Daily News on Issues Affecting Africa for December 16, 2014

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: anti-terrorism efforts in Kenya, changes in leadership in Zimbabwe, positive findings in new Ebola report, efforts by France to combat Boko Haram and mixed feelings of success in Tanzanian elections.

Kenya 'deregisters' NGOs in anti-terror clampdown

Kenya has deregistered 510 non-governmental organisations (NGOs), including 15 accused of links with terrorism, an official has said.

The government has also frozen their bank accounts and revoked the work permits of foreign employees.

The move follows a heated debate in Kenya over a controversial new security bill aimed at fighting militants.

The al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab group has been increasingly targeting Kenya for attack.

To read more from the BBC, click here.

Zimbabwe: Mnangagwa in, Mujuru out for Zanu-PF

Just prior to the Zanu-PF Elective Congress in early December, Zimbabwe's First Lady Grace Mugabe initiated her 'meet the people' tour after having been nominated as leader of the ruling party's powerful women's wing. The tour took a dramatic turn when the First Lady launched a scathing attack on the then vice president, Joyce Mujuru, causing some to conclude that the attack was part of a well-orchestrated conspiracy to discredit her ahead of the congress. Soon after the congress, Mujuru was sacked by Mugabe, ending an unremarkable tenure as deputy in the party and nation.

To read more from African Arguments, click here.

Fewer Ebola Cases Go Unreported Than Thought, Study Finds

Transmission of the Ebola virus occurs mostly within families, in hospitals and at funerals, not randomly like the flu, Yale scientists said Tuesday, and far fewer cases go unreported than has previously been estimated.

That implies, they said, that the epidemic is unlikely to reach the gloomy scenarios of hundreds of thousands of cases that studies released in September had forecast were possible; the most pessimistic one, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, had predicted up to 1.4 million cases by late January.

To read more from the New York Times, click here.

France tries to rally mistrustful African states against Boko Haram

(Reuters) - France will step in to help coordinate a regional taskforce against Nigeria's Islamist group Boko Haram, amid signs of mistrust among West African neighbors, Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Tuesday.

Boko Haram has stepped up attacks across much of Nigeria's north ahead of presidential elections in February. Their operations have spilled over Nigeria's borders into Niger to the north and Cameroon to the east, and stirred fears that Chad could be dragged into the conflict.

The leaders of the four countries agreed in Paris in May to flesh out a plan to share intelligence, coordinate action and monitor borders. But there appears to have been little tangible cooperation between Abuja and neighboring governments since.

To read more from Reuters, click here.

Tanzania: Peace, Calm As Civic Polls Take Off

PEACE and harmony mostly prevailed during the civic elections that were held countrywide on Sunday but with some reports of flaws caused by delay of voting materials and misplacement of voters' names, which forced some centres to postpone the exercise.

The re-run will be held for a period of one week starting on Monday, ending on Saturday, depending on the nature and magnitude of the problem at the respective polling stations affected. Surveys conducted by our reporters show that the exercise was conducted peacefully with some pockets of delay and chaos.

To read more from allAfrica, click here.