Paris- France (PANA) -- One hundred media professionals were at some point deprived of their freedom in Africa during the year 2002, according to a press freedom watchdog Tuesday. Full text...

Cotonou- Benin (PANA) -- Violations of the right to information is commonplace in Benin, journalist Denis Louis Akpoue charges in a research study at the Law Faculty of Abomey-Calavi University here. Full text...

Cotonou- Benin (PANA) -- Hundreds of people Saturday flocked to the Saint Michel Cathedral in Cotonou to pay tribute to the late Nigerian journalist Akintola Fatoyinbo who passed away 1 December in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Full text...

Conakry- Guinea (PANA) -- The Guinean judge hearing a libel case against Boubacar Yacine Diallo, the editor of a bi-monthly paper, L'Enqueteur on Friday ordered him to find new advocates when he appears again on 7 January after his five defence lawyers withdrew in protest Friday. Full text...

Harare- Zimbabwe (PANA) -- Geoffrey Nyarota, the sacked editor of Zimbabwe's lone private newspaper, the Daily News alleged Friday that the government was behind his dismissal earlier this week. Full text...

Conakry- Guinea (PANA) -- Lawyers representing Guinean journalist Boubacar Yacine Diallo in a libel suit have protested against his continued detention following the adjournment of the case to 31 January. Full text...

Lome- Togo (PANA) -- Togolese security forces on Thursday seized in Lome copies of the privately-owned weekly "Le Courrier du Citoyen", according news vendors and distributors here. Full text...

Lome- Togo (PANA) -- Police in Lome are detaining the director of the weekly "Le Courrier du citoyen", Sylvestre Djahlin Nicoué, most likely over an article alerting citizens to Togolese President Gnassingbe Eyadema's protracted rule, press associations sources said here. Full text...

Harare- Zimbabwe (PANA) -- Zimbabwe's Daily News, Monday sacked its Editor, Geoffrey Nyarota, a week after the paper was forced to tender an embarrassing apology for running a false story. Full text...

Yaounde- Cameroon (PANA) -- Cameroon's first private television station went on air Monday, following through its creed to fight against corruption in the country. Full text...

Khartoum- Sudan (PANA) -- Sudanese security officers Saturday night closed the Al-Watan (Nation) daily newspaper allegedly "in order to protect public safety". Full text...

Khartoum- Sudan (PANA) -- Sudanese Radio and TV Public Corporation is laying off 50 percent of its 2,800 staff as part of the re-structuring at the State-run broadcasting stations. Full text...

Brussels- Belgium (PANA) -- The European Union (EU) has disbursed 400,000 euro to finance efforts by the African Union (AU) to mediate peace in the Central African Republic (CAR), sources in Brussels indicated Thursday. Full text...

Lagos- Nigeria (PANA) -- Nigerians were Thursday tuning to their radio and television sets for news with most of the country's numerous newspapers off the streets, because of the Christmas celebrations. Full text...

Bissau- Guinea-Bissau (PANA) -- A Portuguese delegation including representatives of government and the State Radio and Television (RTP), is expected to visit Bissau soon, to try and end a row over recent suspension of RTP programmes and expulsion of the station's correspondent from Guinea Bissau, official sources said Tuesday. Full text...

Maputo- Mozambique (PANA) -- A Mozambican environmental NGO, Livaningo, has announced the creation of an annual "Carlos Cardoso Prize" for investigative journalism, named in honour of the country's top investigative journalist who was murdered on 22 November 2000. Full text...

Lusaka- Zambia (PANA) -- Three members of Zambia's opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) appeared before a Lusaka Magistrate's Court Tuesday on charges of murdering a local freelance journalist Charles Lwiindi. Full text...

Cotonou- Benin (PANA) -- The Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) has instituted an African Journalism Prize in honour of Nigerian journalist Akintola Fatoyinbo, who died of heart attack in Dar es Salaam, Tanzanian 1 December. Full text...

Monrovia- Liberia (PANA) -- Newsstands in the Liberian capital experienced a drought Monday as the country's sole newspaper printers failed to produce newspapers, blaming "technical reasons. Full text...

Paris- France (PANA) -- Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Foreign Minister Leonard She Okitundi has appealed to France to mediate in the dispute between his country and Libya following Tripoli's delivery military hardware to Jean-Pierre Bemba's rebel Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC). Full text...

Nairobi- Kenya (PANA) -- The Kenyan media came under scrutiny Tuesday after an official of the Commonwealth accused it of biased coverage and reporting of events leading to the 27 December general elections in the country. Full text...

Dakar- Senegal (PANA) -- New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on rebel authorities in eastern DR Congo to immediately lift the ban on private Radio Maendeleo. Full text...

Monrovia- Liberia (PANA) -- The Liberian government during the week came under a barrage of condemnations for literally "expelling" journalist Hassan Bility after it released him for over five months of detention without charge or trial. Full text...

Nairobi- Kenya (PANA) -- Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi Thursday accused the Western media for perceptually depicting Africa as being in a permanent state of chaos. Full text...

Bissau- Guinea Bissau (PANA) -- Lisbon plans to protest to the government of Guinea-Bissau against the expulsion of RTP correspondent from Bissau, according to Portuguese Foreign Minister Antonio Martins da Cruz. Full text...

Paris- France (PANA) -- The unresolved murder of Burkinabe journalist Nobert Zongo in 1998 has raised the ire of media watch group Reporters Sans Frontierès (RSF), which is urging the UN to step in and dig into the matter. Full text...

Lagos- Nigeria (PANA) -- The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) Tuesday opened a condolence register as part of programmes in honour of Akintola Fatoyinbo, a Senior Communication Specialist of the World Bank, who died while on a mission in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 1 December. Full text...

Niamey- Niger (PANA) -- This year's workshop for broadcast professionals within the Francophonie (SERFOR) has been slated for 13-18 December in Niamey, officials in the Niger capital confirmed Sunday. Full text...

Lusaka- Zambia (PANA) -- The Zambian parliament on Friday unanimously passed a law paving the way for journalists to access information on issues that are of public interest in the transactions of business in government departments and private enterprises. Full text...

Johannesburg- South Africa (PANA) -- The Nigerian group ThisDay (Pty) Ltd, which is on the verge of launching a national daily in South Africa early next year, announced Thursday that it had purchased a local company CNA Entertainment, comprising 71 retail stores. Full text...

Cotonou- Benin (PANA) -- Nigerian journalist Akin Fatoyinbo who died of heart attack Sunday in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, will be buried 14 December in his home country, it was learnt here Wednesday. Full text...

Harare- Zimbabwe (PANA) -- Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ) President Mathew Takaona, said Wednesday that the profession was equally vulnerable to AIDS, and called for greater openness about the pandemic. Full text...

Monrovia- Liberia (PANA) -- US Ambassador to Liberia, John Blaney said Wednesday that "peace, political freedom and justice, as well as freedom of communication and creativity," were some of the hallmarks of democratic and successful societies. Full text...

Lagos- Nigeria (PANA) -- A previously unknown Nigerian Muslim group has threatened to kill 16 Christian journalists working for the private ThisDay newspaper, over its recent article that triggered bloody sectarian riots in the north of the country. Full text...

Dar es Salaam- Tanzania (PANA) -- Nigerian veteran journalist and communications adviser with the World Bank, Akin Fatoyinbo, died of heart attack here Sunday while preparing the Eighth Conference of African Ministers of Education (MINEDAF VIII). Full text...

Lagos- Nigeria (PANA) -- Tennis Africa, a sports magazine that seeks to expose and empower African and black players in the Diaspora, has hit the newsstands in Nigeria. Full text...

Moroni- Comoros (PANA) -- Comoros Radio and Television Corporation (ORTC) director Fatuma Mohamed Toilal Elyas has resigned from her post with effect from Monday night. Full text...

Lagos- Nigeria (PANA) -- Nigerian state security officials have arrested an Editor of the private ThisDay newspaper, Simon Kolawole, over a controversial article that sparked off bloody Muslim riots in Nigeria's cities of Kaduna and Abuja, the local media reported Saturday. Full text...

Bamako- Mali (PANA) -- Some 30 Malian journalists started Friday in Bamako a workshop aimed at familiarising them with the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA). Full text...

Paris- France (PANA) -- A Paris-based media pressure group, Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF) Thursday urged Nigerian authorities to take clear steps toward the protection of journalists and guarantee press freedom. Full text...

Nairobi- Kenya (PANA) -- More than 100 journalists from 22 English-speaking African countries began a meeting in Nairobi Thursday on food security and sustainable development on the continent. Full text...

Bujumbura- Burundi (PANA) -- Burundi had its eighth private radio station on airwaves Monday sponsored by an American non- governmental organisation known as 'Search for common ground'. Full text...

Dakar- Senegal (PANA) -- Eritrean journalist Fesshaye Yohannes, is among four writers to be honoured by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), at the 12th Annual International Press Freedom Awards ceremony 26 November. Full text...

Saint Denis- Reunion (PANA) -- Readers in Madagscar have a new weekly magazine called Mada Journal, specialising in economics. Full text...

Lagos- Nigeria (PANA) -- Governor Joshua Dariye of Nigeria's central Plateau State has threatened to declare as "personae non-grata" journalists in the state who write "negative reports" on the lingering sectarian and ethnic violence in the state, press reports said Sunday. Full text...

Cotonou- Benin (PANA) -- Benin's 21st daily, L'événement du jour, appeared on newsstands Wednesday stating its mission as providing impartial information regardless of the embarrassment it may cause to some readers. Full text...

Lusaka- Zambia (PANA) -- Zambian National Assembly Speaker Amusaa Mwanamwambwa Tuesday blocked a private motion on three bills intended to promote press freedom in the country. Full text...

Rabat- Morocco (PANA) -- Moroccan researcher, Jamal Eddine Naji has published a handbook on ethics for the media and journalists in the Magrheb. Full text...

Blantyre- Malawi (PANA) -- A Malawi member of parliament, Fidson Chisesere, Wednesday afternoon allegedly beat up a journalist in the corridors of the country's National Assembly building in the capital Lilongwe. Full text...

Mbabane- Swaziland (PANA) -- A journalist working for the state owned newspaper, The Swazi Observer, was stabbed to death by unknown assailants while he was on his way home from work Wednesday night in Mbabane, Swaziland's capital. Full text...