Luanda  - In what was billed as the high point of his three- day visit to the southern African country, Pope Benedict XVI celebrated an open-air mass Sunday in Angola's capital Luanda in front of hundreds of thousands of worshippers.

Benedict was joined by southern African bishops in saying the mass on the Cimangola Esplanade at the entry to the city.

The celebration was overshadowed by the deaths on Saturday of two youths in a stampede Saturday at a sports stadium in Luanda, where the pope addressed thousands of youth.

Luanda/Rome - The Angolese President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos on Friday is not allowing foreign press to formal visiting ceremony by Pope Benedict XVI despite a previous agreement.

Vatican spokesman Padr Federico Lombardi announced that the Vatican would request an explanation from the Angolan ambassador in Rome.

Vatican journalists reported that only representatives of Angola's national media were allowed into the ceremonial visit by the pope.

Berlin - The Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos described relations with Germany as a "win-win situation" following a meeting in Berlin with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday.

Merkel echoed the sentiment saying, "Angola has an interest in diversifying its economic relations, so as not to depend purely on its natural resources," while "Germany naturally has an interest in building its relations with a resource-rich country."

Berlin - The President of Angola, Jose

Vatican City - Pope Benedict XVI, during his

Brussels  - The positive outcome of Angola's first parliamentary elections in 16 years shows that the country is consolidating its democracy, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said Monday.

"After such a devastating war as the one Angola suffered, these elections are a step towards the consolidation of a multi-party democracy, a fundamental element for peace, stability, and socio- economic development," the head of the European Union's executive arm said in a statement.

The EU sent an election observation team to the country, and its final report was still due.