DR Congo
The death rate from the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has reached 51.6%, according to fresh data released today, meaning more than half of people infected with the illness die from it. The figures, from DRC's National Institute of Biomedical Research, showed that deaths had reached 5,372 by Friday, out of 10,414 confirmed cases. Experts, though, believe the true number may be higher. Responders are struggling to contain the epidemic, which is the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record, with about 80% of new cases coming from chains of transmission unknown to health authorities. Infections have also been discovered in Uganda, Kenya and Nigeria.
More from Africa News here.
Proximities Picks
There’s a new publication, with a fantastic concept, that I’m a genuine fan of and I’m pretty sure that if you read Proximities, you’re going to like it too. Break free from your monolingual media bubble with Translator – a new magazine of translated journalism from beyond the Anglosphere. Sign up to their free weekly newsletter for curated stories from around the world, summarised into English. Recent stories include an Arabic investigation into the disappearance of Sudan’s food aid and a Nepali op-ed about why the country needs to look inward at its own development model. Find Translator and the newsletter here.
Gaza
At least four Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza today, bringing the total number of people killed in the Palestinian enclave over the last 48 hours to 12, including a four-year-old boy. In one of at least four deadly attacks on the strip, five police officers were killed by a drone in western Khan Younis, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Interior and National Security, which condemned the strike as “a horrific massacre” and called on the international community to “take urgent action” to stop Israel targeting Palestinian police officers. Israel has killed more than 1,500 people in near-daily ceasefire violations in Gaza since it agreed an ostensible truce with Hamas last October.
More from Al Jazeera here.
North Korea
North Korea has said that recent U.S.-South Korean nuclear drills prove it needs to work on strengthening its own nuclear deterrent, state news agency KCNA reported. Kim Jong Sik, a deputy department director in the ruling Workers’ Party, said in a statement that the exercises, dubbed Iron Mace, show that Washington maintains a "wild ambition to stifle North Korea with nukes" and that such threats were "escalating with each passing day." Iron Mace, aimed at integrating U.S. nuclear capabilities with South Korean conventional forces, was held from September 29 to October 2. South Korea and the U.S. carry out yearly war games near the border with the North, which they say are defensive in nature. Pyongyang, for its part, says Seoul and Washington are rehearsing an invasion.
More from KCNA here.