Lome, Togo (PANA) – A 20-year-old student was on Saturday night crowned "Miss Togo 2012" at the grand finale of the 18th edition held at the Congress Centre in the Togolese capital. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) - UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova Tuesday expressed concern over the destruction and desecration of the Sufi shrines and libraries in Zliten, Misrata and Tripoli in Libya, calling on the perpetrators to cease the destruction immediately. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) - A’salfo, the Ivorian lead singer of the group, Magic System, will be named a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador by the UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova, at a special nomination ceremony at the Organization’s Paris Headquarters on 6 September. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) - Literacy programmes from Rwanda, Bhutan, Indonesia and Colombia are the winners of UNESCO’s literacy prizes for 2012, the UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova, announced here Tuesday. Full text...

Cotonou, Benin (PANA) - Twenty-three-year-old student, Fatouma Boubacar Mamane, beat 11 other contestants at the weekend to emerge Miss Benin 2012, PANA reported here. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - UNESCO on Monday announced it will launch a new collection of precious coins and medallions to highlight its activities and achievements. Full text...

Luanda, Angola (PANA) - Angolan model Tatiana Santos, was Thursday crowned “Miss Songkran Expo 2012” at a beauty contest conducted at the current Yeosu International Fair in South Korea, PANA reported, quoting the Angolan News Agency (ANGOP). Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - Senegalese philosopher Souleymane Bachir Diagne has described as a crime the destruction of several religious shrines in the ancient Malian city of Timbuktu by Islamists linked to al-Qaeda. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) – Senegalese journalist Madior Fall, editor of "Sud Quotidien", died in Dakar on Sunday, the private radio Sud FM has announced. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Two Africans and a Mexican have won the UNESCO-Equatorial Guinea International Prize for Research in the Life Sciences, says a press statement frm the UN agency which was received here Friday by PANA. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) - The Nigerian city of Port Harcourt, the capital of the South South Rivers State, was named the World Book Capital for the year 2014 after UNESCO's Selection Committee, composed of representatives from three leading international publishing associations and UNESCO, met on 5 July at the Organization’s Headquarters in Paris, France. Full text...

Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - Libya's first-ever book fair opened on Monday night in the capital, Tripoli, under the auspices of the Libyan Publishers Association. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) – New biosphere reserves will be added to the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) World Network during a UNESCO meeting in Paris, France, next week, the UN body said in a press statement here Friday. Full text...

Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire (PANA) - The first edition of the international contemporary dance and scenography festival dubbed "Afrik Urbanarts" will take place from 5 to 8 July in Abidjan, organizers told PANA on Tuesday. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - The African Union (AU) Monday condemned the ongoing destruction of UNESCO-registered World Heritage tombs by radical Islamists in Mali’s ancient city of Timbuktu. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) - UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova, Saturday expressed distress and dismay over the destruction of three sacred tombs that are part of a World Heritage site in Timbuktu, Mali, saying the belligerents must cease the destruction immediately. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - The World Heritage Committee on Thursday accepted the request from the Malian government to place Timbuktu and the Tomb of Askia on UNESCO’s List of World Heritage in Danger, saying that the decision was aimed at raising cooperation and support for the sites threatened by the armed conflict in the region. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - Comedians from France, Mali and Burkina Faso will showcase their skills at the second edition of the "Just Laugh" festival, scheduled for 5-7 July in St Louis, Northern Senegal, organizers told PANA here Tuesday. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) - Progress towards providing access to education for all has stalled, according to new data from UNESCO’s Institute for Statistics (UIS) which shows that 61 million primary-age children were out of school in 2010, the same figure for the year 2008. Full text...

Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The Libyan government has accepted to pay 6 million euros debt it owes the Institute of the Arab World (IAW) in France, an official source announced on Thursday in Tripoli. Full text...

Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) - The magnificent portrait “Arab” by celebrated South African artist Irma Stern sold for R17 million rand (US$2 million) at an auction in Johannesburg on Monday night. Full text...

Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) - The acclaimed South African movie “Man on Ground”, which deals with the xenophobia crisis, has won the Best Ensemble Cast at the Monaco Charity Film Festival. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) - The Malian Government and UNESCO have defined measures to safeguard World Heritage Properties in the north of Mali, including the fabled city of Timbuktu, following reports of willful damage to mausoleums in the World Heritage site. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) - The UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova, Wednesday called for the protection of Libya’s Old City of Ghadamès, which was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1986. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) - The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, Tuesday extended her condolences to Italians following the loss of human lives caused by the earthquake that shook northern Italy on Sunday, 20 May. Full text...

Yeosu, South Korea (PANA) - A galaxy of attractive cultural performances, carefully packaged by the Angolan delegation, are attracting both local and international participants on a daily basis to the Angolan pavilion at the international trade fair currently ongoing in Yeoso, South Korea. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) - Over the next decade, the world’s working-age population will increase by an estimated 600 million by 2016, UNESCO said in a press statement here Wednesday, predicting that "Most of the increases will be in the Least Developed Countries." Full text...

Harare, Zimbabwe (PANA) - Ambassadors of CPLP Countries in Zimbabwe on Monday in Harare celebrated the Day of Portuguese Language and Lusophone Culture. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) - UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova has expressed concern following the desecration of the graves of Sidi Mahmoud in Mali by the Ansar Dine group on 4 May, 2012, the UN agency said, quoting local Malian reports. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - The Ad-hoc Committee monitoring the implementation of ECOWAS Regional Culture Development and Integration Programme has recommended that a study on the contributions of culture to the economy of Member States and the region be conducted in the first quarter of 2013. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) - The stage is set at UNESCO's Paris Headquarters for the start on Friday of celebrations for the first International Jazz Day, on 30 April. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) - The UNESCO Director-General, Ms Irina Bokova, will name philanthropist, educator and entrepreneur Sunny Varkey as the world body's Goodwill Ambassador for Education Partnerships on Thursday, 26 April, UNESCO said in a press release issued here Tuesday. Full text...

Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) - The South African film “Otelo Burning”, which tells the story of three young township boys who escape their lives by discovering the joys of surfing, is one of the nominations for this weekend’s 2012 Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA). Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) - Promoting cultural exchanges among nations is essential to strengthening partnerships, American jazz musician Bobby Rickets said here Friday as he and his group began a four-day Annual Dar Jazz event that includes workshops for local artistes and performances. Full text...

Bujumbura, Burundi (PANA) – Belgian genetic scientists on Tuesday left Burundi without locating the grave of the last king of Burundi, Ntare V Charles Ndizeye, who was killed in mysterious circumstances in April 1972 and buried hurriedly at an unknown site, official sources told PANA in Bujumbura. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - US dance company Jazz Tap Ensemble is to undertake a tour of three African countries 9 April to 5 May, the State Department said in a press release obtained by PANA here Wednesday. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) - On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, UNESCO says the ship wreckage has now come under its control, a press statement issued here Thursday by the UN agency indicated. Full text...

Brussels, Belgium (PANA) – The Cape Verdean government intends to raise 15 billion escudos (US$ 1 = 83 Cape Verdean Escudos) with which to finance about 4,000 cultural projects in the country over 10 years. Full text...

Brazzaville, Congo (PANA) - UNESCO, the World Bank and UNICEF have pledged to assist students affected by the 4 March munitions depot blast that killed at least 200 in Brazzaville, the Congolese capital. Full text...

Kinshasa, DR Congo (PANA) - The Officer in charge of the Francophonie summit, Ousmane Paye, is expected on 20 March in Kinshasa, DR Congo, at the head of a delegation of the International Francophonie Organization to assess preparations for the XIV Francophonie summit, official sources in the DR Congolese capital said Monday. Full text...

Lome, Togo (PANA) - The West African state of Togo on Saturday began the process to select Miss Togo 2012, a major event on the cultural calendar of the country since 1995. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) - In recognition of their efforts in raising awareness of the Arab culture around the world, UNESCO is to honour Lebanese author, Elias Khoury, and Brazilian publisher, João Baptista de Medeiros Vargens, at a ceremony on 27 February at its headquarters in Paris, France. Full text...

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (PANA) – The participants at the triennial meeting of the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) in Ouagadougou have urged the private sector to become a stakeholder in education and training in African countries. Full text...

Bamako, Mali (PANA) - The eighth edition of the 'Festival on the Niger" opened Thursday in the Malian town of Segou, about 240 kilometres from the capital, Bamako, with many personalities, including ministers witnessing the opening session, PANA learnt from a reliable source. Full text...

Brazzaville, Congo (PANA) - The construction of the Denis Sassou Nguesso University in Kintele, a suburb of Brazzaville, the capital of Congo, will begin in April and will end in 2015, Jerome Courbon, Chief Executive Officer of Unicon group which is handling the project, said Thursday. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) - British performer Sarah Brightman, one of the world’s few artists to top both pop and classical music charts, will be named UNESCO Artist for Peace at a ceremony in Paris, France, on 8 February. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) - The International Institute for Peace (IIP), co-founded by UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Forest Whitaker, will formally join forces with the Organization on 7 February with the signing of an agreement between UNESCO, the Institute, the Rutgers University in New Jersey, US, and the US government, the UN agency said in press statement here Friday. Full text...

Luanda, Angola (PANA) – Reggae artistes in Angola, under the Association of Reggae Music Friends (NARA), will organize an international show in Luanda, the Angolan capital, 6 February to mark the 67th birthday anniversary of the "King of Reggae music", the late Bob Marley. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) - Óscar Washington Tabárez, the Uruguayan national football team manager, will be named UNESCO Champion for Sport by the Director-General of the UN agency, Irina Bokova, on 30 January, UNESCO disclosed here Friday in a press statement. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - African leaders have been urged to restructure the educational system in their countries so it can inculcate the promotion of indigenous African culture, arts and tradition in the younger generation in order to sustain the continent’s rich cultural heritage. Full text...