Daily News on the Issues Affecting Africa for April 16th

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 updates on the kidnapping of 100 Nigerian schoolgirls, EU involvement in Mali, religious-based violence in CAR, relatively peaceful polls in Guinea-Bissau, conflict stemming from Ebola in West Africa, security upgrades in Nigeria, Tanzanian constitutional reform, and the upcoming meeting between Obama and Djibouti's president.

Nigeria unrest: Huge search for abducted schoolgirls
The Nigerian military is joining the search for at least 100 teenage girls abducted from a school in the remote northeast. It is thought that Islamist militant group Boko Haram took them to a forest near the Cameroonian border. The air force, army, police and local volunteers are all involved in the search, officials say. – BBC
To read more, please visit the BBC site here.

EU launches second security mission in Mali
The European Union on Tuesday agreed to launch a new mission to boost police and national guard forces in Mali, its second operation in the vast African nation threatened by Islamist rebels. The mission "is a further demonstration of the EU's commitment to supporting reform in Mali", said the 28-nation bloc's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton. – AFP
To read more, please visit the AFP site here.

Christian vigilantes trap 14,000 Muslims in Central Africa
Stifled by the heat inside a barn in the Central African Republic town of Boda, dozens of emaciated and often sick displaced people subsist in fear of the vigilantes who surround them. The group, members of an extended family, fled to Boda from the village of Danga 25 kilometres (15 miles) away, seeking shelter from the anti-balaka — or "anti-machete", mainly-Christian militia groups that have been hunting and killing members of the crisis-torn country's Muslim minority. More than 14,000 Muslims, including the displaced family from Danga, are now trapped inside with no way out and very limited supplies. – Times Live
To read more, please visit the Times Live site here.

US congratulates Guinea-Bissau on 'peaceful' polls
The United States praised the holding of successful elections in Guinea-Bissau as an "important step" towards a better future after years of political instability and violence. Almost three-quarters of eligible votes cast their ballots in the watershed polls which were the first to be held in the west African nation since a 2012 military coup. – AFP
To read more, please visit the AFP site here.

Liberia: Guinea, Senegal Clash Over Ebola
Health Minister of Guinea has expressed serious opposition to the decision taken by neighboring Senegal to close its land borders with Guinea during the recent outbreak of the Ebola hemorrhagic fever (Ebola HF) in Guinea. According to Dr. Remy Lamah, the closure of the borders was the least of all options that any country would have taken. – allAfrica
To read more, please visit the allAfrica site here.

Nigeria beefs up security in Abuja for World Economic Forum
Nigeria says it is prepared to host the World Economic Forum on Africa in May, despite growing insecurity, as the threat posed by extreme Islamist group, Boko Haram continues to grow. Boko Haram, an anti-government, anti-Christian, and anti-Western insurgency organization in Nigeria's northeast is ideologically opposed to Western international institutions. – The Africa Report
To read more, please visit the Africa Report site here.

Tanzanian constitutional review proposes radical changes to citizenship law
Tanzania is just starting a major debate on a new constitution for the country, to replace the version adopted in 1977.  Among the many reforms proposed to existing laws, the draft proposed by the Constitutional Review Commission will make radical changes to the framework of citizenship law established by the 1995 Citizenship Act. – African Arguments
To read more, please visit the African Arguments site here.

Obama to meet Djibouti President on May 5
President Barack Obama will hold talks next month with President Ismail Omar Guelleh of Djibouti, a key counterterrorism partner for US forces tracking extremists in Africa. The White House said the May 5 meeting at the White House would highlight the role of Djibouti, which hosts a US Horn of Africa counterterrorism task force, in protecting regional security and preventing conflict. – AFP
To read more, please visit the AFP site here.