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Khurram Husain joins host Tushar Shetty to examine whether Pakistan’s recent diplomatic gains are translating into meaningful economic progress.

Detecting drones is harder than taking them down, Latvian official says

Face à une augmentation continue des cas et des décès liés à l’épidémie de virus Ebola, le gouverneur de l’Ituri, le général Johnny Luboya Nkashama, a plaidé lundi 25 mai, pour le déploiement immédiat d'un renfort de personnel qualifié et de matériel médical. Cette assistance doit cibler en urgence près d’un million de déplacés de guerre menacés par une catastrophe humanitaire.

RightsCon 2026 was supposed to be held in Zambia in May – but then Beijing pressured the host government. 

AMENDMENTS 23 - 206 - Draft opinion Establishing the European Fund for economic, social and territorial cohesion, agriculture and rural, fisheries and maritime, prosperity and security for the period 2028-2034
Committee on Security and Defence
Ana Catarina Mendes

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

The decision came amid criticism that the deal could pose risks to sovereignty and security

Putin left Beijing last week without a Power of Siberia 2 deal. The reason is partly in Turkmenistan.

Elongo, 12, washes her hands at Epo‑Ville Primary School in Bunia, Ituri Province, DR Congo, on 22 May 2026. She had just taken part in a handwashing demonstration led by UNICEF WASH Officer Ciza Nyalundja. Credit: UNICEF/Carmel Ndomba Mbikayi

By Oritro Karim
UNITED NATIONS, May 26 2026 (IPS)

Since May 16, there has been a significant increase in the number of laboratory-confirmed and suspected Ebola cases reported across the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), primarily in Ituri Province, with additional unrelated cases identified in Kampala, Uganda. Although the outbreak has remained largely confined to that region, it has been heavily linked to areas affected by insecurity, civilian displacement, and mining-related migration, raising concerns among global health experts that the outbreak could spread without effective monitoring and response efforts.

As of May 17, the World Health Organization (WHO) has determined that the Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus in the DRC and Uganda constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued health alerts to healthcare workers and travelers regarding the spread in the region. Current projections of the virus spreading to other continents remain low at this time, with WHO stating that the outbreak does not meet the criteria of a pandemic, as defined in the 2005 International Health Regulations (IHR).

“We are now revising our risk assessment to very high at the national level, high at the regional level, and low at the global level,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO, on May 22 at a United Nations (UN) press briefing in Geneva, noting that there have been 82 confirmed Ebola cases and seven deaths in the DRC. However, these figures are expected to be far higher, with nearly 750 suspected cases and 177 reported suspected deaths.

Two additional confirmed cases linked with travel from the DRC have also been reported in Uganda, one of which ended in death. Furthermore, two American nationals have been transferred to Europe for treatment after being suspected of contracting the virus following prolonged “high-risk contact.”

Response efforts have been largely limited as a result of widespread civilian displacement and prolonged conflict. On May 21, the UN reported that a hospital in the Ituri province was set on fire by angry relatives after the local police refused to release the body of an infected individual to the family due to concerns of contamination.

Additionally, the outbreak has been most pronounced in the Ituri and North Kivu provinces, which have historically been the center of armed conflict and humanitarian suffering in the DRC. Over the past few months alone, there have been more than 100,000 civilians displaced in this region as a direct result of violence, which has severely constrained humanitarian response efforts.

“These are some of the most difficult operating environments in the world for our life-saving work,” said Tom Fletcher, UN Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, in a statement shared to X. “We face conflict and high population movement. We are working to secure safe and sustained access for frontline responders, including to areas controlled by armed groups. It is essential that there is no obstruction to our response. We must have access to all routes — air, land, and water — across the affected areas.”

According to Ghebreyesus, approximately four million people are in dire need of humanitarian intervention, two million are displaced, and ten million are facing acute food insecurity. Women will be disproportionately affected, as they often serve in caregiving roles, domestic labour, and frontline services, all of which increase their risk of infection. Pregnant women are particularly vulnerable, while quarantine measures have been linked with rising rates of gender based violence.

These risks have been exacerbated by the collapse of health systems in the North Kivu and Ituri provinces, where needs are most dire. In 2025, WHO recorded more than 1.5 million people across these provinces who lost access to primary healthcare facilities. Approximately 85 percent of healthcare centers face critical drug shortages.

“Even if people are sick, they may be suspected cases, they cannot access health services, and therefore they cannot be detected, they cannot be diagnosed,” said Teresa Zakaria, WHO’s Unit Head of Humanitarian Operations. “Within the outbreak response as well, we need to really make sure that essential health services for everyone in the two provinces are safeguarded, especially for those who have been forcibly displaced and extremely vulnerable.”

Humanitarian experts have stressed that restoring the public’s confidence in agencies’ capability to contain the outbreak will be crucial moving forward. Following the 2013-2016 Western Africa Ebola epidemic, many communities are still carrying trauma and have harbored a deep distrust in the humanitarian response.

Many residents across the region continue to seek treatment, while others believe that Ebola is “fabricated,” according to Gabriela Arenas of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

“They remember the fear. They remember the rumours spreading to villages. They remember neighbours disappearing into treatment centres,” said Arenas. “During an Ebola outbreak, trust and community acceptance can mean the difference between containment and wider transmission.”

Supplies handed over by UNICEF Chief Field Office Ibrahim Abdi Shire hands over supplies to the Provincial Health Directorate in Bukavu, South Kivu Province, DR Congo, on 20 May 2026. Credit: UNICEF/Christian Kalengera

On May 22, Fletcher announced that up to $60 million USD from the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund will be allocated to support containment, treatment, and monitoring efforts in DRC and surrounding countries. WHO also announced that it has deployed 22 international staff to provide direct frontline assistance and released $3.9 million USD from its contingency fund. The agency, in collaboration with Africa’s CDC, has established a continental incident management team to support frontline responders and protect vulnerable communities.

“We are applying lessons from previous outbreaks,” said Fletcher. “Containment depends on fast, coordinated action at the community level. We need strong communication with governments and effective early warning and detection systems across affected countries. Community trust is essential: we will continue delivering wider humanitarian support to people affected, engage closely with them to understand their needs, preposition supplies where possible, and avoid militarised delivery of support.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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Alors que l'Europe est touchée par une vague de chaleur exceptionnelle pour un mois de mai, le gouvernement espagnol a présenté un vaste plan de transition écologique. Le Premier ministre Pedro Sanchez a annoncé un investissement de neuf milliards d'euros destiné à transformer principalement deux secteurs : le bâtiment et les transports.

Public-facing work, such as leaders’ meetings, is necessary, but even without it the Quad provides a vital mechanism for its members to collectively counter China’s behavior.

“We will not hesitate to use all of the tools at our disposal to protect the EU financial interests," a Commission spokesperson said

Ousmane Sonko a été largement élu grâce à la majorité dont dispose son parti, Pastef, malgré ses divergences avec le président, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, issu de la même formation.

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Jamais le mouton n’a été aussi cher, selon des journaux locaux et des élus, qui accusent le gouvernement d’avoir subventionné les importations mais sans faire baisser les prix.

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The emergence of the Cockroach Janta Party indicates that discontent within and with the Modi government may run far deeper than it appears.

La diplomatie russe a appelé lundi les ressortissants étrangers vivant à Kiev, dont les personnels diplomatiques, à quitter la capitale ukrainienne avant de nouveaux bombardements de l'armée russe, Kiev appelant à « ne pas céder au chantage russe ». Cette annonce intervient après des frappes russes particulièrement massives ayant visé l'Ukraine ce week-end, notamment la capitale, faisant au moins quatre morts et une centaine de blessés.