Daily News on the Issues Affecting Africa for August 7th

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 breaking news in Kenya and Uganda, jihadists in Tunisia, prison releases in Cote D'Ivoire, urban poverty, LGBT issues, peace in the DRC and run-off elections in Mali.

Domestic flights to resume after JKIA inferno
Domestic flights are set to resume Wednesday afternoon after a dawn fire led to the closure of Kenya's main airport. State House spokesman Manoah Esipisu said cargo flights will also resume but said the government was not in a position to give a clear timetable on international services. "We expect cargo and domestic services to resume from this airport this afternoon. They will operate from the Cargo terminal," Mr Esipisu told reporters at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi flanked by Transport Cabinet Secretary Michael Kamau.
To read more please visit the Daily Nation here

Anger in Uganda Over New Anti-Protest Bill
A new bill passed by the Ugandan parliament has sparked a huge debate among the opposition and human rights groups. Critics say the new Public Order Management Bill infringes freedom of expression and assembly. Uganda's new bill against public protests has drawn criticism from the opposition and human rights campaigners. The law which was passed on Tuesday (06.08.2013) bans any public gatherings of more than three people and demonstrations. It also gives power to the police to take control over public gatherings and even use force to break up unauthorized gatherings of more than three people.
To read more please visit the AllAfrica site here 

Tunisie : la mosaïque jihadiste du mont Chaambi
Le groupe terroriste du mont Chaambi, responsable de nombreuses attaques sanglantes contre l'armée tunisienne, est composé de plusieurs islamistes radicaux issus d'horizons différents. Algériens proches d'Aqmi, Tunisiens rentrés du Mali ou de Syrie, Libyens du GICL : décryptage de la mosaïque jihadiste du Chaambi. Avec ses 260 grottes, la réserve du mont Chaambi, coincée entre Kasserine et la frontière avec l'Algérie, est une cachette naturelle bien connue des islamistes radicaux tunisiens.
To read more please visit Jeune Afrique here

Ivory Coast frees 14 Gbagbo allies
Judicial authorities in Ivory Coast have ordered the release from prison of 14 top allies of ex-president Laurent Gbagbo, including his son, pending criminal trials this year, the state prosecutor said on Monday. More than 100 suspected supporters of the former president were arrested in the wake of a brief 2011 war that erupted after Gbagbo refused to accept his defeat at the hands of Alassane Ouattara in a presidential run-off in late 2010.
To read more please visit the News24 site here

Africa's Urban Challenge
My mother, like her mother, her grandmother, and so on, was born into poverty in the rural village of Rarieda, Kenya. I, too, was born in the village, and lived there until it was struck by a brutal famine when I was two years old. With no food, money, or opportunities, my mother did what thousands of African villagers do every day: she moved us to the city in search of a better life. But, given the lack of jobs and housing in Nairobi, we ended up in Kibera, one of Africa's largest slums. Located just a couple of miles from downtown Nairobi, Kibera is a heavily polluted, densely populated settlement composed of informal roads and shacks with corrugated tin roofs.
To read more please visit Project Syndicate here

'Real Fear' for Gays in Zimbabwe
Gays in Zimbabwe have expressed concern over President Robert Mugabe's victory in general elections last week, saying "now the real fear is kicking in", according to a Daily News report. Mugabe, who has ruled the country for 33 years, claimed a landslide victory in last week's elections after pledging "hell for gays" if he was elected. "This country is getting worse by the day for us LGBT [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender] people. I hope Mugabe's threats of making the sentences stiffer were just mere politicking. Now the real fear is kicking in," a member of LGBT Zimbabwe said.
To read more please visit the News24 site here

Formula for DR Congo Peace still Elusive
On the face of it, the just-ended special summit of the Great Lakes countries did not offer any radical solution to the deteriorating security situation in Central Africa. But beneath the surface of the summit, held under the umbrella of the 11-member International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), was a concerted effort by the major players, especially Rwanda and Uganda, to shift the focus of the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) back to a negotiated deal, even as consensus around an exceptional United Nations military-backed intervention deepens.
To read more please visit the East African here

Mali's Dembélé breaks ranks to back IBK for President
Dramane Dembélé, who came third in the first round of voting in Mali's presidential elections, has broken party ranks to back frontrunner and former prime minister Ibrahim Boubacar Keita (pictured), known as IBK, in the upcoming run-off. The candidate of Mali's largest political party, who came third in the first round of the country's presidential election, broke ranks with his own party on Saturday and said he will back former prime minister Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in a run-off. Dramane Dembele's move goes against his Adema-PASJ party's plans and deals a blow to the anti-junta coalition that had formed around former Finance Minister Soumaila Cisse, who will be Keita's contender in the Aug. 11 second round.
To read more please visit the France24 site here