Washington, Mar 23 : A new study has found that an increase in formal schooling has led to a reduction in AIDS infections in sub-Saharan Africa.

During the early stages of the HIV pandemic in the region, the disease passed unnoticed amidst the onslaught of other infections.

But after taking a closer look at the deadly disease, scientists have found that more often males with a higher than average education were contracting the disease.

Luanda - Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday called for the further evangelization of the African continent on the second day of his first visit to Angola.

Five hundred years after Catholic missionaries began converting people in present-day Angola to Christianity - the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to be evangelized - many people still lacked direction and feared unholy spirits and powers, he told a mass attended by local bishops and priests in Luanda's Sao Paulo church.

Luanda - Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday called for the further evangelization of the African continent on the second day of his first visit to Angola.

Five hundred years after Catholic missionaries began converting people in present-day Angola to Christianity - the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to be evangelized - many people still lacked direction and feared unholy spirits and powers, he told a mass attended by local bishops and priests in Luanda's Sao Paulo church.

Geneva  - Africa is not immune to the world's financial troubles, the head of the African Development Bank said Friday, asking that at the upcoming G20 international economic conference the continent not be forgotten.

"For us, in the low income countries, the crisis is reaching us and hitting very hard," Donald Kaberuka, the bank's president, said.

The continent was witnessing contractions in all major sectors "much faster than we thought."

New York - The UN Security Council discussed Wednesday ways to improve cooperation with the African Union after a study showed that peace still does not exist in many parts of Africa despite the deployment of largescale UN peacekeeping operations.

"From the Horn to the Great Lakes to West Africa, conflict is endemic," said the study by a six-member panel headed by former Italian Prime Minister and European Union statesman Romano Prodi.

London  - African leaders urged British Prime Minister Gordon Brown Monday not to allow the global economic crisis to dilute the commitments made on spending to developing nations.

The African leaders, including the presidents of Liberia, Tanzania and Botswana and the prime ministers of Kenya and Ethiopia, had come to London to ensure that the continent's voice will be heard at the summit of G20 nations in London on April 2.