Daily News on the Issues Affecting Africa for August 6th

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 Zimbabwe's recent polls, ongoing issues in Egypt, Boko Haram, transparency and economy in Angola, and controversy in Morocco.

Zimbabwe: African Observers Question Credibility of Polls
The dispute over the fairness of Zimbabwe's election last week appears headed for the next summit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) after Botswana called the credibility of polling into question. The Botswana government, long a critic of the standards of governance practiced by President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party, issued a statement on Monday saying that the findings of its 80-strong observer team suggested that "an acceptable standard for free and fair elections" had not been met.
The Botswana statement is based on problems around the voters' roll, the forms of identification needed to vote and what it called "credible allegations" of people being denied the right to vote.
To read more pleas visit the AllAfrica site here 

Mali: l' ex- premier ministre Modibo Sidibé appele à voter Cissé
L' ex- Premier ministre du Mali, Modibo Sidibé, arrivé en 4ème position au premier tour de la présidentielle, a appelé lundi à voter pour Soumaïla Cissé au second tour du 11 août face à Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, qui a enregistré lui aussi d'autres soutiens.
"Mon parti, mes partisans appellent à voter pour le candidat Soumaïla Cissé, nous sommes dans une alliance avec lui, et il est normal qu'il obtienne notre soutien, un soutien actif et non passif", a déclaré M. Sidibé à l'AFP.
Modibo Sidibé, qui avait obtenu près de 4,9% des voix au premier tour, fait partie avec Soumaïla Cissé du Front pour la démocratie et la République (FDR), une coalition de mouvements et partis créée au lendemain du coup d'Etat militaire du 22 mars 2012 ayant précipité la chute du Mali aux mains des jihadistes.
To read more please visit the Jeune Afrique site here

Nigeria: Attacks By Boko Haram Could Be Crimes Against Humanity, Says ICC Prosecutor
The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) today reported that there is reason to believe that crimes against humanity have been committed in Nigeria, namely murder and persecution by the militant group known as Boko Haram. A report issued by the Office of the Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, found that the group has, since July 2009, "launched a widespread and systematic attack that has resulted in the killing of more than 1,200 Christian and Muslims civilians in different locations throughout Nigeria.
"The intensity of the attacks have increased over time," based on the informations found in the report, which is based on preliminary information through December 2012.
To read more please visit the AllAfrica site here 

Transparency huge hurdle for Angola's plans
Having been eager to tap into Angola's booming oil economy for over a decade, foreign investors are finally seeing the country open up new financial avenues. But will woeful transparency and corruption thwart them? Five-star hotel lobbies in the capital Luanda bubble with talk of deals to profit from the country's economic success, with the government adding to the lure by announcing plans for a $5bn sovereign wealth fund, a bourse and a euro-bond.
To read more please visit the Business Day site here 

Agathon Rwasa: Burundi Ex-rebel leaves hiding
Burundi's main opposition leader and ex-rebel Agathon Rwasa has come out of hiding after three years. He denied that he had been abroad and said he would stand in 2015 presidential elections. The authorities prevented him from holding a public rally, saying he did not have permission, so he spoke to the press at his private residence. Mr Rwasa ended his rebellion in 2009 but disappeared before 2010 elections, saying he feared for his life. The election was the second major vote since the end of the country's brutal 12-year ethnic-based civil war.
 To read more please visit the BBC Africa site here 

Egypt's Brotherhood refuses to 'swallow reality' of Morsi's demise
The envoys, trying to resolve a political crisis brought on by the army's overthrow of the Islamist Morsi a month ago, had visited jailed Brotherhood deputy leader Khairat El-Shater in the early hours of Monday. But he cut the meeting short, saying they should be talking to Morsi, spokesperson Gehad El-Haddad said on Monday. Meanwhile several thousand Islamist supporters marched through downtown Cairo calling for Morsi's reinstatement and denouncing the army general who led his overthrow. Marchers chanted "Morsi, Morsi" and "We are not terrorists", and waved picture of the ousted leader.
To read more please visit the Mail and Guardian site here 

Moroccan King revokes Spanish Paedophile's Pardon
King Mohammed VI of Morocco on Sunday revoked a pardon granted to a Spanish serial paedophile whose release sparked angry protests in the kingdom. Official Moroccan news agency MAP published a palace statement saying that the king "has decided to withdraw the pardon previously accorded to Daniel Galvan Vina". The "exceptional" decision was taken because of the "gravity of the crimes committed and out of respect for the victims' rights", it said. Several media reports say Vina has left the country for Spain. But Justice Minister Mustapha Ramid will discuss "the next step after the pardon's revocation" with Madrid, according to the MAP agency.
To read more please visit the Mail and Guardian site 

North Africa: Top-Level Al Qaeda Chatter Cited Over Embassy Closures
Intercepted communications between al Qaeda leaders were part of the reason for the closure of US embassies in the Middle East and Africa. US media said chatter at the highest level had raised fears of a major attack. Officials were reported as saying late on Monday that the closures were triggered by the intercept of secret messages between al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahri and his deputy in Yemen. The New York Times reported that electronic communications between al-Zawahri, who replaced Osama bin Laden as head of Al Qaeda, and Nasser al-Wahishi, the head of the Yemen-based Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) had featured in the decision to close the embassies.
To read more please visit the AllAfrica site here