ITV

Tag: Behrouz Afagh

  • BBC World Service closes down Tashkent office due to journalist safety concerns

    MUMBAI: BBC World Service has announced that its office in Tashkent is being suspended and all local staff withdrawn with immediate effect. The office will remain closed for at least six months pending a decision on its long-term future.

    BBC World Service Regional Head, Behrouz Afagh says, “We are doing this because of concerns over security. Over the past four months, since the unrest in Andijan, BBC staff in Uzbekistan have been subjected to a campaign of harassment and intimidation which has made it very difficult for them to report on events in the country.”

    In June, BBC World Service correspondent Monica Whitlock was forced to leave Tashkent under Government pressure. A further six BBC staff members in Uzbekistan have subsequently left the country after threats and harassment from the authorities. Two of them have now been granted refugee status by the United Nations.

    The decision affects the newsgathering operations of the BBC’s Uzbek, Russian, Kyrgyz and Kazakh Services. “BBC World Service remains committed to covering events in Uzbekistan, and its English language correspondents will continue to seek access to the country and to report on events there as and when they are granted visas.

    “The BBC has been based in Uzbekistan for ten years. We were the first and remain the only major international broadcaster to operate there. This reflects our deep commitment to Uzbekistan and our desire to report freely and fairly on all aspects of life in this important Central Asian country. We are confident that our reporters in Uzbekistan are operating to the highest standards of impartial and balanced journalism” added Afagh.

    The BBC says that it has had no response to a letter sent from BBC Deputy DG Mark Byford to Uzbek President Karimov. The Uzbek ambassador in London, Tukhtapulat Riskiev, has declined an invitation to discuss the issue with the World Service. He said he was unaware that the BBC was experiencing any problems in Uzbekistan.

    Afagh added, “We would welcome firm guarantees from the Uzbek authorities that all BBC staff will be allowed to continue to work without further Government condemnation and interference before we will consider reopening the bureau.”

  • BBC launches 24 hour FM station in Kabul

    BBC launches 24 hour FM station in Kabul

    MUMBAI: Radio listeners in Kabul can now hear BBC World Service programmes in English 24 hours a day thanks to the launch of a new FM station, BBC 101.6 FM.     

    The programmes broadcast on BBC 101.6 FM range from health and sport to business and music. Key programmes include Newshour, which offers news and analysis of the day’s top stories from around the globe. The World Today examines in detail the stories that make the headlines. Talking Point meanwhile enables listeners and internet users to put questions to leading international figures.
    BBC World Service head Eurasia Region Behrouz Afagh said, ” Thanks to this development, listeners in Kabul can now hear for the first time the full range of BBC programmes in English in crystal clear quality in addition to BBC programmes broadcast in Pashto, Persian and Uzbek through our other BBC FM stations.”
    BBC World Service is available globally on short wave; on FM in 139 capital cities; and selected programmes are carried on around 2,000 FM and MW radio stations around the world. BBC World Service claims that its websites receive around 280 million page impressions every month.

  • BBC World Service launches new service for Afghanistan

    BBC World Service launches new service for Afghanistan

    KABUL: BBC World Service has announced the launch of a new dedicated schedule of programming for Afghanistan. This features all the key languages of the country. It has also launched three more FM relays in the country.
     

    BBC World Service’s Eurasia Region head Behrouz Afagh was quoted in an official release saying, ” The BBC has broadcast news to Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and the Gulf – for 60 years in Persian and 20 years in the Pashto language. But this is the first time we have produced a dedicated schedule for Afghanistan itself incorporating the key languages.

    “This new schedule is an exciting and historic development for the BBC and Afghanistan. The BBC enjoys an unparalleled reach, and is widely listened to and respected by Afghans.”

    The new dedicated schedule features three hour blocks of new programming in the key languages of Afghanistan (Persian and Pashto; plus some English and Uzbek) at breakfast, lunchtime and the evening. The backbone of the new schedule will be domestic and international news.

    There will be a strong emphasis on discussion and interactive debate on civil society and democratic politics, particularly leading up to the Loya Jirgah. This is the Afghan Grand Assembly that decides on constitutional changes and takes place next month.