Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - The African Union (AU) has renewed its call for all its member states to contribute directly to the Malian army to better equip it against an Islamist insurgency in the northern part of the country. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - As African leaders fly into the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, this weekend for the 20th Ordinary Session of the African Union (AU) Assembly, leading civil society organisations (CSOs) present here have said they want the 50th anniversary of the Pan-African organisation to be marked by decisive actions for lasting peace on the continent. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - Heads of State and Government constituting the Orientation Committee (HSGOC) of the New Economic Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) started their 28th meeting here Saturday, underlining the need for all African countries to strengthen the modest gains of the continent in the fields of agriculture and infrastructure development. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - The Congolese rebel movement, M23, has continued to threaten the city of Goma, in eastern DRC, despite its purported withdrawal from the city, Congolese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Francophonie Raymond Tshibanda said Thursday in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) – Mauritian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and International Trade, Arvin Boolel, Thursday in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, expressed his country’s willingness to host a conference for the reconstruction of the conflict-stricken Madagascar. Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki left Friday for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for a a three-day official visit, the Presidential Press Service (PPS) said. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) – Armed groups in eastern DRC have been denying international charities easy access to conflict-affected people living in the areas they control, Emmanuel Kabengele of the National network for security sector reform, said on Friday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) – African heads of state and government, for the 20th ordinary summit of the African Union (AU), must take bold steps towards peace in eastern DR Congo, the international humanitarian agency, Oxfam, said Friday. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - The donors' conference slated to hold in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 29 January, aims to raise US$500 million to support ongoing efforts to assist Mali to restore its sovereignty over the northern part of the country that was seized by armed Islamist groups last year, PANA learnt from sources close to the organisers here Friday. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - African leaders must be held accountable to make sure the continent benefits from natural resources currently being exploited by foreign conglomerates, a senior official of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) said here Friday. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - African leaders started arriving in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, Friday, for Sunday's African Union (AU) summit that is expected to deal with renewed conflicts in the Central African Republic (CAR), Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, Somalia as well as Sudan and South Sudan. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - Around 7,000 Malians have arrived in refugee camps in the country's neighbouring countries since the 11 Jan. 2013 launch of the French military operation, aimed curtailing the advance of the north-based armed Islamist groups towards the south, according to an OXFAM official. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - An exhibition showing the atrocities of the war in northern Mali and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) has opened in the main hall of the new headquarters of the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - As African nations mark the 50th anniversary of their unity this year, they should give the continent's young people hope for and a stake in the future, African Union (AU) Commission Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said here Thursday. Full text...

Bamako, Mali (PANA) – Malian interim president, Dioncounda Traoré, leaves Bamako on Saturday for the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, for the African Union summit of heads of State and donors' conference for Mali, official sources told PANA. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - On the eve of the 20th African Union (AU) Assembly, a coalition of over 350 civil society organisations from Sudan, South Sudan and across Africa has appealed to African leaders to do all that is possible to end the violence and restore peace to the people of Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile in Sudan Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - The creation of a Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA), one of the landmark declarations adopted by African leaders to bolster trade by 2017, will depend on the progress made by African regional blocs over the next year, a senior African Union (AU) official said Wednesday. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - The African Union (AU) has promised a strong response to the Algerian hostage crisis which led to the killing dozens of captives, Commissioner for Peace and Security Ramtane Lamamra said Tuesday. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Ethiopia's Haile Gebrselassie, one of the greatest athletes of all time, will return to the Austrian capital and compete in the half marathon, which will be staged parallel to the Vienna City Marathon on 14 April, according to the online RaceNewsService. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - African Ambassadors accredited to the African Union (AU) Monday kicked-started a preparatory meeting ahead of this month's AU Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, outlining priorities that include building on strategic partnerships to advance continental trade in the wake of the global economic slowdown. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan will leave the capital city of Abuja Monday on a trip that will take him to Switzerland for the World Economic Forum (WEF) and Ethiopia for the African Union (AU) Summit, the presidency said in a statement made available to PANA here Sunday. Full text...

Luanda, Angola (PANA) - The chairperson of the African Union Commission, Nkosazana Dlamini- Zuma, arrived here Friday for a brief working visit to Angola. Full text...

Johannesburg, South Africa (PANA) - Ahead of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations starting in South Africa Saturday, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the African Union (AU) have underscored the role of football in promoting peace, education and stability on the continent. Full text...

Bujumbura, Burundi (PANA) - The African Union (AU) Chair and Benin president, Thomas Boni Yayi, on Wednesday called on Africans to break the jinx of coups and war and enthrone democracy, the only way to change a legitimate government.Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - The African Union (AU) has renewed the mandate of its force in Somalia (AMISOM) for six months, pending a review of its operational structure to secure more dependable funding and operational status, the Peace and Security Council (PSC) said Tuesday. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - The Director-General of the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM), Professor Akpan Ekpo, has called on member States of the West African Economic bloc, ECOWAS, to fast track efforts to remove existing barriers to free movements of goods, services and finances, saying the move would hasten economic integration. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - The African Union Commission (AUC) Friday strongly condemned the renewed attacks by armed terrorist and criminal groups in northern Mali, which resulted in the capture of the town of Konna, in the Mopti area. Full text...

Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) - The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) have signed a two-year community stabilisation project to support Chadian migrants who have returned from Libya and are currently living in three northern regions bordering Libya, Niger and Sudan. Full text...

Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) - African Union (AU) Commissioner for Peace and Security Ramtane Lamamra has left Kigali after a three-day visit to Rwanda. Full text...

Nouakchott, Mauritania (PANA) – A two-day meeting of the economic grouping in Arab Maghreb opens in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday, sources at the Mauritanian Central Bank told PANA on Monday. Full text...

Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) - The African Union (AU) says it is deeply encouraged by the convening of the summit meeting between Sudan and South Sudan and expressed the hope that it will enable the two Presidents to agree on the best means and ways of overcoming the challenges encountered in the implementation of last September's landmark agreements. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - African Union's top security official Ramtane Lamamra was due in Kinshasa Wednesday at the start of a visit to the troubled Eastern region of Congo and Rwanda to discuss the preparations for the deployment of a neutral force in the region. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - The African Union (AU) has expressed its rejection of violence and attempts to seize power by force in the Central African Republic (CAR), saying such a trend would be a setback to the progress achieved in democratising Africa. Full text...

Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) - The Sudanese Government and northern rebels are to meet for talks next month in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, under the auspices of the African Union (AU) High level Implementation Panel, the local media reported Sunday. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - International efforts to stop further rebel advances in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are expected to receive a boost Thursday when the African Union (AU) is scheduled to host a meeting to plan the deployment of a regional force and a peace monitoring group in the troubled area. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - The African Union (AU) has called for urgent funding and logistical support for the regional peacekeeping mission set up to restore stability to the Central African Republic (CAR), following a resurgence of rebel activity there. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - The African Union (AU) has announced the deployment of its first long term election observers to Kenya, where elections are due to be held this year. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The UN Security Council has authorised the deployment of the African-led International Support Mission in Mali, to be known as AFISMA, for an initial period of one year to assist the authorities in recovering rebel-held regions in the north and restoring Full text...

Niamey, Niger (PANA) – The Council of Ministers of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) opened on Friday in Niger’s capital, Niamey, to review the state of the financial situation in the community. Full text...

Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) - Sudan has reiterated its opposition to the plan by the African Union's Peace and Security Council (PSC) to take the Abyei and other border issues to the UN Security Council, warning this could lead to a new conflict with South Sudan. Full text...

Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) - The African Union (AU) on Saturday expressed concerned over ongoing political developments in Egypt, and called on Egyptian stakeholders to exercise utmost restraint and seek the interest of their homeland. Full text...

Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire (PANA) - In a rare diplomatic spat, the regional bloc ECOWAS has openly expressed its disagreement with the UN Secretary General concerning the urgency to deploy an African-led mission to Mali to help the country regain part of its territory seized by Islamists and rebels. Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - East African leaders rose from a Summit on regional integration Friday, satisfied with the steps towards the formation of a Political Federation and the efforts to set up single revenue collection points. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - The African Union (AU) Wednesday highlighted its commitment to a "more integrated, peaceful and prosperous Africa," with a renewed focus on "African Shared Values" which it said can help the continent progress and prosper. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - The African Union (AU) has reiterated calls to the Eastern Congolese rebels to stop fighting and drop its threat to topple the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Full text...

Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) – The 61st session of the executive committee and the 35th conference of the African Parliamentary Union (UPA) opened on Monday in Kigali, Rwanda. Full text...

Gaborone, Botswana (PANA) - The Southern Africa Development Committee's Council of Non-Governmental Organisations (SADC-CNGO) has hatched a platform for regional integration and development in the SADC bloc. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma was due in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, Thursday, to attend a Summit of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), the Commission said in a statement obtained by PANA here Thursday. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - The African Union Commission (AUC), the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and Instituto Lula of Brazil have announced a joint effort to help eradicate hunger and undernourishment in Africa. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - Representatives of African member States and relevant stakeholders have requested the African Union (AU) and the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) as well as other development partners to step up efforts in providing the necessary facilitation and coordination support towards the effective implementation of the Rio+20 outcomes to support sustainable development efforts in Africa. Full text...