Togolese presidential candidate Leopold Gnininvi dropped out of Togo's presidential election on Monday saying he wanted to unite the divided opposition to President Gnassingbe Eyadema behind the rival candidature of Emmanuel Bob-Akitani.

Togo's Constitutional Court on Tuesday rejected an appeal filed by opposition leader, Gilchrist Olympio, seeking to validate his candidature for the 1 June presidential elections, crushing all hopes for Olympio to run against his long-time opponent and incumbent President Gnassingbe Eyadema.

The World Association of Newspapers and the World Editors Forum, which represent 18,000 publications in 100 countries, has written to President Gnassingbe Eyadema of Togo to voice serious concern at the continuing detention without trial of journalist Sylvestre Djahlin Nicoué. According to reports, Mr Nicoué, managing editor of the weekly newspaper Le Courrier du citoyen, has been held at Lomé Civil Prison since 26 December 2002, when he was arrested by Criminal Investigation Department agents.

The over 120 observers who attended a 3-day Forum on the Electoral Process in Africa have suggested the establishment of a common elections development bank into which all African countries will contribute material and financial resources to promote the independent financing of elections on the continent. They suggested that this will "help reduce over dependence on foreign aid for elections which, in some cases, goes a long way to compromise 'the sovereignty of African nations."

Reporters sans frontières (RSF) reports that on March 26 the Communications Ministry's press attaché informed all foreign correspondents, including those with Radio France Internationale, Agence France-Presse, Reuters and the BBC, that the minister was barring them from practicing their jobs "until further notice."

One of Togo's oldest opposition parties, the Union des Forces du Changement (UFC-Union of the Forces for Change), has announced its withdrawal for the opposition coalition, which groups all of the country's opposition parties. The UFC said it would withdraw because the coalition had agreed to sit on the National Independent Electoral Commission ahead of presidential elections, news sources reported.

Parliament in Togo has changed the constitution, removing clauses that would have forced the president to step down before elections next year. President Gnassingbe Eyadema seized power in a coup in 1967, making him Africa's longest-serving head of state.

The Writers in Prison Committee (WIPC) of International PEN has expressed deep concern over the continued imprisonment of Claude Améganvi, editor of the journal "Nwayo", who is currently serving a four month sentence. He has been charged with "distributing false information, defamation and disturbance of the public order" and is threatened with a maximum sentence of five years' imprisonment.

Closed-door talks between the government of Cote d'Ivoire and the rebels resumed in the Togolese capital, Lome, on Wednesday, a source in Lome told IRIN. The talks which were to begin on Monday were delayed when the rebel delegation failed to show up in Lome and threatened to pull out of the talks if their political demands such as the resignation of President Laurent Gbagbo and fresh elections were not included in this round of talks.

Barely seven days to Togo's disputed legislative elections, President Gnassingbe Eyadema has provoked a political and constitutional row with the country's opposition parties by promulgating two controversial decrees.

The UN Human Rights Committee this week began its examination of the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in Togo. In its alternative country report entitled "Violence against Women in Togo", which has been submitted to the Committee, the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) has expressed its grave concern at the widespread violence against women in the private and community spheres as well as at the hands of state officials.

The Federal Government and the governments of Ghana and Togo have reaffirmed their commitment to rejecting any action that would lead to unconstitutional change of government in any part of West Africa.

The Togolese government has fixed 27 October as the date for parliamentary elections, following a recommendation by the country's electoral college of seven judges.

A Togolese opposition leader and a journalist could be sentenced to four years imprisonment each for "defamation" following the publication of articles saying that President Gnassingbe Eyadema is one of the world's richest men.

The international press freedom watchdog Reporters sans frontieres (RSF) has protested against a proposed code that would expose media professionals in Togo to heavy penalties for defaming the head of state, other government officials and top civil servants.

Togolese traditional chiefs, religious leaders and health specialists have been trained to promote women's rights at a seminar organised by a non-governmental organisation, Women in Law and Development in Africa.

Mining company Anglo American has announced that it will provide antiretroviral therapy to its HIV-positive employees in Southern Africa who do not already qualify for treatment under medical aid schemes.

Eating food contaminated with aflatoxins hampers the growth and development of children in Benin and Togo, scientists from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Ibadan, Nigeria, and the University of Leeds, UK, reported in a study published this month.

The presidents of Togo, Gnassingbe Eyadema, and the European Commission, Romano Prodi, held talks on Monday in Brussels on Togo's political situation and bilateral relations. Eyadema told Prodi his country was suffering because the EU had cut financial aid following controversial elections in 1998. He blamed the aid cut on opposition parties which had lobbied against his government after the elections, the pro-government Republic of Togo online news service reported.

Poor and illiterate women and girls in Togo will soon be helped to learn how to avoid HIV/AIDS infection and care for those infected in a joint project between the UN and the Togo government.