Geneva, Switzerland (PANA) - Fighting continues across parts of the Middle East, with renewed exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Humanitarian needs are deepening, with rising civilian casualties, mounting displacement and growing strain on services. Diplomatic efforts continue with high stakes negotiations due to start Saturday between the US and Iran [...] Full text...

Geneva, Switzerland (PANA) - With Lebanon still reeling from Israel’s devastating airstrikes on 8 April, UN humanitarians reported new fears of attacks on ambulances and looming food shortages in the south of the country on Friday.Speaking from Beirut, where he witnessed Wednesday’s attacks first-hand, the World Health Organization (WHO)’s representative [...] Full text...

Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) – More than 40 people, including members of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), were killed on Wednesday evening in a drone strike on a social gathering in Kutum, North Darfur, according to Sudanese media reports.Sudan Tribune reported on FRiday that Kutum has been under RSF control [...] Full text...

Banjul, Gambia (PANA) - Gambian rights group, Edward Francis Small Centre for Rights and Justice (EFSCRJ), has strongly opposed proposed media regulatory instruments issued by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA), warning that they pose a serious threat to press freedom and freedom of expression in The Gambia.The draft regulations, [...] Full text...

Banjul, Gambia (PANA) – Gambia-s President Adama Barrow on Friday underscored the central role of security in national development, warning that illicit drugs undermine progress, destroy communities and threaten peace and stability.He made the statement at a ceremony marking the handover of eight operational vehicles to the Drug Law Enforcement [...] Full text...

Banjul, Gambia (PANA) - The following are Friday's exchange rates for the Gambian Dalasi as published by the Trust Bank of Gambia.Currency                     Buying                SellingUS Dollar                    [...] Full text...

Cotonou, Benin (PANA) - As Benin prepares for its presidential election on Sunday, 12 April, the Head of the ECOWAS Observation Mission, Ghana’s former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has reiterated his appeal for a peaceful and credible process during consultations with political stakeholders, including the Constitutional Court, which has the [...] Full text...

Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - Preparations are underway for the second International Conference and Exhibition on Oil, Gas and Sustainable Energy Technologies (TOGSE 2026), which will be held in Fezzan under the auspices of the Board of Directors of the Libyan National Oil Corporation (NOC), the Libyan Petroleum Research Centre announced.This [...] Full text...

Tangier, Morocco (PANA) - African multilateral financial institutions, donors and entrepreneurs have called for coordinated, innovative and better-structured financing approaches to support Africa’s digital and technological transformation.A high-level session held on on the sidelines of the 58th Session of the Economic Commission for Africa Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning [...] Full text...

Tunis, Tunisia (PANA) – Twenty-seven Libyan representatives from key state institutions, legal bodies and civil society convened in Tunis on 27 March for the fifth meeting of the Expert Committee on the Legal Framework for Missing Persons, jointly supported by the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and the [...] Full text...

Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - Illegal wildlife trade is no longer a peripheral online problem. It is a major digital market governance failure playing out during a global biodiversity crisis, the Global Initiative Against Transnational Crime said in a new report released on Thursday.The report, authored by Russel Gray and Simone [...] Full text...

Washington, DC, US (PANA) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says the authorities of São Tomé and Príncipe have made progress in preserving macroeconomic stability, despite the protracted energy crisis and the ongoing global oil shock. They are also committed to improving the fiscal position and advancing the government’s reform agenda, [...] Full text...

Washington, DC, US (PANA) - The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), home of the World Bank Group Guarantee Platform, has signed a framework agreement with AMEA Power, Ltd. to support a portfolio of guarantees of up to 23 renewable energy and battery storage projects—including onshore wind power plants, solar photovoltaic power plants, [...] Full text...

N'Djamena, Chad (PANA) - More than one million Sudanese refugees in Chad are facing immediate and potentially deadly cuts to food, water, shelter, protection and health care, UN agencies warned on Thursday, as the conflict in Sudan enters its third year.The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the [...] Full text...

New York, US (PANA) - Global fragmentation, deepening geopolitical tensions and conflicts are putting decades of development progress at risk, the UN warned in a report published on Thursday, calling for stepping up investment to meet internationally agreed goals. The 2026 Financing for Sustainable Development Report assesses progress on the Sevila [...] Full text...

Bujumbura, Burundi (PANA) - Health authorities in Burundi, supported by the UN World Health Organisation (WHO), are racing to identify a mysterious illness that has claimed five lives in the country’s north. The outbreak, centred in the Mpanda district near the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, has so far [...] Full text...

Juba, South Sudan (PANA) - A Human Rights Council-appointed independent expert on Thursday raised the alarm over an escalation in conflict-related trafficking in South Sudan, describing the situation as a “dire humanitarian crisis”. Siobhán Mullally, the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, warned that widespread attacks on civilians are having a “disproportionate [...] Full text...