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        <title>Polity.org.za | African News</title>
        <description><![CDATA[Polity African News offers free access to the latest Regional African news, with the aim of advancing Polity’s mission of deepening democracy through access to information.]]></description>
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            <title>Ethiopian forces near Tigray capital, fears grow of wider conflict</title>
            <link>https://www.polity.org.za/article/ethiopian-forces-near-tigray-capital-fears-grow-of-wider-conflict-2026-10-02</link>
            <description><![CDATA[Ethiopian government forces closed in on the capital of the northern rebel stronghold of Tigray on Friday, residents and a diplomat said, as fears grew that fighting could spill into a wider war after Ethiopia and Eritrea cut diplomatic ties.  Banks and shops in the city, Mekelle, were closed with the Ethiopian National Defence Force and allied militiamen reported to be within striking distance, two residents, who asked not to be named for security reasons, told Reuters.  Pro-government forces have made quick advances into Tigray since combat erupted last week with a rebel alliance led by the region's ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front, in the worst escalation of violence since a 2020-2022 civil war. But suspected drone attacks on the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, earlier this week suggested the TPLF and its allies might have better striking capability than previously thought.]]></description>
            <author>  Reuters</author>
            <category>African News</category>
            <pubDate>Fri, 02 Oct 2026 15:15:00 +0200</pubDate>
        <a_id>731467</a_id>
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            <title>Guinea-Bissau military leaders bar ousted president's return</title>
            <link>https://www.polity.org.za/article/guinea-bissau-military-leaders-bar-ousted-presidents-return-2026-10-02</link>
            <description><![CDATA[The military leaders of Guinea-Bissau have decided to block former President Umaro Sissoco Embalo from returning to the West African country, citing national security concerns and the need to preserve public order. Embalo, who was toppled in a military coup last November, had planned to return on Sunday and contest a presidential election scheduled for December, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters earlier this week. The coup last year came shortly before results from ​presidential and legislative elections were due to be ​announced. The senior army officers who carried it out suspended the electoral process and ⁠installed Major-General Horta Inta-a as transitional president. Embalo has been in exile since then.]]></description>
            <author>  Reuters</author>
            <category>African News</category>
            <pubDate>Fri, 02 Oct 2026 12:44:00 +0200</pubDate>
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        <editor>  Reuters</editor>
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            <title>Congo's Ebola outbreak has killed more than 4 000, government data shows</title>
            <link>https://www.polity.org.za/article/congos-ebola-outbreak-has-killed-more-than-4-000-government-data-shows-2026-10-02</link>
            <description><![CDATA[The number of deaths in Democratic Republic of Congo's Ebola outbreak has surpassed 4 000, government data showed on Friday, as the worst epidemic in the country's history resists containment efforts.  The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo species of Ebola, became the largest and deadliest in Congo after surpassing the 2018-2020 epidemic.]]></description>
            <author>  Reuters</author>
            <category>African News</category>
            <pubDate>Fri, 02 Oct 2026 11:56:00 +0200</pubDate>
        <a_id>731443</a_id>
        <updated>1790949726</updated>
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        <editor>  Reuters</editor>
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            <title>Senegal power cuts highlight need to embrace gas, minister says</title>
            <link>https://www.polity.org.za/article/senegal-power-cuts-highlight-need-to-embrace-gas-minister-says-2026-10-02</link>
            <description><![CDATA[Power cuts in Senegal in September have underscored the need to embrace gas as a means of electricity generation, the West African country's energy minister said. Senegal faced frequent power cuts throughout September in the capital and elsewhere. Minister El Hadji Abdourahmane Diouf said on Thursday that electricity demand was rising rapidly and that hot weather caused it to hit a higher-than-expected peak of 1 400 megawatts in August. While Senegal has an installed capacity of more than 2 300 MW, the system was not able to meet demand due to insufficient fuel supply and technology breakdowns, he said. Senegal mainly depends on diesel to generate electricity and is moving towards gas to lower costs, aiming to cut its dependence on costly imported fuels.]]></description>
            <author>  Reuters</author>
            <category>African News</category>
            <pubDate>Fri, 02 Oct 2026 11:12:00 +0200</pubDate>
        <a_id>731429</a_id>
        <updated>1790948179</updated>
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        <editor>  Reuters</editor>
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            <title>Eritrea cuts ties with Ethiopia over Asmara embassy closure</title>
            <link>https://www.polity.org.za/article/eritrea-cuts-ties-with-ethiopia-over-asmara-embassy-closure-2026-10-02</link>
            <description><![CDATA[Ethiopia ordered the closure of its embassy in Eritrea and declared 10 Eritrean diplomats persona non grata on Thursday, prompting Asmara to sever all diplomatic ties with its neighbour after overnight blasts heard in Addis Ababa sparked fears about renewed conflict in northern Ethiopia spreading.  Addis Ababa has accused Eritrea, Sudan and Egypt of supporting an opposition alliance led by the Tigray People's Liberation Front that has battled troops loyal to Ethiopia's federal government since last week. The three countries deny the accusation. The African Union Commission urged the three countries to exercise maximum restraint and refrain from actions or statements that could worsen tensions and undermine regional peace and stability.]]></description>
            <author>  Reuters</author>
            <category>African News</category>
            <pubDate>Fri, 02 Oct 2026 09:25:00 +0200</pubDate>
        <a_id>731408</a_id>
        <updated>1790948125</updated>
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        <editor>  Reuters</editor>
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            <title>African Union urges Ethiopia, Eritrea and Egypt to refrain from actions that could undermine ...</title>
            <link>https://www.polity.org.za/article/african-union-urges-ethiopia-eritrea-and-egypt-to-refrain-from-actions-that-could-undermine-stability-2026-10-02</link>
            <description><![CDATA[The African Union Commission has called on Ethiopia, Eritrea and Egypt to exercise maximum restraint and refrain from actions or statements that could worsen tensions and undermine regional peace and stability. "The Commission urges the three countries to address their differences through established diplomatic channels and peaceful dialogue," it said in a statement late on Thursday. On Thursday, Ethiopia ordered the closure of its embassy in Eritrea and declared 10 Eritrean diplomats persona non grata, prompting Asmara to sever all diplomatic ties with its neighbour. It also declared an Egyptian diplomat persona non grata and ordered him to leave the country within 48 hours, and Cairo responded in kind by declaring an Ethiopian embassy counsellor in Egypt persona non grata and giving him 48 hours to leave.]]></description>
            <author>  Reuters</author>
            <category>African News</category>
            <pubDate>Fri, 02 Oct 2026 09:24:00 +0200</pubDate>
        <a_id>731407</a_id>
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        <editor>  Reuters</editor>
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            <title>IMF mission visits Zambia for talks on new loan programme</title>
            <link>https://www.polity.org.za/article/imf-mission-visits-zambia-for-talks-on-new-loan-programme-2026-10-01</link>
            <description><![CDATA[Zambia said on Wednesday that an International Monetary Fund mission was visiting for talks on a new support programme, which it hopes will help lift economic growth and stimulate investment. The Southern African copper-producing country's previous $1.7-billion IMF arrangement expired in January, and the government has said it hopes to agree a successor programme before the end of the year. The IMF mission is in Zambia until October 10, the finance ministry said in a statement. It added that it hoped a new programme would preserve macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability while placing greater emphasis on private-sector-led growth, exports, diversification, investment and job creation.]]></description>
            <author>  Reuters</author>
            <category>African News</category>
            <pubDate>Thu, 01 Oct 2026 15:26:00 +0200</pubDate>
        <a_id>731363</a_id>
        <updated>1790862729</updated>
        <published>1790861160</published>
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        <editor>  Reuters</editor>
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            <title>MSF staff member tests positive for Ebola in Congo, aid organisation says</title>
            <link>https://www.polity.org.za/article/msf-staff-member-tests-positive-for-ebola-in-congo-aid-organisation-says-2026-10-01</link>
            <description><![CDATA[A staff member at humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières has tested positive for the Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease while working on the Ebola response in the Democratic Republic of Congo, MSF said on Thursday. "This person is being safely evacuated under a strict medical protocol in close coordination with the relevant health authorities in the DRC and the Netherlands, where the patient will be received by a designated hospital," MSF said in a statement. The number of confirmed Ebola cases in Congo has risen ​above 8 000 for the first time in the Central African ​country's ongoing outbreak, government data ​showed on Monday.]]></description>
            <author>  Reuters</author>
            <category>African News</category>
            <pubDate>Thu, 01 Oct 2026 14:09:00 +0200</pubDate>
        <a_id>731327</a_id>
        <updated>1790862711</updated>
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        <editor>  Reuters</editor>
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