Sudanese prime minister Abdallah Hamdok has taken advantage of his position as chairman of regional, inter-governmental body IGAD to launch a series of diplomatic initiatives in the region.
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Diplomacy 
After a year-long legal battle, Denis-Christel Sassou Nguesso's wife has concluded a financial settlement which will put an end to the investigation into her husband's purchase of a luxury apartment in Miami. Nearly 90% of the proceeds of the sale of the property will stay in the hands of the US authorities, however.
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Energy The procedure for exporting minerals from North and South Kivu is an administrative headache, a situation that the DRC employers' federation believes leads to smuggling of gold and the 3Ts to its neighbours. The organisation is calling for the creation of a single exports processing station.
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Mining Carlyle offshoot Assala Energy has successively brought in three mining veterans in the hopes they will help with its cost-cutting measures.
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Energy Two senior members of the Congolese judiciary have come under direct attack from President Tshisekedi over their roles in the investigation into suspected embezzlement by former prime minister Augustin Matata Ponyo.
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Business The Port of Douala, which has been entirely managed by a single state body since Bolloré group's management contract for the container terminal was not renewed, is facing a number of disputes with port operators.
Central African Republic president Faustin-Archange Touadéra has used the torpor of the month of August to quietly carry out a game of musical chairs.
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Politics 
The FBI has taken a leap forward in its race to gain access to the archives of Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS), which the West's intelligence and law enforcement services have been trying to get hold of for nearly a year.
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Diplomacy 
India's way of positioning itself as Zambia's alternative partner to China is not through big spending but cheaper production opportunities, although these do come with a few caveats.
Ankara continues to influence the west of the country, despite the Joint Military Committee's little-appreciated request that the country withdraw its troops from Libyan territory. Turkey recently appointed former Libyan defence minister Salaheddine al-Nemroush as commander of a military zone where the main Turkish base is located.
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Diplomacy In early August, German development agency GIZ issued a tender call for a 20-month reform of the Tunisian public services.
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Diplomacy 
