Ebola on the Move

From Congo to Kampala to Como: a fast-moving outbreak exposes the cracks in global health preparedness

May 26, 2026

World Briefing Plus | Journalism Under Threat & Ukraine’s Darkening Horizon

A new UN finding confirms transnational repression of journalists is rising — driven by digital surveillance and technology. I break down what that means for press freedom globally. Then: the war in Ukraine. Recent strikes on Kyiv, red lines crossed by Russia, and a major blow to Kyiv’s war effort - allied nations have blocked a landmark commitment to dedicate 0.25% of GDP to Ukraine, a deal that would have tripled annual aid from $45bn to $143bn. And the UK has now loosened sanctions on Russian refined oil - a troubling signal at a deeply vulnerable moment for Ukraine.

The head of the World Health Organization has raised the alarm over the speed of the current Ebola outbreak in central Africa, which has so far claimed at least 220 lives. “We are urgently scaling up operations, ‌but at the moment the epidemic is outpacing us,” Director-General Tedros ⁠Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday, telling an online meeting of the African Union that health workers are “playing catch-up” as the number of suspected cases tops 900. Tedros will tomorrow travel to Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in whose Ituri province the current outbreak is centred. The DRC has had more than a dozen Ebola outbreaks over the decades. Health experts say international aid cuts last year by the US and other rich nations are devastating for eastern Congo because of the region’s unique problems. The response has been hampered by fear, anger and frustration among locals, including attacks on treatment centres, as well as distrust of authorities in a region long plagued by armed violence. Aid groups fighting the current Ebola outbreak also say they don’t have the equipment they need, such as face shields and suits to protect health workers from infection, testing kits, and body bags and other materials needed to safely bury the bodies of victims, which can be highly contagious. Ugandan health authorities on Saturday confirmed the first local infections: a driver and a health worker exposed to the Congolese patient who died on May 11. Two more health workers at a private hospital in Kampala have since tested positive, the Ministry of Health said on Monday. The Bundibugyo type of Ebola virus responsible for the current outbreak has no approved vaccine or treatment. The outbreak has been declared a global health emergency. Tracing and isolating Ebola contacts is seen as key to stopping the spread of the disease, which usually manifests as hemorrhagic fever.

A health alert has been issued in Italy's northern Lombardy region after two suspected cases of Ebola were detected in the province of Como. The cases concern a woman from Lurate Caccivio and a man from Bulgarograsso who returned from Uganda in the past 24 hours with other members of their families after spending around three months there as humanitarian aid workers.
Both have developed symptoms consistent with the Ebola virus, including high fever, nausea, vomiting and intestinal problems. They were quickly transferred to Milan’s Sacco Hospital, a specialist facility for the management of high-risk infectious diseases, where tests required under national and international protocols are under way - Euronews
Angry young men stormed a hospital treating Ebola patients at the heart of the latest outbreak of the disease in eastern Congo on Sunday evening, forcing the medical staff to scramble to evacuate the patients as gunfire rang out in the area.
It was not immediately known if anyone was hurt in the attack on the Mongbwalu General Hospital but Dr. Richard Lokudu, the hospital’s medical director, told The Associated Press the attackers demanded that two bodies of their kin be handed over to them. There was gunfire and the medics were trying to evacuate the patients and the staff, Lokudu said over the phone. The attack — the third in a week’s time on healthcare facilities where medical workers struggle with lack of resources to treat suspected Ebola cases — underlined the challenges of the outbreak

The United States military said it carried out “self-defense” strikes in southern Iran on May 25, targeting missile launch sites and Iranian boats allegedly attempting to lay mines near key shipping routes. In a statement, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the strikes were aimed at protecting American troops from what it described as threats posed by Iranian forces during a tense ceasefire period. According to the statement, US forces struck “missile launch sites and Iranian boats attempting to emplace mines” in southern Iran. The strikes appeared to focus on areas near the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most strategically important waterways for global oil shipments prior to the war that began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28. Explosions were earlier reported by Iranian news agencies in and around the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas. Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency later said the situation was “completely under control” and urged residents not to worry. The military action comes despite ongoing diplomatic contacts between Washington and Tehran aimed at ending months of confrontation. US President Donald Trump said over the weekend that negotiators were discussing the “final details” of a possible agreement, while Iranian officials said the two sides had reached a preliminary framework on several issues but that no deal was imminent. Both sides signaled major differences remain. Trump reiterated on May 25 that Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile should either be handed over to the United States or “destroyed in place”. Iran, however, pushed back against reports suggesting it had agreed to suspend uranium enrichment. A senior Iranian diplomat reportedly dismissed such claims as “pure fabrication”, while the Iranian foreign ministry said that although some conclusions had been reached in negotiations, “that does not mean we’re close” to a final deal. The US and Iran have maintained a fragile ceasefire since April 8, though sporadic incidents have continued in the Gulf region - RFE/RL

Russia Hits Kyiv’s Heart — And NATO Allies Still Hesitate | CNN Analysis

Russia unleashed one of its most devastating attacks on Kyiv in recent months — firing more than 90 missiles and hundreds of drones in a strike that exposed growing cracks in Ukraine’s air defenses. Speaking live on CNN’s Isa Soares Tonight, I explained why this latest barrage may represent a dangerous new phase in the war. For the first time, key symbols of Ukraine’s statehood and national identity were hit or damaged: the Cabinet of Ministers area, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs vicinity, Maidan Square, and even exhibits at the Chornobyl Museum.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Monday issued a fresh warning of imminent strikes against Kyiv as part of an ongoing retaliation campaign for a deadly Ukrainian attack against the occupied Luhansk region late last week. Slamming what it described as the “Zelensky junta and its Western sponsors” for violating international law, the ministry said the May 22 attack on the Starobilsk Vocational School and its dormitory has pushed the war “past a breaking point.” “Under these circumstances, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are commencing a sequence of systemic strikes against Ukrainian military-industrial complex facilities in Kyiv,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “Strikes will also be launched against decision-making centers and command posts.” The ministry explicitly warned foreign nationals, including the personnel of diplomatic missions and offices of international organizations, to leave the Ukrainian capital immediately. The warning comes after Russia launched a devastating weekend attack on Kyiv and the surrounding region using a combination of drones and missiles, including the ballistic missile Oreshnik - Moscow Times

Pope Leo XIV on Monday set out a sweeping vision for corporate executives, politicians and individuals who will shape and be shaped by the future of artificial intelligence, warning leaders to safeguard humanity from A.I.’s most disruptive effects. Leo’s declaration came in the form of a papal encyclical, an open letter to “all people of good will” that ran to roughly 42,300 words in its English version. It outlined his desire to protect human dignity and agency in an age in which technology threatens to replace humans in many professional and social roles. While emphasizing that “technology should not be considered, in itself, as a force antagonistic to humanity,” he wrote that “the pursuit of greater profits cannot justify choices that systematically sacrifice jobs.”

Among other things, Leo called for:

government regulation of the private companies that are driving the development of A.I.
protection and retraining for workers whose jobs are threatened
education to help students think critically about the technology
action to protect children from violent, hypersexualized or fake information online that is often generated by A.I.
safeguards to ensure that humans, not artificial intelligence, remain responsible for all decisions regarding the use of weapons.

Above all he emphasized the importance of retaining a fundamental social role for all human beings. “A society that guarantees employment to only a small fraction of the population, despite having a high level of technical development, risks exposing many to forced inactivity,” he wrote - NYT

Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada on Monday drew on his experience with Brexit to warn that a referendum the province of Alberta is planning for October on a possible separation from Canada could turn out to be a “dangerous bluff.” Mr. Carney was governor of the Bank of England during the vote by Britain to leave the European Union in 2016. He now leads a country that could see its Western oil-rich province break away after Premier Danielle Smith of Alberta announced last week she would push for a referendum on separation. The vote, scheduled for Oct. 19, will ask Albertans to decide if they want to remain in Canada or if they want to hold a separate, binding referendum to secede. “I saw firsthand what happened in the United Kingdom when the view was, vote for this, it’ll be soft, and then we’ll negotiate,” Mr. Carney told the news media in Ottawa on Monday. He was referring to the suggestion by some voters and politicians, who did not necessarily want Britain to leave the European Union but wanted to have a referendum on it, that the Brexit vote would help extract concessions from the European Union while staying in the bloc. “They’re still, 10 years later, trying to undo what people didn’t think they were voting for,” Mr. Carney added. Separatism in Alberta has long had the support of a small minority of voters, but the movement has grown in recent years. A poll by the Angus Reid Institute that was released on Monday found that 35 percent of Albertans would vote to pursue secession from Canada, meaning they would answer “yes” to the question to be posed in October. Polls in recent months have generally put support for secession at 25 percent to 30 percent. - NYT

Ten people were injured after a flight bound for Hong Kong was hit by severe turbulence. Four passengers and six crew members were injured on the Cathay Pacific flight from Brisbane to Hong Kong. Eight people were taken to the hospital for treatment. Passengers described a sudden, violent drop without warning shortly after breakfast service began on Flight CX156. One traveler compared the experience to “falling through a drop tower” in an interview with the South China Morning Post. Businessman Nicholas Stevenson told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation the aircraft “just dropped” and he feared it was “going down.” He said the turbulence struck twice within seconds, throwing passengers who were not belted into the air. “There were phones flying, coffees smashed into the roof,” he said, adding that “people were screaming.” Stevenson said the pilot suggested the turbulence was likely caused by a fast-developing storm cell that was not clearly visible on radar, but the exact cause is still unknown. According to unverified social media posts, another Cathay flight was hit by severe clear air turbulence this week, as it crossed the northern Philippines bound for Hong Kong.