A photographer with "Le Patriote", a daily that is close to the opposition, and two other journalists were recently assaulted by members of Ivoirian President Laurent Gbagbo's presidential guard.

A specialist Internet training and advocacy portal has been launched to help African journalists work even after they have been forced into exile, or have otherwise been muzzled by oppressive regimes. The African Journalists in Exile (JAFE) Web site seeks to provide persecuted African journalists with a global networking forum by linking to online resources, media freedom advocacy organisations, sympathetic media and self-help groups.

Reporters Without Borders has called on a public service radio corporation in the state of Ondo, in southwestern Nigeria, to reinstate nine journalists who were suspended indefinitely on 21 January at the governor's behest because of their coverage of an opposition protest about an increase in the prices of petroleum products. The Ondo State Radiovision Corporation (OSRC) claimed that the decision to suspend the journalists was taken internally, by the corporation's management, because they dedicated too much air-time to the protest by the opposition Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).

ZANU-PF is reportedly continuing with its violent campaign against supporters of the opposition, particularly in Gutu North where a parliamentary by-election was scheduled for February 1-2. Not only that, the ruling party is also being accused of using traditional leaders to frustrate the campaign activities of the MDC. "Only the private media revealed these barbaric tactics, which the ruling party has unashamedly employed in every election since the entrance into the political arena of the opposition MDC in late 1999," said the Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe in their latest update.

The Human Rights Commission had recommended that Parliament consider amending the Promotion of Access to Information Act to make dispute resolution in terms of the act accessible and affordable, commissioner Leon Wessels has said. He said at an international conference that the amendment should also allow the commission to take actions to court and mediate where necessary, giving it the same powers it has in terms of the Promotion of Equality and the Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act.

France’s entire political establishment was rocked with a “seismic shock” on January 30 when Alain Juppé, chairman of France’s ruling party, the UMP (Union pour un mouvement populaire - Union for a Popular Movement) mayor of the city of Bordeaux and former French prime minister, was convicted in the Nanterre law court in Paris for “the use of public office for personal ends.” He received an 18-month suspended jail sentence and loss of civic rights for five years, which automatically bars him from holding or running for public office for 10 years. The Juppé verdict reveals a deep-going culture of corruption in political life at the highest levels dating back to the Mitterrand years and beyond and spreading over into foreign policy, particularly in Africa.

Too many of the developing world’s populace remain untouched by Information and Communication Technology (ICTs). This “digital divide” threatens to exacerbate the already-wide gaps between the rich and the poor, within and among countries.

Rwanda has allowed the first private radio stations to start broadcasting since the 1994 genocide. Five new stations have already been given permission to set up and two more religious stations will be authorised soon, said the information minister.

Karatina Town seems a long way from Nairobi, Kenya's capital city of three million people. Yet, 100 km away, about a two-hour drive on the country's tattered roads, the town is the food basket of the city. At dawn, while Kenya turns in its sleep, Peter Kimani is awake and on his way to Karatina Central Farmers Market, the largest produce market in Eastern Africa, to dispose of his produce.

The National Labour & Economic Development Institute (NALEDI) has been nominated for the “Best Labour Website Of The Year”. The annual competition run by Laborstart, an international union news service, sees union and labour websites throughout the world bidding for the title. The website with the most votes cast in its favour walks away with the sought after title.

The World Movement for Democracy will convene on February 1-4, 2004 in Durban, South Africa, for its Third Assembly. Building Democracy for Peace, Development and Human Rights, is the theme of the Assembly, which will take place at the International Convention Centre in Durban. More than 600 democracy activists, practitioners, and scholars from more than 100 countries in every region of the world, including Belarus, Burma, China, Colombia, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Liberia, Mongolia, Serbia and Venezuela will discuss practical solutions to a wide range of challenges. Kabissa's Kim Lowery will moderate a workshop on Using New Technologies in NGO Networking in collaboration with Rakhee Goyal of Women's Learning Partnership for Rights, Development and Peace.

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Zimbabwe's chief justice, Godfrey Chidyausiku, has "fast-tracked" an application by the state's media watchdog for the independent Daily News to be shut down until the courts hear a comprehensive appeal over the legality of official press controls, lawyers said. Gugulethu Moyo, legal adviser to Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe which owns the Daily News, said Chidyausiku, widely seen as a government supporter, had decided to hear an "urgent application" from the government-appointed Media and Information Commission in his chambers. The commission is asking Chidyausiku to bar the Daily News from publishing until the court hears the commission's appeal against a high court ruling in October that dissolved the commission on the grounds that it was "biased" and "improperly constituted."

The management of the state-owned Ondo State Radiovision Corporation (OSRC), in southwestern Nigeria, suspended nine senior journalists on January 21 for an indefinite period of time. The affected journalists include news director Seinde Omokoba and his deputy, Sanya Adeleye. The others are Taiwo Fagbuyi, Akinwale Oshodi, Franklin Olaleye, Daisi Ajayi, Remi Olagookun, Daiso Ifaleyimu and Bola Akinrunjomo, all of whom hold various positions as editors, reporters and newscasters. The suspension letters, which were signed by OSRC board chairman Clement Adebambo, accused the journalists of "dereliction of duty." In a telephone interview, however, Oshodi told the Media Foundation for West Africa-Nigeria that the journalists were suspended for giving prominent airtime to an aborted strike over increases in petroleum product prices, which had been planned by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) for 21 January.

Judge Phillip Musonda announced on January 26 that he would communicate his ruling in the Roy Clarke deportation case in 40 days time. The lawyer representing Roy Clarke, a British national facing deportation from Zambia for having written a satirical article which officials deemed insulting of President Mwanawasa and some ministers, on January 26 argued in the Lusaka High Court that the decision to deport his client was "illegal", "irrational" and "improper".

Reporters sans frontières (RSF) has condemned the raid by several dozen police officers on the offices of the independent daily "Awoko", in the capital, Freetown, on 21 January. Three journalists were manhandled by police during the raid. The raid came after three journalists from the paper went to the scene of an accident, in which a police car collided with another vehicle, during a police operation against illegal street vendors.

The right to freedom of information, commonly understood as the right to access information held by public bodies, is now widely recognised as a fundamental human right. There is a massive global trend towards legal recognition of this right as countries around the world that aspire to democracy either have adopted, or are in the process of preparing, freedom of information laws. This represents an enormous change from even ten years ago, when less than one-half of the freedom of information laws now in place had been adopted. UNESCO has published a study of freedom of information laws that examines best practices in 10 countries. Written by ARTICLE 19 Law Programme Director Toby Mendel, "Freedom on Information: A Comparative Legal Survey" analyses laws in Bulgaria, India, Japan, Mexico, Pakistan, South Africa, Sweden, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States. The study examines international standards and trends, and outlines nine principles governing effective freedom-of-information laws. The survey also looks at the public disclosure policies of two international institutions - the United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank.

A computer virus spread via e-mail has been described by security experts as the "largest virus outbreak in months". The malicious worm, called Mydoom or Novarg, has clogged networks and may allow unauthorised access to computers.

The Human Rights in Subsaharan Africa mailing list has closed and been replaced by a blog-like service that will provide news and actions on human rights issues worldwide on the web.

The war in Congo, estimated to have killed three million people and involving armies from seven different countries, is coming to an end. But, as United Nations troops move into areas previously ravaged by war, the true horror of what was wrought on the population is now emerging.