Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Nigerian non-governmental organization, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), has petitioned Ms Pansy Tlakula, the Commissioner and Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa, over the arrest of four journalists and other workers of the opposition Nation newspaper. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Four editors and three other officials of a Nigerian opposition newspaper, The Nation, were arrested and detained by the police Tuesday over a story carried by the newspaper on 4 Oct. Full text...

Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - A committee. to investigate press freedom violations since the 17 February revolution, has been set up in Libya, according to sources close to the Libyan Journalists Union. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) – Scores of civil society groups and members of the media in Nigeria Friday held a reception in honour of one of the country’s leading activists, Edetaen Ojo, who recently got an international award for his “outstanding role” in favour of “Freedom of Information” in Nigeria, PANA reports Sarturday. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Government's resolve to remove subsidy on fuel, arrest of former governors over corruption allegations, the warning strike by non-academic staff union of universities (NASU) and a rare medical feat overshadowed all other stories in Nigeria this week.Full text...

Accra, Ghana (PANA) – A one-day visit to Ghana by Ivorian president Alassane Ouattara, the 17th National Best Teacher Award and continuing arguments over a biometric voters’ register were some of the major news developments highlighted in the Ghanaian media this week. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - The Accra-based sub-regional media rights body, Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), on Friday condemned the Liberian authorities over the indefinite suspension of the head of the country's broadcasting system. Full text...

Blantyre, Malawi (PANA) -The election of Zambian veteran opposition leader Michael Sata and Malawi's attempts to win back Western donors dominated the Malawi media this week. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - The twin threats by the dreaded Boko Haram religious sect and the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) to attack celebrations marking the 51st independence anniversary and the one-week warning strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) continued the cycle of violence in Nigeria as reported in the media this week. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - A Sweden-based journalist has been publicly threatened in connection with her reporting on the case of Dawit Isaac, a Swedish-Eritrean journalist who has been imprisoned in Eritrea for a decade without charge, a statement issued by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and obtained by PANA here Tuesday said. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - Liberia on Monday urged the international community to place a greater focus on preventive diplomacy by using UN mediation mechanism, to avoid the escalation of crises around the world. Full text...

Accra, Ghana (PANA) - The 102nd birthday of Ghana’s first president and pan-Africanist, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and the continuing confrontation of former powerful First Lady Nana Konadu Agyema Rawlings were some of the stories played up in the Ghanaian media this week. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - A nationwide shutdown, planned by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in collaboration with pro-democracy groups over a number of issues, including the planned removal of oil subsidy by the Federal Government, privatization and the rising cost of living, as well as Boko Haram and the attendant violence, overshadowed all other stories in Nigeria this week. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan has called for the establishment of a UN conflict mediation commission to develop strategies for the resolution of disputes across the world. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - The African Union (AU) will Monday launch the Pan-African Media Network (PAMEN), whose platform, administered by the African Forum for Media Development, will function as a forum for exchange of information and practices among media professionals. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) - Representatives of United Nations agencies, programmes and funds, who met at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France, have drafted an Action Plan to improve the safety of journalists and tackle combat impunity of crimes against them. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - Authorities in Ethiopia arrested two independent journalists this week on accusations of involvement in a terrorism plot, according to the New York-based media watchdog, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Full text...

Blantyre, Malawi (PANA) - The continued stand-off between the Malawi Government and civil society organisations, which came to a head on 20 July with massive nationwide anti-government demonstrations that left at least 20 people dead, once again dominated the Malawi media this week. Full text...

Accra, Ghana (PANA) - The victory of Samia Yaba Nkrumah, the daughter of Dr Kwame Nrumah, the celebrated pan-Africanist who led Ghana to independence in 1957, as chairman of her father’s party and the 16th Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Awards night captured the headlines of newspapers this week. Full text...

Nouakchott, Mauritania (PANA) - The Supreme Press and Audiovisual Authority (HAPA) in Mauritania is inviting tenders fot the establishment of 5 private and commercial radio stations and 5 television channels". Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - US diplomatic cables disclosed last month by WikiLeaks cited an Ethiopian journalist by name and referred to his unnamed government source, forcing the journalist to flee the country after police interrogated him over the source’s identity, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said Wednesday. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - Authorities in the semi-autonomous republic of Somaliland are obstructing independent journalists from covering government politics, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said Monday, indicating that four reporters had been harassed and arrested while on assignment since early September. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The Committee to Protect Journalist (CPJ) says it is relieved that fighters loyal to the Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara relinquished control last week of offices belonging to newspaper publishers who supported ousted President Laurent Gbagbo, local journalists and news reports said. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) – Sunday’s arrival in France of Rwandan President Paul Kagame for a three-day official visit dominated the French press this week.Full text...

Accra, Ghana (PANA) - The publication of leaked US diplomatic cables by whistle blowing site Wikileaks, with damning comments of various politicians, and a tragedy on the Volta Lake occupied the attention of the Ghana media this week. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Government's plan to build three coal-powered stations, capable of generating 3,000 megawatts of electricity, and the discovery of a bomb-making factory highlighted newspaper reports in Nigeria this week. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) – The Accra-based sub-regional press freedom watchdog, Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), on Thursday welcomed lifting of the sanction against Jean Marie Ahoussou, the editor of “L’Inter,” a privately-owned Abidjan-based daily newspaper, by Ivorian authorities. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has condemned Ethiopia’s repeated use of sweeping terrorism laws to censor independent reporting. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - Angolan security forces attacked journalists covering an anti-government protest on Saturday in the capital, Luanda, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said, quoting news reports. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - Participants at the recently concluded All-African Conference held in Kigali, Rwanda, have called for “better representation" of women at all levels by setting up mechanisms such as a quota system. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - Ms. Margot Wallstrom, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, on Saturday welcomed a presidential pardon granted by the Sudanese authorities last week to local journalists prosecuted for reporting on cases of alleged rape. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - The Nigerian media were this week awash with reports of moves by the Federal government to end the cycle of violence in the country, especially after the suicide bombing of the United Nations House in Abuja, the second of such devastating attacks inside the federal capital territory, the seat of power, Full text...

Accra, Ghana (PANA) – A strike by heart surgeons and staff of the National Cardiothoracic Centre of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra and a major policy statement of the presidential candidate of the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akufo-Addo, were some of the stories that dominated the headlines in Ghana’s media this week. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - Authorities in Somalia’s semi-autonomous region of Puntland should conduct a thorough investigation into a grenade attack against a private radio station that left a security guard injured and the station damaged, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said Monday from its New York, US, base. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) - Tanzania’s dailies this week focused on the Parliament as it wound up debate on the government budget for 2011/12 fiscal year, in addition to developments in far-off Libya where the National Transitional Council forces were fighting to take over Tripoli, the capital. Full text...

Accra, Ghana (PANA) – Signs of the last kicks of a dying flagship housing project that had been heavily criticised by the opposition, the see-saw in Parliament of a huge Chinese loan to fund key infrastructural projects and the arrest of 15 officers of the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) were some of the stories that made the headlines in Ghana this week. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Friday's bombing of the imposing United Nations (UN) building in Abuja and the battle of Tripoli overshadowed all other stories in Nigeria this week.Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is disturbed by the continued violations of press freedom in Sudan, saying that In August, Sudanese security services confiscated two newspapers, and on Monday, local journalists reported that the Sudanese National Assembly was considering introducing more restrictive press and publication laws that would further suffocate freedom of expression. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - The Accra-based media rights body, Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), has confirmed the release of El Bechir Diallo, a freelance journalist who had been abducted in Guinea Conakry over the assassination attempt on President Alpha Condé. Full text...

Blantyre, Malawi (PANA) - The aborted 17 August vigil that was being organised by civil society to force President Bingu wa Mutharika to respond to demands of their 20 July demonstrations dominated the Malawi media this week. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) – Rising competition for land resources and the way land has been either acquired or allocated to some big guns in recent years attracted the attention of newspapers in Tanzania this week, with the state-owned Daily News, calling for revision of the country’s land policies. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - The war of words between former leaders Olusegun Obasanjo and Ibrahim Babangida (IBB), the battle between the two top judicial officers in the country and the successful launch of two satellites were the top stories in Nigeria this week. Full text...

Accra, Ghana (PANA) – A big goof by one of the most bitter critics of President John Evans Atta Mills and his ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and a controversial report by a reputable governance think-tank dominated the Ghanaian media this week. Full text...

Nouakchott, Mauritania (PANA) – A Mauritanian human rights group has condemned breaches of press freedom and intimidation against the television crew of Africa 7, the new Dakar-based Pan-African television network, according to a declaration made available to PANA on Wednesday. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) – The Accra-based sub-regional rights body, Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Monday welcomed the resumption of transmission by the state-owned Ivorian Television (RTI), which has been off the air for nearly five months, PANA reported from here. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade has called for the suspension of 'tax prosecutions' against newspaper companies, according to the Senegalese News Agency (APS). Full text...

Accra, Ghana (PANA) - The media this week put itself under the microscope as Ghana commemorated the 10th anniversary of the repeal of the Criminal Libel Law. Full text...

Blantyre, Malawi (PANA) - Malawians' determination to head back to the streets Wednesday, Full text...