He added: "The hostile policies of Britain in connection with the peaceful nuclear activities of Iran have cast a very heavy shadow over the relations between the two countries, when London sponsored, co-sponsored or supported the issuance of three UN Security Council resolutions against our country. Speaking in an interview with ISNA [the Iranian Students News Agency], Safari added: "The move by Britain to remove the name of the terrorist organization of Monafeqin [hypocrites; reference to the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organisation, MKO] from the list of terrorist organizations, was among the latest hostile actions of the British government against the Islamic Republic of Iran. It is clear that in the history of the last half century or so, the previous statesmen of Britain had left a very negative performance record behind in terms of their relations with Iran, and the reality is that today, [the current British government] it is witnessing the negative consequences of those policies.

It seems, however, that the current statesmen of Britain have not learnt any lessons from the past, and they too are preparing the grounds for the emergence of a highly negative image in the minds of the future generations of Iran vis-à-vis relations with that European country.

Commenting on the current debates about the Qolhak Garden [British embassy summer park in northern Tehran], Safari said: "The issue of the legal ownership of the Qolhak Garden is currently being studied by the country's judiciary. The British government has embarked on a series of unlawful activities in the Qolhak Garden of Tehran, and the issue is now being pursued and investigated by the relevant organs. "

Source: Iran website, Tehran, in Persian 16 Oct 08

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MSCN stakeholders felt betrayed by the role that NCC has played so far because according to them, the commission embarked upon what was described as "a deliberate and systematic emasculation of the entire collective administration of the copyright sector through series of public statements and disclaimers in which both the MCSN and Performing and Mechanical Rights Society (PRMS) were referred to as unapproved and illegal organisations."

MCSN reportedly confronted the leadership of NCC for circumvention of the rule of law and abuse of state powers, "infringement of fundamental human and constitutional rights of Nigerians and systematic destruction of their legitimate businesses. In their quest for justice, MCSN approached the minister of justice and attorney general of the federation, Chief Michael Aondoakaa SAN. In their claims, this intervention did not prevent NCC from harassing and intimidating members of the stakeholders.

In the light of this development, MCSN and four other officials including the chairman, sued the NCC and five of its agents including the director general, Adebambo Adewopo for the enforcement of the fundamental human rights of MCSN and its officials. The Federal High Court granted the prayers of MCSN for the leave to enforce their fundamental rights with an order to stay any further action by NCC against MCSN and its officials.

In their response, the NCC and other defendants in the case filed a preliminary application before the court requesting the court to dismiss or strike out the case of MCSN because statutory notice was not given to NCC by MCSN and its officials before the commencement of the action. MCSN declared that the presiding judge, Justice D. D. Abutu, on July 7, 2008 dismissed the application and preliminary objection brought by the NCC and other five other applicants.

According to MCSN, NCC was not satisfied with this ruling and therefore attempted to woo Federal Government so as to clampdown on the society and its officials. Among other things, NCC allegedly invited and intimidated MCSN's licensees into "submitting to their (NCC's) investigations and obtaining information and evidence with a view to establishing criminal activities against MCSN, all with the overall aim at getting the court to lift order against them."

It was also reported that NCC conducted offshore investigation against MCSN in the United Kingdom and beyond with a view to getting answers and evidence with which to prove that MCSN is a criminal organisation. MCSN further claimed that NCC cajoled their licensees to discontinue the fulfillment of their contractual obligations to MCSN so as to close revenue streams of the society.

In this regard, MCSN regretted that a reputable commission like NCC which is supposed to be the custodian of information and security for the society could descend so low as to mar the image of its society abroad.

"It is sheer absurdity that while the Federal Government of Nigeria is spending colossal sums to launder the image of Nigeria and Nigerians, who are largely feared by the international community as fraudulent people, a government agency, the NCC, is found to be pushing this negative image against honest and hardworking institutions and Nigerians who are noted internationally for integrity," Wiliki said.

MCSN also declared that it was being rumoured that the NCC is behind the current speculation of the national leadership of PMAN to form a new collecting society "to create confusion and divert attention from the core problem of the industry."

Based on this development, MCSN on August 5, 2008, secured a ruling against the Compact Discs Technologies Limited, Nu Metro Media Stores, where the court dismissed its challenge of MCSN's ***locus standi***. Also in the same line, on July 8, 2008, the Court of Appeal again dismissed an appeal filed by the Performing and Mechanical Rights Society in an attempt to be joined as a party in one of the infringement actions brought by MCSN against a certain infringing company. The most recent development was the move by the Court of Appeal on Wednesday October 22, 2008, to strike out an appeal filed by Vee Networks Limited (VMobile/Zain Nigeria) against a ruling, which MCSN earlier secured against the company at the Federal High Court.

MCSN therefore advised PMAN to look before it leaps, especially in the issue of forming a new collecting society. They therefore seek for a quick intervention in this matter claiming that the future of the country is at stake if NCC could not be checked by the government that gives it the assignment within the time limit. It was claimed at the meeting that most of the GSM networks in Nigeria do not pay their tax in Nigeria. It was also observed that most of these networks download musics without paying royalties to the copyright owners claiming that they have paid in South Africa. These excesses, as observed was as a result of poor management of NCC as claimed, and selfish interest which ordinarily was described as unfortunate especially at a time when corruption is being seriously tackled in the polity.

In attendance at the press parley were the officials and members of the MCSN

including Zeb Ejiro, Tunde Kuboye among others.

He said that the film says nothing about the funds from sponsors and the local budget being used to tidy up the territory, to complete the reconstruction of the common grave of Russian soldiers and the Peter and Paul cathedral, worth a total of 400,000 hryvnyas, to renew redoubts, and to overhaul the first museum of the Poltava battle and all the related monuments.

[Passage omitted: more in the same vein]

The 300th anniversary of the Poltava battle will be celebrated on 27 June 2009. Many tourists are expected to arrive and an international research conference will be held. The Poltava battle is the turning point of the Northern War between the Russian army of Peter I and the Swedish army of Charles XII, held on 27 June (8 July) of 1709.

Source: Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian 1711 gmt 10 Nov 08

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Schauerte, who called on Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee last evening, suggested highlighting the positive points about the state, which would help to erase the negative image.

The German official also assured the state government of 'help' to mitigate the damage, but evaded a direct answer when asked how it could be done.

Stating that investment would depend upon individual investors, he said the sheer presence of 22 big-ticket engineering firms, by far the largest, at the ongoing International Mining & Machinery Exhibition proved that they were interested in doing business in the state.

Meanwhile, in the first six months of the current fiscal, Germany exported mining equipment worth euro 52 million to India, which should go up to euro 75-80 million by the end of the year, he said.

Germany's mining equipment export to India, however, showed some fluctuations over the last few years. It was euro 13 million in 2001, euro 8 million in 2005 and euro 61.7 million in 2007. Schauerte said that German mining equipment exporters expected to do more business in the coming days when India took up deeper mining of coal as it currently produces 85 per cent through the open-cast method.

Bilateral trade between the two countries was set to go past the euro 13 billion-mark in the current fiscal as compared to the euro 10 billion last year.

"We have the technology to go down to 1,700 mteres below the surface. India will need such technology once its dependence on open-cast mining reduces," he said.