Dakar- Senegal (PANA) -- Rights groups, under the umbrella of The Coalition for H uman Rights in Gambia, on Thursday called for "the withdrawal ofâ? an alleged th eft case against two leading gender activists, Dr. Full text...

New York- US (PANA) -- A UN report Thursday said violence against women remained widespread across the world, compounded by traditions and customary practices that determine the way women are treated in families, places of work and communities. Full text...

New York- US (PANA) -- The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) said "when women have acces s to the same rights and opportunities as men, they are more resilient to confli c t and disaster and can lead reconstruction and renewal efforts in their societie s . Full text...

Dakar- Senegal (PANA) -- The Gambian High Court on Wednesday granted bail to the Executive Director and Programme Coordinator of the Gambia Committee for Traditi o nal Practices (GAMCOTRAP), Dr. Full text...

Dakar- Senegal (PANA) -- Mrs. Full text...

Port Louis- Mauritius (PANA) -- Mauritius will Thursday launch the African Womenâ ?s Decade 2010-2020, under the theme "Gender Equality and Womenâ?s Empowerment: A Bottom up Approach", PANA reported from here Tuesday. Full text...

Dakar- Senegal (PANA) -- The opposition Gambia Moral Congress (GMC) party on Sunday condemned the arrest and detention of two prominent gender activists and rights defenders, Dr. Full text...

Nairobi- Kenya (PANA) -- Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki on Friday called upon African governments to consider empowering women through increased participation in decision-making at all levels of leadership. Full text...

Nairobi- Kenya (PANA) -- Gender and women's empowerment form the foundation of sustainable development in Africa, the Chairman of African Union, Malawi President Bingu wa Mutharika has said. Full text...

Dakar- Senegal (PANA) -- Lawyers defending Gambia's prominent gender activists, D r. Full text...

Dar es Salaam- Tanzania (PANA) -- The South Africa-based Institute for Security S tudies (ISS) has affirmed its commitment to advancing gender equality and Africa n Women's empowerment following the launch, on Friday, of the African Women's Dec a de (2010-2020). Full text...

Brussels- Belgium (PANA) -- The European Parliament has adopted a resolution call ing for the end to rapes and other human rights violations in the DR Congo, acco r ding to a communique handed to the press in Brussels, the Belgian capital. Full text...

Blantyre- Malawi (PANA) -- A 22-year-old Malawian woman from the southern distric t of Mulanje, who made headlines some two years after claiming to have given 'bi r th' to a stone, has finally given birth to a boy, health authorities confirmed t o PANA here Thursday. Full text...

New York- US (PANA) -- A high-level panel convened by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to hear directly from victims of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), has called for 'adequate' support to the victims. Full text...

New York- US (PANA) -- The Vice-Chair of the UN Committee on the Elimination of D iscrimination Against Women (CEDAW), Ms. Full text...

Banjul- Gambia (PANA) -- Two officials of the Gambian NGO, Gambia Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children (GAMCOTRAP), were on Monday charged with theft before Principal Magistrate Emmanuel Nkea of the Banjul Magistrate's Court. Full text...

New York- US (PANA) -- A UN-backed forum have called for global cooperation between countries to fight human trafficking and ensure the enforcement of anti-trafficking laws. Full text...

Dakar- Senegal (PANA) -- The gender-based group, Inter-African Network for Women, Media, Gender and Development (FAMEDEV), on Wednesday launched the Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) report at the organization’s office in Dakar, Senegal. Full text...

New York- US (PANA) -- The UN Police Adviser, Ann-Marie Orler, said that the organization's initiative to boost the number of female police officers deployed in peacekeeping missions around the globe was recording "significant" progress. Full text...

Dakar- Senegal (PANA) – A research finding under G-lobal Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) Wednesday revealed that “women are still greatly under-represented and poorly represented in the coverage by the news media” and that the media “remains largely male”. Full text...

New York- US (PANA) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, on Saturday urged UN mem ber states to make concerted efforts to involve women in promoting peace and security. Full text...

Bamako- Mali (PANA) -- Malian President Amadou Toumani Toure has promoted two wom en to the rank of Brigadier-General on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of t h e country's independence which fell last Wednesday. Full text...

New York- US (PANA) -- Ms. Full text...

New York- US (PANA) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Wednesday launched a mass ive drive to save the lives of over 16 million women and children, with more tha n US$ 40 billion already committed to scale up health services worldwide. Full text...

Dakar- Senegal (PANA) -- Ministers and representatives of civil society organizat ions at a sub-regional forum held here Friday have congratulated Michelle Bachel e t, the newly-appointed Under Secretary-General of UN Women on her new post. Full text...

Dakar- Senegal (PANA) -- Isatou Njie-Saidy, Gambian Vice-President, on Friday outlined the progress made by the West African nation towards implementing the UN Security Council resolution on women’s rights saying her government has done a lot towards ensuring the full participation and representation of women in peace process. Full text...

Dakar- Senegal (PANA) -- Women delegates representing the Mano River Union (MRU) countries on Friday called for the establishment of a sub-regional governance structure that will monitor democratic culture and non-violence in elections. Full text...

New York- US (PANA) -- The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Friday adopted the Dakar Declaration that gives women equal participation and full involvement in all peace and security issues in compliance with a landmark UN Security Council resolution. Full text...

New York- US (PANA) -- The newly-appointed head of UN Women, Ms. Full text...

New York- US (PANA) -- The newly-appointed head of UN Women, Ms. Full text...

New York- US (PANA) -- UN Population Fund (UNFPA) has welcomed the UN Secretary-Generalâ?s appointment of Michelle Bachelet to head UN Women. Full text...

Dakar- Senegal (PANA) -- West African ministers in charge of gender issues, as well as women organizations, on Wednesday started a forum devoted to taking stock of the participation of women in the region in conflict prevention, peace-building and maintenance. Full text...

Paris- France (PANA) -- The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, Tuesday congratulated the former President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet Jeria, on her nomination as the head of UN Women, a new entity to accelerate progress in meeting the needs of women and girls worldwide. Full text...

New York- US (PANA) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for more fundi ng and advocacy to improve literacy rates among women across the world. Full text...

Harare- Zimbabwe (PANA) -- Five young Zimbabwean school girls have petitioned the Constitutional Court, the highest court in the land, to rule on the legality of the refusal by a school to admit them on grounds of their 'unshaven heads'. Full text...

Bajul- Gambia (PANA) -- A three-day, capacity-building training on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) for 30 media practitioners across the Gambia got underway here Friday, PANA reported. Full text...

Port-Louis- Mauritius (PANA) -- Mauritian Gender Equality, Child Development and Family Welfare Minister, Mrs. Full text...

New York- US (PANA) -- The UN is set to empower Tanzanian women ahead of the coun try's general elections in October, the world body said in a statement here Wednesday. Full text...

Brussels- Belgium (PANA) -- The European Union (EU) has expressed "deep indignati on and consternation" over the group attacks and rape recently perpetrated by mi l itiamen of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) and Congole s e allied armed groups in the province of North Kivu, official sources in Brussel s revealed. Full text...

Tripoli- Libya (PANA) -- The Libyan General People's Congress (GPC), the highest legislative body of the country, has passed a law granting citizenship to childr e n of Libyan women married to foreigners, Qareen newspaper reported Thursday on i t s website. Full text...

Brazzaville- Congo (PANA) -- The Congolese President, Denis Sassou Nguesso, pledg ed on Friday in Brazzaville to get Parliament to pass a Act on Parity for equita b le representation of women in political, elective and administrative duties. Full text...

Dakar- Senegal (PANA) -- The Senegalese minister of Family, Female Organizations and Child Protection, Mrs Ndeye Khady Diop, on Wednesday said society would be a better place when there was a positive change of the situation of the African wo m an. Full text...

Luanda- Angola (PANA) -- The Angolan parliament on Tuesday ratified the Protocol of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) about gender and development . Full text...

Kampala- Uganda (PANA) -- Former Irish President, Mary Robinson, has emphasized the protection of women and children caught up in conflict zones, pledging her full support for the implementation of international agreements aimed at offering security for those caught up in conflicts. Full text...

New York- US (PANA) -- The annual high-level meeting of the UN Economic and Socia l Council (ECOSOC) ended on Friday with member states stressing the need for gre a ter investment in women and girls to advance gender equality and empower women. Full text...

New York- US (PANA) -- In an historic move, the UN General Assembly voted unanimo usly on Friday to create a new body to accelerate progress in meeting the needs o f women and girls worldwide. Full text...

Banjul- Gambia (PANA) -- A seminar on ways of ending violence against women began Thursday in Banjul, the Gambian capital, with officials indicating that gender-based violence constituted a major public health and human rights problem across the world, Addressing the opening session of the seminar, the Gambian Vice President and Minister of Women Affairs, Isatou Njie-Saidy, said violence against women had some profound implications for the woman's health, regretting that this was often ignored by society. Full text...

New York- US (PANA) -- The United Nations on Wednesday launched its first compilation of the best practices for its peacekeepers and other workers to prevent, deter and respond to the use of rape as a war tactic. Full text...

New York- US (PANA) -- Progress in reducing poverty and food insecurity will rema in elusive unless significant progress worldwide in advancing women's economic a n d social empowerment and strengthening their rights is made, a UN report said Mo n day. Full text...

New York- US (PANA) -- Nearly 40 chief executive officers representing companies from across the world on Monday endorsed a UN-led initiative to empower women by promoting gender equality in corporate workplaces, markets and communities. Full text...