New York, US (PANA) - A new report released on Tuesday by the UN International Labour Organisation (ILO) says of the millions of people under the yoke of modern slavery, more than half of them, women and girls primarily in commercial sex trade or domestic work, are generating some US$150 billion a year in illegal profits for the people who are exploiting them. Full text...

Bamako, Mali (PANA) - Malian Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Integration and International Cooperation, Abdoulaye Diop, and the Ambassador of Switzerland to Mali, Muriel Berset Kohen, on Tuesday signed in Bamako two Memorandums of Understanding for about F CFA 5.5 billion for two programmes. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) – The World Bank is to disburse US$14 million to pay for the salaries of teachers and health workers in Guinea Bissau. Full text...

Cotonou, Benin (PANA) – France has granted Benin 4 million Euros, or 2.6 billion CFAF, to finance a project to back vocational training and integration of youth, official sources told PANA on Thursday in Cotonou. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - A world conference convened by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has adopted a declaration highlighting the contribution of free expression to contemporary democracy, sustainable and human rights-centred development and economic growth. Full text...

Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - A strike by administrative officers in the Libyan court system, which began 10 days ago in Tripoli, the Libyan capital, has spread to other major cities of the north African country, PANA learnt here Wednesday. Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - At least 33 people died in Kenya on Monday night and Tuesday after drinking illegal liquor, Kenyan media local and government officials said on Tuesday. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The UN International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has announced that by end of 2014, there will be nearly three billion internet users – two-thirds of them from the developing world with mobile-broadband penetration approaching 32 per cent. Full text...

Kinshasa, DR Congo (PANA) - The head of the UN Organisation Stabilisation Mission in DR Congo (MONUSCO), Mr. Martin Kobler, has deplored the loss of lives in a boat that capsized on Lake Kivu Monday. Full text...

Cotonou, Benin (PANA) – The Netherlands is to give Benin 12.9 billion CFAF to partially finance the country's programme to support rural transport for 2014-2016, official sources said on Thursday in Cotonou. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - As UN member states continue work on a new post-2015 development agenda, UN officials on Thursday stressed the need for a robust and accountable framework to assess progress and achieve results, as well as ensure that all actors honour their commitments. Full text...

Bamako, Mali (PANA) – Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, chairperson of the AU Commission, on Wednesday made good the pledge of the AU to flood victims in the Malian capital last year. Full text...

Lomé, Togo (PANA) - Togolese President Faure Essozimn Gnassingbé Sunday in the capital city of Lomé launched a financial product, called “Access of the poor to financial services” (APSEF), to assist poor and vulnerable people, official sources told PANA. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The UN World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) on Saturday celebrated the World Intellectual Day 2014 by supporting filmmaking through this year's theme: "Movies - A Global Passion." Full text...

Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) - South Africa's popular radio personality Redi Tlhabi is at the centre of a storm of controversy following revelations that the events in her best selling book, “Endings and Beginnings: A Story of Healing”, may have been made up. Full text...

Accra, Ghana (PANA) - Nine bodies have been washed ashore on two beaches around the Ghanaian capital, Accra, following the Easter holidays, police announced on Wednesday. Full text...

New York US (PANA) - A new report released on Wednesday to mark World Book and Copyright Day says mobile technology can advance literacy and learning in under-served communities around the world. Full text...

Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) - Acclaimed Nigerian author Ben Okri will receive an honorary doctorate at the University of Pretoria’s Autumn Graduation Ceremony in South Africa on Friday, the university said. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Public sector workers in Nigeria were back at their desks Tuesday after the Easter holidays, declared by the federal government to enable Christians to celebrate the festival. Full text...

Bamako, Mali (PANA) – The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has reaffirmed its commitment to step up the fight against organized crime by harnessing efforts of the police from different member States. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Friday (18 April) and Monday (21April) have been declared public holidays in Nigeria to mark Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ after his crucifixion. Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - The U.S. Embassy in Nairobi has named 46 Kenyans to participate in the first ever Young African Leadership Initiative (YALI) Washington Fellowship. Full text...

Brussels, Belgium (PANA) - The European Union (EU) is to release 45 million Euros for humanitarian relief in South Sudan, where the humanitarian situation has continued to deteriorate following an internecine war that has killed and displaced thousands in the country, the EU said. Full text...

Bamako, Mali (PANA) – Police chiefs from ECOWAS member countries will meet on 16-17 April in Bamako, together with different other actors, to look at how to improve their capacity to fight trans-national crime in the sub-region. Full text...

Lomé, Togo ( PANA) - Togo has set itself the goal of reducing by at least 8% the combined rate of unemployment and underemployment over five years. Full text...

Bamako, Mali (PANA) – China on Friday donated computers and office equipment to Mali to rebuild its ICT park that was damaged during the March 2012 military coup in the West African state. Full text...

Bamako, Mali (PANA) – Mali's main trades union, the National Workers' Union (UNTM), has elected a 48-member executive board and working committees with Customs Inspector Yacouba Katilé as secretary-general. Full text...

Cotonou, Benin (PANA) - An education sector union in Benin has called on its members to continue with their strike following a failed negotiation with the country's President. Full text...

Cotonou, Benin (PANA) - Benin's opposition coalition has urged stakeholders to seek an urgent resolution of the social revolt which has wracked the West African nation since 7 Jan. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) says local masons in Timbuktu, Mali, on Friday started to lay down the first earthen bricks to reconstruct World Heritage mausoleums damaged when radical Islamists occupied the northern part of the country in 2012. Full text...

Brussels, Belgium (PANA) - The European Commissioner for Development, Andries Piebalgs, is on Thursday beginning a working visit in the Central African Republic during which he will announce a new aid worth Euros 81 million to the country. Full text...

Bamako, Mali (PANA) - The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR ) is considering the repatriation of some 25,000 Malian refugees in 2014 and another 42,000 by the end of 2015. Full text...

Nouakchott, Mauritania (PANA) - The Mauritanian Association for the Social Integration of Albinos (OMAIA), in partnership with the National Association of Physicians and a Mauritania-based mobile phone company, on Thursday organized a one-day free consultations covering ophthalmology and dermatology for the albino population, organizers told PANA here. Full text...

Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The son of the Libyan army special forces chief, Ali Ounis Boukhamada, abducted over two months ago, was released Wednesday in Benghazi, Eastern Libya, PANA learnt from official sources. Full text...

Bamako, Mali (PANA) - The European Union ( EU) has donated to Mali's National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) an observation aircraft for the security of airport hubs throughout the country, PANA learnt Tuesday from official sources. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - The ECOWAS Commission and the Government of Benin Republic will use the 9th Benin National Caravan, which opened Monday, as a collaborative platform to sensitise the citizens on the ECOWAS-led regional integration process, the Commission said Tuesday. Full text...

Bamako, Mali (PANA) - Mali and the US Monday in Bamako signed three financing agreements worth 26 billion CFAF (US$54.4 million) and covering health, education and food security, official sources told PANA here. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The UN on Thursday marked the World Day of Social Justice with Full text...

Bangui, CAR (PANA) – UNAIDS executive director, Mr Michel Sidibé, on Wednesday expressed concern at the looming “humanitarian tragedy” in the Central African Republic (CAR), characterised by the unprecedented political, social and security crisis. Full text...

Tunis, Tunisia (PANA) - Four persons, including three members of the Tunisian security forces, were killed early Sunday in the town of Jendouba, north-west Tunisia, in an ambush by a group of gunmen suspected to be terrorists, the Home Affairs Ministry announced. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - A new UN report on Saturday spotlighted the significant impact of young migrants on origin, transit and destination countries and communities, as well as the challenges they face, as told in their own voices. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Nigeria's National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) has warned against activities that could heighten the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS and other Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), as the country joins the rest of the world to celebrant Valentine's Day, which is observed annually 14 Feb. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - The Pan African University (PAU), a continental academic network of higher education institutions of excellence for postgraduate studies and advanced research, is currently recruiting staff in various senior positions. Full text...

Cotonou , Benin (PANA) - Benin police on Wednesday announced that all motorcycles in the country should be registered by 1 August 2014 to guarantee ownership and check theft. Full text...

Johannesburg, South Africa (PANA) - The African Freedom of Expression Exchange (AFEX) is to embark on 'joint actions and campaigns' to ensure access to information for African citizens, promote journalists' safety, challenge impunity in the killing and other forms of attacks against journalists, and bring about the repeal of repressive and obnoxious laws that curtail freedom of expression. Full text...

Tunis, Tunisia (PANA) - A suspected terrorist was killed and three others arrested during a security operation carried out overnight Sunday near the Tunisian capital, Tunis, Interior Ministry spokesman Mohamed Ali Aroui said. Full text...

Cotonou, Benin (PANA) - The Non-Governmental Organisation Social Watch Benin has warned that the social unrest in Benin could prevent the country from achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Full text...

Tunis, Tunisia (PANA) – Divorce cases between couples have been on the rise in Tunisia in the last five years following what officials called "social crisis and disruptions", according to a study by the Tunisian Women Affairs and Family Ministry. Full text...

Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) - Two more miners have died in accidents at two gold mines in South Africa’s North West and Free State provinces, bringing the total number of mine deaths in recent days to 10. Full text...

Nouakchott, Mauritania (PANA) - Representatives of several international humanitarian organizations ended their two-day mission here Thursday with a resolution to mobilize US$ 107 million with which to assist some 530,000 Mauritanians affected by food insecurity, malnutrition and floods. Full text...