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...

New York, US (PANA) - Gambian state security agency forced radio station Taranga FM to drop its popular news and current affairs programs for the second time this year, the Committee to Protect Journalist (CPJ) said, quoting local journalists. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) - Oil shortage was the main issue in Tanzanian newspapers this week, as the government and the frustrated public tussled with oil marketing companies to resume their supplies across the country. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Domestic issues, including the return of World Bank Managing Director Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as Finance Minister, dramatic changes in the banking industry and crime busting by the anti-graft EFCC dominated newspaper headlines in Nigeria this week.Full text...

Lome, Togo (PANA) - Togo police, using teargas and other facilities, Saturday dispersed a protest march by Togo journalists, under the aegis of "SOS Journalists in Danger" and supported by human rights organizations, as they made for the French Embassy here. Full text...

Lome, Togo (PANA) - Media professionals under the umbrella "SOS Journalists in Danger" on Saturday marched in the Togolese capital, Lome, to denounce alleged threats of the National Intelligence Agency (ANR) against a number of journalists.Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) – The Accra-based sub-regional media rights body, Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), has appealed to Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara “to respect the independence” of the Ivorian Broadcasting Corporation (RTI) and other state media. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - A staff of a Somali radio station has been killed in the restive Bakara Market in the capital, Mogadishu, media watchdog Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has reported. Full text...

Blantyre, Malawi (PANA) - The Malawi Government's unease over civil society's warning that it would mobilise people to go on the streets again on 17 August if President Bingu wa Mutharika does not satisfactorily address its 20-point complaints after the 20 July nationwide demonstrations dominated the Malawi media this week. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) – It has been a notable week in relation to the deepening energy crisis in Tanzania, which several dailies described as a test for the East African nation. Full text...

Accra, Ghana (PANA) – A mysterious tape that the Ghana's opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) says has caught a deputy minister of Information soliciting help from journalists to slant stories in favour of the government in return for favours was one of the major stories highlighted by the media this week. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - The damning UN report on pollution in Ogoniland, nationalisation of three banks and President Goodluck Jonathan's "thumbs down" for government privatisation programme got big media play in Nigeria this week. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The government of the Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara, who pledged to uphold democracy in a Friday meeting with the US President Barack Obama, has suspended a newspaper over a reprinted opinion column criticizing the White House meeting, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ said Thursday. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - The Accra-based sub-regional rights body, Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), has appealed to the authorities in Niger to drop criminal charges against an editor for "false" publication. Full text...

Luanda, Angola (PANA) - At least 10 Angolan journalists, drawn from government and private media organizations, will attend further training on election coverage in October in Argentina, according to Albino Carlos, director of the Angolan Journalist Training Centre Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The government of Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza is attempting to silence critical press coverage of his administration with incessant judicial harassment of two of the country’s leading independent broadcasters, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said from its US-base Wednesday.Full text...

Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire (PANA) – President Alassane Ouattara of Côte d’Ivoire, has named Lazare Aka Sayé the new Director General of Ivorian Radio and Television Corporation (RTI), according to a communiqué issued Sunday in Abidjan, the capital. Full text...

Blantyre, Malawi (PANA) - Repercussions from the July 20 mass demonstrations continued to dominate the Malawi media a week after Malawians' unprecedented show of growing disaffection with the government of President Bingu wa Mutharika. Full text...

Blantyre, Malawi (PANA) - Repercussions of the 20 July mass demonstrations continued to dominate the Malawi media a week after Malawians' unprecedented show of growing disaffection with the government of President Bingu wa Mutharika. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) - Fears about radiation-contaminated fish imported from Japan and squabbles in the National Assembly after some parliamentarians charged the House procedures were being openly violated were leading issues in the Tanzanian media this week. Full text...

Accra, Ghana (PANA) - Concerns about insults of political opponents in Ghana and President John Evans Atta Mills' tour of flood-hit areas in the Eastern and Volta Regions dominated the media this week. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - The minimum wage palava and knocks for President Goodluck Jonathan's single-term proposal for the president and state governors dominated newspaper pages in Nigeria this week. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - Censorship of the press by the government of Guinean President Alpha Condé is threatening the democratic strides made by the country in recent months, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said Thursday from its base in New York, US. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - The Federation of African Journalists (FAJ) has called for improved conditions of service for journalists and media workers in Africa as the fundamental basis of social justice. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - A group of politicians in United Kingdom has called on the Gambian government to do more towards finding missing Gambian journalist Ebrima Manneh, PANA reported Sunday. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) – The global press freedom watchdog, International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), and its partners have called on the Gambian authorities to drop treason and sedition charges against two Gambian journalists, Ndey Tapha Sosseh and Mathew K. Jallow. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) – Parliament’s rejection of budget estimates for the Energy and Minerals ministry in fiscal 2011/2012, amid charges that the ministry’s permanent secretary had attempted to bribe some members of the House to ease approval, overshadowed events reported in the Tanzanian newspapers this week. Full text...

Accra, Ghana (PANA) – The Ghanaian media this week once again highlighted the issue of homosexuality as religious leaders and politicians pushed for firm action against the practice.Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - The three-day warning strike, averted at the last minute, Islamic Banking which has stirred controversy across the nation and the continuing menace by the Boko Haram Islamic sect dominated front pages in Nigeria this week. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - Authorities in Cote d'Ivoire detained a journalist on Thursday for moderating a Television talk show favourable to ousted former president Laurent Gbagbo, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported, quoting local journalists. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has been challenged to set up an enquiry on what happened when the late President Umaru Yar’Adua was hospitalised and was flown to Saudi Arabia without any public explanation.Full text...