Banjul- Gambia (PANA) -- A seminar on ways of ending violence against women began Thursday in Banjul, the Gambian capital, with officials indicating that gender-based violence constituted a major public health and human rights problem across the world, Addressing the opening session of the seminar, the Gambian Vice President and Minister of Women Affairs, Isatou Njie-Saidy, said violence against women had some profound implications for the woman's health, regretting that this was often ignored by society. Full text...

New York- US (PANA) -- The United Nations on Wednesday launched its first compilation of the best practices for its peacekeepers and other workers to prevent, deter and respond to the use of rape as a war tactic. Full text...

New York- US (PANA) -- Progress in reducing poverty and food insecurity will rema in elusive unless significant progress worldwide in advancing women's economic a n d social empowerment and strengthening their rights is made, a UN report said Mo n day. Full text...

New York- US (PANA) -- Nearly 40 chief executive officers representing companies from across the world on Monday endorsed a UN-led initiative to empower women by promoting gender equality in corporate workplaces, markets and communities. Full text...

New York- US (PANA) -- US-based Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on Wednesday pledged to spend US$ 1. Full text...

New York- US (PANA) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday warned women around the world to refrain from tobacco smoking, describing it as "ugly and deadly". Full text...

Brazzaville- Congo (PANA) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Directo r for Africa , Dr. Full text...

Abidjan- Cote d'Ivoire (PANA) -- At the opening, on Monday, of the general assemb ly of the African Development Bank (AfDB), a women's group has asked for adequat e compensation for women victims of conflicts in 'fragile' countries. Full text...

New York- US (PANA) -- UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro Monday appealed to the media to take on the cause of gender equality, spotlighting its potential to overturn stereotypes of men and women. Full text...

Dakar- Senegal (PANA) -- The African women networks and the members of “Campagne, Genre, mon Agenda”, coordinated by Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS), on Monday hailed the amendment by Senegalese Parliament of the bill governing absolute parity between men and women in the country's elective bodies. Full text...

Nouakchott- Mauritania (PANA) -- Security operatives in Mauritania have banned ve iled Women from entering the court room where the trial of terrorism suspects is continuing, PANA reported from here. Full text...

Dakar- Senegal (PANA) â" A member of the Gambian P-arliament (MP), Sidia Jatta, has warned against female genital mutilation (FGM), saying the cultural practice was both â?brutal and barbaricâ?, PANA reported from here Monday. Full text...

Lagos- Nigeria (PANA) -- The last may not have been heard of the marriage of former governor of the 'pro-Islamic' Zamfara State, Alhaji Sani Ahmed Yerima, to a 13-year-old Egyptian minor as Nigerian women have called for the prosecution of the husband, the Sun newspaper reported Tuesday. Full text...

New York- US (PANA) -- Fresh from her visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which she described as the "rape capital of the world", a senior UN official Wednesday urged the UN Security Council to make the prevention of sexual violence a top priority. Full text...

New York- US (PANA) -- Sexual violence against women was used as a weapon of war in most armed conflicts in 2009, researchers in Spain said. Full text...

Kinshasa- DR Congo (PANA) -- The General Governor of Canada, Mrs. Full text...

New York- US (PANA) -- The United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migi ro, has called for greater investment to ensure the health and well being of wom e n. Full text...

Dakar- Senegal (PANA) -- Civil society organizations, members of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) task force, set up by the United Nations office for West Afr i ca (UNOWA) will, from Monday, carry out a solidarity mission to Guinean women vi c tims of the tragic 28 September crack down at the Conakry stadium. Full text...

Dakar- Senegal (PANA) â" A survey by Senegalese so-ciologist, Mrs Fatou Sow Sarr , which focuses on strengthening of capacities of women to keep peace and securi t y was launched in Dakar on Monday as part of activities marking international wo m en's day. Full text...

Nouakchott- Mauritania (PANA) -- The European Union ambassador and head of delega tion to Nouakchott, Hans-Georg Gerstenlauer, on Monday urged all Mauritanians to take up the challenge of gender equality in the country. Full text...

Port-Louis- Mauritius (PANA) -- Mauritian Premier Navin Ramgoolam announced here on Monday that the government would construction a specialized hospital for wome n , lamenting that too many women die from diseases that could be treated. Full text...

Cotonou- Benin (PANA) -- On the occasion of the celebration of the 15th Internati onal Women's Day, observed worldwide Monday, the Union of media workers in Benin (SYNAPROMEB) seized the occasion to pay tribute to Beninese female media workers for their contributions to the revival of the press in their country. Full text...

Nairobi- Kenya (PANA) -- As UNHCR offices around the world marked the Internationa l Women's Day on Monday, High Commissioner for Refugees Antأ³nio Guterres, said i t was vital that women should be given equal opportunities and are able to reali s e their individual rights on an equal basis. Full text...

Tripoli- Libya (PANA) -- Libyan women will have themselves to blame if they canno t assert their rights and privileges, which are already guaranteed by the countr y 's laws, according to a member of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP), Ms. Full text...

Addis Ababa- Ethiopia (PANA) -- The European Unionâ?s top official tasked with m onitoring the status of women has decried the lack of progress in ensuring women around the world enjoyed equal treatment with their male counterparts. Full text...

Addis Ababa- Ethiopia (PANA) -- The International Womenâ?s Day was marked Monday amid complaints that more than half of the 53 African states have failed to gua r antee the protection of women against all forms of violence with millions still v ictims of conflicts. Full text...

Nouakchott- Mauritania (PANA) -- Four Mauritanian female detainees were Monday par doned by President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz on the occasion of the international w omen's day celebrated 8 March, official sources told PANA here. Full text...

Lagos- Nigeria (PANA) -- The Director-General of the World Health Organisation (W HO), Dr. Full text...

Lusaka- Zambia (PANA) -- Zambia Monday joined the rest of the world in commemorat ing the International Women's Day observed 8 March annually, with various activities planned in the ca pital city, Lusaka. Full text...

Lagos- Nigeria (PANA) -- On the occasion of the International Womenâ?s day, bein g marked across the world Monday, education of the girl child has been described as a key element that will accelerates the promotion of equal opportunities for women across Africa. Full text...

Dar es Salaam- Tanzania (PANA) -- In recognition of International Women's Day, i nternational human rights organization 'Equality Now' will launch its Beijing + 15 campaign urging governments to revoke sex discriminatory laws with the release of its report, 'Words and Deeds: Holding Governments Accountable in the Beijing +15 Review Process'. Full text...

Paris- France (PANA) -- UNESCO has lined up a number of programmes and events for the celebration of the International Womenâ?s Day on 8 March, with a series of events at its headquarters in Paris, France, from 8 to 19 March, PANA reported F r iday. Full text...

New York- US (PANA) -- The number of women in the Angolan National Assembly repre sents 39 per cent of the total number of parliamentarians in the country and the figure meets the world's established quota, according to a report from the Angol a n News Agency (ANGOP). Full text...

New York- US (PANA) -- As delegates from around the world gathered at the United Nations headquarters in New York, US, to commemorate the International Women's D a y, the awkward timing of a US court decision to shield a former UN employee from allegations of sexual harassment did not go unnoticed. Full text...

Nairobi- Kenya (PANA) -- The UN Millennium Campaign, Femnet and Oxfam GB announce d here Thursday the commencement of a series of global conversations to discuss the status of the promises world lea ders have made to women in the Millennium Development Goals. Full text...

New York- US (PANA) -- The UN Deputy Secretary-General, Asha-Rose Migiro, has cal led on UN member states to close the gap between the formulation of laws and the realities of gender inequity. Full text...

Lusaka- Zambia (PANA) -- International aid agency ActionAid has called on governments to put women's rights on the frontline in the fight against hunge r. Full text...

New York- US (PANA) -- An outcome document adopted at the end of the Fourth Worl d Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, known as the Beijing Platform for Action, "continues to guide o ur action today" in the global efforts for the full realization of women's rights, a senior UN official said here Tuesd ay. Full text...

New York- US (PANA) -- Deputy UN Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro has lauded wo men groups for their achievements in advancing gender equality globally. Full text...

Luanda- Angola (PANA) -- Angolan women, particularly in government, want to achie ve equal representation in the number of decision makers in the coming years, th e Minister of Familiy and Women Promotion, Genoveva Lino, said here Wednesday. Full text...

Banjul- Gambia (PANA) -- The Gambian Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children (GAMCOTRAP), in partnership with Yolocamba Sol i daridad of Spain on Wednesday held a one-day conference on Generating Alternativ e s to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Full text...

Banjul- Gambia (PANA) -- The Gambia Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children (GAMCOTRAP), a women's rights organization, in p artnership with the Yolocamba Solidaridad and the region of Madrid in Spain, wil l host a sub-regional meeting here Wednesday aimed at fashioning alternatives to f emale genital mutilation (FGM). Full text...

Port-Louis- Mauritius (PANA) â" Women human rights- activists in Mauritius, unde r the umbrella Women in Politics (WIP), on Thursday asked political parties to f i eld women as one-third of their candidates in the next general elections. Full text...

Addis Ababa- Ethiopia (PANA) -- The heads of state and government who participate d in the 14th African Union (AU) summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, have announced the creation of a fund meant for African women. Full text...

New York- US (PANA) -- A new fund managed by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) has announced over US$9 million in grants to support initiatives in 26 countries to empower women. Full text...

Dakar- Senegal (PANA) -- The chairwoman of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Mrs Sylvie Lucas, on Tuesday urged decision-makers in the world to inc rease the welfare expenditure for women, particularly those in developing countr i es. Full text...

Bujumbura- Burundi (PANA) -- Women' associations are ready with a â?national str ategyâ? for increased participation of Burundian women in the second post-confli ct general elections that will start in May with the local elections, according t o human rights activists in Bujumbura. Full text...

Cotonou- Benin (PANA) -- The head of the delegation of the European Union, Ms. Full text...

Banjul- Gambia (PANA) -- GAMCOTRAP, an NGO that promotes women's social, politi cal, economic and cultural rights and focuses on sexual and reproductive health r ights on Monday marked the symbolic abandonment of the Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) practice. Full text...

Banjul- Gambia (PANA) -- GAMCOTRAP, a womanâ?s Rights NGO that promotes womenâ? s social, political, economic and cultural rights and focuses on sexual and repr o ductive health rights on Monday marked the symbolic abandonment of the Female Ge n ital Mutilation (FGM) practice. Full text...