Two French journalists have been detained for attempting to report on the escalating level of violence in the northern part of the country of Niger. The government says the journalists were permitted to report only on the outbreak of bird flu in the southern part of the country. The advocacy group Reporters Without Borders has been monitoring the reporters’ situation since they were detained on December 17th. The reporters work for the tv channel Arce and are on trial this week, charged with “involvement with armed gangs.” If found guilty, they could be executed. Read more here.