Daily News on Issues Affecting Africa for October 22, 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: Ethiopia's continued transformation, Nene's first medium term budget, Pistorius trial, Omar al-Bashir seeking re-election, Nigeria's 2015 elections, Sakharov prize win, UN troops in Congo, and negotiations for release of abducted Nigerian girls.

Addis Ababa's monorail project keeps Ethiopia on track for transformation

Out of the dust and rubble of decimated junctions, soaring slabs of concrete are returning a semblance of order to the center of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's mushrooming capital.

The edifices are there to prop up Africa's first light rail system, an arresting sign of Ethiopia's progress since the dark days of famine and military rule (pdf) in the 1980s. The government hopes the project, funded and built by China, will be running next year – possibly in time to transport voters to polling booths at national elections in May.

To read more from The Guardian, click here.

Everything you need to know from Nene's first medium term budget

Tax changes are likely to be introduced in February when Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene tables his first full budget, he signaled on Wednesday in his medium-term policy statement.Nene revised the revenue forecast for 2014/15 to R1.093 trillion, or 29.5 percent of GDP, warning that it was insufficient to cover expenditure.

He said increasing state revenue was part of plans to put public finances onto a sustainable footing, but at this stage there was no explicit statement from Treasury that this will mean an increase in personal income tax.

To read more from Times Live, click here.

Sudan's Omar al-Bashir 'will seek re-election'

Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir will stand for re-election next year, an aide says, despite previous claims that he would quit after 25 years in power.

He was chosen ahead of four other candidates by the ruling National Congress Party's (NCP) decision-making council, Ibrahim Ghandour said.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has indicted him for genocide in the Darfur region. He denies the charges.

To read more from BBC News, click here.

Nigeria 2015 Elections: The gathering storm

The race for the 2015 general elections in Nigeria has started. The All Progressives Congress (APC), the country's main opposition party, which has expressed its determination to unseat the ruling Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP), has assembled an array of political gladiators that are set to challenge incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan, who is expected to seek re-election next year. Frederick Mordi has the details.

To read more from Africa Business Magazine, click here.

DR Congo doctor Denis Mukwege wins Sakharov prize

A doctor from the Democratic Republic of Congo has won Europe's top human rights prize for helping thousands of gang rape victims in the country.Denis Mukwege was announced the winner of the Sakharov prize by the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

The 59-year-old gynecologist told the BBC the prize would make rape survivors in DR Congo "feel they are not alone".

To read more from BBC News, click here.

Congo, U.N. troops fire live rounds amid protest against killings

Congolese troops and United Nations peacekeepers fired live rounds to disperse hundreds of people protesting outside a U.N. base in the eastern Congolese town of Beni on Wednesday, a Reuters witness said.

Crowds gathered at the U.N. base calling for peacekeepers to leave the town after two people were shot dead on Tuesday during a protest over the U.N. mission's failure to stem violence blamed on Ugandan rebels that has killed dozens of civilians in recent weeks.

To read more from Reuters, click here.

Oscar Pistorius goes to prison

South African paralympian, Oscar Pistorius was on Wednesday sentenced to serve five years in prison after being convicted of culpable homicide for killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, although the prosecuting authority has hinted that it might appeal, as it seeks a harsher sentence.

After an almost eight month trial, the judge, Thokozile Masipa also sentenced Pistorius to a three-year wholly suspended sentence for firing a pistol under a table at a restaurant in 2013.

To read more from The Africa Report, click here.

Nigeria claims Boko Haram truce, release of schoolgirls

Nigeria's government claim to have reached a deal with Islamic militant group Boko Haram for a cease-fire, but there were conflicting reports as to the fate of 200 school girls kidnapped six months from a school in the northeast town of Chibok.

"I wish to inform this audience that a ceasefire agreement has been concluded," Marshal Alex Badeh said in a statement after three days of talks with the militant group that has wreaked havoc in the northeast of Africa's biggest oil producer.

To read more from France 24, click here.