Reporters Without Borders has welcomed a statement from Ivorian president, Laurent Gbagbo, condemning the ransacking of opposition and independent newspaper offices on 4 November and the opening of an investigation to punish those responsible. But the worldwide press freedom organisation called on him to go further to ensure these newspapers can circulate freely again and to restore order within the state-owed media.

On 24 November 2004, the Borno state government in northern Nigeria declared the British Broadcasting Corporation's (BBC) Hausa Service correspondent, Alhaji Adamu Mato, a "persona non grata" and banned him from continuing to report from the state following allegations of "incorrect" reporting about the region. The government has banned the correspondent from the state's Government House in Maiduguri and all government institutions, ministries and parastatals, in addition to public functions.

On 13 November 2004, Mohamed Amara Josiah, a correspondent for "Standard Times" newspaper in Kenema, eastern Sierra Leone, was assaulted by a group of men until he fell into a coma. Amara is currently responding to treatment at a local hospital in the region. According to MFWA sources in Sierra Leone, the attack on Amara followed an article published in the paper, entitled, "Tribalism and Nepotism Rocks Kenema Government Hospital". The article was said to have contained disparaging statements about Samuel Stevens, who heads the government hospital.

Reporters Without Borders has said it was "scandalous" that Charles Kabonero, the editor of Rwanda's main independent weekly Umuseso, could be sentenced to a long term in prison and a heavy fine as a result of a libel suit brought by parliamentary deputy speaker Denis Polisi over one of Kabonero's articles. The article was about the Polisi's influential network of friends in the political area and his possible political ambitions. The Kigali prosecutor's office has requested a four-year prison term and a fine of 50 millions Rwandan francs (about 70,000 euros) for Kabonero.

The Media Monitory Project Zimbabwe has pointed to the biased coverage of the state-owned The Herald newspaper, using as an example a distorted report about a recent meeting between President Robert Mugabe and Moroccan Foreign Affairs Minister Mohammed Benaissa. “This week The Herald provided more evidence of the government media's compulsive disinformation campaign aimed at sprucing up President Mugabe's international stature when it misrepresented details of the meeting between the Zimbabwean leader and Moroccan Foreign Affairs Minister Mohammed Benaissa. The paper's report claimed that Morocco had, via Benaissa, 'extended an invitation to President Mugabe to help mediate in the conflict over the Saharawi'. No hard evidence was provided to substantiate this claim. Only the Zimbabwe Independent three days later reported that The Herald story was false." Read the full newsletter by clicking on the link below.

Child Soldiers Newsletter is a free publication bringing you news, information and campaign updates from the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers (CSC). It is produced with the financial support of the Human Security Program at Foreign Affairs Canada. CSC works to prevent the use of children as soldiers and to promote their demobilisation, rehabilitation and social reintegration. The CSC is comprised of national, regional and international organisations and coalitions in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East.

Trraace web site offers a full listing of community and education-based radio stations including: Radio Zibonele (South Africa), Fotouni (Cameroon), Diamono (Sénégal),L’écho des cotonniers (Burkina Faso), La Voix de l’Islam (Bénin), Chemchemi radio (Tanzania)...if you've lost the frequency number of your favourite radio station, this is the place to find it. Unfortunately not all the hundred or so stations listed offer streamed content but there are a good number that do.

Fagan Finder is a website designed as a tool to help people find things, and it is meant to be a gateway to the Internet, a quality home page. Like a search engine it has searching capability, but it is possible to specify different search categories with ease.

Visit this Google page to hone your Google search skills by finding out the details on search terms and calculator operators.

On 11 November 2004, a photojournalist with the Lagos-based daily "Vanguard", Diran Oshe, was assaulted by security agents who also smashed his camera as he attempted to take photographs of Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, the former chief security officer to the late Nigerian head of state, General Sani Abacha. The incident took place at the premises of the High Court in Ikeja, Lagos, where Major Al-Mustapha is standing trial along with four others for his alleged involved in the attempted murder of Alex Ibru, publisher of the privately-owned national daily "The Guardian".

Antoine Massé, a local correspondent for "Le Courrier d'Abidjan", a privately-owned daily that supports President Laurent Gbagbo, was killed on the morning of 7 November 2004 during clashes between the Ivorian army, demonstrators and members of the French peacekeeping force (Force Licorne), Reporters sans frontières (RSF), has confirmed. "Le Courrier d'Abidjan" reported that Massé, who was also a literature professor, was fatally shot as he covered a demonstration aimed at blocking the eastward advance of French troops from Man towards Abidjan.

After nearly a week since his arrest, N'Do Mathieu, chief editor of the weekly San Finna, is still being held in solitary confinement at the police barracks of the 'Compagnie Republicaine de Securitie (CRS)' in Ouagadougou, the capital. N'Do was picked up by security forces at the Ouagadougou International Airport on November 5, 2004 upon his return from an investigative trip to Cote d'Ivoire. The government has not given any reason for the arbitrary arrest and detention of the journalist but it is believed that his analysis on Burkina Faso's relations with its neighbors in the sub-region may have led to his ordeal. As chief editor of the San Finna, N'Do often writes about politics and institutions in Burkina Faso.

The October update from the The Eastern African Sub-regional Support Initiative for the Advancement of Women (EASSI) October is now available. The update informs readers of the different processes and activities that EASSI was engaged in leading up to the 7th Regional African Women's Conference which took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 6 - 14 October 2004. Contact [email protected] for more information.

Issue No. 10 of the Development Policy Management Forum e-NewsForum on 'Gender Mainstreaming' has been released. The newsletter is also available on the website: www.dpmf.org/e-NewsForum/ Contact [email protected] for more details.

From 15 November the interim findings of the Commission for Africa will be published as a consultation paper. This is your opportunity to comment. The Commission is looking for contributions from a whole spectrum of viewpoints. There will be three simultaneous e-forums that you can take part in between Monday 15th - Friday 26th November. Write to the email address below for more details.

The Stockholm Challenge Award, pioneer among global ICT competitions, has opened its 2006 edition. Innovative teams from all over the world, who use ICT to improve living conditions and economic growth, are now invited to register their projects in the Challenge. Projects compete in six categories and the winners will receive the prestigious Challenge trophies at a beautiful event in the Stockholm City Hall, venue of the Nobel Prize ceremonies, in May 2006.

With the first meeting of the Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG) forthcoming and the launch of the WGIG website earlier this month, international debate on governance mechanisms of the Internet gains momentum. The WGIG will meet at the United Nations in Geneva on 23, 24 and 25 November 2004 with “open Consultations” open to all stakeholders on 24 November. In a position statement published earlier UNESCO stresses that Internet is a major opportunity to improve free flow of information and ideas throughout the world.

"The first Bushman woman to give evidence during the court case in which 243 Bushmen are suing the government for the right to return to their ancestral land has told the court that she 'feared for her life' when being evicted in 2002. Mongwegi Tlhobogelo described how huge numbers of vehicles and people suddenly arrived at her community in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve and ordered that all the Bushmen's huts be dismantled. Her husband had already been relocated without her knowledge. The men then emptied out all the Bushmen's water tanks, and loaded them onto lorries."

Zimbabwe's parliament has agreed to amend its already tough media code making it mandatory for journalists to register with a state commission. Journalists who fail to do so, could face up to two years in prison, a fine, or both. President Robert Mugabe is expected to sign the amendment into law by the end of the month. The act is likely to deter foreign correspondents who have been entering the country disguised as tourists.

Media workers in Zambia have again demanded enactment of the Freedom of Information Bill, more than two years after the proposed law was withheld for "wider consultation". Press Association of Zambia Vice President Amos Chanda told IRIN on Tuesday that journalists would lobby for the bill to be brought before the current session of parliament, which began earlier this month.