Daily News on the Issues Affecting Africa for April 23rd

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 South Sudan's recent violence, strife in Somalia, advancements in the fight against the LRA, fellows selected for Obama's youth leadership meet, lack of American action in CAR, pending South African elections, and Madagascar oil spill recovery.

Here's why the world's youngest nation is on the brink of collapse
The United Nations has warned that more than a million people are at risk of famine in South Sudan, with some five million needing aid.  South Sudan's civil war is worsening, with battles spiraling into brutal ethnic massacres. Fighting broke out on December 15 in the capital Juba and later spread to the north and east of the country. – Global Post
To read more, please visit the Global Post site here.

Bentiu massacre is game-changer in South Sudan conflict, says UN official
The UN's top humanitarian official said on Tuesday that a massacre in South Sudan fuelled by hate speech on a public radio station was a "game-changer" in the country's four-month conflict. Toby Lanzer said he saw "piles and piles" of bodies on a visit to the oil hub of Bentiu after rebels wiped out civilians based on their ethnicity and nationality. TV pictures showed corpses lying outside a mosque and piled up on a mechanical digger. It is probably the worst single atrocity since fighting broke out in the world's newest country last December, and raises the prospect of a full-blown civil war along ethnic lines, intensifying pressure on the international community to intervene. – The Guardian
To read more, please visit the Guardian site here.

UN envoy warns violence may force diplomats out of Somalia
The top United Nations envoy to Somalia warned Tuesday that the U.N. and other foreign diplomats may have to withdraw from the war-ravaged nation if they continue to be attacked. He spoke the same day that two Al-Shabab gunmen killed a Somali legislator as he left his home in Mogadishu, marking the second fatal attack on a member of parliament in as many days.   U.N. Special Representative Nicholas Kay said attacks that cause "significant losses" would likely force international officials to leave or, at least, pare down their missions in the Somali capital of Mogadishu. – Al Jazeera
To read more, please visit the Al Jazeera site here.

Uganda captures LRA rebel officer, frees 10 hostages
Ugandan troops have captured a fugitive Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebel officer and freed 10 hostages, the army said Tuesday, after battles with the elusive jungle insurgents. Charles Okello was captured in the southeast of the Central African Republic, army spokesman Paddy Ankunda told AFP, describing him as a field commander of the "notorious" LRA. – Capital News
To read more, please visit the Capital News site here.

Obama to host 46 Kenyan youth at leadership meet
A team of 46 Kenyans have been selected to take part in the first ever Young African Leadership Initiative Washington Fellowship. The group that was selected from over 5,000 Kenyan applicants, will travel with over 450 other young African leaders for a six-week program and later a conference in Washington, DC hosted by President Obama. – Daily Nation
To read more, please visit the Daily Nation site here.

Kerry: quick to respond to the Ukraine hoax, but silent on the crisis in the CAR
Americans too often fail to remember the humanity at stake when our speed to denounce human rights abuses is not intrinsically linked to our current political interests, or historical and racial ties. While one country – the Central African Republic – currently unravels on the edge of genocide and struggles to receive basic humanitarian support, an unconfirmed and ultimately fake anti-Semitic incident in another country – Ukraine – triggers global outrage and dominates headlines. The uneven outrage focused on injustice, perceived or real, falls in parallel with America's shameful history in Rwanda, which we cannot afford to repeat. At what point can we set aside politics in favor of our responsibility to protect human lives from mass atrocity? – The Guardian
To read more, please visit the Guardian site here.

Pretoria's problems go beyond Zuma
With just a few weeks to go before its fifth democratic election, South Africa is in the throes of a crisis. From news reports, opinion columns, and press releases from opposition parties, outsiders could be forgiven for believing the country's dearth of democratic accountability begins and ends with President Jacob Zuma, who is assured a second five-year term in office despite the trail of scandals he has left in his wake. – New York Times
To read more, please visit the New York Times site here.

Madagascar fights to prevent oil spill from stricken tanker
Madagascar has launched an emergency operation to prevent a stricken tanker from unleashing 10,000 cubic metres of crude oil into the postcard-perfect Emerald Sea off the country's north coast. – Yahoo News
To read more, please visit the Yahoo News site here.