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...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - Kenya's new President Uhuru Kenyatta Tuesday struck a conciliatory note as he assumed office in the East African nation, saying he will lead all Kenyans irrespective of who they supported during the elections. Full text...

Bamako, Mali (PANA) – The first batch of a dozen human rights observers has been deployed in Mali in line with a decision by the African Union Peace and Security Council and ECOWAS to deploy some 50 observers under the banner the International Support Mission for Mali (AFISMA), official sources told PANA here Tuesday. Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - Twelve African Heads of State and two former Presidents were among dignitaries who witnessed Tuesday's inauguration of Uhuru Kenyatta as the fourth President of Kenya, signalling a new dawn for a country that was nearly torn apart by post-election violence in 2007/2008 Full text...

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (PANA) - Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete and his predecessor, Benjamin Mkapa, Tuesday joined international dignitaries at Kenya’s historic inauguration of President Uhuru Kenyatta in Nairobi. Full text...

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan is among the African leaders who will witness Tuesday's (9April) inauguration of Mr. Uhuru Kenyatta as Kenya’s fourth President in the nation's capital, Nairobi. Full text...

Abuja, Nigeria (PANA) - The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Mr Kadre Desire Ouedraogo, has praised the government of the United Kingdom for its contributions to the success of West Africa’s integration project, including its ongoing training assistance to the armed forces of Mali to bolster their capacity to discharge their mandate. Full text...

Cotonou, Benin (PANA) – The chairman of the Africa Committee of International Socialists, Beninese Emmanuel Golou, has strongly condemned the 24 March coup in the Central African Republic by the rebel group, Séléka, and called for a return of the rule of law in the country. Full text...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) – The year-long 50th anniversary celebrations of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), now the African Union (AU), were flagged off here Monday by Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Chairperson of the AU Commission, and Dr. Teodros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Ethiopian Minister of Foreign Affairs. Full text...

Washington, DC, US (PANA) - On the 19th anniversary of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, which was observed on Sunday, the US has hailed the resilience and spirit of the Rwandan people ''who have made such progress in overcoming this tragedy''. Full text...

Khartoum, Sudan ( PANA) - A military court on Sunday sentenced 11 military and security officers to prison terms ranging between two and five years for plotting a coup and ordered that they should be dismissed. Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - The UN Special Envoy for Cote d' Ivoire, Mr. Bert Koenders, has said security is a primary concern for Ivorians preparing for local elections this month. Full text...

Johannesburg, South Africa (PANA) - Former South African President Nelson Mandela has been discharged from the hospital, nine days after he was admitted, the South African presidency said on Saturday. Full text...

Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - A high-powered Libyan police delegation has been visiting Algeria since Tuesday to discuss with the Algerian police on how to strengthen the cooperation between the two countries in the area of security, according to an official statement made available to PANA in Tripoli, the Libyan capital, this weekend. Full text...

Nouakchott, Mauritania (PANA) - The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of Mauritania has called for "fresh dialogue" between the Administration, political parties and civil society organizations towards the organisation of free, fair, inclusive and credible elections. Full text...

Abuja, Nigeria (PANA) - The annual Co-ordination meeting between ECOWAS and its Development Partners will take place on 8 Monday at the ECOWAS Commission in Abuja, the Nigerian capital city, to discuss the status of the region's integration projects and the ongoing efforts at institutional reforms in order to improve the performance of the Commission. Full text...