Three staff of the privately-owed Radio SIDO FM station are being detained at the Ségou prison, 200 km south-west of Bamako, capital of Mali. The Ségou court charged Mamoutou Traoré, senior administrator of Radio SIDO, his deputy Gatta Bah and Amadou Chérif Haïdara, a presenter, with the offence of "slander and incitement to violence."

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has written to authorities in Mali, saying it is disturbed by the continued imprisonment of three journalists working for privately owned Sido radio station. According to local sources, police in Ségou, a city in southern Mali, arrested program host Chériff Haïdara; radio director Mamoutou Traoré; and reporter and program host Gata Ba on October 20, 24, and 26, respectively.

Mali has rejected a demand by France that it crack down on people trafficking organisations that help illegal immigrants to reach Europe and North America, arguing that such immigrants send home 40 billion CFA (US $65 million) a year in remittances.

Tuberculosis is making a comeback in Mali, partly as a result of HIV/AIDS patients falling prey to the disease, but also because the respiratory disease is considered shameful and patients are reluctant to seek treatment, government officials said.