The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has exceeded 4,000 confirmed cases of the Bundibugyo strain since mid-May, with 1,850 deaths reported. Health officials warn the virus may be mutating, as the WHO urges vaccine trials for what is being described as the fastest-spreading Ebola epidemic on record.
Democratic Republic of Congo authorities released 15 prisoners and handed them over to AFC/M23 rebels on August 6-7, marking the first known prisoner transfer under a peace agreement signed last year. The International Committee of the Red Cross facilitated the handover as part of the Doha peace process for eastern DRC.
Physicians for Human Rights Israel released a report warning that the Palestinian public healthcare system in the occupied West Bank is on the brink of collapse, citing Israel's withholding of tax revenues from the Palestinian Authority as pushing hospitals and clinics to crisis point.
Malaysian government spokesman Fahmi Fadzil announced that Malaysia will not proceed with plans to repatriate 5,000 Rohingya refugees to Myanmar if screening determines they face persecution or threats to their lives upon return. The statement comes amid criticism from human rights groups over the planned forced return.
The UN World Food Programme warns that acute child malnutrition has reached critical levels in one-third of Afghanistan's provinces, with 3.7 million children projected to suffer from malnutrition this year as funding shortfalls force cuts to food distributions and clinic services.
Maternal mortality rates have doubled in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as pregnant women avoid healthcare facilities due to fear and misinformation about the country's worst-ever Ebola outbreak, which has recorded over 3,600 cases as of late July 2026.
The Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo has killed more than 1,700 people with 3,802 confirmed cases, making it the fastest-growing outbreak on record. The WHO is accelerating vaccine trials as the crisis overwhelms response efforts.
Torrential monsoon rains have caused widespread flooding and landslides across Kerala state in southern India, killing at least 15 people with 7 still missing. Nearly 7,700 people have been evacuated to approximately 275 relief camps as authorities issued weather warnings for continued heavy rainfall.
Tens of thousands of migrants crossed from Morocco into Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta over Thursday and Friday in a massive border breach, resulting in at least 67 deaths from drownings and stampedes. Spain responded by deploying military forces and installing a 500-meter containment barrier along the sea border.
Deadly monsoon flooding across Assam and Gujarat killed at least 50 people and displaced roughly 700,000, with the Brahmaputra River submerging nearly 900 villages. Rescue operations continued as infrastructure damage prompted school closures in affected districts.
The fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in history has killed more than 1,000 people in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, with confirmed cases approaching 3,000. Health workers are striking over payment issues while medics struggle to contain the outbreak amid militant violence, attacks on clinics, and lack of approved vaccines or treatments.
Malaysia has directed the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to temporarily halt refugee registrations while the government restructures implementation of its domestic Refugee Registration Document (DPP) programme. UNHCR said about 215,600 refugees and asylum-seekers were registered with it in Malaysia at the end of February 2026.
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has killed at least 999 people in what officials describe as the fastest-growing outbreak on record, with dozens of attacks on health workers hampering response efforts and threatening to increase the death toll.
The Trump administration has weighed severing relations with UNHCR in recent weeks, prompting urgent diplomatic efforts by UN officials and international diplomats to persuade the United States to maintain its support for the refugee agency.
The UN refugee agency reported that 144 people were dead or missing following maritime incidents off Mauritania's coast last week. In the deadliest incident, UNHCR said 143 people were reported dead or missing from a boat that left The Gambia and was rescued after nearly 25 days at sea, while 38 survivors were brought ashore in Nouadhibou.
Israeli forces demolished five inhabited Palestinian homes in the Bethlehem governorate on July 22, 2026—four in Nahhalin and one in Za’atara—according to WAFA and local reports. IMEMC separately reported that Israeli authorities demolished a home, a carwash facility, and two livestock farms in Rafat, northwest of Jerusalem. Anadolu Agency documented that the four Nahhalin homes were demolished on the grounds that they lacked building permits.
Seven American aid workers who were fighting the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo are now quarantining at an isolation facility in Kenya after US government travel restrictions prevented their return home. According to Samaritan's Purse CEO Franklin Graham, none of the workers are showing symptoms.
An angry crowd, including relatives of a patient who died after being denied a blood transfusion, attacked Nyakunde Hospital in Ituri province, Democratic Republic of Congo, forcing Ebola patients and health workers to flee. The attackers threw stones and damaged the facility's perimeter fence in the latest incident hampering efforts to contain the deadly outbreak.
A fire broke out at a foster care facility near Algeria's capital on Thursday morning, killing 11 people including children and injuring 19 others. Rescuers and police responded to the scene as authorities investigate the cause of the blaze.
Three weeks after two powerful earthquakes struck central Venezuela, the confirmed death toll has risen to approximately 4,829-5,000 people, with the UN estimating 50,000 remain missing and thousands displaced as rescue efforts transition to rebuilding.
Two vessels carrying more than 500 people, believed to be Rohingya refugees fleeing violence in Myanmar, are feared to have capsized off the country's coast in recent days. UN agencies IOM and UNHCR expressed deep concern over the maritime tragedy.
Healthcare workers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's Ituri province have gone on strike over unpaid wages as the country battles an escalating Ebola outbreak that has now exceeded 2,000 confirmed cases and resulted in 754 deaths.
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has expanded to two more northeastern provinces, Haut-Uele and Tshopo, according to the country's public health institute. The outbreak is being described as the fastest-growing in history, with at least one infected patient being treated in Germany.
The Trump administration announced it is preventing American citizens in the Democratic Republic of Congo from traveling directly to the U.S. on commercial flights, requiring them to spend 21 days elsewhere first. The decision follows an Ebola outbreak that has caused at least 1,830 confirmed cases and 648 deaths in Congo, including one confirmed case involving a U.S. citizen working for a humanitarian organization.
A cholera outbreak in war-torn Sudan has killed over 100 people, with the World Health Organization warning conditions could deteriorate further due to ongoing conflict, mass displacement, rainy season, and restricted aid access to besieged areas like El-Obeid.
Devastating twin earthquakes struck northern Venezuela, killing approximately 4,500 people and leaving thousands homeless. Public anger is mounting over what many perceive as a botched government response to the disaster.
Twin earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 struck Venezuela's capital Caracas and coastal La Guaira on June 24, killing over 4,300 people and injuring more than 16,000. The UN has launched a $300 million appeal as survivors face disease outbreaks and tens of thousands remain missing.
Twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela last month have killed 3,889 people, prompting a UN appeal for $300 million in humanitarian assistance as survivors face disease outbreak risks and seek medical help beyond immediate injuries.
Two weeks after twin earthquakes struck Venezuela on June 24, the death toll has climbed above 3,800 with tens of thousands still missing. The disaster has overwhelmed the country's healthcare system and presents a major crisis for Venezuela's acting president.
Healthcare workers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have gone on strike to protest delayed payments, threatening containment efforts as the Ebola outbreak reaches 1,708 cases with nearly 600 deaths. The World Health Organization says the outbreak is outpacing containment measures.
After devastating earthquakes struck northern Venezuela on June 24-25, 2026, stablecoins emerged as a critical mechanism for rapidly distributing emergency aid to survivors, addressing challenges in traditional money transfer systems.
UNICEF reports at least 330 children were killed or injured in Sudan during the first six months of 2026, as the Rapid Support Forces besieged el-Obeid, razed villages in Darfur, and displaced thousands. The escalating conflict includes lethal drone attacks and increasingly difficult humanitarian conditions.
The Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group has surrounded el-Obeid, capital of North Kordofan state, trapping approximately 500,000 civilians amid constant drone strikes. Fears are mounting that the city could face a massacre similar to the prolonged siege of el-Fasher.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk has warned of an unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in El Obeid, Sudan, amid fears of an imminent assault by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Reports indicate ongoing bombardment, including drone strikes, that are hitting critical infrastructure and restricting movement as civilians struggle to access food and water.
The strategically important city of El Obeid in Sudan faces intensifying drone attacks by paramilitary forces, with the UN reporting a humanitarian aid truck carrying 50 metric tons of supplies was destroyed near Tendelti. Aid workers describe the situation as terrible, with strikes hitting schools and fuel stations.
The United Nations has warned that the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has infected 1,307 people and killed 377 since May, could cost Africa up to $3.6 billion and result in massive job losses across the continent.
The World Health Organization reported on June 30 that Venezuela's healthcare system is facing significant strain following deadly twin earthquakes, with damaged hospitals, missing staff, and growing concerns about infectious disease outbreaks and food shortages among survivors.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is experiencing the world's largest recorded Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak, with 1,274 confirmed cases including 360 deaths and 96 healthcare workers infected. The outbreak has now spread across 35 health zones in Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu provinces, with cases also reported in Uganda.
An Ebola outbreak caused by Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo has reached 1,203 confirmed cases with 321 deaths, and has spread to Uganda. Researchers warn of a nearly 70% probability of cross-border transmission to South Sudan within 12 weeks, while aid organizations attribute the outbreak's severity to decades of infrastructure and development failures in the region.
Russia and Ukraine conducted a major prisoner exchange on June 26, 2026, with each side releasing 160 POWs in a swap mediated by the United Arab Emirates. The exchange occurred amid ongoing military operations, including Ukrainian drone and missile strikes on Russian territory.
The International Maritime Organization announced an evacuation plan for hundreds of ships and approximately 11,000 sailors stranded in the Gulf for months, following a ceasefire agreement between Iran and the United States that enables safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
The United States, United Nations, United Kingdom, and European nations have issued urgent warnings that Sudan's Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group could commit mass atrocities against civilians in El-Obeid, a strategic city of half a million people in central Sudan that RSF forces have surrounded.
UN human rights experts have demanded the release of Craig and Lindsay Foreman, a British couple from East Sussex sentenced to 10 years in a Tehran prison. Their family is urging the US to include a hostage exchange in any peace deal with Iran.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres visited Haiti on Tuesday amid a deepening humanitarian crisis caused by surging gang violence. New UN statistics reveal 2,300 people have been killed and 100 kidnapped this year, with more than 1 in 10 Haitians—approximately 1.5 million people—displaced from their homes.
The head of Africa's Centres for Disease Control and Prevention warned that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo could become the worst in history, with 837 confirmed cases including 196 deaths and tens of thousands of contacts of infected individuals remaining untraced.
One month after confirmation, the Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has reached 837 confirmed cases and 196 deaths, with health officials warning it could become the worst in history. The true scale remains uncertain due to data gaps and community resistance hampering response efforts.
The UN human rights chief condemned a sharp increase in drone warfare in Sudan's ongoing conflict, reporting that more than 1,000 civilians were killed in drone strikes during the first five months of 2026. Drone warfare has become an increasingly prominent feature of Sudan's civil conflict.
The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution calling on Afghanistan's Taliban rulers to reverse their crackdown on women's rights, as reports emerge of continued detentions including an MSF staff member and ongoing use of excessive force against protesters.
The Trump administration is planning to deport nearly two dozen Iranians and other migrants, including women, to the Central African Republic, a country the U.S. State Department has designated as "Do not travel" due to chronic instability, violence, and poverty.
Pope Leo XIV traveled to Spain's Canary Islands on Thursday, where he threw flowers into the sea to honor migrants who died attempting the perilous Atlantic crossing. The pontiff condemned the deaths and called for reflection on why the world forces so many to 'risk death to seek life.'
The Democratic Republic of Congo has reported 101 confirmed Ebola deaths out of approximately 550 cases less than a month after declaring an outbreak in the eastern region. Armed groups, attacks on health workers, and local skepticism continue to severely challenge containment efforts.
A U.S. oversight body monitoring foreign assistance discovered evidence that 101 more UNRWA staffers participated in Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel, including schoolteachers and principals now exposed as combatants.
Israeli troops opened fire on a car in the occupied West Bank on Friday, killing a seven-month-old Palestinian baby boy and wounding his parents, according to Palestinian health officials. Reports indicate the family's vehicle had complied with orders to stop.
The U.S. State Department announced nearly $38 million in additional funding for Ebola response efforts, bringing total direct U.S. funding to over $200 million as Congo reports rapid community spread with 71 new confirmed cases.
At least 49 Nigerien nationals died of thirst after their truck broke down in the Sahara Desert in northern Niger, leaving them stranded for days. Two survivors walked over 50km to reach water and alert authorities, who found the victims and buried them in mass graves.
Russian missile and drone attacks killed at least 12 people and injured dozens across Ukraine, including in Kyiv, as President Zelenskyy commemorated the deaths of at least 707 children killed since the 2022 invasion began.
The World Health Organization chief called for a ceasefire in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to contain the Ebola outbreak, stating that ongoing fighting is driving more cases. Multiple countries have tightened travel rules in response to the rising risk.
Ugandan authorities ordered closure of the border with Democratic Republic of Congo amid a worsening Ebola outbreak, as WHO chief warned the conflict in eastern DRC is creating a 'catastrophic collision' of disease and war that hampers containment efforts.
Cases of Ebola are rising in the Democratic Republic of Congo as health workers face challenges from ongoing armed conflict in the region and distrust among local communities. Red Cross workers have been conducting burials of Ebola victims in Rwampara as the outbreak continues.
The World Health Organization reports that an Ebola outbreak in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo is spreading rapidly, with almost 750 suspected cases. The WHO has elevated the national risk assessment to 'very high.'
Multiple attacks on health facilities treating Ebola patients in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo over a weekend period resulted in more than two dozen patients fleeing, including at least one death, as angry residents set fire to treatment centers. The World Health Organization warned that the violence is severely impeding efforts to contain the deadly outbreak.
Cuba's national electricity grid suffered multiple nationwide collapses in March 2026, leaving millions without power after the United States imposed an oil blockade on the island. President Donald Trump publicly mused about taking over Cuba as the crisis unfolded.
A series of Israeli air strikes in southern Lebanon over several days killed at least 27 people, including six paramedics killed in two separate strikes within 24 hours and multiple children. Video footage captured one strike hitting paramedics responding to an earlier attack, killing two rescuers and a child.
Israeli naval forces intercepted and raided the Global Sumud Flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza near Cyprus, detaining Pakistani humanitarian worker Saad Edhi (son of Faisal Edhi) and other activists. The seizure sparked international outrage and condemnation.
Cuba's energy minister announced the country has completely depleted its oil and diesel supplies amid a U.S. blockade that tightened after Venezuela stopped fuel shipments following its president's capture in January. The crisis has triggered rolling blackouts in Havana and protests in the capital.
The United Nations human rights chief warned that intensifying violence and increased use of drones in Sudan's conflict have killed approximately 880 civilians in the first three months of 2026, with most deaths concentrated in Kordofan and Darfur regions, though strikes are spreading to other areas.
The UN's International Maritime Organization reported that around 1,500 ships and approximately 20,000 seafarers remain trapped in the Persian Gulf due to the Iranian blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, facing severe hardship as the standoff continues.
A Russian missile attack on the town of Merefa in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region killed at least seven people and wounded more than 30, including a 2-year-old boy, according to Ukrainian officials. The strike damaged homes, businesses and public buildings in an area far from the front lines.
Joint military operations by Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo freed approximately 200 civilian captives held by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an ISIL-affiliated group operating in eastern DRC. The youngest rescued was a 14-year-old girl.
A massive fire tore through a coastal 'water village' in Malaysia's Sabah state on Borneo island, destroying around 1,000 homes and displacing over 9,000 people, many of them among the country's poorest residents including indigenous and stateless populations.
Russia conducted massive drone and missile strikes across Ukraine, killing at least 16 people including a 12-year-old child and wounding over 100 others. The attacks targeted residential areas in Kyiv, Odesa, and Dnipro in what officials called the deadliest assault this year.
Health experts and international organizations have declared the rapid withdrawal of US international health aid a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), with warnings of severe consequences for global health facilities and services.
