 February: The next round of talks on the restriction of flights of outdated aircraft to Europe as of 1 April will be held on 4-7 March, [Russian] Transport Minister...

Belgian daily reports 73rd case of mad cow disease since 1997.
February 27, 2002... Text of report by Belgian newspaper De Standaard web site on 27 February The eighth case of mad cow disease since the beginning of this year has been discovered in Torhout. The animal came from Frans Warmoes' dairy farm located in...

Azeris studying Greek military cooperation proposal - Greek envoy.
February 27, 2002... Text of report by Azerbaijani news agency Trend Baku, 27 February, Trend correspondent F. Mammadova: About 10 Azerbaijani-Greek intergovernmental agreements are planned to be signed this year, Greek ambassador to Azerbaijan, Mercourios...

Iranian official discusses parliamentary cooperation with Egyptian envoy.
February 27, 2002... Text of report in English by Iranian news agency IRNA Tehran, 27 February: Head of Egyptian Interest Section in Tehran Shawqi Isma'il and Member of Parliament's Presiding Board Hoseyn Hashemi on Wednesday [27 February] exchanged views on...

Czech troops load train bound for antiterror mission in Kuwait.
February 27, 2002... Text of report by Czech Radio on 27 February [Announcer] Czech troops are loading a secret freight train in Chrastava in the [north Bohemian] district of Liberec. The train is being loaded with [military] materiel for the antiterrorist...

Zimbabwe: President Mugabe castigates USA, Britain.
February 27, 2002... Text of report by Zimbabwean radio web site on 27 February The ruling ZANU-PF candidate for the March 9 and 10 presidential election, President Robert Mugabe, yesterday lashed out at Britain and the USA for condoning the assassination...

Northern Afghan governor meets head of Bakhtar News Agency.
February 27, 2002... Text of report by Afghan Balkh radio on 27 February Alhaj Mohammad Esaq Rahgozar, the governor of Balkh Province, and Mohammad Anwar Razaqyar, head of the general administration of Balkh Province, have had a meeting with Mohammad Yusuf...

Iran's envoy in Moscow says time ripe for expansion of trade ties.
February 27, 2002... Text of report in English by Iranian news agency IRNA Tehran, 27 February: Iran's Ambassador to Moscow Gholam Reza Shafe'i here on Wednesday [27 February] said ground is prepared for expansion of cooperation between Tehran and Moscow. ...

New chairman of Bosnian Council of Ministers, a Serb, to be elected 15 March.
February 27, 2002... Text of report by Bosnia-Hercegovina public radio on 27 February [Announcer] In order to prepare the election of the chairman of the Bosnia-Hercegovina Council of Ministers, a consulting session between the Bosnia-Hercegovina Presidency...

Russian military in Moscow Region face power cuts.
February 27, 2002... Text of report by Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta on 26 February Power cuts in military garrisons have now reached Moscow. The other day houses at the Chkalov garrison, which is part of Zvezdnyy Gorodok [the space flight centre and...

Armenia to gradually phase out foreign loans - economy minister.
February 27, 2002... Text of report by Armenian news agency Arminfo Yerevan, 26 February: In the event that trade relations with bordering countries are settled, Armenia's GDP will increase by at least 30 per cent, while its exports will double. Such a...

Progress possible if Israel complies with Palestinian demands, says security official.
February 27, 2002... At their meeting last night at the residence of US Ambassador Dan Kurtzer in Herzliyya, the Palestinians and Israelis agreed to continue the security meetings. The meeting was aimed at discussing ways to end the Israeli aggression inside...

Zimbabwean election commission condemns violence.
February 27, 2002... Text of report by Zimbabwean radio audio web site on 27 February The Electoral Supervisory Commission, ESC, has said while dialogue with any political party, the commission should be alerted to ensure their safety [sentence as heard]. The...

Army chief denies Milosevic using Yugoslav military archive in trial.
February 27, 2002... Text of report by Serbian independent news agency FoNet Belgrade, 27 February: Yugoslav Army Chief of General Staff Gen Nebojsa Pavkovic said today that it "certainly was not true" that [former Yugoslav President] Slobodan Milosevic was...

Afghan leader pledges to fight terrorism to end - Iran radio.
February 27, 2002... The head of the Afghan interim government has welcomed any kind of cooperation with the countries in the region in fighting terrorism. Following a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today, Mr Hamed Karzai said at a...

Arafat's adviser notes shift in US, Israeli tone as a result of Saudi initiative.
February 27, 2002... Text of report by Palestinian newspaper Al-Quds on 27 February Nabil Abu-Rudaynah, President Yasir Arafat's adviser, has said that for the first time in a long time it is possible to say that there is "political momentum" and that there...

Belgium cut military equipment spending in 2000, 2001.
February 27, 2002... Text of report by Belgian newspaper De Standaard web site on 27 February Brussels: The Belgian army's military equipment expenditures decrease from year to year, while The Netherlands and Luxembourg increased their 2001 budgets for...

Putin spells out priorities in Russia's Chechnya policy.
February 27, 2002... Text of report by Russian Public TV on 27 February [Presenter] Roughly an hour ago, a meeting of the Security Council began in the Kremlin under President Vladimir Putin's chairmanship. The meeting is examining the entire range of...

Bulgaria: Trade deficit in 2001 reported to be 1.6bn dollars.
February 27, 2002... Text of report in English by Bulgarian news agency BTA web site Sofia, 27 February: A trade deficit of nearly 1.6bn dollars was reported by the National Statistical Institute at a news conference on Wednesday [27 February]. Export...

UN secretary-general dismisses Swedish special advisor.
February 27, 2002... Text of report by Swedish radio Ekot web site on 27 February ABB's former chief executive Goeran Lindahl will leave his post as special advisor to United Nations' Secretary-General Kofi Annan because of the uproar about his pension...

Cuba: Highlights of Radio Rebelde news 1100 gmt 27 Feb 02.
February 27, 2002... Programme: "Doing Radio" newscast; Reception: good; monitored from Radio Rebelde Internet live stream; Duration of broadcast: 180 minutes 1. Castro calls for greater demands to be made of and awareness to be instilled in those...

Bosnian Serb premier's party to back constitutional changes conditionally.
February 27, 2002... Text of report by Bosnian Serb news agency SRNA Banja Luka, 26 February: The Party of Democratic Progress (PDP) of the [Bosnian] Serb Republic (RS) today stated that it would accept only those solutions of constitutional changes adopted...

Lawsuit against Armenian opposition journalist groundless - lawyers.
February 27, 2002... Text of report by Armenian news agency Arminfo Yerevan, 27 February: The lawsuit against Nikol Pashinyan, editor-in-chief of Aykakan Zhamanak newspaper, is invalid, Arminfo has learnt from Pashinyan's lawyers, Argishti Kiviryan and Lusine...

Kazakh expert slams decision to send peacekeeping mission to Afghanistan.
February 27, 2002... Text of report by Interfax-Kazakhstan news agency Almaty, 27 February: Kazakhstan does not need to hurry with a decision to send peacekeeping forces to Afghanistan, thinks the director of the republican [Kazakh] centre for foreign policy...

Turkey to be included in qualified zones agreement between Israel, USA.
February 27, 2002... Text of report in English by Turkish news agency Anatolia Ankara, 27 February: An agreement was reached in principle during the Turkey-United States Economic Partnership Commission meeting to include Turkey in the qualified industrial...

Palestinian president receives cable of best wishes from Egyptian president.
February 27, 2002... Text of report in English by Egyptian news agency MENA web site Ramallah, 27 February: Palestinian President Yasir Arafat received a cable of congratulations from Egyptian President Husni Mubarak on the occasion of Greater Bayram,...

Georgia, USA sign documents on military cooperation - Russian radio.
February 27, 2002... Text of report by Russian Mayak radio on 27 February US military have discussed prospects for cooperation with their Georgian counterparts. They signed several documents, but the meeting's participants refused to give any comments. The...

Senior Kyrgyz official upbeat about new Central Asian organization.
February 27, 2002... Text of report by Kyrgyz public educational TV on 27 February [Presenter] [Word missing] regional cooperation in Central Asia have changed. As a result, it has become a different alliance, which unites Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan...

First Swede in space.
February 27, 2002... Text of report in English by Radio Sweden text web site on 27 February After 10 years of waiting, Sweden's first astronaut is now scheduled for a flight into space. Forty-five-year-old Christer Fuglesang will become the first Swede to...

Afghan leader's Iran visit dashes interference claims - Iran radio.
February 27, 2002... Text of report by Iranian radio from Mashhad on 27 February A journalist in Tehran has said that the visit to Iran by the head of the interim Afghan government has dashed the claims of Iranian interference in Afghanistan's internal...

European funds to help with Estonian water and rubbish projects.
February 27, 2002... Tallinn, 27 February: Estonian Finance Minister Harri Ounapuu signed on Wednesday [27 February], within the framework of the ISPA aid programme, contracts worth nearly 275m kroons, which will go to the Tartu water management and Parnu rubbish...

Zimbabwe: Government assures South African, regional poll observers of security.
February 27, 2002... Text of report by Zimbabwean radio audio web site on 27 February Government has assured the SADC [Southern African Development Community] parliamentary forum observer mission of security as they undertake their duties before and after the...

Armenia to supply Georgia with power till 7 March - energy official.
February 27, 2002... Text of report by Armenian news agency Arminfo Yerevan, 26 February: ArmRosgazprom company will continue exporting electricity to Georgia until 7 March, General Director Karen Karapetyan told journalists today. Supplying Georgia may...

Hungarian Olympic bid becomes election campaign topic.
February 27, 2002... [Presenter] So far 500,000 people have signed the sheets collecting signatures for the organization of the 2012 Olympic Games in Budapest. The chairman of the Fidesz - Hungarian Civic Party [senior government coalition party] has said thanks...

Spokesman says Turkey conducts "comprehensive assessments" about ISAF command.
February 27, 2002... Text of report in English by Turkish news agency Anatolia Ankara, 27 February: Turkey has been making comprehensive assessments with countries participating in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan and with its...

SAfrica's Deputy President Zuma for Harare for talks with Zimbabwe's Mugabe.
February 27, 2002... Text of report by South African news agency SAPA web site on 27 February Deputy President Jacob Zuma is to leave Cape Town for Harare this evening for a meeting with President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and First Vice-President Simon...

Plan to send Hungarian MPs' goodwill mission to Visegrad states rejected.
February 27, 2002... Text of report by Hungarian radio on 27 February Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi has confirmed that Hungary does not wish to raise the issues of the [post-war Czechoslovak] Benes Decrees to the level of bilateral ties. At an...

Russia starts upgrading Mi-24 army helicopters.
February 27, 2002... Text of report in English by Russian AVN Military News Agency web site Moscow, 26 February: The Rostvertol company has started upgrading first Mi-24 Hind helicopters of the army aviation regular units, designer-general of the...

Croatian premier says situation serious after withdrawal of HSLS ministers.
February 27, 2002... Croatian Prime Minister Ivica Racan has said that the decision by the Croatian Social Liberal Party to withdraw its three ministers from the coalition government is "a serious situation for the government and for me as prime minister". Racan...

Austrian president says Vienna regards Khatami's visit as significant.
February 27, 2002... Text of report in English by Iranian news agency IRNA Vienna, 27 February: President of the Austrian National Council Heinz Fischer said on Wednesday [27 February] that Austria attaches significant importance to the upcoming visit of...

Russian, Kazakh premiers agree to lift anti-dumping steps during Moscow meeting.
February 27, 2002... Almaty, 27 February: Russia "unambiguously views" Kazakhstan as its strategic partner. Confirmation for this is "the agreement in principle" about the fact that "Russia is staying in Baykonur" that the sides have reached, the press...

French envoy praises Azeri Speaker's reaction to Chirac "insult" - agency.
February 27, 2002... Text of report by Azerbaijani news agency Turan Baku, 27 February: The French ambassador to Azerbaijan, Chantal Poiret, has voiced regret about yesterday's incident at the Milli Maclis [parliament] sitting devoted to the 10th anniversary...

Romania, Germany hold round of bilateral political-military consultations.
February 27, 2002... Text of report in English by Romanian news agency Rompres Bucharest, 27 February: Security and stability in Southeastern Europe represent an important concern both with Romania and Germany, concluded the Romanian and German delegations...

Russian radio station staff win bid for vacant FM frequency.
February 27, 2002... Text of report by Russian news agency RIA Moscow, 27 February, RIA-Novosti correspondent Yelizaveta Sviridova: The Arsenal radio station, which has been set up by the Ekho Moskvy radio station staff, has won a bid for the right to...

Russian Orthodox Church scathing about papal TV link plan.
February 27, 2002... Text of report in English by Russian news agency Interfax Moscow, 27 February: The Russian Orthodox Church has commented with sarcasm on the pope's upcoming virtual visit to Moscow in the form of a TV conference with parishioners of a...

Indonesian terrorist admits responsibility for Manila bombings on 30 Dec 2000.
February 27, 2002... Text of report by Philippines GMA television on 27 February Fathur Rohman Al-Ghozi has admitted that he is the mastermind behind the explosions in Metro Manila last 30 December 2000. In the second preliminary investigation earlier,...

Saudi daily urges US too "make changes in Israel".
February 27, 2002... Text of editorial by Saudi newspaper Al-Watan web site on 27 February The Americans have finally come to realize that the historic opportunity proposed by the crown prince to resolve the Middle East crisis and achieve permanent peace in...

Kidnapped Colombian presidential hopeful's candidacy to continue.
February 27, 2002... Presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt will take advantage of the protection offered by the law approved in December 2001, which allows aspiring candidates for public office who are being held by irregular groups to be elected to public...

Russian Senate cool about US military presence in Georgia.
February 27, 2002... Text of report in English by Russian news agency Interfax Moscow, 27 February: Russian Federation Council Chairman Sergey Mironov believes that the presence of US military advisers in Georgia does not contradict international norms and...

China-Vietnam ties viewed in light of Jiang visit.
February 27, 2002... Text of report by Vietnamese radio text web site on 26 February Chinese Party General Secretary and President Jiang Zemin arrives in Hanoi on 27 February for a three-day official visit to Vietnam at the invitation of Communist Party of...