Daily News on Issues Affecting Africa for July 24th

Continue reading for a summary of recent news stories relating to some of the most pressing issues on the continent. We draw on a wide range of respected news sources, both from Africa itself and around the world. The themes of today's In the News post are media coverage in Zimbabwe, struggles in Somalia, rebels in the DRC, violence in Northern Nigeria, and Egypt.

Zimbabwe: As Zimbabwe Vote Nears, State Media Drown Out Others
When Star-FM launched on June 25, 2012, it was the first time in 30 years that Zimbabweans, who have known no other radio besides the state-controlled Radio Zimbabwe, had the chance to call in to a radio station to express their views. "For the first time in my life I've heard statements on radio attacking President Mugabe. I've never heard that before," said Rashweat Mukundu, a research and monitoring consultant with nonprofit International Media Support, of the station. On July 31, Zimbabweans will go to the polls in a "vastly improved" media environment compared to previous years, Mukundu says.
To read more please visit the AllAfrica site here

Fin de la campagne électorale au Togo
La campagne électorale s'achève ce mardi soir au Togo. Le vote se déroule jeudi, et un peu plus de trois millions d'électeurs seront appelés à renouveler l'Assemblée nationale. De part et d'autre de l'échiquier, chacun analyse les retombées possibles de ces élections, avec quelques regrets sur son déroulement. L'opposition a longtemps menacé de boycotter ce scrutin avant finalement d'accepter d'y participer.
To read more please visit the RFI site here

UN voices fears over Somalia media law
The United Nations has raised concerns about a new media law in Somalia only days after UN experts sounded the alarm over corruption in the African country's new government. The UN Human Rights Office has urged President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud's government to review a new law that would require journalists to reveal sources and prevent them spreading information against Islam or Somali traditions, said a statement released on Sunday.
To read more please visit Al Jazeera English here

US urges Rwanda to end support for DR Congo rebels
Rwanda must "immediately end any support" for M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the United States said Tuesday, after a report from Human Rights Watch blamed the rebels for numerous rapes and summary executions.The United States Tuesday toughened its tone against Rwanda, demanding it withdraw troops from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and end support to M23 rebels accused of atrocities there. In its strongest comments to date against Rwandan leaders, Washington said there was "a credible body of evidence" linking top Rwandan officials to the rebels who have brought months of terror to the central African country.
To read more please visit the France24 site here

Residents in Northern Nigeria Rebuild Lives, Despite Fears
Residents of Yobe State in northern Nigeria are rebuilding their lives after what they say have been years of violence, and months cut off from the rest of the country by the military. But while military officials say Yobe state is stable, schools remain closed after gunmen slaughtered nearly 30 children at a secondary school. Malam Abubakar was a teacher at Mamudo Secondary school when gunmen threw explosives and opened fire on students in the middle of the night early this month. The school, like all the rest in Yobe state, was closed immediately.
To read more please visit the Voice of America News here

How regional power shift has worked against Egypt's bid to control Nile
As Egypt and Ethiopia continue with talks over the shape the controversial Renaissance Dam ought to take, it is apparent that while Egypt remains the biggest military power in the region, its internal crisis — the unfolding shift in the balance of power as well as emerging geopolitics — means that it has few options than to work with Ethiopia and other Nile Basin countries for mutually beneficial arrangements on the use of the river. Egypt may also find itself ceding ground to the other riparian countries that are determined to use increased volumes of the Nile waters to cater for rising energy and food needs.
To read more please visit the East African here

South Sudan starts closing oil wells
South Sudan will shut down production at a clutch of oil blocks in Unity State from Thursday, as it closes all wells at the insistence of Sudan in a row over alleged rebel support, its oil minister said on Tuesday. Last week, the African nation said it had started shutting its output after Sudan said it would close two cross-border oil pipelines within 60 days unless South Sudan gave up support for Sudanese rebels. Juba denies backing them. Oil Minister Stephen Dhieu Dau told reporters that engineers had so far started closing wells only on the country's main Palouge field in blocks 3 and 7.
To read more please visit the News24 site here