Daily News on the Issues Affecting Africa for December 4th

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 outcomes of World AIDS Day, Nelson Mandela's health, domestic conflict in Nigeria, relief missions in CAR, tensions between the UK and South Africa over Zimbabwe, and the results of new corruption indicators.

Obama pledges up to $5 billion to global infectious diseases fund
President Obama pledged Monday to give up to $5 billion to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria over the next three years, saying that an "AIDS-free generation" may be within reach. The pledge represents $1 billion more than the United States committed during the previous round of funding in 2010, when Obama faced criticism for not doing enough and setting a bad example that gave other countries an excuse to limit their donations. "We're making progress," Obama said at a White House event marking World AIDS Day, which was Sunday. "But we're all here today because we know how much work remains to be done." – Washington Post
To read more, please visit the Washington Post site here.

[Please also see the archived web cast from the Wilson Center Africa Program's event entitled "Going the Whole Nine Yards: What Is Needed for an Africa Free of AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria" featuring Her Excellency Jeannette Kagame, First Lady of Rwanda; Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Minister of Finance of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; Mark Dybul, CEO of the Global Fund; Akudo Anyanwu Ikemba, Founder and CEO of Friends Africa; and Steve McDonald, Senior Advisor to the Africa Program.]

Nelson Mandela in fight from 'deathbed'
South Africa's ailing first black President Nelson Mandela is putting up a courageous fight from his "deathbed", his daughter Makaziwe Mandela says.  She told national broadcaster SABC that the anti-apartheid icon was "still with us, strong, courageous".  "Even for a lack of a better word... on his deathbed he is teaching us lessons - lessons in patience, in love, lessons of tolerance," she added. Mr. Mandela, 95, is receiving home-based medical care. – BBC
To read more, please visit the BBC site here.

We can win the AIDS war (John Kerry)
I think about what the word AIDS meant on a global scale in the 1990's when we first started joining three words together in a sentence: AIDS in Africa. It meant a looming death sentence for a continent, and thank God that people across the ideological divide decided that was unacceptable. The truth is that in many ways, here at home, we've ended 1985's meaning of "AIDS as we knew it." It's not an unspoken word — nor is it an automatic death sentence. And since PEPFAR, we're on the road to do the same globally. But now we have to end the era of AIDS — period. – Huffington Post
To read more, please visit the Huffington Post site here.

Nigeria not fighting civil war
The Supervising Minister of Defence, Mr Labaran Maku, said the ongoing armed confrontation between security forces and Boko Haram insurgents in the North is not a civil war. Maku, the Minister of Information, said this in Abuja on Tuesday while fielding questions from journalists at a news conference to herald the Armed Forces Remembrance Day 2014. The minister was reacting to the opinion of the International Criminal Court that the ongoing armed confrontation between Nigeria and the Boko Haram is a civil war. "Nigeria is fighting a terror group," Maku stressed. – Punch
To read more, please visit the Punch site here.

Central African Republic: Why the world has taken so long to help
Stability is not a term one would use to describe the Central African Republic (CAR), and particularly not in light of the recent conflict which has engulfed the country. Last December, the Séléka rebel coalition challenged then-President François Bozizé's grasp on power and eventually ousted him in March 2013. At first, the international response to the humanitarian and human rights crises that have ensued was muted. Eventually, over the summer, the African Union launched an International Support Mission in the Central African Republic (MISCA), with an authorized force strength of 3,600, to help protect civilians and provide security throughout the country. MISCA, which may not be operational until 2014, replaced the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) Mission for the Consolidation of Peace in the Central African Republic (MICOPAX) in August 2013, which had been in CAR since July 2008 with 400 soldiers. – The Christian Science Monitor
To read more, please visit the CS Monitor site here.

Zimbabwe: How Blair's 'war plot' increased military support for Mugabe
Former South African President Thabo Mbeki claimed in an interview with Al Jazeera recently that he once came under pressure from Tony Blair to assist in a military invasion of Zimbabwe to remove Robert Mugabe from power. Blair's office has denied Mbeki's allegation. Mbeki, however, remained adamant. Mbeki's accusation has sparked furious debate, with disagreement about which of the two former leaders is telling the truth. For instance, Ian Birrell writes in the Independent that "it is impossible to determine whether the whisky-drinking president's [Mbeki] recollection is accurate given the emphatic denial by Blair – not that the former Labour leader has always proved the most reliable witness in history". Birrell also asks us to consider whether a military invasion of Zimbabwe "would really have been such a bad idea" – a consideration that critics of Mugabe may find palatable. – The Guardian
To read more, please visit the Guardian site here.

Perceived corruption high in sub-Saharan Africa
Several African nations were among the worst performers in Transparency International's annual report on perceived corruption. Somalia was one of three nations receiving the lowest score in the report released Tuesday by the corruption watchdog group. The report gave each nation a score between 0 and 100. Besides Somalia, African countries that scored 20 or below on the list include Sudan, South Sudan, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Chad and Eritrea. Only three African nations received scores above 50 - Botswana, Cape Verde, and Rwanda. – Voice of America
To read more, please visit the VOA site here.