Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) - Three suspects are in police custody for questioning in connection with Sunday’s murder of a Catholic priest in Zanzibar, Tanzania’s Inspector General of Police Said Mwema has said. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) - Authorities in Zanzibar have appealed to the public to remain calm following the assassination of a local Catholic priest early Sunday, saying the police force had swung into action searching for the murder suspects. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - The Nigerian Army has announced plans to set up a special task force that can be deployed to confront emergency security situations in the country, which has been wracked by terrorism and kidnapping, among others crimes, the private Vanguard newspaper reported Sunday. Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) - Unknown attackers on a motorbike early Sunday shot and killed a Roman Catholic priest who was on his way to celebrate Mass at Mtoni parish in Zanzibar, according to reports reaching here from the East African offshore island which is part of the United Republic of Tanzania. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Seven workers of a road construction firm, SETRACO, has been abducted by gunmen in Jama'are in Nigeria's northern Bauchi state, according to local media reports on Sunday. Full text...

Conakry, Guinea (PANA) – Commander Sekou Camara, governor of Guinea’s capital, Conakry, has been charged with torture and violence against civilians during the 2009 transitional period led by General Sekouba Konate, sources told PANA on Saturday. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - Cote d’Ivoire on Friday deposited its instrument of ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), making it set to become the Court’s 122nd state party, a statement by ICC said. Full text...

Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) - Hundreds of Malians displaced by the recent unrest in their country that forced them out of their homes say they want to go back as soon as the security situation improves and they get the means to trek their way back, a study by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Friday. Full text...

Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) - The South Sudan Common Humanitarian Fund has allocated US$ 56.5 million for aid and emergency preparedness, to enable the country respond adequately to humanitarian needs, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a press statement Friday. Full text...

Banjul, Gambia (PANA) - Three staff members of the Daily Observer, Gambia’s biggest newspaper, have been arrested and detained by the country's National Intelligence Agency (NIA), PANA learnt gere Friday. Full text...

Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) - An extremely emotional Oscar Pistorious sobbed uncontrollably ahead of his bail hearing at a Pretoria court on Friday afternoon. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - One of Nigeria's most popular hip hop music stars, Susan Harvey, better known by her stage name 'Goldie', has died, the local media reported Friday. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) – The New York-based international press freedom watchdog, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Thursday released its latest report on the state of press freedom, saying ''attacks and censorship erode press freedom worldwide''. Full text...

Tripoli, Libya (PANA) – In an attempt to secure its eastern region, the Libyan defence ministry Wednesday deployed 25 armoured vehicles and army transport cars to Benghazi. Full text...

Brazzaville, Congo (PANA) - A summit on piracy and armed robbery in the Gulf of Guinea will be held in Yaoundé, Cameroon, in April, according to Miguel Trovoada, the Executive Secretary of the Gulf of Guinea Commission. Full text...

Lome, Togo (PANA) - Togolese Catholic faithfuls say they are not "upset" by the sudden resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, according to Bertin Agbobly Atayi, the Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Lomé, the Togolese capital. Full text...

Ziguinchor, Senegal (PANA) – Thirty-four-year-old Mauritanian, Mouhamed Ahmed Aidara, a suspected member of the Al-Qaeda terror group, has been arrested by Senegalese soldiers in the Southern part of the country, official sources told PANA here. Full text...

Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) - South Africa’s famous paralympian Oscar Pistorious is in police custody after killing his model girlfriend at his Pretoria home in the early hours of Thursday morning, the police said. Full text...

Conakry, Guinea (PANA) – Eleven Guinean soldiers who died in a plane crash in Liberia early this week were on Wednesday buried in the Guinean capital, Conakry, with president Full text...

Abuja, Nigeria (PANA) - Nigerian returnees, who hail from the disputed Bakassi Peninsula, have instituted a court action here against the Nigerian Federal Government, claiming damages of 30 billion Naira (about US$ 200 million) for alleged betrayal leading to the loss of their ancestral home to Cameroon in the Bakassi Peninsula. Full text...

Abuja, Nigeria (PANA) - The Nigerian ministry of Finance has said it discovered a total of 45,000 "ghost" workers during the implementation of its Integrated Payroll and Personal Information System (IPPIS) scheme in 251 Federal Government Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs). Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) – An international human rights group, Front Line Defenders, Wednesday called on the Gambian authorities to ensure ''the immediate and unconditional release'' of detained Moslem cleric and human rights defender, Imam Baba Leigh. Full text...

Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) – A spokesman for the Rwandan Catholic Church, Smaragde Mbonyintege, on Tuesday said that the unexpected resignation of Pope Benedict XVI came as a heavy blow for the whole Catholic community of Rwanda. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - A two-day forum on Africa's indigenous peoples rounded off Tuesday in Tunisia, with participants discussing relevant policies on indigenous peoples’ integration into development initiatives, organiser African Development Bank (AfDB) said. Full text...

Douala, Cameroon (PANA) - The resignation of Pope Benedict XVI was the main issue being discussed during masses celebrated early Wednesday to mark the start of the Lent for Catholic faithful in Cameroon, PANA reported. Full text...

Port Louis, Mauritius (PANA) - A Mauritian court has sentenced a Malagasy to 20 years in prison for drug trafficking, PANA learned Wednesday from judicial source in Port Louis, the capital of the country. Full text...

Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) - The South African Football Association (SAFA) on Wednesday welcomed the eight-year sentence handed down by a Cape Town court to a former Premier Soccer League coach for match-fixing. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR) has expressed concern over widespread looting and displacement in various parts of the Central African Republic (CAR), and appealed to the government to enhance access to vulnerable population so they can receive assistance. Full text...

Lusaka, Zambia (PANA) - The Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC) has described Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation as an honest expression of how he feels at 85. Full text...

Cotonou, Benin (PANA) – Monday's announcement by the Vatican that Pope Benedict XVI will resign on 28 February will not throw the Catholic Church into crisis, according to Rev. Fr. André Quenum, in charge of communications at the archdiocese of Cotonou, Benin. Full text...

Cotonou, Benin (PANA) – Hailing Pope Benedict XVI's decision to resign on 28 February, President Boni Yayi of Benin said the head of the Catholic Church worldwide made “valuable intellectual contributions to efforts to solve the numerous problems shaking today’s world. Full text...

Port-Louis, Mauritius (PANA) - Mauritian Foreign Affairs Minister Arvin Boolell, said here Tuesday that it is important to react promptly to sustainable development because time is of essence. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) – The UN emergency humanitarian fund has said it will distribute more than US$ 5 million worth of life-saving assistance to hundreds of thousands of people who have been affected by the recent floods in Mozambique. Full text...

Abuja, Nigeria (PANA) - Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan Tuesday applauded the ''exemplary wisdom and courage'' shown by Pope Benedict XVI in his decision to voluntarily relinquish the Papacy Monday, because of his advanced age and growing inability to keep up with the physical and mental demands of the Office. Full text...

Abuja, Nigeria (PANA) - The ECOWAS Commission has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and a Project Implementation Agreement (PIA) with 10 training institutions on peace and security in the region, as part of efforts to strengthen the capacities of the institutions, the Commission said in a statement obtained by PANA here Tuesday. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Three journalists and a former boss of Nigeria's northern Kano state censorship board have been arrested by the police for allegedly inciting Friday's killing of nine polio vaccinators in the state. Full text...

Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) - Two heavyweight church leaders in South Africa have expressed their gratitude at the role that the ageing Pope Benedict XVI has played while millions are hoping that his successor could come from Africa. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has lauded the commitment of Pope Benedict XVI to inter-faith dialogue and the promotion of global peace. Full text...

Abuja, Nigeria (PANA) - The President of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, Monday said the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI is shocking to the Christian community in Nigeria. Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - Halting the use of child soldiers in conflicts is just one of a series of compelling reasons for states to adopt a strong Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), Amnesty International said Monday as the world prepares to mark the International Day against the Use of Child Soldiers on Tuesday Full text...

Conakry, Guinea (PANA) – The Guinean government has declared a three-day national mourning, starting Monday, following the death of the country's army chief, General Souleymane Kelefa Diallo, in a helicopter crash in Liberia, official sources announced here Monday. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Monday's shock announcement by the Vatican that Pope Benedict XVI will resign 28 Feb will not throw the Catholic Church into crisis, according to the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Nigeria, Cardinal John Onaiyekan. Full text...

Conakry, Guinea (PANA) – Guinea’s Army Chief of Staff, General Souleymane Kelefa Diallo, was killed on Monday when a helicopter he was flying in crashed near Monrovia’s military airport, official sources told PANA here. Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - The resignation of Pope Benedict XVI on health grounds is acceptable and within the laws governing the Catholic church, Rev. Father Paulino Mondo, a senior member of the Kenyan Episcopal Church Conference, said in Nairobi Monday following the Pontiff’s shock resignation. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Pope Benedict has announced that he will resign on 28 Feb. due to his deteriorating health, according to a Vatican statement obtained by PANA here Monday. Full text...

Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) - Sudan has released five Prisoners of War (POWs) from South Sudan and handed them to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which flew them to Juba, capital of South Sudan, Monday. Full text...

Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) - The Government of Sudan and the Justice and Equality Movement Sudan (JEM-S) signed a ceasefire agreement on 10 February in Doha, Qatar, and it is due to take effect at midnight in Darfur, the African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) said on Monday. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - Amnesty International (AI) on Monday said halting the use of child soldiers in conflicts is just one of a series of compelling reasons for states to adopt a strong Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). Full text...

Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) - The leader of a group of mercenaries allegedly behind the plot to overthrow Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) President Joseph Kabila has been arrested in Cape Town. South Africa. Full text...

Bamako, Mali (PANA) - A Malian court has issued arrest warrants against 28 persons belonging to the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), Ansardine, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the Movement for Unity and Jiahad in West Africa (MUJAO) and narco-traffickers, according to a statement issued by the Attorney General at the court of Appeal of Bamako. Full text...