L'Inter: Interim Special Representative of UN Secretary-General for Cote d'Ivoire, Arnauld Akodjenou met on Wednesday with the visiting delegation of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, accompanied by some Ivorian parliamentarians to examine ways in which the UN System and the Ivorian Parliament can interact.



Nord-Sud: Spokesperson of the UN Operation in Cote d'Ivoire (UNOCI), Sylvie Van Den Wildenberg told the weekly news conference at UNOCI HQ on Thursday that it was up to the UN Security Council to decide whether to lift the arms embargo on Cote d'Ivoire or not. She said Ivorian authorities must follow a certain procedure in order to channel their request for the lifting of the arms embargo.



Fratmat.info, Le Mandat: Former Special Representative of the Facilitator of the Ouagadougou Political Agreement (OPA) Mr. Boureima Badini says he encourages the republican dialogue put in place by the Ivorian government. In a ceremony held yesterday to pay homage to Mr. Badini for his efforts toward the implementation of the OPA in Cote d'Ivoire, Ivorian Prime Minister, Kabla Duncan said the occasion was equally a celebration of the solidarity and brotherliness between Cote d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso.



Le Mandat: The Ivorian district of Abobo is under tight security as the army, police and gendarmerie step up patrols following frequent reports of a marauding gang of youths armed with machetes and knives who are harassing and robbing residents.



Nord-Sud: Prison guards in Abidjan and elsewhere in the country are threatening to stop escorting detainees to court if they are not paid an allowance for doing so. They said according to regulations, it was the duty of the police and gendarmerie, not the prison guards, to escort prisoners. They said the police and gendarmes do receive a monthly allowance of between CFA 35,000 and CFA 50,000 (70 -100 USD) for that purpose. The guards said they were being intimidated by magistrates to escort detainees and should be paid an allowance for doing so.



AIP (Ivorian News Agency), Le Nouveau Reveil, L'Expression, Notre Voie, Le Quotidien d'Abidjan: The regulatory body, the National Press Council CNP has decided to lift the suspension of eight news publications which have complied with administrative requirements. The publications include the daily newspapers: Le Quotidien d'Abidjan, Le Temps, LG Infos, and Le Patriote. The CNP on 6 June decided to suspend 30 news publications for not respecting certain obligations related to professionalism and the remuneration of journalists.



Le Quotidien d'Abidjan: The Director of Le Quotidien d'Abidjan newspaper managed to escape a kidnap attempt yesterday when two individuals posing as security agents showed up in the newsroom of the paper and tried to arrest the director without a warrant. After making inquiries in all the police stations in the Cocody district of Abidjan, the paper learnt that no order had been given for the arrest of the director.