Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - An ECOWAS fact-finding mission is due to arrive in Mali on Thursday for a three-day assessment of the situation in the northern part of the country, where a Tuareg rebellion that started last month has killed many and displaced thousands, a source at the regional bloc told PANA here Wednesday. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - ECOWAS is sending a fact-finding mission to Mali, where a Tuareg rebellion has left many dead and displaced, a source told PANA in Lagos on Wednesday. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - Gambian President Yahya Jammeh Tuesday received in his office in Banjul, the Gambian capital, Senegalese Foreign Minister Madicke Niang, PANA confirmed from official sources. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - Senegalese Foreign Minister Madicke Niang has summoned the U.S. Ambassador in Dakar, Mr. Lewis Lukens, following the envoy's comments on the candidacy of President Abdoulaye Wade, ahead of the Senegal's presidential election on 26 February. Full text...

Brussels, Belgium (PANA) – The European Union (EU) has appointed Peter Zsoldos as the head of its maiden diplomatic mission to Libya, according to a communiqué issued on Tuesday in Brussels. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson will lead an Energy Trade Mission to five African nations 6-17 Feb., the US State Department said in a statement obtained by PANA here Friday. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) - France has delivered 600 kilos of medical aid to Nigeria to help the victims of the terrorist attacks that hit the African nation's northern city of Kano 20 Jan,, the French Foreign Ministry said Thursday. Full text...

Abuja, Nigeria (PANA) - Five Ambassadors have been accredited as Permanent Representatives of their countries to the ECOWAS Commission, the Commission said in a statement issued here Thursday. Full text...

Rabat, Morocco (PANA) – The Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Saad Dine Otmani, will this week visit Spain, his first trip to Madrid since taking office at the head of the Moroccan diplomacy, an official source told PANA here Wednesday. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - Madagascar, which was suspended from the African Union (AU) in March 2009 after a military-backed coup, has complained about what it considers the 'double standard' on the part of the continental organization. Full text...

Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) - South Africa's mediator in Madagascar has criticized the Malagasy government for its continued calls for the arrest of the island's ousted president, Marc Ravalomanana. Full text...

Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) - Ahead of next week's Africa Union summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, South Africa is continuing with its campaign to see highly-respected Cabinet Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma head the AU Commission. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - Ethiopia and Eritrea are trading accusations over the recent killing of at least five European tourists in Ethiopia’s arid North-east. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - The African Union and the United Nations have kicked off discussions to explore ways of assisting the new Libyan administration to conduct elections and work towards a peaceful transition, in line with the demands of the Libyan people. Full text...

Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire (PANA) – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday had talks with Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara in the Ivorian economic capital of Abidjan Full text...

Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) - South Africa's President Jacob Zuma has slammed the UN Security Council's handling of last year's Libya crisis and demanded that the global body take greater account of African views in addressing conflict issues. Full text...

Pretoria, South Africa (PANA) - The Presidents of Angola, South Africa and Mozambique met here Monday for a tripartite meeting that dwelt on the common interest of the nations. Full text...

Luanda, Angola (PANA) - The Nigerien leader, Mahamadou Issoufou, on his way back from attending the 100th anniversary of South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC), on Monday made a stop over in Luanda, the Angolan capital, the Angolan News Agency (ANGOP) reported. Full text...

Luanda, Angola (PANA) - The Portuguese Speaking Countries Community (CPLP) has reached out to ECOWAS in an effort to jump-start the slow defence and security reforms in Guinea Bissau, which many believe have led to the incessant security threats in the country. Full text...

Blantyre, Malawi (PANA) - Malawi's former President Bakili Muluzi has urged the government of President Bingu wa Mutharika to "hear him first" before doubting his role as emissary in the diplomatic spat between Malawi and Zambia. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) – French minister in charge of cooperation, Henri de Raincourt, on Thursday expressed his country's regret at the attack last Saturday in Paris on Léon Kengo Wa Dondo, the president of the DR Congo Senate. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - Gambian Vice-President, Isatou Njie-Saidy addressing government's first "consultative meeting" with its citizens in the Diaspora on Tuesday, has emphaiszed the need for all hands to be on deck towards the country's development process. Full text...

Accra, Ghana (PANA) - Ghana's President John Evans Atta Mills returned home on Saturday from a one-week visit to the US which, he said, was in the supreme interest of the West African nation. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) – Gambian President Yahya Jammeh Wednesday received in his office in Banjul, the nation's capital, the African Union Commission Chairman Jean Ping, who was on his way from Guinea Bissau, the official Daily Observer newspaper reported Thursday. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - The Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), Dr. Jean Ping, has strongly condemned the bombings of churches across Nigeria on 25 December, which killed a large number of people. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - The U.S. Mission in Nigeria has issued an ''emergency message'' for all U.S. citizens in Nigeria, urging them to ''take extra precautions during the Christmas and New Year holiday season to ensure your safety and security''. Full text...

Luanda, Angola (PANA) - Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos and the Prime Full text...

Abuja, Nigeria (PANA) - Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday received African Union (AU) Commission Chairperson Jean Ping and a special envoy of Gabonese President, Mr. Frank Issoze-Ngondet. Full text...

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Harare, Zimbabwe (PANA) - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on Wednesday in Harare Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his Djiboutian counterpart Ismail Omar Guelleh were due to meet on Wednesday at the Elysee Palace in Paris, according to a statement issued by the French Presidency and sent to PANA. Full text...

Luanda, Angola (PANA) - The Prime Minister of Guinea Bissau, Carlos Gomes Junior, will Wednesday commence a 48-hour official visit to Angola as part of efforts at strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries. Full text...

Bujumbura, Burundi (PANA) - Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza Friday visited N’Djamena, where he held a closed-door meeting with his Chadian counterpart, Idriss Deby, the Burundi’s new agency (ABP) said Saturday, quoting sources close to the presidency in Bujumbura. Full text...

Luanda, Angola (PANA) - Russia has described Angola as "a key force" in sub-Saharan Africa, from the political point of view. Full text...

Luanda, Angola (PANA) - The Angolan Ambassador to Egypt, António da Costa Fernandes, on Monday presented his letters of credence to the interim Egyptian President, Marshal Mohamed Hussain Tantawi, the Angolan Embassy in Cairo, the Egyptian capital, said in a press statement. Full text...

Bulawayo, Zimbabwe (PANA) - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe said Thursday the African Union (AU) had failed Libya in its recent conflict which toppled the government of Colonel Mouammar Kadhafi. Full text...

Nouakchott, Mauritania (PANA) - Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz left Nouakchott Thursday morning for Dar es Salam, to attend Friday's festivities marking the 50th anniversary of Tanzania's independence, official sources told PANA. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The US on Wednesday dedicated its new Embassy in Djibouti, at a ceremony presided over by U.S. Ambassador Geeta Pasi and witnessed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Mahmoud Ali Youssouf and Managing Director for the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations’ (OBO) Planning and Real Estate Directorate, Jay Hicks, the State Department said. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) – The President of the Malagasy Supreme Transitional Authority (HAT) , Andry Rajoelina, was received on Wednesday in Paris by French president Nicolas Sarkozy, the Elysee Palace announced in a communique received by PANA. Full text...

Brussels, Belgium (PANA) - The European Union (EU) has decided to gradually restore cooperation with Madagascar, following the 16 September adoption of a roadmap aimed at ending the political crisis in the African country, the EU Council of Member States said in a press statement in Brussels Wednesday. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The Sudan Troika, comprising of the US, Norway and UK, has urged Sudan and South Sudan to strive to reach a sustainable agreement that takes care of all outstanding petroleum sector and financial issues between the two nations. Full text...

Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) - President Idris Debby of Chad left Khartoum late Tuesday at the end of two days of talks with his Sudanese host, Omar Al-Bashir, during which both leaders examined bilateral relations, particularly economic and infrastructural ties, between their countries. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - The African Union (AU) said on Sunday it is committed to maintaining the immunity of incumbent African leaders and called on Kenya and Sudan to maintain their relations. Full text...

Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) - Sudan said it has received a missive from Kenyan president Mwai Kibaki, in which nairobi distanced itself from the ruling of a Kenyan High Court issued on the arrest of President Omar Al-Bashir in line with the International Criminal Court (ICC) ruling. Full text...

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - Kuwait has requested Senegal's backing for its efforts to obtain an observer status at the African Union (AU), Senegal's Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement. Full text...

Paris, France (PANA) – Former Senegalese Prime minister and Chairman of the opposition Alliance for the Republic (APR), Macky Sall, said on Tuesday in Paris that Senegal must consider closing down 15 diplomatic missions abroad to meet budgetary priorities. Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - Sudan has recalled its Ambassador to Kenya and ordered the expulsion of the Kenyan Ambassador to Khartoum, in a loud diplomatic protest over the issuance of an arrest warrant against Sudanese President Omar El-Bashir by a Kenyan court, officials said Tuesday. Full text...

Bujumbura, Burundi (PANA) - The Kenyan Minister of Internal Affairs for the East African Community (ECA), Musa Sirma, on Sunday took over the management of affairs at the ECA from his Burundian counterpart, Ms. Hafsa Mossi, PANA learnt here Monday from official sources. Full text...

Luanda, Angola (PANA) - President of Equatorial-Guinea, Teodoro Obieng Nguema, Thursday met with his Angolan counterpart, José Eduardo dos Santos, at the Presidential Palace in Luanda, as part of his 48-hour official visit to Angola. Full text...

Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) - Libya's interim National Council Chairman, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, arrived in Khartoum Friday on a two-day state visit to the Sudan. Full text...