Daily News on the Issues Affecting Africa for March 5th

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 tensions pre-elections in Guinea Bissau, DRC troops in external conflicts, Africa's PhD renaissance, IGAD in South Sudan, US military training role in Africa, Pistorius trial, Novel "Half of a Yellow Sun" as a movie, and new Nigerian defense minister.

Guinea Bissau: Tension and Uncertainty Ahead of Guinea-Bissau Polls
The African Union's Peace and Security Council (PSC) certainly has a lot on its plate. With the war in South Sudan, the escalating crisis in the Central African Republic (CAR) and major challenges in North Africa, the 14 members of the PSC have more than enough to keep themselves busy. Yet, analysts are urging the PSC not to drop the ball when it comes to Guinea-Bissau - one of Africa's few lusophone countries and a member of the worldwide Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLC).

To read more, please visit the AllAfrica site here.

Séraphin Ngwej: "La RDC est le pays qui fait le plus en Centrafrique"
Ambassadeur itinérant du président Joseph Kabila, Séraphin Ngwej est aussi l'un de ses conseillers les plus écoutés sur les questions diplomatiques. Pour "Jeune Afrique", il explique pourquoi la RDC s'implique autant dans la crise en Centrafrique. La RDC a déjà fort à faire avec les groupes armés sur son territoire, du Nord-Kivu au nord du Katanga. Et pourtant, Kinshasa a envoyé un bataillon complet ainsi que des policiers pour soutenir le gouvernement de Bangui. La présidente de transition, Catherine Samba-Panza, a été accueillie en grande pompe à Kinshasa du 3 au 5 mars. Pourquoi tant d'intérêt pour ce voisin instable ? Entretien avec Séraphin Ngwej.

To read more, please visit the Jeune Afrique site here.

Q&A: Doctoral research and economic growth in Africa
In this podcast, recorded in Johannesburg, South Africa, Adam Habib, vice-chancellor of the University of the Witwatersrand, talks about the relationship between PhD research and Africa's future social and economic development. He argues that, as developing nations become ever more dependent on knowledge-based industries, the need to have high-quality skills, innovation and outputs becomes increasingly relevant to the economic cycles governing their development. This article is part of a series on Africa's PhD renaissance.

To listen to the podcast or read more in this series, please visit the SciDevNet site here.

East African Nations Ready to Send a Stabilization Force to South Sudan
ADDIS ABABA — East African countries said they are ready to send a protection and stabilization force to South Sudan, where fighting has continued despite a ceasefire. Peace negotiations taking place in Addis Ababa have made little headway.  The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the East African bloc mediating the peace talks, said East African countries are prepared to send protection forces into South Sudan to halt the ongoing conflict.

To read more, please visit the Voice of America site here.

U.S. Takes Training Role in Africa as Threats Grow and Budgets Shrink
With more than a decade of land wars in Iraq and Afghanistan drawing to an end, the American military's involvement in Niger illustrates how the Pentagon is trying to juggle two competing missions in Africa: contain the spread of Islamist militancy without having to pour a lot of soldiers or money into the region. Threats continue on the continent, but budgets are tightening at home, and the appetite to send large American armies to foreign conflicts is small. So, the Obama administration is focusing on training and advising African troops to deal with their own security threats, or providing help to European allies that have historical ties and forces in the region.

To read more, please visit the New York Times site here.

Pistorius' character questioned over gun incident
PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — Oscar Pistorius asked a friend to take the blame after a pistol was accidentally fired in a Johannesburg restaurant weeks before the double-amputee runner fatally shot his girlfriend, a witness testified Wednesday at Pistorius' murder trial. The testimony by boxer Kevin Lerena relates to firearms charges against Pistorius, and raises questions about the character of a man who insists he accidentally shot dead Reeva Steenkamp in his home in the early hours of Feb. 14 last year. Prosecutors allege he intentionally shot Steenkamp, his 29-year-old girlfriend.

To read more, please visit the Associated Press site here.

Biyi Bandele: Making movies to tell Africa's real stories
"I knew I wanted to be a writer from when I was six," Biyi Bandele tells CNN. "My dad took me to the local library, I was five or six and I just fell in love with the books." Some three decades later and Bandele has become a celebrated novelist and playwright who most recently moved behind the camera to try his hand at directing. Bandele inspired by Brixton upbringing Nigerian soap-opera tackles HIV. A task he seems well suited for after receiving critical acclaim for his directorial feature film debut, "Half of a Yellow Sun," based on Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's much-loved novel of the same name and starring Hollywood stars Chiwetel Ejiofor and Thandie Newton.

To read more, please visit the CNN's African Voices site here.

Nigeria names defence chief to combat rebels
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has appointed an experienced former general from the Muslim north as his defence minister, as he looks to combat an increasingly bloody armed conflict with Boko Haram. Analysts said Wednesday's appointment of Aliyu Gusau may lead to a change in strategy in the raging battle against the Muslim rebel group. The position had been vacant since June 2012, when Jonathan sacked Mohammed Bello following a spate of deadly attacks by Boko Haram.

To read more, please visit the Al Jazeera site here.