Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - The Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, has said improved access to voluntary family planning would cut maternal mortality. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) – The global press freedom body, International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), on Wednesday condemned the suspension of radio ‘’Liberté’’ and the arrest of 9 of its journalists in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Full text...

Abuja, Nigeria (PANA) - The Chiefs of Defence Staff of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) member states have agreed details of deployment of troops to Guinea Bissau and Mali to bolster the restoration of constitutional rule after military coups in the two countries. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) – “Nobody should die from hunger in the 21st century,” Senegalese singer Baaba Maal said on Wednesday as he assumed the role of Global Ambassador for international charity Oxfam, amidst a food crisis that threatens 18 million people in the Sahel region of west and central Africa. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Following are the latest exchange rates for the Nigerian currency, the Naira, against other major foreign currencies, as released Wednesday by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd Joint Venture (SPDC) has commenced the repair of Nembe Creek Trunkline (NCTL) after shutting it down on 2 May because of incessant crude theft activities. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - UN agencies -- WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA and the World Bank -- on Wednesday released new estimates which suggest that the number of women dying of pregnancy- and childbirth-related complications has reduced by half in the last 20 years. Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - The African Development Bank (AfDB) is gathering some 300 African business leaders, including Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), together with 100 bankers and investors, to seek ways of promoting trade within Africa. Full text...

Abuja, Nigeria (PANA) - Nigeria and India are to cooperate in the fight against insurgency and terrorism through the sharing of specialized training, equipment, strategy and intelligence.Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) – The Ghana-based sub-regional rights body, Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), on Wednesday demanded “an end to hostilities against the media in Mali,” PANA reported from here.Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - About 3.5 million people are affected by the food security and nutrition crisis in Mali, with 175,000 children under five suffering from severe acute malnutrition in the West African nation and 385,000 more suffering from moderate acute malnutrition, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in its latest situation report on Mali. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - A newly-released World Health Statistics 2012 report has put the spotlight on the growing problem of the noncommunicable diseases burden, amid the revelation that 1 in 3 adults worldwide has raised blood pressure, a condition that causes around half of all deaths from stroke and heart disease, while 1 in 10 adults has diabetes. Full text...

Washington DC, US (PANA) - At the invitation of President Barack Obama of the US, the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Donald Kaberuka, will attend the Group of Eight (G8) summit at Camp David in Frederick County, Maryland, US, on 18 and 19 May. Full text...

Rabat, Morocco (PANA) - Morocco earned 4.26 billion dirhams (1 euro = 11.07 dirhams) from phosphate export in the first four months of this year, an increase of 15.7 percent over the 3.68 billion dirhams earned during the same period in 2011, according to the State-owned Foreign Exchange Office (FEO). Full text...

Bujumbura, Burundi (PANA) - The Burundian government has suspended the collection of the value added tax (VAT) and the administrative charge on consumer food between 15 May and 31 December, 2012, to "alleviate the suffering of the Burundi's population caused by soaring prices," President Pierre Nkurunziza disclosed here on the eve of the celebration of the International Labour Day. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) - The Pan-African telecoms service supplier, Gateway Communications, announced Wednesday that it had brought additional capacity from submarine cable SAT-3 to landlocked Botswana via South Africa, under its Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) initiative. Full text...

Libreville, Gabon (PANA) – Following are the latest exchange rates for the CFA, issued here Wednesday by the bank of Central African States (BEAC). Full text...

Nouakchott, Mauritania (PANA) – Following are the latest exchange rates for the Mauritanian Ouguiya as published here Wednesday by the nation’s central bank: Full text...

Lusaka, Zambia (PANA) – Following are the latest exchange rates for the Zambian kwacha, as released by the Bank of Zambia Tuesday. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - A former President of the umbrella Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Pascal Bafyau, died of a massive heart attack Wednesday aged 65, the local media reported Wednesday. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - The Japanese Ambassador in Dakar, Mr. Hiroshi Fukada, Tuesday handed over to the Senegalese government 17,500 tons of rice worth FCFA 5.3 billion (US$10.6 million), the embassy said in a statement made available to PANA. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - The Nigerian government is set to airlift arms, beddings, utility vehicles and other 'logistics' to Sudan to upgrade Nigeria's Contingent-Owned Equipment (COE) for the nation's over 3,300 peacekeepers and 450 police officers currently serving under the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID). Full text...

Benghazi, Libya (PANA) - Libya's Army Chief of Staff, Maj.-Gen. Yousef Al-Mangouch, has welcomed the appeal by the civil society for the rebuilding of the country's Army. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - The Agency for Aerial Navigation Safety in Africa and Madagascar (ASECNA) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) have signed a technical assistance agreement under which the agency will acquire material for air traffic management at the cost of FCFA 25 billion (US$50 million). Full text...

Port Louis, Mauritius (PANA) - Following are Wednesday's exchange rates for the Mauritian rupee: Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - World soccer's governing body FIFA has named Sudanese referee Khalid Abdel Rahman to preside over the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying match between Nigeria and Namibia next month. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - CAF Champions League title holder Esperance of Tunisia will start its campaign in the group phase of the prestigious competition with an away match to Nigeria’s Sunshine Stars, according to the draw for the league phase. Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - Thousands of people in Somaliland are getting more fresh meat in their diet due to an innovative World Food Programme (WFP) initiative that provides parents with vouchers to help them afford nutritious food from local traders, a WFP statement made available to PANA here Wednesday said. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Somalia, Mr. Augustine Mahiga, has called on the international community to boost their efforts to help Somalia through its peace and national reconciliation process. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - A new report by the UN has called for new approaches to empower local communities to ensure food security in Africa. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - President of the UN General Assembly Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser has paid tribute to the men and women who rebelled against the cruelty of slavery, saying the world must continue to reaffirm its commitment to preventing servitude. Full text...

Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) - South Africa's President Jacob Zuma will on Thursday rename Kings House Presidential Residence in Durban after the highly regarded educationist, journalist and first President of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), Dr John Langalibalele Dube. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) - Progress in trade logistics performance slowed down over the last two years amid the global recession, but countries that pursued aggressive reforms continued to improve their performance, according to the World Bank’s latest survey on trade logistics. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) - Following are Wednesday's exchange rates for the Tanzanian shilling: Full text...