Ebola outbreak declared emergency of 'international concern'

WHO warns Ebola cases in DRC could double

We hear from a journalist in eastern DR Congo on how situation is becoming more and more difficult for people in the city of Goma, a major transport hub - and we speak to Tom Frieden, a leading US scientist involved in fighting the last major Ebola outbreak. Also on the programme: An interview with former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez, pardoned by Donald Trump, now in hiding in the US. We have a rare report from inside Afghanistan. And an age-old mystery at sea has been solved - we hear how biologists rumbled the whale. (Photo: UNICEF staff receive medical supplies from an aircraft in Ituri province, Democratic Republic of Congo, May 19, 2026. Credit: REUTERS/Gradel Muyisa Mumbere)

WHO scaling up response to Ebola outbreak

The World Health Organisation has sent six tonnes of medical supplies to the Democratic Republic of Congo as it continues to sound the alarm over the scale of the Ebola outbreak in central Africa. We hear why the authorities are battling against the widespread local belief that symptoms are caused not by the Ebola virus, but witchcraft. Also, a look ahead to today's primary contests in the United States with Kentucky becoming the most expensive race ever, and the former President of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernandez, tells our correspondent why he believes he was the victim of “lawfare” and “a witch-hunt” by a vindictive Biden Administration. (Photo: Fatima Tafida, the Regional Supply Chain Lead for Emergencies at the World Health Organization's (WHO) Regional Office for Africa pastes stickers on shipment pallets as the WHO mobilises 4.7 tonnes of essential medical supplies and emergency kits to support the affected regions in response to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, 18 May, 2026. Credit: World Health Organization/Handout /Reuters)

18/05/2026 20:06 GMT

Interviews, news and analysis of the day’s global events.

Ebola outbreak declared emergency of 'international concern'

An ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been declared a public health emergency of international concern. The World Health Organisation has said that the virus has spread beyond the DRC, with confirmed cases reported in neighbouring Uganda. Two other neighbours - Rwanda and South Sudan - are also now on "high alert". The current strain of Ebola is caused by the Bundibugyo virus for which there are no approved drugs or vaccines. Also on the programme: A decade after Britain voted to leave the European Union... could it be heading back in? And the daughter of Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara gives us her reaction to the US blockade of her country (Image: REUTERS/Victoire Mukenge)

Ukraine strikes Moscow in biggest attack on Russia

Ukraine sent nearly 600 drones into Russia overnight, the biggest single attack on the country since the start of the war. Targets in Moscow and a patrol ship in the Caspian Sea were hit, with at least four killed in the offensive. We hear from The Economist's Shashank Joshi about the significance of the strikes, and from Russia analyst Professor Nina Khrushcheva about how President Putin might respond. Also in the programme: The Democratic Republic of the Congo fights to contain a deadly Ebola outbreak; and what does Che Guevara's daughter make of recent US hostility towards Cuba? (Photo: A man inspects a damaged apartment building following a drone attack outside Moscow on May 17, 2026. Credit: EPA/Shutterstock)