Accra, Ghana (PANA) – Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama has named his first 12 ministers with the most prominent being the nomination of Ms Hannah Tetteh, former Minister for Trade and Industry, as the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Full text...

Luanda, Angola (PANA) - Nigeria's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Nuruddeen Muhammad, arrived in Luanda Friday on a brief official visit to Angola, aimed at strengthening relations between the two top African oil producing nations. Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - The Kenyan Parliament has ended its 10th session since independence with the passage of a bill seeking a terminal payment of US$100,000, state funerals and armed guards for MPs in retirement. Full text...

Brussels, Belgium(PANA) - The African Union Commission in charge of trade, Mrs. Fatima Acyl, is expected on Friday in Brussels for a working visit during which she will have talks with the European Commissioner in charge of agriculture, Dacia Ciolos. Full text...

Lome, Togo (PANA) – Togolese opposition activists under the umbrella group "Sauvons le Togo" (Let's save Togo) and security forces clashed on Thursday in the capital, Lome, during a demonstration by the activists. Full text...

Brussels, Belgium (PANA) – Belgium has called off the economic mission it was to send to Rwanda due to the African country's support for the M23 rebel group that recently triggered instability in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Belgian minister of Foreign Affairs, Didier Reynders, said on Wednesday in Parliament in Brussels. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - Gambian President Yahya Jammeh has re-appointed Dr. Njogu Bah as the West African country's Secretary General and head of civil service, the presidency said in a statement received by PANA here on Thursday. Full text...

Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire (PANA) - Former Ivorian Prime Minister Jeannot Kouadio-Ahoussou has been appointed Minister of State to the President of the Republic, PANA learned from official sources. Full text...

Brazzaville, Congo (PANA) - Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso, the mediator in the Central African Republic crisis, left Brazzaville Thursday morning for Libreville, the capital of Gabon, to attend the Summit of Heads of State of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) on the crisis. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - ECOWAS Commission President Kadré Ouédraogo has commended members of the Nigerian Armed Forces for their immense contribution to peace and stability in the region. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) – A member of the delegation of the Central African rebels to the Libreville talks with the government, Christophe Gazam Betty, says he expects "open negotiations" without any "pre-condition" about the departure of President Francois Bozizé. Full text...

Niamey, Niger (PANA) – The Turkish Prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on Wednesday pledged his country's assistance to help Niger attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - Gambian President Yahya Jammeh has dismissed the European Union's (EU) 17-point demand geared towards improved governance and respect for human rights in the West African nation. Full text...

Brazzaville, Congo (PANA) - The meeting on the crisis in the Central African Republic (CAR) opened in Libreville, Gabon, Wednesday under the mediation of Congo Brazzaville. Full text...

Niamey, Niger (PANA) – The Prime minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyib Erdogan, arrived in Niamey on Tuesday at the head of a high-powered delegation for a two-day visit during which he will attend a Niger-Turkish economic forum. Full text...

Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) – The "M23" rebel movement of DR Congo on Tuesday declared a unilateral ceasefire as negotiations began in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, with the Kinshasa government to end the conflict in eastern DR Congo, a communiqué obtained by PANA in Kigali said. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) – The opposition Gambia Moral Congress (GMC) is demanding electoral reforms as precondition for participation in any future election in the West African country. Full text...

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (PANA) - ECOWAS Mediator for Mali, Burkina's President Blaise Compaore, has announced a plan to bring the country's (Mali) stakeholders back to the table for talks aimed at ending the prolonged political and humanitarian crisis in the country Full text...

Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) - Sudan on Tuesday said South Sudanese troops, earlier positioned inside Sudanese territories, have started withdrawing southwards, in an obvious implementation of the deals reached by the leaders of the two countries. Full text...

Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) - South Africa’s official opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) has criticised the country's deployment of troops to the Central African Republic (CAR), saying the government must comply with Constitution by informing Parliament of the deployment. Full text...

Conakry, Guinea (PANA) – Mali’s Prime Minister, Django Cissoko, on Monday held a 45-minute discussion with the Guinean president, Alpha Condé, in Conakry during which he handed him a message from President Dioncounda Traoré. Full text...

Tripoli, Libya (PANA) –Tunisian Prime minister, Hamadi al-Jabali, on Monday began an official visit to Tripoli at the head of a high-powered ministerial delegation during which the two parties will discuss how to strengthen their relations. Full text...

Cotonou, Bénin (PANA) - Beninese President Yayi Boni on Monday began a six-day working visit to Canada at the invitation of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the Beninese Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement. 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...

Abuja, Nigeria (PANA) - Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament Ike Ekweremadu Monday called on the newly-inaugurated Ghana President John Mahama to work towards uniting all political interests in Ghana by running an inclusive government. Full text...

Brazzaville, Congo (PANA) – Congo's head of state Denis Sassou N'Guesso on Monday appealed to the international community to back efforts of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) to restore peace and stability in Central African Republic where rebels are pushing to oust the government. Full text...

Brussels, Belgium (PANA) – Belgium's ambassador to Congo, Jan de Bruyne, has been recalled to Brussels for using undiplomatic language during an official function he hosted in the central African country. Full text...

Brazzaville, Congo (PANA) - Central African Republic (CAR) President François Bozize was expected in Congo's capital, Brazzaville, Monday to meet with his Congolsese counterpart, Denis Sassou N'Guesso, Congo's Presidency told PANA here. Full text...

Accra, Ghana (PANA) - Ghana's President John Mahama on Monday took office for his first four-year term with a promise to work hard to place Ghana on "an enormous development path" to the benefit of all his compatriots. Full text...

Accra, Ghana (PANA) - Ghana's President John Mahama was Monday sworn in for his first four-year term, with tens of thousands of excited and cheering party supporters thronging the seaside Independence Square in the capital city of Accra. Full text...

Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) - President Jacob Zuma has authorised the deployment of 400 South African National Defence Force (SANDF) personnel to the Central African Republic (CAR), which is in the throes of an insurgency that has seen many towns fall to the rebels. Full text...

Accra, Ghana (PANA) - Ghana's new parliament and Speaker were sworn in on Monday morning for a four-year term, as the life of the sixth parliament of the Fourth Republic began. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) - The French Socialist Party has said the opposition parties which have no seats in the National Assembly of the Central African Republic (CAR) should be included in Sunday's crisis talks in Libreville, Gabon, between the CAR government and the country's rebels. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - The Nigerian NGO Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) on Sunday asked President Goodluck Jonathan to show ''strong leadership at the highest level of government'' in tackling corruption, ending impunity of perpetrators and turning the country around. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) – Central African Republic (CAR) rebels will arrive in Libreville, Gabon, on Sunday, instead of Saturday, for peace talks with the government, a source close to the rebels has told PANA. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) – A former Central African Republic (CAR) ambassador to China, Mr Christopher Gazam Betty, has joined the rebel Seleka coalition and is expected in Libreville, Gabon, to participate in peace talks to end the rebels' push to overthrow president Francois Bozize, sources close to the rebels told PANA on Saturday in Paris. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) – France will closely work with Senegal to make the next Summit of International Francophone Organization (OIF) scheduled for Dakar in 2014 a successful event, the spokesman of France’s ministry of Foreign Affairs, Philippe Lalliot, has said. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) – The French deputy minister for Francophonie, Yamina Benguigui, will represent France at the investiture ceremony of Ghana's president John Dramani Mahama on Monday in Accra, the spokesperson for the French Foreign Affairs ministry, Philippe Lalliot, has said in Paris. Full text...

Conakry, Guinea (PANA) – Malian Prime minister Django Cissoko arrives in the Guinean capital, Conakry, on Monday on the next stage of a West African tour to discuss the crisis in his country before talks in the Burkina Faso capital with one of the rebel groups that have seized control of two-thirds of Mali. Full text...

Brazzaville, Congo (PANA) – Foreign ministers of the Economic Community of Central African States (CEEAC) are due to meet on Tuesday in the Gabonese capital, Libreville, to find solution to the crisis in Central African Republic where rebels are threatening to overrun the capital, official sources told PANA on Saturday in Brazzaville. Full text...

Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) - The EU on Friday welcomed the scheduled summit meeting on Saturday between Sudanese and South Sudanese Heads of state to address post-secession issues between the two countries. Full text...

Brazzaville, Congo (PANA) – A meeting expected to bring together the Central African Republic government, the opposition and the army is due to be held on 10 January in the Gabonese capital, Libreville. 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...

Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) - Sudanese President Omar Bashir held a closed-door meeting in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, on Friday, with African Union High level Implementation Panel chairperson, Thabo Mbeki and Ethiopian Prime Minister, Haile Mariam Desalegn, in preparation for a Sudan-South Sudan summit meeting at the weekend. Full text...

Accra, Ghana (PANA) - Ghana’s president John Dramani Mahama on Friday gave his government a thumbs-up its performance over the past four years saying the country is better today than when it came to power in 2009. Full text...

Tripoli Libya (PANA) - Libya's transitional government has said the enhancement of security is its priority, amid the tenuous security situation in the north African nation. Full text...

Niamey, Niger (PANA) - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected in Niamey Tuesday for two-day visit to Niger, with a strong delegation of businessmen, Niger’s Press Agency (ANP) reported Friday. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) - Congolese opposition Pan-African Union for Democracy and Socialism (UPADS) Thursday in Paris called for urgent national consultations, saying the situation in the country necessitates all political leaders to be involved. Full text...

Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The Speaker of Libya’s Parliament (National General Congress), Dr Mohamed Al-Megreyef, is due to visit Egypt late January, diplomatic sources told PANA here Thursday. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) - The chairman of Paris-based group SOS Casamance, Mr. Amadou Sylla, has said his association is ready to facilitate talks between Senegal’s government and the rebel group Movement of the Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC) Full text...