Brussels- Belgium (PANA) -- Koen Vervaeke, a diplomat, has been appointed head of the European Union (EU) mission to the African Union (AU) in Addis-Ababa, official sources said here Wednesday. Full text...

Tripoli- Libya (PANA) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin Monday held a telephone conversation with Libyan leader Colonel Mouammar Kadhafi during which he congra t ulated him on the election of Libya as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. Full text...

Paris- France (PANA) -- The Secretary General of the International Francophonie Organisation (OIF), Abdou Diouf, is expected in Cairo on Sunday for a 72-hour working visit, reliable sources told PANA on Thursday in Paris. Full text...

Kinshasa- DR Congo (PANA) -- The US State Department has named a diplomat Haywood Ranki to monitor the peace process in the province of North-Kivu of DR Congo, the United States Embassy in Kinshasa announced on Thursday. Full text...

Paris- France (PANA) -- President François Bozizé of the Central African Republic (CAR) will start a four-day working visit to France Saturday, French o fficials told PANA here. Full text...

Melilla Rabat- Morocco (PANA) -- Morocco on Friday recalled its ambassador in Madrid, Spain, for consultation following the announcement that King Juan Carlos would on Monday visit the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, officials said in Rabat. Full text...

Paris- France (PANA) -- Mauritanian president, Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi and his French counterpart, Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday held talks on bilateral issues in the Elysee palace in Paris described as "cordial and friendly" by the Mauritanian leader. Full text...

Paris- France (PANA) -- Libyan Leader Mouammar Kadhafi is due in France early D ecember on a two-day official visit, French weekly Le Journal du dimanche (JDD) r eported in its latest edition. Full text...

Paris- France (PANA) – French President Nicholas S-arkozy on Friday held talks in Paris with his Malian counterpart, Amadou Toumani Touré over lunch and once again praised democracy in the West African state "as an example for the whole African continent". Full text...

Nouakchott- Mauritania (PANA) - – Libyan leader Colonel Mouammar Kadhafi on Tuesday invited his Mauritanian counterpart President Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi to Tripoli in a move seen as an effort by Colonel Kadhafi to improve relations between the two countries. Full text...

Nouakchott- Mauritania (PANA) - – Libyan leader Colonel Mouammar Kadhafi on Tuesday invited his Mauritanian counterpart President Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi to Tripoli in a move seen as an effort by Colonel Kadhafi to improve relations between the two countries. Full text...

Nouakchott- Mauritania (PANA) -- Gambian Foreign Affairs Minister Chris Ben Kiry Johnson arrived here late Sunday as a special envoy of President Yahya Jammeh, Mauritania's state-owned news agency reported Monday. Full text...

Praia- Cape Verde (PANA) -- Cape Verdian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Victor Borges, on Tuesday began a two-day official visit in Russia where he would discuss with his counterpart, Serguei Lavrov trade and economic relations, according to official sources in Praia. Full text...

Nouakchott- Mauritania (PANA) -- The new US Ambassador to Mauritania, Mark Boulware, has hailed the level of co-operation with the Sahel countries in the fight against terrorism, according to a statement issued by the US embassy here. Full text...

Bujumbura- Burundi (PANA) -- Burundi's First Vice-President Martin Nduwimana left here late Sunday for New York, where he will take part in the 62nd session of the United Nations General Assembly Tuesday, an official source said here. Full text...

Kinshasa- DR Congo (PANA) -- A new passport in conformity with the directives of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) that would be highly legible, will soon be put in circulation in the DR Congo, the Central Bank of Congo (BCC) announced in a statement availed to PANA Thursday. Full text...

Paris- France (PANA) -- Former South African President, Nelson Mandela arrived in Paris on Monday in continuation of a European tour that already took him to London and Monaco, official French sources said. Full text...

Kinshasa- DR Congo (PANA) -- Presidents Joseph Kabila of DR Congo and Yoweri Moseveni of Uganda plan to meet in Kampala on 8 September to continue talks on improving relations, corroborating sources said Monday in Kinshasa. Full text...

Kinshasa- DR Congo (PANA) -- The government in DR Congo Friday announced that plans were underway to revamp its foreign service, including the reorganisation of its chancelleries and the gradual recall of some ambassadors. Full text...

Bujumbura- Burundi (PANA) - – President Pierre Nkurunziza Tuesday received the French, German, and Belgian ambassadors, as well as the representative of the European Union (EU) in Burundi, in the wake of these diplomats' serious concern about the institutional crisis in the country, an official source said here. Full text...

Nouakchott- Mauritania (PANA) – Mauritania plans t-o shortly embark upon strengthening the economic role of its diplomatic representations abroad "to make their potentialities visible in order to attract more investments," foreign minister Mohamed Saleck Ould Mohamed Lemine disclosed here Friday. Full text...

Paris- France (PANA) -- France's new President Nicolas Sarkozy has met with six African heads of State and government since his inauguration 16 May, PANA reported Friday. Full text...

Tripoli- Libya (PANA) -- Libyan leader, Col. Full text...

Istanbul- Turkey (PANA) – Turkey is hoping to secu-re Africa's support as it vies for the post of a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2008-2010 period, Turk editor, Sami Kohen said Monday. Full text...

Paris- France (PANA) -- Ghanaian President and chairman of the African Union (AU), John Kufuor will hold discussions on 5 June in Paris with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, French diplomatic sources told PANA Wednesday. Full text...

Ouagadougou- Burkina Faso (PANA) – The Burkinabe g-overnment has issued sanctions– ranging from warnings to censure- against 140 personnel of the Foreign ministry, a statement issued after a cabinet meeting here announced Thursday. Full text...

Paris- France (PANA) – Gabonese President Omar Bon-go is expected in Paris Friday at the invitation of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, an official source affirmed here Wednesday. Full text...

Paris- France (PANA) – Prime Minister Lansana Kouy-até of Guinea said on Friday in Paris that his weeklong working visit to France was "a total success". Full text...

Nouakchott- Mauritania (PANA) – The United States -and Mauritania will enhance bilateral cooperation in various fields in the coming years, US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte said here. Full text...

Paris- France (PANA) – South--African president, Thabo Mbeki, Thursday in Paris hailed the "availability and readiness to work with Africa" of his French counterpart Jacques Chirac who is not running in the country's presidential election set for 22 April. Full text...

Nouakchott- Mauritania (PANA) -- Mauritania's President-elect, Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi said he would carefully consult a cross-section of the citizenry on whether to maintain diplomatic ties with Israel. Full text...

Cannes- France (PANA) – Between 200 and 300 ant--globalisation activists demonstrated late Thursday in Cannes where the Africa-France summit is being held, against France's support to African dictatorships. Full text...

Paris- France (PANA) – Haiti plans to reinforce it-s diplomatic presence in Africa by opening several diplomatic and consular missions on the continent, Haitian Foreign and Cult Minister, Jean- Renald Clérisme disclosed here Wednesday. Full text...

Paris- France (PANA) – The military support by the- French government to the regimes of Central Africa Republic (CAR) president, Francois Bozize, and his Chadian counterpart, Idriss Deby, against rebel movements, fits within a political framework favoured by Paris, an official said Monday. Full text...

Brussels- Belgium (PANA) -- Rwanda could file a complaint with the European Union in Brussels, Belgium, against France for its alleged involvement in the 1994 genocide, Rwandan foreign minister, Charles Muringade, said in an interview published on Monday in the Daily "La Libre Belgique". Full text...

Tripoli- Libya (PANA) -- Italy has promised to remain faithful to a joint protocol it signed with Libya that promotes co-operation and friendly relations between the two countries, a senior Italian official has said. Full text...

Rabat- Morocco (PANA) -- German foreign minister Frank Walter Steinmeier will Friday start a two-day visit to Morocco aimed at strengthening bilateral ties between the two countries and the kingdom and the European Union (EU), Rabat announced Monday. Full text...

Rabat- Morocco (PANA) -- Moroccan foreign minister Mohamed Benaïssa Thursday received the new ambassador of Sierra Leone, Mohamed Samoura, as he takes up assignment in the North African country. Full text...

Tunis- Tunisia (PANA) – The Tunisian Foreign Minis-try has announced the closure of it embassy in Doha, Qatar to protest a recent "hostile campaign" aired on the Qatari-based TV channel Al-Jazira, which the ministry claimed was "intended to affect Tunisia". Full text...

Port Louis- Mauritius (PANA) – Prime Minister Navi-n Ramgoolam of Mauritius, on Wednesday congratulated South Korea's Foreign Minister, Ban Ki-Moon, upon his election as Secretary General of the United Nations. Full text...

Paris- France (PANA) – Guy Labertit, national dele-gate to Africa and the Francophonie of the French Socialist Party (PS), popularly referred to as "PS Mister Africa" has resigned from the posts he held for 13 years due to "personal reasons". Full text...

Ouagadougou- Burkina Faso (PANA) -- Taiwanese ambassador to Burkina Faso, Formosan Tao Wen-Lung, has affirmed here that his country is ready to accept the restoration of diplomatic relations between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and Burkina Faso. Full text...

Lilongwe- Malawi (PANA) -- Malawi president Bingu Wa Mutharika has refused calls from Parliament and the civil society to recall Malawi High Commissioner to South Africa, Agrinna Mussa, whose appointment the protesters describe as controversial and illegal. Full text...

Paris- France (PANA) -- Mauritanian head of state Ely Ould Mohamed Vall will pay a two-day visit to France beginning Tuesday during which he will hold talks with his French counterpart Jacques Chirac, the foreign ministry announced here Monday. Full text...

Ouagadougou- Burkina Faso (PANA) – A Chinese deleg-ation arrives here this weekend on a private visit under the auspices of the Friendship and Solidarity Forum with China (FASIB), sources said here Saturday. Full text...

Brussels- Belgium (PANA) -- Belgian Foreign Minister, Karel de Gucht has discussed the latest political developments in Kinshasa with Congolese President Joseph Kabila on the sidelines of the 61st session of the UN General Assembly in New York, Belgian officials told PANA in Brussels. Full text...

Praia- Cape Verde (PANA) -- The former Cape Verdean President, Antonio Mascarenhas Monteiro, has accepted his appointment as special representative of UN secretary-general, Kofi Annan, for East Timor, officials affirmed here Wednesday. Full text...

Rabat- Morocco (PANA) -- Morocco's ambassador to Italy has been returned to his post after he was recalled following remarks by Pope Benedict XVI on Islam which Muslims described as "offending", the ministry of foreign affairs and international cooperation in Rabat said Wednesday. Full text...

Paris- France (PANA) – Burundi minister of Foreign- Relations and International Cooperation, Antoinette Butunbwira, on Wednesday insisted in Paris that Burundi still demands the recall of Nureldin Satti, head of the UN Mission in Burundi (UNMIB). Full text...

Nouakchott- Mauritania (PANA) -- Mauritanian head of state, Colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall, Monday held talks with Peter Van Walsum, special envoy of the UN Secretary General for Western Sahara, official sources revealed here. Full text...