Obesity is so revered among Mauritania's white Moor Arab population that the young girls are sometimes force-fed to obtain a weight the government has described as "life-threatening". A generation ago, over a third of women in the country were force-fed as children - Mauritania is one of the few African countries where, on average, girls receive more food than boys.

Lawyers defending Mauritanian opposition leader Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla against charges of threatening state security, walked out of court on Tuesday in the capital, Nouakchott, forcing a temporary suspension of hearings. Ould Haidalla, runner-up in last month's presidential elections, first appeared in court on Monday in a court session that lasted more than six hours.

The ruler of this Islamic African republic is doing his utmost to be a loyal ally in the war on terrorism: He has jailed Muslim clerics for speaking against the war in Iraq, banned political sermons, and outlawed anti-US rallies, but there are fears that allying with the US could stir up Islamic anger.

Mauritanian police arrested top opposition presidential candidate Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidallah for a second time on Sunday on suspicion of planning a coup following the re-election of longtime leader Maaouiya Ould Taya. Ould Haidallah (63) a former president who was overthrown by Ould Taya in a 1984 coup, came a distant second to his rival, a former comrade-in-arms, in Friday's presidential election.

Support for opposition candidate Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla is growing in the campaign for Mauritania's 7 November presidential election. His unexpected popularity has prompted aides of President Maaouiya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya, to admit privately that the incumbent head of state may get less than 50 percent of the vote and be forced into a second round-run off two weeks later.

The World Association of Newspapers and the World Editors Forum, which represent 18,000 publications in 100 countries, has written to the Mauritania authorities protesting the seizure of the print-runs of four weekly newspapers. According to reports, during the week of 12 to 18 October, the government banned or seized the print-runs of four weekly newspapers: Le Calame; Le Journal du Jeudi; Le Sahara; and Essahiva.

Reporters sans frontières (RSF) has urged the Mauritanian authorities to lift a suspension order against the weekly "Le Calame". The Ministry of the Interior, Posts and Telecommunications, which regulates the press, suspended issue 414 of the weekly on 19 October 2003, citing Article 11 of the Press Law, which allows for censorship without explanation.

The Mauritanian government's harassment of opposition figures undermines any chance of free and fair elections, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to the Mauritanian president this week. From late April, Mauritanian security forces arrested dozens of religious leaders, opposition politicians and social activists, allegedly in a campaign to crack down on terrorist movements in Mauritania.

Mauritanian President Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed Taya on Sunday named his Justice Minister, Sghaier Ould Mbarek, as the new Prime Minister replacing Cheikh El Avia Ould Mohamed Khouna, the latest in a string of changes within the ruling establishment since last month's failed coup.

Mauritanian President Maaouiya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya has confirmed plans to go ahead with presidential elections in November after narrowly surviving a coup attempt that led to two days of heavy fighting in the capital Nouakchott.

Mauritanian President Maaouiya Sid Ahmed Ould Taya took to the airwaves on Monday to praise loyal army units for seeing off a coup attempt which led to two days of heavy fighting in the capital. Less than 24 hours earlier, Ould Taya appeared to have been ousted as rebel forces took over the presidential palace after launching a coup early on Sunday morning.

Reporters sans frontières (RSF) has voiced its concern about the banning of the Islamist weekly "Raya" and the closure of its offices under an Interior Ministry order on 1 June 2003. "As far as we know, this Islamist publication has never called for violence, contrary to what the Mauritanian authorities say," RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard said. "One cannot help thinking that this ban on a newspaper that was never sparing in its criticism of the government is simply a means to gag a part of the opposition six months before the presidential election," Ménard added.

Cybercafes are springing up like mushrooms, despite the slow speed of the connections, according to Olivia Marsaud of Afrik.com. On a short visit to Tevragh Zeina, a district north of the capital Nouakchott she counted no less than 15 of them. Read the full report at http://www.balancingact-africa.com.

Some 12.6 percent of children under the age of five years in parts of southern Mauritania suffer from acute malnutrition, according to a study released this week by World Vision, an international non-governmental organisation.

The World Organisations Against Torture, or OMCT, is requesting concerned parties to write to the Mauritanian authorities urging them to halt their intimidation of striking workers and encourage both parties to engage in negotiations. This follows information received by the organisation about intimidation used to break a strike that started on October 19 2002 in Nouakchott.

Despite the legal abolition of slavery in Mauritania twenty years ago, the government is yet to take practical steps ensure its abolition in practice, Amnesty International says in a report: 'Mauritania: a future free from slavery'. The report, published on the eve of the 21st anniversary of the decree which officially abolished slavery, shows that human rights abuses related to slavery persist in Mauritania, although the government denies their existence.

While the fight against female genital mutilation (FGM) could be assumed to be making some headway in Africa, a unique case of the practice in Mauritania is of great concern. A study carried out recently on this female rite in that country reveals stunning facts about the communities' interpretation of the practice. Even more alarming is that the majority population, composed of four ethnic groups, undergo this practise.

The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists, has strongly condemned the seizure of issue number 219 of El Qalem, an Arabic-language weekly newspaper.

The African Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday approved debt relief amounting to US $86.7 million for Burkina Faso and US $72.80 million for Mauritania. The bank said this would reduce their annual debt service obligations to the ADB by up to 80 percent, leaving them more resources for poverty reduction.

The latest issue of the weekly newspaper "La Tribune" has been banned, apparently because it contained criticism of recent government efforts to interfere with the election of the president of the national bar association.