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  CPJ is honored to present its 2024 International Press Freedom Award to Nigerien journalist Samira Sabou. Samira Sabou is one of Niger’s most prominent investigative journalists, who publishes mainly on her Facebook page and is the president of the Association of Bloggers for Active Citizenship (ABCA), an organization that advocates for freedom of expression and the rights of women and youth. Previously, she worked as a consultant for the Croissance Actualité Afrique (C2A) newspaper, directed the Economic and Social Development Information Magazine (MIDES) news website, and reported with the state-owned National Office of Publishing and Press (ONEP). Throughout her prestigious career, Sabou has been arrested, detained, and subjected to years of legal harassment because of her reporting on governance issues. In response to the various legal proceedings brought against her, she stopped working for the media and only publishes on her social media accounts. In July 2023, the Nigerien...

  The Gambia Press Union (GPU) is deeply concerned by the country’s press freedom situation after the Gambian president and his environment minister decided to sue two newspapers for defamation. President Adama Barrow’s suit against The Voice, a privately-owned daily newspaper, stems from a September 23rd story which claims President Barrow has chosen a successor as part of an exit plan. The case was called before the Kanifing High Court today (October 25, 2024) before it was adjourned till November 22, 2024 and Musa Sheriff, the Editor-In-Chief, and The Voice newspaper given 30 days within which to file their defence. Similarly, the Minister of Environment, Rohey John Manjang, has filed a defamation suit against reporter Kebba Ansu Manneh and The Alkamba Times claiming damages of up to D50 million ($725, 479 at today’s exchange rate). The case will be mentioned at the High Court in Banjul on November 12, 2024. The Environment Minister’s suit against the reporter and the online new...

  The Young Journalists Association of the Gambia(YJAG) on Sunday 20 October , 2024 concluded a two-day basic journalism training for press club members at St Michael's Junior and Senior Secondary school in Njongon village in the lower Niumi North Bank Region.  The training that gathers over fifty (50) students, was considered the first and most successful training received by the students at St Michael's Junior and Senior Secondary school press.  The first day of the training, students were taken through basic news writing, reporting, terminologies in journalism, among others. They were given class exercise in order to guage their understanding on the topics presented to them. At the climax of the training, YJAG executive members were invited at the Niumi FM to discuss about the importance of the training  and other activities of The Young Journalists Association of the Gambia.  The final day of the training, students were presented with topics such as; intervi...

Dai Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping wave during the welcoming ceremony of an economic summit. Disinformation campaigns seeking to manipulate African information systems have increased nearly fourfold since 2022. That is according to the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS), which linked disinformation campaigns to increased violence, support for coups, expanded anti-Western rhetoric and the spread of confusion about health care. These campaigns also work to erode confidence in traditional media sources. Nearly 60% of disinformation campaigns in Africa are linked to countries outside the continent. The efforts, aided by emerging technology, are mostly driven by Russia, although China, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates also push false narratives as they seek to spread their influence. Such contrived narratives are flourishing as Africa now has more than 400 million active social media users and 600 million internet users. ...

It was a tough display of soccer Maneuvers on the field as Tungina United locked horns with Black Star FC of Pirang. Black Star capitalized on early chances to score. Musa Jarju netted both the first and the second goal of the match in the first half of the encounter. Tungina United fought vigorously but could not neutralize. Eventually, the match ended 2-0 in favor of the Black Star FC of Pirang. The kickoff was taken by the Alkalo of Kuloro Mr Siaka Saidy who advised the players to accept the outcome of the match in good faith.” In every game, there must be a winner and a loser. The tournament is meant to enhance peace ” Mr. Kebba Barry, the first chairperson of the Kuloro and Tungina Sports Committee made similar sentiments. This is the second edition of the Bell Bottling Company’s Football Tournament in Kuloro following a successful one last year The winners, Black Star FC went with a trophy and cash prize of D10,000 while the losers, Tungina United got D5,000. The chief of Kombo E...

The Honourable Speaker of the National Assembly, Fabakary Tombong Jatta, has been elected as the President of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Africa Region, during the recently concluded CPA Africa Region Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Arusha, Tanzania. The election of Hon. Jatta is in recognition of his leadership qualities and his commitment to fostering parliamentary democracy on the African continent. The CPA promotes democratic governance, good parliamentary practices, and inter-parliamentary cooperation among member states. The Africa Region of the CPA is instrumental in addressing key challenges facing parliaments across the continent, and under Hon. Jatta’s leadership, it is expected to continue driving initiatives that strengthen legislative institutions and governance. In his acceptance speech, Hon. Jatta expressed deep gratitude to the CPA Africa delegates for the confidence they have placed in him, and he reaffirmed his dedication to upholding the CPA’s va...

Exposure to high levels of heat may impact both the growth of foetuses during pregnancy and infants up to the age of two, a new analysis shows. A study conducted by Medical Research Council Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (MRCG at LSHTM), funded by the Wellcome Trust revealed that heat exposure must be considered in public health interventions to reduce the impact of climate change on pregnant women and their children. The findings published in The Lancet Planetary Health, suggest that heat stress may impact the growth of babies after they are born, adding to previous research by the team showing the impact of heat stress on foetal development. Being the first of its kind, the study showed that infants up to the age of two exposed to high heat in their environment may have lower weights for their age. The largest decreases were seen in infants between 6-18 months of age who had experienced higher average daily levels of heat stress in the previou...

The Barra Police On Wednesday, October 9th 2024 received a report of an incident at Kerr Gallo involving seven worker from KEI construction company who have believe to died from an electric shock, while working on or erecting an electric pole. The police are currently investigating to ascertain the circumstances leading to this tragic event.  This is a developing story. 

By Alagie Saidy-Barrow  “Orders from the top” is the anthem of compromised and spineless security heads who have little to no understanding of security and what it means. In the days of Yaya Jammeh, no warrants were needed and no explanations were required when his mindless security officers went after Gambians because they “received orders from the top.” But this mindless acquiescence to power wasn’t unique to the security officers, government officials called it “presidential directives.” These holy presidential directives were one of the ways Jammeh and his enablers bilked Gambians out of billions! But in our simpleminded approach to transitional justice, we remain obsessed with security Junglers while colluding and embracing the financial Junglers.  Key to any Security Sector Reform is a recalibration and reorientation of the mindsets. You know, the mindset that thinks security officers are working for people in power and not the people who actually pay their salaries. The...

Aliou Cisse has stepped down from his position as Senegal's head coach after nine and a half years in charge of the Teranga Lions. Cisse, 48, led Senegal to their first continental title, winning the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations and even though his previous contract ended in August, he remained in charge for Senegal’s two 2025 Afcon qualifiers last month, a 1-1 draw with Burkina Faso and a 1-0 victory over Burundi. Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) wanted Cisse’s deal to be renewed but the sports ministry, under Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s new government, decided to end his long tenure just nine days before the next round of qualifiers. The timing of the move comes as a surprise as Cisse had already called for a press conference on Friday to announce his squad for this month’s double-header against Malawi. Cisse, who won 35 caps for Senegal as a player, took charge in March 2015. He helped establish the Teranga Lions as Africa’s top-ranked side for over four years. Their Nations Cup t...

Amnesty international, have urged the government of President Adama Barrow to drop all charges against journalists Musa Sheriff and Momodou Darboe. The human rights watchdog wrote on x formerly Twitter. “We are concerned about the continuous use of vague criminal legal provisions to stifle freedom of expression, and call on the government to drop all charges against the journalists Musa Sheriff and Momodou Darboe, and to release Musa Sheriff.” according to the release. On 30 September Musa Sheriff, a journalist of The Voice Newspaper was detained and charged with false publication and broadcasting for an article discussing president Barrow’s potential pick as a successor. His colleague Momodou Darboe received the same charge.