Cotonou- Benin (PANA) -- A 10-day national handicrafts exhibition was opened Friday in Cotonou by Benin's Culture, Handicrafts and Tourism Minister Amos Elegbe. Full text...

Lome- Togo (PANA) -- The government of Togo has proposed a budget of 183,201,877,000 CFAF (over 246 million dollars) for 2002, according to an official communiqué issued in Lome. Full text...

Addis Ababa- Ethiopia (PANA) -- Ethiopia's electric power corporation is to spend 41. Full text...

Lagos- Nigeria (PANA) -- Nigeria's crude oil export, responsible for more than 90 percent of the country's foreign exchange earnings, dropped from 62,954,611 barrels in August to 61,752,740 in September, the local media reported Saturday, citing a report on the country's oil industry. Full text...

Khartoum- Sudan (PANA) -- Sudan expects to resume livestock exports to Saudi Arabia after the kingdom lifted a yearlong ban for health fears. Full text...

Port Louis- Mauritius (PANA) -- Mauritius government has approved a supplementary budget of 12 million rupees (about 402,000 dollars) in the current fiscal year for tourism marketing. Full text...

Brussels- Belgium (PANA) -- Mozambique has obtained a Belgian grant of 7. Full text...

Cotonou- Benin (PANA) -- Benin's Public Works and Transport Minister, Joseph Sourou Attin, said Friday that air transportation was still the most rapid and economic means of conveyance. Full text...

Bamako- Mali (PANA) -- Mali and China have signed a protocol in which Beijing has agreed to cancel 50 percent of debt owed to it by Mali, official sources said Friday in Bamako. Full text...

Paris- France (PANA) -- Various business groups attending a day long conference in Paris Friday on the challenges of doing business in Africa, agreed that the rule of law was a crucial component of efforts to create a conducive environment for business on the continent. Full text...

Luanda- Angola (PANA) -- The Angolan government has authorised the Ministry of Geology and Mining, through the National Diamond Company, to sign a three-year security contract with Stanwest Establishment Company, the Angolan news agency (Angop) reported Thursday. Full text...

Paris- France (PANA) -- A UN Under Secretary General and Special Adviser on Africa, Ibrahim Gambari has urged Trans-national Companies to invest more in Africa where they stand to reap greater returns. Full text...

Cape Town- South Africa (PANA) -- The Board of Governors of the South Africa Foundation says that while political and economic shortcomings inevitably affect the value of a currency, the recent sharp depreciation of the rand is not a sign of political or economic failure. Full text...

Addis Ababa- Ethiopia (PANA) -- Critics in Addis Ababa have played down Ethiopia's admission into the relief initiative for Heavily Indebted Poor countries (HIPC), charging that it came at the cost of harsh reforms oblivious to the plight of the poor. Full text...

Nouakchott- Mauritania (PANA) -- The Mauritanian government has granted two diamond prospecting permits to the Dia Met Minerals Limited and Luchosol Par-SL firms, official sources disclosed Thursday. Full text...

Douala- Cameroon (PANA) -- A new petroleum company, First Oil Cameroon, has been established with the blessings of public authorities seeking to broaden private investment in a sector that has been dominated by foreign multinational companies. Full text...

Dakar- Senegal (PANA) -- The Senegalese capital is currently going through the season of watermelons. Full text...

Maputo- Mozambique (PANA) -- Despite the floods in the central provinces between February and April, Mozambique expects a 14 percent growth in its Gross Domestic Product this year, the country's news agency, AIM reported Thursday. Full text...

Dakar- Senegal (PANA) -- Dakar-New York flights will resume shortly, Quotidien de la Republique, a newspaper published by State House, reported Thursday in Dakar, quoting the ministry of Equipment and Transportation. Full text...

Niamey- Niger (PANA) -- Libya's airline, Afriqiyah, made a maiden flight to Niamey this week, the government daily Le Sahel reported Thursday. Full text...

Saint Denis- Reunion (PANA) -- Only one passenger plane left Saint Denis airport for Mauritius Thursday following a strike by air traffic controllers, which grounded flights from the Indian Ocean island's two other international airports, Rolland Garros in the north and Pierrefonds in the south. Full text...

Dakar- Senegal (PANA) -- The Abidjan-based Regional Stock Exchange (BRVM) closed trading Wednesday with a slight decline compared to Tuesday, according to a BRVM release. Full text...

Cape Town- South Africa (PANA) -- Even as the rand depreciated to its lowest level ever (more than R11 to the dollar), the South African Chamber of Business (SACOB) Thursday announced that its Business Confidence Index (BCI) increased by 4,5 index points to 107,7 in November. Full text...

Tunis- Tunisia (PANA) -- Tunisia Wednesday concluded a 15. Full text...

Harare- Zimbabwe (PANA) -- A top class Zimbabwean hotel group said Thursday it had acquired a leading South African hotel for an undisclosed amount. Full text...

Harare- Zimbabwe (PANA) -- Zimbabwe's domestic debt has eased by 3 billion Zimbabwe dollars (54. Full text...

Harare- Zimbabwe (PANA) -- Zimbabwe's monthly foreign currency earnings have dipped by more than half to 30 million US dollars in October, dealers said Thursday. Full text...

Maputo- Mozambican (PANA) -- Mozambican transport and communications minister Tomas Salomao Wednesday introduced a bill in parliament aimed at liberalising the mobile phone market in the country. Full text...

Lusaka- Zambia (PANA) -- A recent study conducted by the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) has blamed the Zambian government for not providing cushionary measures to the social effects that have risen from the privatisation process, particularly in the mining sector. Full text...

Abuja- Nigeria (PANA) -- The federal government has released a new list of rules to guide foreign borrowing by the various tiers of governments in the country, according to a government spokesman. Full text...

Cape Town- South Africa (PANA) -- South Africa's vehicle sales statistics for November show a year-end surge in sales led by a high level of support in the light commercial vehicle sector. Full text...

Lusaka- Zambia (PANA) -- The Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection, a Catholic organisation, has urged Zambia voters to hold political parties accountable in delivering on their campaign promises after the 27 December elections. Full text...

Dakar- Senegal (PANA) -- At least 60 companies are participating in the first International water show which entered its second day in Dakar, the Senegalese capital and whose objective is to improve the performance of the water sector in Africa. Full text...

Freetown- Sierra Leone (PANA) -- The Paris Club which is Sierra Leone's major creditor agency, has cancelled 74 million US dollars the government in Freetown owed to it, Finance Minister Peter Kuyembeh confirmed. Full text...

Niamey- Niger (PANA) -- Parliament in Niger has ratified a loan of 37. Full text...

Rabat- Morocco (PANA) -- The Moroccan government is working on an integrated development plan for Western Sahara, with emphasis on job creation and investment, officials disclosed here Wednesday. Full text...

Johannesburg- South Africa (PANA) -- Thousands of South African asbestos poisoning victims will benefit from an out-of-court settlement that will see Cape plc pay them 20 million British pounds ( about 15 million US dollars) in compensation. Full text...

Dakar- Senegal (PANA) -- With technical assistance from the African Development Fund, the Ethiopian government will undertake a capacity building programme for key ministries and regional offices in monitoring development projects. Full text...

Accra- Ghana (PANA) -- The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) would need 308 million dollars for the expansion of the country's two ports at Tema and Takoradi, according to Edward Kwakye, Director of Planning at the Roads and Transport Ministry. Full text...

Accra Ghana (PANA) -- The poor run of the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) continued Wednesday with the main market gauge, the All-share Index, ending flat again. Full text...

Paris- France (PANA) -- Leading global business groups and representatives of the UN and humanitarian agencies plan to meet in Paris Thursday to discuss the challenges of doing business in Africa, organisers said Wednesday. Full text...

Dakar- Senegal (PANA) -- The African Development Fund (ADF) has approved a loan and grant package of 9. Full text...

Algiers- Algeria (PANA) -- The Algerian parliament started Tuesday discussing a bill expected to end to monopoly of the state-owned Sonelgaz on the production and supply of electricity and gas in the country. Full text...

Saint Denis- Reunion (PANA) -- A meeting on the export trade started Tuesday in Saint Denis with the main objective of encouraging local entrepreneurs to export products to the Indian Ocean zone. Full text...

Cape Town- South Africa (PANA) -- South African economists say the beleaguered rand would trade even lower against the US dollar next year. Full text...

Harare- Zimbabwe (PANA) -- The Central Bank in Zimbabwe Wednesday introduced tighter monitoring measures to prevent losses to clients resulting from the collapse of banks. Full text...

Lusaka- Zambia (PANA) -- The Zambian government has started importing cheap maize to counter a sharp increase in the price of the staple mealie meal, President Frederick Chiluba disclosed Tuesday. Full text...

Dar es Salaam- Tanzania (PANA) -- African Oxygen Limited (AFROX) of South Africa is considering acquiring majority shareholding in Tanzania's sole gas-producing and distributing firm, TOL Limited. Full text...

Abidjan- Cote d'Ivoire (PANA) -- Trading at the Abidjan-based Regional Securities Stock Market (BRVM) closed Tuesday with a slight gain compared to the preceding session. Full text...

Cape Town- South Africa (PANA) -- The ongoing strike at South African ports is the worst the country has experienced in recent years, with Durban hardest-hit, and pundits fear the move could have wide-ranging and long-term economic repercussions. Full text...