Khartoum- Sudan (PANA) -- President Omar el Bashir of Sudan has ordered the return of all property belonging to the country's former leader, Ahmed al Mirghani, who has been living in a self- imposed exile in Egypt in the past 10 years. Full text...

Freetown- Sierra Leone (PANA) -- ECOWAS Chairman and Malian President Alpha Omar Konare, has expressed satisfaction at the progress of Sierra Leone's peace process. Full text...

Paris- France (PANA) -- The president of Cote d'Ivoire's National Reconciliation Forum, Seydou Diarra, said Tuesday in Paris that the national reconciliation forum slated for 9 October was expected to overcome political obstacles in a bid to unify the country. Full text...

Victoria- Seychelles (PANA) -- President-elect France Albert Rene has called on fellow politicians and the people in general to put Seychelles first before other interests. Full text...

Abidjan- Cote d'Ivoire (PANA) -- MPs of the Democratic Party of Cote d'Ivoire-African Democratic Rally (PDCI-RDA) were Tuesday still holding fast to a walk-out they staged last Thursday over a statement made by a colleague of the ruling Ivorian Popular Front (FPI). Full text...

Lusaka- Zambia (PANA) -- A UN panel is due in Lusaka Wednesday for consultations with Zamibian officials on the illegal exploitation of DR Congo's natural resources. Full text...

Harare- Zimbabwe (PANA) -- Zimbabwe and its former colonial power Britain meet face-to-face later this week for the first time in two years to try and mend their frosty relations in talks brokered by Nigeria. Full text...

Lagos- Nigeria (PANA) -- Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo Tuesday received the in-coming Secretary-General of the African Union, Amara Essy in the State House, Abuja, and urged him to get on with forging a strong and viable continent-wide economic community. Full text...

Durban- South Africa (PANA) -- A number of Jewish non- governmental organisations have announced their withdrawal from the World Conference Against Racism on Tuesday, hours after the official Israeli delegation withdrew in solidarity with the US. Full text...

Port-Louis- Mauritius (PANA) -- Trade, finance and agriculture ministers from the South African Development Community (SADC) on Tuesday started a meeting in Mauritius to prepare a common stand for the forthcoming World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Doha, Qatar. Full text...

Durban- South Africa (PANA) -- The general debate of the World Conference against Racism continued Tuesday without the US and Israeli delegations which withdrew late Monday. Full text...

Durban- South Africa (PANA) -- UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson says despite the withdrawal of the US and Israeli delegations from the World Conference Against Racism, she is confident that the conference will achieve its mandate. Full text...

Durban- South Africa (PANA) -- As Israeli and US delegates jetted out of Durban on Tuesday, hours after announcing their withdrawal from the World Conference Against Racism, representatives of NGOs and human rights organizations continued to condemn the move. Full text...

Dakar- Senegal (PANA) -- Human Rights Watch Tuesday decried the decision of the United States delegation to withdraw from the UN World Conference against Racism being held in Durban, South Africa. Full text...

Durban- South Africa (PANA) -- The fallout following the decision of the United States and Israel to completely withdraw from the World Conference Against Racism continued Tuesday with delegates warning that the event could become a "total failure". Full text...

Paris- France (PANA) -- Leading Ivorian opposition figure and chairman of the Rally for the Republic party (RDR), Alassane Ouattara, affirmed Monday that he was ready to attend the forum for national reconciliation billed for 9 October in Abidjan. Full text...

Kigali- Rwanda (PANA) -- UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, currently touring Africa's troubled Great Lakes region, Monday described as "unfortunate and regrettable," the US withdrawal from the ongoing World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa. Full text...

Algiers- Algeria (PANA) -- Five members of a family were early Sunday killed in Tissemsilt, 300 km south-west of Algiers, reliable sources in the Algerian capital affirmed Monday. Full text...

Nairobi- Kenya (PANA) -- A Muslim organisation, the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (Supkem), has called on Kenya to cut its diplomatic ties with Israel, accusing the latter of racism. Full text...

Durban- South Africa (PANA) -- The US decision to withdraw from the ongoing World Conference Against Racism in Durban over critical comments against Israel has drawn sharp criticism from host country South Africa. Full text...

Tripoli- Libya (PANA) -- The General Peoples' Congress (GPC), Libya's highest legislative body, has praised efforts made by Col. Full text...

Abuja- Nigeria (PANA) -- Nigeria's Human Rights Violation Investigation Commission resumed public sitting in Abuja Monday after a four-week recess, with its chairman spelling out new rules for the proceedings to save time. Full text...

Paris- France (PANA) -- A Villa in Savigny, western Switzerland, belonging to the late DR Congo President Mobutu Sese Seko, is to be auctioned 13 September, Radio France International (RFI) reported Monday. Full text...

Freetown- Sierra Leone (PANA) -- Malian President Alpha Oumar Konare, who is ECOWAS chairman and his Nigerian counterpart, Olusegun Obasanjo, on Monday paid a visit to Sierra Leone's diamond-rich Kono area. Full text...

Monrovia- Liberia (PANA) -- Leaders of six Liberian political parties and a civic organisation have expressed support for the proposal to hold a meeting of national leaders on the future of the country. Full text...

Abidjan- Cote d'Ivoire (PANA) -- Police at Abidjan airport on Sunday prevented the Managing director of the privately-owned "Radio Nostalgie" in Cote d'Ivoire, Ahmed Bakayoko, a member of the opposition Rally of Republicans (RDR), from leaving the country, newspapers reported Monday. Full text...

Durban- South Africa (PANA) -- Several heads of state and government and thousands of delegates have set the stage for plenary debate that will guide the work of the historic UN Conference against Racism under way here. Full text...

Durban- South Africa (PANA) -- A number of government ministers from developing countries have told the World Conference Against Racism in Durban that many of the problems facing their nations, including poverty and underdevelopment, were linked to slavery and colonialism. Full text...

Addis Ababa- Ethiopia (PANA) -- Ethiopia's nominal President Negaso Gidada has resigned from his party, indicating he would not seek re-election when his six-year term ends this month. Full text...

Addis Ababa- Ethiopia (PANA) -- Ethiopian authorities Monday announced the suspension of a women lawyers association on grounds that it was involved in activities incompatible to its registered mission and purpose. Full text...

Kigali- Rwanda (PANA) -- Rwandan Hutu rebels based in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo are bracing for a major offensive on south-west Rwanda, military sources here disclosed Sunday. Full text...

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

Lome- Togo (PANA) -- Lawyers representing Togo's jailed opposition politician Yawovi Agboyibo are to boycott the September Court hearings of the case involving their client and the Togolese Prime Minister Messan Agbeyome Kodjo, judicial sources said in Lome at the weekend. Full text...

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

Tripoli- Libya (PANA) -- Presidents Omar Hassan El-Bashir of Sudan, Idriss Deby of Chad, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and Mathieu Kerekou of Benin Saturday addressed Libya's highest legislative body, the General People's Congress (CGP), moments before it rose from its 2001 annual session. Full text...

Kinshasa- DR Congo (PANA) -- A DR Congo NGO, the National League for Free and Fair Elections, has launched a campaign to publicise the "Republican Pact and Final Communique" of the 20-24 August Inter-Congolese pre-Dialogue proceedings held in Gaborone, Botswana. Full text...

Kinshasa- DR Congo (PANA) -- UN Secretary General Kofi Annan Saturday emphasised on the sovereignty of DR Congo, re-stating the call for the withdrawal of all foreign troops from the country. Full text...

Abidjan- Cote d'Ivoire (PANA) -- President Laurent Gbagbo of Cote d'Ivoire is in Barcelona to take part in an international peace meeting focusing on conflict resolution across the world, notably Africa. Full text...

Lagos- Nigeria (PANA) -- As Nigeria's Human Rights Violation Investigation Commission (HRVIC) prepares to resume its public sitting on Monday, a legislator has tabled a bill at the National Assembly seeking to strengthen the panel and transform it into a permanent body. Full text...

Kigali- Rwanda (PANA) -- Rwandan President Paul Kagame returned home Sunday afternoon from the World Conference against Racism in Durban, in South Africa, where he called on African leaders to empower their people and African institutions as an insurance against discrimination and intolerance. Full text...

Algiers- Algeria (PANA) -- Sixteen people were killed on Saturday in several Algerian towns, a reliable source said in Algiers. Full text...

Victoria- Seychelles (PANA) -- The counting of ballots in Seychelles presidential elections would begin at 6 p. Full text...

Dar es Salaam- Tanzania (PANA) -- These are tough times for the Tanzanian army but the force, which Saturday marked 37 years of its inception with an allegiance to duty, is not complaining. Full text...

Durban- South Africa (PANA) -- Nelson Mandela, the man whose name became synonymous with human rights, may not be attending the World Conference Against Racism, but he has certainly made his presence felt. Full text...

Durban- South Africa (PANA) -- An estimated 40,000 people marched through the streets of Durban Saturday in a dramatic protest against global racism. Full text...

Bamako- Mali (PANA) -- Outgoing OAU Secretary General Salim Ahmed Salim has said that Africa needs to chart its own path to development. Full text...

Durban- South Africa (PANA) -- Fifteen-year-old Manar Abbas comes across as an unlikely hero. Full text...

Dar es Salaam- Tanzania (PANA) -- Seven eastern and central African countries have launched a regional news agency to counter "the distorted" reportage of Africa by western media, President Benjamin Mkapa said Friday. Full text...

Tripoli- Libya (PANA) -- Festivities marking the 32nd anniversary of the Libyan Revolution started Friday evening in Tripoli with a pass-out parade at the military and police academy. Full text...

Tripoli- Libya (PANA) -- Four African heads of state arrived here Friday to join Libyans in marking the 32nd anniversary of the country's revolution on Saturday. Full text...