Nairobi- Kenya (PANA) -- Does Ethiopia, the original home of coffee reserve the right to reject genetically modified coffee exported to the country from elsewhere under the rules of the World Trade Organisation (WTO)? Would it be right to ship potatoes from European biotech laboratories to Peru, the original home of the crop? How would poor countries in Africa handle concerns about the harmful effect of genetics on living organisms, when they lack the capacity to asses such effects? These are some of the many questions tasking experts from over 40 African countries who began a three-day meeting in Nairobi Wednesday aimed at equipping African countries to better handle the advantages and risks of products and materials generated by the biotechnology industry. Full text...

Cape Town- South Africa (PANA) -- South African fire department officials Wednesday marked the second anniversary of one of the most devastating fires in South African history by warning that it could happen again. Full text...

Cape Town- South Africa (PANA) -- South African President Thabo Mbeki and his deputy, Jacob Zuma, have volunteered to help repair damaged schools, cut grass and clean premises before the new school year begins. Full text...

Saint Denis- Reunion (PANA) -- More than 1,000 people were evacuated Tuesday from Bois Blanc village Southeast of Reunion Island to escape being flooded by lava from the Piton de la Fournaise volcano. Full text...

Dakar- Senegal (PANA) -- A three-day African workshop on biosafety opened in Nairobi Tuesday to discuss a multi-million dollar project that will help developing countries assess the potential risks and rewards from genetically engineered crops. Full text...

Nairobi- Kenya (PANA) -- Poachers have killed nine elephants in Kenya's northern district of Isiolo. Full text...

Khartoum- Sudan (PANA) -- Authorities in eastern Sudan's Red Sea State have sealed a deal for heightening Arba'at Dam that supplies the city of Port Sudan with drinking water. Full text...

Khartoum- Sudan (PAMA) -- After wreaking similar havoc in Senegal and Mauritania, a cold spell has reportedly killed 13 people in Khartoum, local press accounts said Monday. Full text...

Lusaka- Zambia (PANA) -- Much of Zambia is currently at risk of food shortage as a result of a devastating drought, which has seen farmers re-plant fields at great cost with little hope of any meaningful yields. Full text...

Nairobi- Kenya (PANA) -- A US-based wildlife conservation body operating in Africa and a Kenyan civic authority have entered into an agreement to consult and collaborate with each other on issues related to the conservation and management of wildlife in the latter's area of jurisdiction. Full text...

Dakar- Senegal (PANA) -- A cold spell accompanied by heavy rains in parts of Senegal in the past few days have left 19 people dead, while close to 30 have been declared missing, Senegalese authorities said. Full text...

Nouakchott- Mauritania (PANA) -- Hundreds of animals are said to have perished in the Mauritanian regions of Brakna, Gorgol and Trarza between Thursday and Sunday due to heavy torrential rains and freezing weather which hit the regions in the past few days. Full text...

Maputo- Mozambican (PANA) -- The Mozambican government, with the support of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), is to shortly request the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to proclaim Bazaruto National Park in the southern Inhambane Province as a World Heritage Site owing to its historical, cultural and touristic value. Full text...

Nairobi- Kenya (PANA) -- The Lake Victoria Environment Management Programme (LVEMP) has developed a joint implementation plan for conservation of cross-border rivers such as the River Mara (Kenya/Tanzania) and River Malaba on the Kenya/Uganda border, the body's director of afforestation activities, Saidi Matano, has said. Full text...

Dakar- Senegal (PANA) -- UN Environment Programme Executive Director Klaus Toepfer has urged flexibility in tackling the challenges of poverty alleviation, environmental protection and managing economic globalisation. Full text...

Nairobi- Kenya (PANA) -- Kenya's environmental conservation ministry Thursday proposed the creation of a special fund to start afforestation programmes in the country. Full text...

Tripoli- Libya (PANA) -- Libyans have started a great reafforestation campaign by taking advantage of the good rain season in Libya after a long period of dry spells. Full text...

Nairobi- Kenya (PANA) -- The UN Environmental Programme Wednesday welcomed a decision by the UN General Assembly to elevate the Nairobi based Habitat to a fully fledged UN programme. Full text...

Windhoek- Namibia, PANA -- Authorities in Namibia's coastal towns have been looking at desalination as another solution to overcome chronic water shortages in the mainly arid southern African nation. ) Full text...

Maputo- Mozambique (PANA) -- The Mozambican authorities have called for the permanent monitoring of the country's main river basins in view of the excessively humidity of the soils, following two successive years of flooding. Full text...

Windhoek- Namibia, PANA -- One thing that strikes anyone visiting the Namibian capital for the first time is its smartness, for Windhoek, with its beautiful green bedecked pavements lined with towering palm trees, ranks among Africa's cleanest cities. ) Full text...

Cape Town- South Africa (PANA) -- Mopping up operations continued Tuesday at South Africa's Ndakana village in the Eastern Cape where a freak storm destroyed several homes and left numerous people homeless on Sunday afternoon. Full text...

Saint Denis- Reunion (PANA) – Authorities in Reuni-on are on high alert after the island's active volcano, Le Piton de la Fournaise, erupted on Saturday night at 11 pm local time. Full text...

Tripoli- Libya (PANA) -- For the first time in a ten years, Libya's far northern-east region of Al-Jabel Al-Akhdar was Saturday covered with snow that interrupted traffic all national roads for several hours. Full text...

Port Louis- Mauritius (PANA) -- Mauritius' minister of Environment, Rajesh Bhagwan Saturday appealed to citizens to actively participate in preserving and protecting the environment on the island nation. Full text...

Cape Town- South Africa (PANA) -- South Africa's Environment and Tourism minister Valli Moosa has welcomed a UN decision to hold this year's World Summit on Sustainable Development a week earlier than previously scheduled. Full text...

Addis Ababa- Ethiopia (PANA) -- Ethiopia is quickly losing its wild animals to poachers due to lax control of game reserves and national parks over the last 10 years, game officials have indicated. Full text...

Antananarivo- Madagascar (PANA) -- Cyclone Cyprien swept the western coast of Madagascar on Wednesday, leaving behind more than 1,000 victims in the city of Morombe, half-way between Morondava and Tulear. Full text...

Yaounde- Cameroon (PANA) -- The ministry of Environment and Forestry has meted sanctions on some 60 Cameroonian timber companies accused of various offences, an official source said Thursday in Yaounde. Full text...

Port Louis- Mauritius (PANA) -- Moderate tropical storm dubbed "Cyprien," was evolving to the south-west of the island of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, the Mauritian Meteorological Services announced Wednesday. Full text...

Blantyre- Malawi (PANA) -- Some 300 Malawian villagers have sought shelter in churches and schools in the southern district of Chikwawa following floods that have swept through 20 villages in a river valley of the district. Full text...

Port Louis- Mauritius (PANA) -- The Environment ministry in Mauritius has disbursed 1. Full text...

Dar es Salaam- Tanzania (PANA) -- Some 500,000 tree seedlings were planted throughout the country Tuesday as Tanzanians took part in an annual practice during which every citizen is required to help in reafforestation efforts. Full text...

Nairobi- Kenya (PANA) -- Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi Tuesday named Mombasa a City, in a move expected to boost the country's tourism. Full text...

Port Louis- Mauritius (PANA) -- Mauritian Environment Minister Rajesh Bhagwan has deplored the attitude of citizens towards the environment. Full text...

Rabat- Morocco (PANA) -- Despite human casualties and material damage caused by recent heavy rains in Morocco, the people have welcomed the rain in a country faced with virtual drought. Full text...

Maputo- Mozambique (PANA) -- Mozambique's tourism ministry has started drafting a management plan for the Limpopo National Park located in the country's Massingir district in the southern province of Gaza. Full text...

Abidjan- Cote d'Ivoire (PANA) -- Abidjan, the economic capital of Cote d'Ivoire formerly known as "the pearl of lagoons" for its cleanliness, is now crawling under mounds of waste littering its streets, gutters and markets. Full text...

Windhoek- Namibia (PANA) -- It is believed that every desert has its unique life to support its inhabitants, including the humankind. Full text...

Dakar- Senegal (PANA) -- Twelve West African journalists are taking part in a four-day training seminar on environmental communication which kicked off in Dakar Wednesday. Full text...

Rabat- Morocco (PANA) -- Flood from torrential rain has caused damage estimated at more than 25 million dirhams (about 2. Full text...

Rabat- Morocco (PANA) -- Flood from torrential rain has caused damage estimated at more than 25 million dirhams (about 2. Full text...

Rabat- Morocco (PANA) -- The death toll from heavy rains that hit Morocco last weekend has risen to 14, an official source said. Full text...

Douala- Cameroon (PANA) -- Cameroonian archaeologists have expressed concern about the negative consequences of the proposed oil pipeline from southern Chad to Cameroon's Atlantic coast. Full text...

Rabat- Morocco (PANA) -- Floods swept away eight people at the weekend in Settat, 200 km south of the Moroccan capital, Rabat local press reports said Monday. Full text...

Addis Ababa- Ethiopia (PANA) -- About 40 percent of the estimated 120,000 vehicles in Ethiopia have done an average of more than 16 years on the road, resulting in an increase in greenhouse gas emissions, a study has revealed. Full text...

Addis Ababa- Ethiopia (PANA) -- Ethiopia's transport sector has been identified as one of the major contributors to green house gas emissions (GHE), according to a study released in Addis Ababa. Full text...

Maputo- Mozambique (PANA) -- An American environmentalist, Ryan Hoover, has warned that construction of another dam on River Zambezi would lead to "a high social and environmental price to pay". Full text...

Nairobi- Kenya (PANA) -- Massive demolitions of make-shift trading structures are underway along the road to Mombasa's Moi International Airport, Kenya's second largest town after Nairobi, the capital. Full text...

Nairobi- Kenya (PANA) -- The Food and Agriculture Organisation is complaining that about 30 percent of pesticides marketed in developing countries do not meet internationally accepted quality standards. Full text...