Bujumbura, Burundi (PANA) - The Burundian president, Evariste Ndayishimiye, and current chairman of the East African Community (EAC), left Bujumbura on Thursday for Kampala, the Ugandan capital, to take part in an extraordinary summit of heads of state and government of peacekeeping troop-contributing countries in Somalia, an official statement said Full text...
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Gaza: UN official warns of ’assault on dignity’ as blockade cripples humanitarian response Jonathan Whittall, Head of UN OCHA’s Office for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, speaks with journalists in Gaza. UN News Jonathan Whittall, Head of UN OCHA’s Office for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, speaks with journalists in Gaza. 26 April 2025 Humanitarian Aid Gaza City, Gaza (PANA) - The coming days in Gaza are set to be critical, the UN warned on Saturday, as humanitarian operations are severely curtailed amid an intensifying blockade, escalating violence, and soaring humanitarian needs. Speaking to journalists in Gaza City, Jonathan Whittall, local Head of Office for the UN aid coordination wing, OCHA, painted a dire picture of life under what he called a "total and complete blockade" now approaching its third month. "The coming days in Gaza are going to be critical. Today people are not surviving in Gaza, those that aren’t being killed with bombs and bullets are slowly dying," he said. Whittall stressed that humanitarian agencies are unable to meet the soaring needs of civilians due to the collapse of supply lines. Hospitals are overwhelmed, but medicines and equipment are running out. People are going hungry, but food warehouses are empty and bakeries are closing. Clean water is desperately needed, but water wells are inaccessible. He noted that solid waste is piling up in the streets with no equipment to remove it, and that rescue efforts after airstrikes are impossible without fuel and machinery. Displaced families are forced to live in rubble without shelter materials, and fishermen are being shot at sea, while humanitarian organisations lack the resources to assist them. "Nowhere in Gaza today is safe", he said. He added that children need to learn, but schools have been destroyed or are inaccessible, and that education supplies are not available. Prices of the remaining goods in Gaza continue to rise, but there is no cash available. There is no cooking gas or fuel, forcing families to burn trash to generate some energy. A war ’without any limits’ "This is not only about humanitarian needs, but it’s about dignity. There is an assault on people’s dignity in Gaza today," he warned. "We also know that humanitarian workers, first responders, you as journalists, should be protected, like all civilians, but we’re being killed in a war that appears to be fought without any limits," he added. Whittall emphasised that the situation in Gaza does not even resemble a war. "People in Gaza are telling me that they feel like it’s the deliberate dismantling of Palestinian life in plain sight, for all to see, documented every day by you as journalists," he said. He described the devastation witnessed daily — including children’s bodies thrown by explosions, families burnt alive, and colleagues killed — as part of what he termed "everyday atrocities." "As humanitarians we can see that aid is being weaponised through its denial," he warned. "There’s no justification for the denial of humanitarian assistance. And humanitarian aid should never be weaponised." Despite the catastrophic conditions, he stressed that humanitarian organisations are continuing to operate where possible, but "we have less and less and less supplies and less and less capacity to be able to meet the growing and growing needs that are intensifying across Gaza." "Lives depend on the blockade being lifted, on aid being allowed to enter into Gaza, on the ceasefire being reinstated," he said, calling for real accountability rather than waiting for history to judge the international community’s response. Hunger and malnutrition surging In a separate statement, OCHA warned of a “severe decline” in food availability across Gaza, as malnutrition rates escalate rapidly, particularly among children. A UN partner organisation recently screened around 1,300 children in northern Gaza and identified over 80 cases of acute malnutrition, representing more than double the rate recorded in previous weeks. "Nutrition partners report a critical shortage of supplies due to the obstruction of aid entry and challenges in transporting essential materials within Gaza," OCHA said. Access to key facilities, including UNICEF’s main warehouse in Rafah, remains heavily restricted. Journalists who visited the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) main warehouses this week found them largely empty of food supplies, including flour. Call for accountability and action "Nothing can justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people," UNRWA said in a separate statement, stressing that international law prohibits indiscriminate attacks, the obstruction of humanitarian assistance, and the destruction of vital civilian infrastructure. The agency reiterated its call for a renewed ceasefire, the dignified release of all hostages, and the immediate, unhindered flow of humanitarian aid and commercial goods into Gaza. -0-PANA RA 27April2025
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Burundi in process of ratifying African Youth Charter
Bujumbura, Burundi (PANA) - The adoption by the Council of Ministers of a draft law ratifying the African Youth Charter is the most important socio-political event of the week that is drawing to a close in Burundi Full text...
African Union suspends Burkina Faso following coup
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (PANA) - The African Union (AU) suspended Burkina Faso from its membership on Monday following the coup that overthrew President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré on 24 January Full text...
Coronavirus: Libya's heads AU Bureau and Regional Economic Group meeting on pandemic
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - Libya, in its capacity as current chair of the Arab Maghreb Union, Saturday led a virtual meeting of the African Union (AU) Bureau and heads of regional economic groups of the continent devoted to the assessment of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic Full text...
Burundi and Rwanda revive security cooperation
Bujumbura, Burundi (PANA) - The extradition on Friday of 19 alleged Burundian rebels captured in Rwanda in September 2019 has revived security cooperation between the two countries, which observers say have been accusing each other of mutual destabilisation for more than six years Full text...
President Felix Tshisekedi proposes consensual programme on issue of big Ethiopian Renaissance Dam
Kinshasa, DR Congo (PANA) - President Felix Tshisekedi Monday proposed a consensual programme on the issue of the Big Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, an official source said here Full text...
Tunisia engaged in common African job for peace on continent, says Jerandi
Tunis, Tunisia (PANA) - The Tunisian minister of foreign affairs, migration and Tunisians living abroad, Othman Jerandi, Wednesday reaffirmed the commitment of his country to achieve peace and the well-being of peoples of the African continent, an official source said here Full text...
AU Summit: Tshisekedi elected AU Chairperson for 2021
Kinshasa, DR Congo (PANA) - Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo has been elected first Vice Chairperson of the African Union (AU) for 2020 and Chairperson for 2021, announced, lsmaïl Omar Guelleh, President of Djibouti and African Dean, on Sunday at the opening of 33rd Assembly of the AU Heads of State and Government in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Full text...
AU deploys Election Observation Mission in Mauritius
Port Louis, Mauritius (PANA) – The African Union Commission (AUC) has deployed an observation mission for parliamentary elections scheduled for Thursday in Mauritius Full text...
Kagame calls for "hard work" before final ratification of AfCTA
Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) - Rwandan President Paul Kagame on Monday urged African Governments to work hard towards having the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA), which is yet to come into force Full text...
Mauritius: AU renews support to Mauritius on Chagos Archipelago
Port-Louis, Mauritius (PANA) - Heads of State and Government of the African Union on Tuesday adopted a resolution renewing the support of the Continent to Mauritius on the Chagos Archipelago in its dispute with the UK, PANA learnt from official sources in the Mauritian capital
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Mauritius: 'Mauritius to examine AU’s recommendations on elections'
Port-Louis, Mauritius (PANA) - Mauritian Prime Minister Sir Anerood Jugnauth has said that the government will examine the recommendations made by the African Union Observer Mission on the National Assembly Elections held on 10 December 2014
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Ethiopia: AU calls Burkina Faso coup null and void
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - The African Union (AU) has dismissed the coup in Burkina Faso as an affront on the political transition in the West African nation, saying it was null and void, coming as the country approached the end of months of a fragile process to return to civil democratic rule
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Ethiopia/AU: AU campaigns against forced marriages
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - The African Union (AU) has launched a campaign to stop forced marriages and the discrimination of under-age girls fleeing such marriages
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Belgium: EU Commissioner for Development to attend AU Summit
Brussells, Belgium (PANA) - EU Commissioner for Development Andris Piebalgs will attend the African Union (AU) Summit due to open Thursday in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, the EU said in a statement obtained by PANA here Wednesday
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AU Commission extols Mandela’s virtues
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) – The African Union Commission (AUC) has paid tribute to the heritage of former South African president Nelson Mandela, particularly his struggle for democracy, freedom and equality throughout the continent
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Pressure mounts on African members not to withdraw from ICC (PANA News Analysis)
Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Ahead of Saturday's extraordinary summit of the African Union (AU) on the International Criminal Court (ICC), pressure is mounting on the continental body not to approve the withdrawal of the 34 AU members that have ratified the Rome Treaty that established the court
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Sudan commends AU for realisation of peace in the country
Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) - Sudan has sent representatives of 35 civil society organizations, known as the Sudan National Group on Human Rights, to take part in the events marking the 50th anniversary of the African Union (AU), apart from the official delegation that will be headed by the Head of state, General Omar Al Bashir
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CPJ tasks African Union on press freedom
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on the African Union (AU) to champion the call for the release of all journalists imprisoned in Africa and appeal for justice in the murders of journalists killed in the line of duty
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AU says it 'understands' Malawi's constraint in hosting Summit
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - The African Union (AU) has expressed its understanding for the constraint faced by Malawi, which recently gave up the hosting rights of July's AU Summit instead of inviting Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who has been indicted for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide by the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague
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Mauritius signs African Charter on public service
Balaclava, Mauritius (PANA) - Mauritius Thursday signed the African Charter on the values and principles of public service and administration of the African Union (AU), becoming the 14th signatory
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AU Summit: Kiir says lasting peace top priority in South Sudan
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - Building a sustainable and lasting peace for the Sudanese people remains the top priority of the parties to the January 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), the First Vice President of Sudan and President of the Government of Southern Sudan, General Salva Kiir Mayardit, stated here Monday
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Angolan President meets Namibian counterpart
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos Monday met with his Namibian counterpart, Lucas Pohamba, on the sidelines of the 16th ordinary session of the African Union (AU) holding in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
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AU Summit: Assembly awaits Senegal's report on Hissene Habre's trial
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - The African Union (AU) Assembly of Heads of State and Government will, here Sunday, listen to what Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade intends to do about the long-awaited trial of exiled ex-president Hissene Habre of Chad, the Director of the Office of Legal Counsel at the AU Commission, Ben Kioko, said here Saturday
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AU sets up panel to resolve Ivorian crisis (Corrected)
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - Reaffirming its previous decisions on the post-election crisis in Cote d'Ivoire, the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU) has set up a high-level panel to resolve the crisis in a way that would preserve democracy and peace in the West African country
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AU rejects Zimbabwe bid to repeal African elections Charter
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - African foreign ministers and the African Union Commission Friday rejected Zimbabwe’s efforts to block debate on the most progressive continental law on democracy and elections, which remains largely unimplemented since its adoption in 2007, PANA reported
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