Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) - The UN on Thursday welcomed the start of direct negotiations between the Sudanese government and the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-North). Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday welcomed the signing of a joint declaration by political actors in Guinea to resolve differences over preparations for stalled legislative elections and other contentious issues through peaceful means. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday inaugurated the committee he set up to engage the Islamic sect, Boko Haram, in talks and work out the modality for a possible amnesty for its members who renounce violence. Full text...

Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) - The American embassy in Khartoum on Wednesday issued a statement, welcoming the progress made in the implementation of the cooperation agreement between Sudan and South Sudan. Full text...

Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) - The African Union (AU) on Wednesday commended Sudan and South Sudan for their agreement to open eight crossing points between the two countries immediately, saying this was an important step in the integration process between the two States. Full text...

Rabat, Morocco (PANA) – Morocco Wednesday expressed full support for the democratic transition underway in Libya and condemned Tuesday's attacks on the French embassy in Tripoli, PANA reported here, citing a communique from the Moroccan Foreign Affairs ministry. Full text...

Abuja, Nigeria (PANA) - The Electoral Assistance Division of the ECOWAS Commission has been presented with a database that will house records of all professionals in the region in the areas of Election monitoring and evaluation. Full text...

Tripoli, Libya (PANA) – The Libyan government has vowed that it will do everything possible to unmask perpetrators of Tuesday's car bomb attack on the French Embassy here in which two guards and a little girl were injured. Full text...

Accra, Ghana (PANA) - Ghana's Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Ms Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong, has tasked experts charged with developing a mechanism for wider powers of the ECOWAS Parliament to come up with concrete proposals that will enable the institution influence community legal instruments. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) - Mayor Nazaire Guenefe Yalanga of Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic (CAR), has acknowledged that his city is still plagued by a serious insecurity which he blamed on "elements out of control". Full text...

Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The Libyan Interior Ministry has condemned Tuesday's car bomb attack against the French Embassy in Tripoli, which injured two guards and partly damaged the embassy building. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - It is important for Africa to involve the private sector, investment banks and the civil society in a practical way to realise the continent’s goals in its partnership with Europe, African Union Commission (AUC) Chief of Staff Jean-Baptiste Natama said here Tuesday. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) – Officials of the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU) will hold their sixth commission-to-commission meeting here this week to identify priority issues for discussion at the fourth Africa-EU Summit, scheduled for April 2014 in Brussels, Belgium, the AU Commission announced here Monday. Full text...

Mogadishu, Somalia (PANA) - Somali police are increasingly playing a more prominent role in keeping their country back on its feet after 22 years of conflict. But peace in Somalia is still a long shot. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) – The French president, François Hollande, will Friday, at the Elysée, hold talks with the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, official sources told PANA here Thursday. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Nigeria's leading opposition party, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Thursday voted for a merger with some other leading opposition parties, an action which the party's leaders said will establish a formidable platform to face the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2015 general elections. Full text...

Balaclava, Mauritius (PANA) - The sixth Conference of African Ministers in charge of Integration (COMAI VI) opened Thursday at Balaclava, northern Mauritius, PANA reported from here. Full text...

Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – President Jacob Zuma on Wednesday informed Parliament of the extension, by a further 12 months, of the services of South African soldiers in the DR Congo and Sudan “to fulfil various international obligations”. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) has castigated the United Nations over its failure to prevent the Rwandan genocide against the Tutsi ethnic community 19 years ago, despite having reports to that effect. Full text...

Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) - The UN on Wednesday welcomed the AU invitation to the Sudanese government and the northern Sudanese rebel groups to negotiate for peace under the AU High-Level Implementation Panel, led by former South African President Thabo Mbeki. Full text...

Accra, Ghana (PANA) - Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama and his visiting Iranian counterpart, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on Wednesday held bilateral talks covering a wide range of issues on political, economic, cultural and technical cooperation between both countries. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) – A meeting at which the current situation in the Central African Republic (CAR) will be discussed begins Thursday in the Chadian capital, Ndjamena, under the aegis the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), currently chaired by Chad, PANA learnt here. Full text...

Nouakchott, Mauritania (PANA) - The foreign ministers of the 5+5 Dialogue Group have welcomed the political changes that took place since the beginning of 2011, especially along the southern shore of the Mediterranean, as well as the democratic reforms in the sub-region. Full text...

Bamako, Mali (PANA) - The European Union (EU) is to make available to the UNDP two million Euros to support electoral civic education activities and provide assistance in the establishment of a voters' list, PANA learnt from official sources here Wednesday. Full text...

Luanda, Angola (PANA) - Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo arrived in Luanda, the Angolan capital, on Wednesday morning. Full text...

Port Louis, Mauritius (PANA) - The Sixth Conference of African Ministers of Integration (COMAI VI) will be held April 18- 19 in Mauritius, PANA learned Wednesday from an official source. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan has said he is yet to take a decision on whether or not to seek the 2015 presidential ticket of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), dismissing as ill-founded reports that he has empanelled trusted loyalists to strategise on his campaign. Full text...

Accra, Ghana PANA) - President John Mahama on Wednesday clocked 100 days in office with an assurance that he remains focused on delivering on the promises made to Ghanaians, despite the challenges faced by his administration. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday hosted South African President Jacob Zuma, who paid a one-day official visit to the West African nation. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) – France has circulated a draft resolution at the United Nations to transform the African-led International Support Mission to Mali (AFISMA) into a UN mission for the Stabilization of Mali, the French foreign ministry said on Tuesday. Full text...

Accra, Ghana (PANA) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Accra on Tuesday on the last leg of a three-nation West Africa tour that has already taken him to Benin and Niger. Full text...

Nouakchott, Mauritania (PANA) – Mauritania is willing to participate in a UN-led peacekeeping mission in Mali, the French minister of Foreign Affairs, Laurent Fabius, disclosed this Monday at the end of his meeting with the Mauritanian president, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz. Full text...

Accra, Ghana (PANA) - The Supreme Court in Ghana on Tuesday began hearing a petition filed by the members of the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), challenging the election victory of President John Mahama in December last year. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The UN Security Council on Monday held a debate on preventing conflict in Africa, with calls for top priority to be given to addressing underlying root causes such as poverty, hunger, human rights abuses, marginalization and impunity, especially with regard to sexual violence. Full text...

Nouakchott, Mauritania (PANA) – The fourth meeting of parliamentarians from countries of the Western basin of the Mediterranean Sea, called Group 5+5, kicked off Monday in Nouakchott, Mauritania, PANA reported here. Full text...

Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) - The US on Monday welcomed Friday's meeting between Presidents Omar al Bashir of Sudan and Salva Kiir of South Sudan in Juba, capital of South Sudan. Full text...

Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) - South African President Jacob Zuma arrived in Algeria on Monday morning for a working visit, during which he will hold bilateral talks with host President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Full text...

Mogadishu, Somalia (PANA) - At least 22 people, including nine Al Shabaab attackers who raided a courthouse in Mogadishu, the Somali capital, were killed while over 50 others were injured in the attack, government officials said Sunday. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) – The French Foreign Affairs Minister, Laurent Fabius, is expected in Nouakchott Monday for a two-day visit to Mauritania during which he will hold talks with Mauritanian authorities on bilateral ties between the two countries, official sources told PANA here. Full text...

Accra, Ghana (PANA) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will pay a two-day official visit to Ghana from 16 April to hold discussions on bilateral issues and the Non-Aligned Movement, an official statement in Accra announced on Friday. Full text...

Lome, Togo (PANA) – The Togolese government Friday announced the creation of a security unit, called FOSEL 2013, for the forthcoming legislative and local government elections. Full text...

Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - Determined to crack down on human traffickers and counterfeiters operating across its borders with neighboring countries in the West and the South West, the Libyan Air Force is carrying out surveillance with flights over the areas, military spokesman, Ali al-Cheikhi told a news conference Thursday. Full text...

Brussels, Belgium (PANA) - The Togolese Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralization, Mr. Gilbert Bawara, said his country has not solicited financial support from the European Union (EU) to organise forthcoming legislative polls. Full text...

Bamako, Mali (PANA) – The Alliance for Democracy in Mali (ADEMA), which ruled the west African nation from 1992 to 2002, has named its candidate for the presidential polls in July, party sources told PANA here Wednesday. Full text...

Brussels, Belgium (PANA) - The European Union (EU) has condemned the attack on a UN convoy in South Sudan in which 12 persons were killed, among them five peacekeepers, according to an official EU statement issued here Thursday. Full text...

Luanda, Angola (PANA) – The President of Sao Tome and Principe, Manuel Pinto da Costa, arrived here Thursday for a 24-hour visit to Angola, meant to reinforce the bilateral co-operation between the two States, according to the Angolan News Agency (ANGOP). Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Redeeming the pledge it made during a donor's conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopa, in January, the European Union (EU) has given ECOWAS a 76-million-euro grant to support the African-led International Mission in Mali (AFISMA), and to strengthen the implementation of the regional protocol on free intra-community movement of citizens. Full text...

Brussels, Belgium (PANA) – The International Organization de La Francophonie (OIF) has suspended the membership of the Central African Republic (CAR), where the Seleka rebels seized power last month. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - US President Barack Obama, has said Somalia will receive military assistance from the US in order to bolster security and stability in the Horn of African nation. Full text...

Bujumbura, Burundi (PANA) – The Burundian head of state, Pierre Nkurunziza, was due in Teheran Tuesday for a three-day official visit to Iran, a communiqué released by the Burundian presidency indicated here. Full text...