Cape Town- South Africa (PANA) -- Top South African singer Brenda Fassie, hospitalised last week with a lung infection and a brain damage is in "critical but stable" condition, according to doctors at Johannesburg's Sunninghill Hospital. Full text...

Ouagadougou- Burkina Faso (PANA) -- The golden Kundé music awards will take place here on Friday with international celebrities such as Ivorian singer Asalfo of the Magic System, Ricos Campos of Benin, Adja Soumaro of Mali, Jocelyn Labil and Sheila from France attending, the organisers indicated Wednesday. Full text...

Paris- France (PANA) -- Artiste Tanya Saint Val of Martinique will sponsor a 1 May concert organised by the association Esgrace- France to raise funds for the 'Mama Lucette' orphanage in Brazzaville, Congo, according to Lucette Combo, chair of the association. Full text...

Saint-Denis- Reunion (PANA) -- Wazimbo, one of the great singers of the famous Mozambican musical tune, Marrabenta, will perform for the first time in Reunion this week at the invitation of Port town, official sources told PANA here Tuesday. Full text...

Praia- Cape Verde (PANA) -- Musicians from Cape Verde, Brazil, Bissau-Guinea, Holland and Portugal are expected to participate in the 11th Gamboa festival scheduled for Praia 14-16 May, organisers announced here. Full text...

Niamey- Niger (PANA) -- The 8th edition of the Dan Gourmou Prize, Niger's biggest modern music festival is in full swing in Tahoua, 600 km east of Niamey, sources confirmed here Monday. Full text...

Praia- Cape Verde (PANA) -- Cape Verdian singer Cesaria Evora has received a platinum disc award after selling 300,000 copies of her latest music "Voz d'Amor" in France, sources close to the artist revealed here. Full text...

Nairobi- Kenya (PANA) -- The South Africa Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has launched a musical talent search dubbed "The Voice of Choice". Full text...

Nouakchott- Mauritania (PANA) -- The director of the International Festival "Women's Voice" has highly rated the Nomadic International Music Festival currently being held in Nouakchott. Full text...

Dakar- Senegal (PANA) -- World Food Programme has congratulated Cesaria Evora of Cape Verde for winning the prestigious Grammy Award for her 2003 album "Voz D'Amor", under the category of Best Contemporary World Music Album. Full text...

Cape Town- South Africa (PANA) -- US rockgroup Limp Bizkit will kick off its South African tour in Cape Town on 2 April before heading to Durban on 4 April and Johannesburg on 6 April. Full text...

Cape Town- South Africa (PANA) -- American rock group the Counting Crows, will perform in four South African cities in March, the tour organisers said. Full text...

Cape Town- South Africa (PANA) -- Popular American rock band the Counting Crows will perform in four South African cities kicking off their tour in Cape Town 17 March. Full text...

Bangui- Central African Republic (PANA) -- A Paris-based African music group "Canon Stars," comprising 11 musicians and three dancers, has arrived in Bangui for a concert beginning Wednesday at the Barthelemy Boganda stadium in the Central African Republic (CAR) capital. Full text...

Praia- Cape Verde(PANA) -- For winning the Best African and West African Artist Kora Awards for 2003, Cape Verdean young singer Suzana Lubrano has been granted a diplomatic passport by her country. Full text...

Cotonou- Benin (PANA) -- The second edition of the music festival dubbed 'Ayidowhedo-Gangbe International' opened here Thursday at the initiative of the famous Gangbe Brass Brand, with some 20 musical groups attending the three-day event. Full text...

Cotonou- Benin (PANA) -- Malian superstar Salif Keita arrives in Cotonou Friday night to take part in the second edition of a music festival, Ayidowhedo-Gangbe, which kicked off Thursday night in Cotonou, the Beninese capital. Full text...

Praia- Cape Verde (PANA) -- Cape Verdean female singer Cesaria Evora has been nominated for the fourth time for the US-based Grammy Music Awards in the Best Contemporary Album of World Music category, a source close to the singer told PANA in Praia. Full text...

Cotonou- Benin (PANA) -- The awarding of the first Hosanna Trophies to the best gospel musicians will be made on 20 December at Cotonou's Palais de Congress, one of the organisers has said. Full text...

Paris- France (PANA) -- Famous Cameroonian singer Manu Dibango Thursday received the annual award of the Charles Cros Academy in Paris, which honours outstanding musicians. Full text...

Yaounde- Cameroon (PANA) -- The promotion of traditional musical instruments is one of the main themes of the second Yaounde international record fair (FIDY), which opened here Monday. Full text...

Brussels- Belgium (PANA) -- Musical "Afrique en Classique," comprising Belgian and DR Congo musicians, has called off a planned tour of Belgium after the Belgian embassy in Kinshasa refused visas to the Congolese members of the group, official sources said Wednesday in Brussels. Full text...

Bamako- Mali (Mali) -- About 20 troupes from Burkina Faso, Britain, Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, France, Guinea, Nigeria and Senegal will participate in a weeklong international percussion festival which opens in Bamako Friday. Full text...

Antananarivo- Madagascar (PANA) -- US saxophonist Hal Singer will on Wednesday officially open Madagascar's 14th international jazz festival, "Madajazzcar," in Antananarivo, the country's capital. Full text...

Nouakchott- Mauritania (PANA) -- Guinea's famous "Bembeya National Jazz band is scheduled to perform at the French Cultural Centre here Sunday evening, a source revealed Friday in the Mauritanian capital. Full text...

Paris- France (PANA) -- Cameroonian bassist and singer Richard Bona will Tuesday release his third album, "Munia", on the French market, following "Scenes from my Life" and "Reverence", his first two albums which propelled him to fame as a leading figure in the music world. Full text...

Ouagadougou- Burkina Faso (PANA) -- Two bands from West Africa, the famous Africando Orchestra and Magic System, are billed to perform live next weekend in Ouagadougou, Bobo Dioulasso and Ouahigouya, organisers said here Tuesday. Full text...

Saint Denis- Reunion (PANA) -- A song titled "Magik Kabo" (Magic Penis) by a Reunion rap group, Future Crew, is causing an outcry in the local media. Full text...

Yaounde- Cameroon (PANA) -- Cameroonian musicians began discussions Wednesday with Culture minister Leopold Ferdinand Oyono in a bid to overcome differences concerning a planned copyrights company. Full text...

Rabat- Morocco (PANA) -- The first Desert Music Festival will be held in south-eastern Morocco from 18 to 21 September, with the participation of musicians from five African countries, organisers said in a statement. Full text...

Nairobi- Kenya (PANA) -- Kenyan president Mwai Kibaki has emphasised the importance role traditional songs and dances play in the preservation of the nation's diverse culture. Full text...

Cotonou- Benin (PANA) -- Senegalese world-class musician Youssou Ndour gave a sold-out concert Tuesday as part of the 2nd Gospel and Roots Festival convening in Cotonou. Full text...

Brazzaville- Congo (PANA) -- Congolese Jean Serge Essou and Nino Malapet, two prominent figures in Congo's contemporary music, and Cameroon's traditional Mac-Case band, have been awarded the International Bantu Civilisations (CICIBA) prizes at the just ended Pan-African Music Festival (FESPAM). Full text...

Cotonou- Benin (PANA) -- Senegalese musical star Youssou Ndour arrives here Sunday to participate in the second edition of the International Gospel and Roots Festival, the organisers revealed Wednesday. Full text...

Kinshasa- DR Congo (PANA) -- African women participating in a symposium organised as part of the Pan-African Music Festival (FESPAM) in Kinshasa, DR Congo, have urged African musicians, mainly those from Central Africa, to get involved through their work in the building of the continent. Full text...

Brazzaville- Congo (PANA) -- Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso will Saturday officially open the 4th edition of the Pan- African Music Festival (FESPAM) convening this year on the theme "Itinerary and Convergence of Africa's Traditional and Modern Music". Full text...

Maputo- Mozambique (PANA) -- Mozambican police Wednesday seized thousands of music compact discs and audio cassettes from Maputo shops, in a raid against counterfeit products, the national news agency, AIM, reported Thursday. Full text...

Kinshasa- DR Congo (PANA) -- Congo Brazzaville's Culture and Tourism Minister Jean-Claude Gakosso, is in Kinshasa to conclude arrangements for the 4-9 August Pan-African Music Festival (FESPAM), to be hosted by Kinshasa and Brazzaville. Full text...

Cotonou- Benin (PANA) -- Three Beninese cities are set to host a weeklong "Gospel and Roots" festival starting from 10 August, organisers told the press on Thursday in Cotonou. Full text...

Cape Town- South Africa (PANA) -- Two outstanding South African singers are this year's recipients of the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation's annual Reconciliation Award. Full text...

Blantyre- Malawi (PANA) -- Musicians in Malawi are up in arms against the state-run Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC), in a wrangle over unpaid royalties. Full text...

Yaounde- Cameroon (PANA) -- Fifteen jazz groups from the US, France, Congo and Cameroon are expected to perform during the third edition of the Yaounde Jazz Festival which opened on Friday in Yaounde, organisers said here. Full text...

Abidjan- Cote d'Ivoire (PANA) -- Twelve African countries are on roll for a traditional music festival for French-speaking countries, coming up 21 June in Abidjan's Yopougon district, sources indicated Thursday. Full text...

Kinshasa- DR Congo (PANA) -- Music lovers in Kinshasa are eagerly waiting for the release of pop singer Shungu Wembadioa, alias Papa Wemba on Friday as announced by international media organs Wednesday. Full text...

Libreville- Gabon (PANA) -- Young talents from five Central African countries Wednesday released a CD titled "Eleke," thanks to support from 'Proculture,' financed by the European Union. Full text...

Cape Town- South Africa (PANA) -- A young Cape Town boy has flown to Los Angeles to record an album with top US musician Jonathan Butler. Full text...

Cotonou- Benin (PANA) -- Sixteen persons were killed and 10 others seriously injured Saturday evening at the Amitie stadium in Cotonou, a few hours to the start of a musical show by Congolese star Koffi Olomide, hospital sources disclosed Sunday. Full text...

Johannesburg- South Africa (PANA) -- Security personnel of award- winning singer Mzekezeke assaulted a curious fan who tried to unmask the performer during a concert. Full text...

Cape Town- South Africa (PANA) -- One of Africa's most experienced and acclaimed drummers, Nicholas Kotei Djanie, on Thursday began four days of performing workshops in the Maluti Mountain Foothills in South Africa. Full text...

Saint-Denis- Reunion (PANA) -- Visiting Senegalese singer Ismael Lo Thursday night thrilled a huge audience in Reunion in melodies that brought the island closer to the African continent. Full text...