BBC Monitoring News Diary for Monday 19 February 2007
Main stories at 0200 gmt
MIDEAST: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas meet in Jerusalem to discuss prospects for reviving peace process; yesterday Rice held separate talks with Olmert and Abbas (as available)
INDIA: Following developments after more than 60 people reported killed in fire on train in northern state of Haryana; train travelling from Delhi to Pakistan; Indian railway officials say sabotage has not been ruled out (as available)
Asia-Pacific
CHINA: Tenth anniversary of death of former leader Deng Xiaoping (Chinese news agency Xinhua)
PHILIPPINES: House of Representatives holds special two-day session to debate anti-terror bill; already ratified by Senate (- 20) (Philippine newspaper The Daily Tribune)
South Asia
INDIA: Following developments after more than 60 people reported killed in fire on train in northern state of Haryana; train travelling from Delhi to Pakistan; Indian railway officials say sabotage has not been ruled out (as available)
BANGLADESH: Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee meets President Iajuddin Ahmed to formally invite country’s leadership to South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit in New Delhi in April (Indian news agency PTI)
INDIA: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh launches Mahatma Gandhi Backward Regions Development Fund at Barpetta in Assam; fund designed to redress regional imbalances in development (Indian news agency PTI)
INDIA: Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn visits (-22); due to brief External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee (20) on opening of Luxembourg labour market and reforms to status of foreigners; curbs on movement of skilled Indian professionals to Europe have been sticking point in India-EU relations (Indian news agency PTI)
INDIA: Indonesian army chief of staff Gen Djoko Santoso visits for discussions with counterpart Gen J.J. Singh and Defence Minister A.K. Antony (-21) (Indian news agency PTI)
Former Soviet Union
TURKMENISTAN: Festivities to mark Flag Day, which coincides with birthday of late President Saparmyrat Nyyazow (1940-2006) (Turkmen sources)
TRANSCAUCASUS: German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, whose country holds EU’s rotating presidency, completes talks in Azerbaijan before heading on to Georgia (German Foreign Ministry website)
UKRAINE: Uzbek Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev visits to meet counterpart Viktor Yanukovych as part of meeting of intergovernmental cooperation commission (Interfax-Ukraine news agency)
RUSSIA: Russian Strategic Missile Troops Commander Col-Gen Nikolay Solovtsov gives news conference (Russian news agency Interfax)
RUSSIA: International conference aimed at altering Russians’ attitude towards NATO in Yekaterinburg; NATO representatives, heads of diplomatic missions in Yekaterinburg, Russian officials take part (Russian news agency Tatar-Inform)
Europe
FRANCE: Socialist presidential candidate Segolene Royal takes part in “J’ai une question a vous poser” political discussion programme on TF1 TV (1950 gmt) (TF1 website)
FRANCE: Parliament holds special congress in Versailles; constitutional amendments on death penalty, reform of judicial status of head of state to be considered (French news agency AFP)
FRANCE: Armenian President Robert Kocharyan continues visit (- 20); today holds working lunch with counterpart Jacques Chirac; France has been at forefront of efforts to persuade Turkey to recognize 1915-17 killings of Armenians under Ottoman empire as genocide (French news agency AFP)
POLAND: Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek visits (-20); due to meet counterpart Jaroslaw Kaczynski today and President Lech Kaczynski tomorrow (Polish news agency PAP)
BOSNIA-HERCEGOVINA: Slovene Prime Minister Janez Jansa visits (Slovene news agency STA)
POLAND: Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt visits for talks with counterpart Anna Fotyga (-20) (Polish news agency PAP)
TURKEY: Iranian Majlis (parliament) Speaker Gholamali Haddad – Adel continues visit ( -20) (Iranian news agency IRNA)
CYPRUS: “Environment: Survival and sustainability” conference at Near East University in self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (-24); Organization of the Islamic Conference Secretary- General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu addresses today’s opening ceremony (Turkish news agency Anatolia)
Middle East/North Africa
MIDEAST: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas meet in Jerusalem to discuss prospects for reviving peace process; yesterday Rice held separate talks with Olmert and Abbas (as available)
IRAN: Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) ground forces stage “Eghtedar” (“Might”) exercises in 16 provinces; 20 infantry and mechanized brigades involved (-21) (Iranian Fars news agency)
SYRIA: Trial begins of dissident writer Michel Kilo charged with inciting “religious and racial divisions”; charges brought after Kilo signed petition calling for improvement of relations with Lebanon (Regional sources)
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: IDEX 2007 international arms show continues in Abu Dhabi (-22) (Regional sources)
IRAN: Eighth Iran-Uzbekistan Joint Economic Commission in Tehran (-20) (Iranian news agency IRNA)
Sub-Saharan Africa
TANZANIA: Primates of worldwide Anglican Communion conclude meeting at Jangwani Beach, near Dar es Salaam, dominated by dispute over homosexual clergy (Official website)
MALAWI: Parliament reconvenes (Malawi newspaper The Nation)
Any queries, please call Planning on 0186099 (internal), +44 (0)118 9486099 (external)
Sources and trailers as available, inclusion of items does not necessarily mean that BBC Monitoring will file reports on them.
(c) 2007 BBC Monitoring Newsfile. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.