Khartoum, Sudan - Sudanese president, Omar Al-Bashir arrived in Asmara, the Eritrean capital, on Wednesday for a three-day state visit during which he will take part in celebrations marking Eritrea’s national day.

UNESCO DG worried about attacks on World Heritage site in Libya - The UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova, Wednesday called for the protection of Libya’s Old City of Ghadamès, which was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1986. In a press statement here, Bokova said: “I am deeply concerned by information that the Libyan city of Ghadamès has been the target of rocket attacks. I call upon all those involved to refrain from hostile acts that could cause additional damage to this outstanding city, inscribed on the World Heritage List.

Libreville, Gabon - The World Bank has granted Gabon a loan of 30.5 billion FCFA (about US$ 58 million) to enable the African country finance its new undersea fibre optic cable connection project, called Africa coast to Europe (ACE).

African Union Mission in Somalia - Forces of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) have made significant progress in the last 24 hours towards Afgoye town, about 25 kilometres west of the capital, Mogadishu, the Mission announced Wednesday. Afgoye, located in the Shabeellaha Hoose region of southern Somalia, has been, for a long time, a stronghold of the Al-Qaeda-backed Al-Shabaab insurgents and is a strategic junction for routes to the north, west and south of Somalia.

Most of the fake drugs being brought into Angola are from China and India, according to the African country's officials. Angola's Head of Economic Police Inspection Department, Cristiano Francisco, said the drugs enter the country mainly through the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) has been given a key role in the G8’s next phase of a shared commitment to achieve global food security, the Alliance said in a statement made available to PANA here. It said the Scaling Seeds and Other Technologies Partnership, part of the new initiative focused on increasing agricultural food production in Africa, would be housed at AGRA and would focus on strengthening Africa’s seed sector.

For the third time this year, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced the retention of the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 12.0%. The decision was taken by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which met in the Nigerian capital city, Abuja, Monday and Tuesday. A communiqué released at the end of the meeting said 'the Committee, therefore, decided by a unanimous vote to maintain the current stance of monetary policy without discounting the possibility of changing it, should economic and financial conditions warrant so in the near term.

New York, US - The UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Mr. Ian Martin, has welcomed the successful conclusion of voter registration ahead of the country’s legislative election scheduled for next month. In a statement made available to PANA in New York on Wednesday, Martin said the accomplishment 'is a major milestone' and a source of pride for the Libyan people who endured 42 years of denial of political rights.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has strongly condemned the attack against Mali’s interim President Dioncounda Traore, which reportedly left the leader with head injuries. 'The Secretary-General urges the Malian military and security institutions to fulfil their primary function of protecting the State and its legitimate interim authorities, and underscores the need for those responsible for the attack to be held accountable,” a UN statement made available to PANA in New York Wednesday said.

Tanzania and the US have embarked on the second phase of collaborative efforts to finalise a joint action plan that will spell out the steps necessary to overcome major challenges in improving the East African nation’s business climate, US Ambassador to Tanzania Alfonso E. Lenhardt said. Lenhardt made the remark here Wednesday following a four-day visit by US Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Market Access and Compliance Michael Camuñez to advance a White House proposed regional trade package with the East African Community (EAC) as well as the White House Partnership for Growth (PFG) Initiative in Tanzania.

Tripoli, Libya - Some 2,712,977 Libyans, representing 80 per cent of the electorate, have been registered ahead of the country's Constituent Assembly election 19 June, according to a statement issued late Tuesday by the High Electoral Commission.

Tripoli, Libya - President of Libya's National Transition Council (NTC) Mustapha Abduljalil has hailed the role played by the city of Benghazi in the uprising that toppled the old regime in the country and paved the way for the emergence of a new Libya. President Abduljalil's commendation came as he commented Tuesday on the city's successful council election, the first in the country in decades.

Judicial system - From May 23 to 25, Rwanda is hosting the annual meeting for the East Africa Magistrates and Judges Association (EAMJA). Under the theme "The universal jurisdiction and Africa", the 10th conference of EAJMA will examine among other things, the causes of lack of confidence in their respective judicial systems.

Dakar, Senegal - US Ambassador to the Gambia Pamela Ann White has ended her tour of diplomatic duty in the West African nation.

Economy - Morocco has been ranked second in Africa, behind continental economic powerhouse South Africa, in terms of Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) in 2011, according to 'FDI Intelligence', a Rabat-based subsidiary of the Financial Times Limited.

Latest forex rates in Tanzania - Following are Thursday's exchange rates for the Tanzanian shilling:

Wednesday's forex rates for Mauritian rupee - Following are Thursday's exchange rates for the Mauritian rupee:

Wednesday's forex rates in Mauritania - The Central Bank of Mauritania Wednesday published the following exchanges rates for the country's currency, Ouguiya:

Samsung Galaxy Pocket - As efforts to raise Kenya's Internet penetration through mobile devices gets underway, Samsung Electronics East Africa, has unveiled a sub Sh10,000 mobile device tailor-made to introduce millions of Kenyans to the wide variety of Smartphone applications. Samsung electronics has introduced the Samsung Galaxy Pocket handset which is designed to provide a platform for more than eight million mobile subscribers to upgrade from basic mobile handsets functionalities to smart phone capabilities.

Economy - British Prime Minister David Cameron has warned that the economic and political turmoil in the euro area is having a 'chilling effect' on the UK economy. The sterling pound has fallen by 1,3 percent against the euro to trade at 80,92 pence per euro. The G-8 leaders are pushing for a resolution on the European crisis and have made noise about the current crisis as we saw a whopping US$4 trillion wiped off in the equity markets.