In a significant health alert, the World Health Organization (WHO) has officially classified the Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda as a public health emergency of international concern. This decision, announced on Sunday, follows the confirmation of over 300 suspected cases and 88 fatalities linked to the rare virus.

Despite the gravity of the situation, the WHO has clarified that the outbreak does not meet the threshold of a pandemic emergency akin to COVID-19. Consequently, it has advised against the closure of international borders, emphasizing that such measures are unnecessary at this stage.

Adding to the urgency, the WHO reported a laboratory-confirmed Ebola case in Congo’s capital, Kinshasa. This city lies approximately 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) away from the outbreak’s origin in the eastern province of Ituri, indicating a potential broader spread. The patient in Kinshasa had recently traveled to Ituri, and there are additional suspected cases emerging from North Kivu province, which shares a border with Ituri and is densely populated.

Ebola is notorious for its high contagion rate, primarily transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids such as vomit, blood, or semen. Although the disease is rare, it is severe and often proves fatal.

The WHO’s emergency declaration is a call to action for donor agencies and international communities. This classification signals that the situation is critical, with a risk of spreading beyond national borders, necessitating a well-coordinated global response.

The global response to previous declarations has been mixed. In 2024, when the WHO declared mpox outbreaks in Congo and elsewhere in Africa a global emergency, experts at the time said it did little to get supplies like diagnostic tests, medicines and vaccines to affected countries quickly.

It’s hard to treat a variant of Ebola

Health authorities say the current outbreak, first confirmed on Friday, is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, a rare variant of the Ebola disease that has no approved therapeutics or vaccines. Although more than 20 Ebola outbreaks have taken place in Congo and Uganda, this is only the third time the Bundibugyo virus has been detected.

Congo accounts for all except two of the cases, both of which were reported in Uganda, the WHO said.

The Bundibugyo virus was first detected in Uganda’s Bundibugyo district during a 2007-2008 outbreak that infected 149 people and killed 37. The second time was in 2012, in an outbreak in Isiro, Congo, where 57 cases and 29 deaths were reported.

Conflict and migration complicate effort to track outbreak

Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Director-General Dr. Jean Kaseya said Saturday that a high number of active cases remain in the community, particularly in Mongwalu, where the first cases were reported, “significantly complicating containment and contact tracing efforts.”

Violent conflict with militants, some backed by the Islamic State group, as well as constant population movement due to mining, both within Congo and across the border in Uganda, have also posed a major challenge to response efforts.

Officials first reported the spread of the disease in Ituri province, close to Uganda and South Sudan, on Friday. On Saturday, the Africa CDC reported 336 suspected cases and 87 deaths in Congo.

“There are significant uncertainties to the true number of infected persons and geographic spread associated with this event at the present time. In addition, there is limited understanding of the epidemiological links with known or suspected cases,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

The two cases in Uganda include one person whom officials said had traveled from Congo and died at a hospital in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, and another the WHO said had also traveled from Congo.

The WHO said the high percentage of positive cases among samples tested, the spread to Kampala and Uganda and the clusters of deaths across Ituri “all point toward a potentially much larger outbreak than what is currently being detected and reported, with significant local and regional risk of spread.”

Congo outbreak killed 50 before it was detected

Kaseya said slow detection delayed the response and gave the virus time to spread.

“This outbreak started in April. So far, we don’t know the index case. It means we don’t know how far is the magnitude of this outbreak,” Kaseya said, using a term for the first detectable case of an epidemic.

The earliest known suspected case, a 59-year-old man, developed symptoms on April 24 and died at a hospital in Ituri on April 27.

By the time health authorities were first alerted to the outbreak via social media on May 5, 50 deaths had already been recorded, the Africa CDC said.

The WHO said at least four deaths have been reported among healthcare workers who showed Ebola symptoms.

Diagnostics and vaccines have been a major problem for Africa

Shanelle Hall, principal adviser to the head of Africa CDC, told reporters Saturday that there were four therapeutics under consideration for the Bundibugyo virus, but no vaccine was being actively considered.

A bigger issue is that even existing vaccines and therapeutics for other Ebola viruses are not manufactured in Africa. Africa’s struggle to get vaccines from richer countries during the COVID-19 pandemic spurred different efforts to accelerate its capacity to manufacture shots, but resources remain scarce.

Kaseya said the demand for a vaccine for a rare virus like Bundibugyo, which is not as deadly as the Ebola Zaire prominent in Congo’s past outbreaks, has been the recurring issue in discussions with pharmaceutical companies over vaccine manufacturing,

“If we are serious in this continent, we need to manufacture what we need,” he said. “We cannot every single day look for others to come to tell us what they are doing.”

In the fifth episode of Nemesis, viewers are treated to another intense confrontation between its perennial adversaries, the cop Coltrane and the criminal Stiles. As Coltrane stands contemplatively at his father’s grave, journal in hand, Stiles arrives to taunt him. He revels in the chaos caused by Deon’s death in the previous episode, which has kept law enforcement’s attention focused on the crew, complicating their operations. Stiles shares that his family members rest nearby, hinting at their shared roots in the Baldwin Hills-View Park area of Los Angeles. He quips that with such close connections, they might as well be family. This long-standing pursuit has seen Coltrane chasing Stiles for years. “And you were right across Stocker this whole time,” he muses. The show skillfully draws parallels between these two, yet Coltrane perceives a more ominous undertone, likely a revelation from his journal.

Coltrane abruptly ends Isaiah’s smug monologue. “Stop. You may act like a cop, quack like a cop, you may do cop things, but you’re not,” he declares. Coltrane recognizes that beneath the LAPD badge, his rival is as ruthless as he is. “Killers recognize killers,” he asserts. Meanwhile, Stiles is invigorated by the possibility that the investigations into Coltrane’s home and real estate business, spurred by Deon’s chaos, might unearth incriminating evidence. He envisions a grim future for Wilder, not one of criminal prosperity, but a collision course with fate. He dismisses Coltrane’s double life as just another chapter in “Black history.”

Isaiah’s confidence has tipped into arrogance. Despite extensive searches of the Wilders’ nursery and Wilder Holdings’ records, nothing incriminating surfaces. This leaves Isaiah humbled in a meeting with Captain Stiles, DA Malik, and Deputy Chief Holmes (played by Chris Bauer) at RHD. With no evidence to justify an arrest, Malik refuses to move against Wilder. When Breckenridge Peters (David Warshofsky) arrives, his prestigious legal backing further weakens the case against Coltrane. The LAPD hierarchy concurs with Peters and Malik, concluding that Detective Stiles has overstepped his bounds.

The irony of DA Malik criticizing Isaiah is stark, given that later he makes a romantic advance towards Isaiah’s wife. Candace agrees to meet Malik for coffee, and at Saffy’s on Fountain, she confides in him about Isaiah’s two-year struggle with the aftermath of Manny Shaw’s death and the relentless pursuit of the criminal gang. Malik seizes the moment to propose himself as a better role model for their son, Noah. He leans in for a kiss, and Candace doesn’t resist. Yet, her marital troubles are being exploited, as this coffee meeting was orchestrated by Ebony. Nearby, Ebony captures photos of Malik kissing Candace, securing evidence for potential blackmail.

Behind his facade of bravado and obsessive confidence, Isaiah is aware of the disarray in his personal life. (Matthew Law’s portrayal captures this internal struggle, often through subtle expressions.) Seeking reconciliation with his father, Amos, Isaiah visits him unexpectedly to apologize for their Thanksgiving fallout. They share a heartfelt embrace, and Amos appreciates his son’s sincerity. However, the moment is ruined when Isaiah discovers Noah inside, indulging in vices with Amos’s Crip friends. Furious, Isaiah drags his son away, snatching a necklace from his father’s neck—bearing the initial “J” for Josiah, his brother lost to gang violence. Isaiah ends his financial support for Amos, marking a painful severance.

With Stro and Choi, Trane toasts to their fallen friend. They have learned it was Andrei, as a criminal informant, who exposed Deon to the cops. And Coltrane tells his remaining guys it is now wartime. His new plan will fuck over Andrei for fucking over them, with the added benefit of further destroying Detective Stiles. With Andrei’s secret location in hand, the crew gears up for a kill mission, but make a stop at Amos’s house first. “Real money right now,” Trane tells the OG, who he used to know as a convict back in Lancaster. And Amos joins them as their new wheelman. Little does he know about the ulterior motive, just like Ebony taking photos of Candace. The crew will kill Andrei with a gun full of Amos’s fingerprints, and make Stiles arrest his own father for the murder.

Can you feel the tension burning at a higher temperature? As the crew, with Amos, carries out their violent plan, Detective Stiles has reached out to Miguel Álvarez, the cartel leader with the armored Sprinter. That favor the criminal owes the cop, for saving his daughter from certain death in Episode 1? It comes due with Álvarez dropping a pin on Andrei’s Century City safe house. The crew departs the scene, with the Armenian gangster dead by Amos’s gun, and they are richer by sixteen million ways thanks to Andrei’s loose cash. But outside, stuck in Los Angeles gridlock, they roll up right next to the police convoy en route to arrest them. Stro does not hesitate. At point blank range, he opens up on Detective Viggiano in the car right next to them. Trane, and the Nemesis train, keeps a-rollin’.

Cops & Robbers for Episode 5 of Nemesis (“Business. Never Personal.“):

• Fred Again, “Jungle,” Wild East Radio, “Wilder Than Who,” Cutie Pie, “One Way”: the needle drops in Nemesis are freshly selected, and perfect for your next mix.

• “You gotta handle your shit yourself – I’m not going down with you.” Detective Yvette Cruz has requested to switch partners. Stiles going off book with illegal searches, taking a camera-enabled necklace from evidence and giving it to Candace; she’s had enough of his overconfidence and obsessive behavior. Which is why Viggiano and his partner, Detective Nicolette Harper (Stephanie Sigman), roll with Stiles to the Century City arrest.

Johnny Loftus (@johnnyloftus.bsky.social) is a Chicago-based writer. A veteran of the alternative weekly trenches, his work has also appeared in Entertainment Weekly, Pitchfork, The All Music Guide, and The Village Voice.

A pet sitter stands accused of stealing both a U.S. airman’s dog and vehicle, later allegedly leaving the dog to die in a garage at an upscale apartment complex.

Andrew Beckham, who serves with the Colorado Air National Guard, faced a devastating situation when he left his beloved pet in the care of Andrew ‘Andy’ Jansen during a three-month deployment.

Beckham had entrusted Jansen, a 28-year-old from Florida, with the care of his 11-year-old dog, Maverick. Initially, everything appeared to be in order.

However, about a month into his deployment, Beckham lost contact with Jansen. According to a Facebook post by Beckham, this occurred after Jansen reportedly suffered from an “extreme case of paranoia.”

On April 2, Beckham claims he spotted Jansen driving away from his home in Aurora in Beckham’s blue Subaru, taking Maverick with him but leaving behind the dog’s bowls, food, and necessary medication.

The panicked veteran sounded the alarm with his emergency contacts but they were unable to reach his home before Jansen disappeared.

Beckham returned home on April 22 and immediately began searching for his missing dog, who he had reported stolen along with his car.

But just days later, he was delivered the devastating news that Maverick was found dead inside Beckham’s missing vehicle on May 2. 

Andrew Beckham (pictured), a member of the Colorado National Guard, has accused his pet sitter of stealing his dog Maverick along with his car before leaving the animal for dead

He Andrew ‘Andy’ Jansen, 28, of Florida , to watch his 11-year-old dog while he was deployed for three months

The dog’s face had blood on it, but authorities are unclear what happened to the pooch, Beckham told CBS Miami. 

‘He was trapped in the car for a long time,’ Beckham, who had Maverick since he was a puppy, said. 

The car was found in a private parking garage for an apartment complex.  

Jansen was nowhere to be found until he was arrested by the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office in Florida on Saturday. 

Police came in contact with him during a medical call, but he ran off before he could be captured. He was later spotted by an off-duty deputy at Jackson South Hospital, where he was taken into custody. 

Jansen is awaiting extradition to Colorado, where he faces charges for felony motor vehicle theft and general theft. 

‘I’m relieved he is in custody now, and not possibly hurting other people,’ Beckham told the New York Post. 

‘I wish his family would have come forward about Andy’s location so I could have had a chance in saving Maverick.’  

Jansen was arrested on Saturday in Florida after Maverick was found dead in Beckham’s stolen car on May 2 

Jansen was seen leaving with the dog on surveillance footage 

Beckham had Maverick since he was a puppy. The dog was found with blood on his face inside the stolen vehicle in Colorado 

Beckham had hired Jansen through Trusted Housesitters where a background check did not raise any red flags

Before disappearing, Jansen had been communicating with Beckham daily and had sent him a photo of the two smiling in the car. 

‘That’s a very scary image for me,’ Beckham told CBS. ‘That is the face of somebody lying to me.’ 

Beckham had hired Jansen through Trusted Housesitters, where the dog sitter’s background check came back fine. 

Jansen had told Beckham he had wanted to see what it was like to live in Colorado. 

Trusted Housesitters told CBS Miami they were ‘very saddened to learn about Maverick.’ 

‘Our thoughts are with Andrew Beckham at this incredibly difficult time. Our priority is continuing to support Andrew.’ 

The Daily Mail has reached out to Beckham and Trusted Housesitters for comment.  

The search for four Italian divers feared lost deep within a cave in the Maldives was suspended on Saturday following the tragic death of a military diver involved in the rescue effort.

Tragically, Mohamed Mahdi, a diver with the Maldivian National Defense Force, succumbed to decompression sickness while participating in the high-risk mission, according to a statement from Mohamed Hussain Shareef, spokesperson for the Maldives president.

The incident began on Thursday when a group of five Italian divers disappeared during what authorities have determined was an unauthorized deep-sea dive, a venture that exceeded the Maldives’ established recreational diving limits.

The missing individuals were not only skilled divers but also included notable marine researchers. Among them were Monica Montefalcone, an ecology professor from the University of Genoa, her daughter Giorgia Sommacal, marine biologist Federico Gualtieri, researcher Muriel Oddenino, and diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti, as reported by the Maldivian government.

The military diver, Mohamed Mahdi, tragically lost his life to decompression sickness, underscoring the perilous conditions faced by the search team, confirmed by officials from the Maldives National Defense Force.

Gianluca Benedetti was found dead near the cave entrance shortly after the group disappeared. Authorities believe the bodies of the four remaining divers are trapped deep inside a cave system about 160 feet underwater near Vaavu Atoll.

The cause of the deaths remains under investigation.

Monica Montefalcone, one of five Italian scuba divers who died near Alimathaa in the Maldives archipelago while exploring an underwater cave, is shown in this undated photo released by Greenpeace Italia on May 15, 2026. (Greenpeace Italia/AP)

Carlo Sommacal, Montefalcone’s husband and Giorgia’s father, expressed doubts over the accident, saying that “something must have happened down there” given his wife and daughter’s extensive experience.

Speaking to Italian TV, he described Montefalcone as a careful and highly disciplined diver who would never put her daughter or other colleagues at risk.

Search crews say brutal underwater conditions, limited oxygen and the complexity of the cave system have made recovery efforts extremely dangerous.

Divers prepare to search for four missing Italian divers near Alimathaa Island, Vaavu Atoll, Maldives, on May 15, 2026. (Maldives President’s Media Division/AP)

“The death goes to show the difficulty of the mission,” a government spokesman said after Mahdi’s death.

The Italian Foreign Ministry said the cave system consists of three large chambers connected by narrow passages. Rescue teams explored two chambers Friday but were forced to stop because of decompression risks.

Officials are now awaiting the arrival of three Finnish cave-diving specialists to reassess the operation.

Officials in the Maldives said the effort to reach the four missing Italian divers was suspended after the death of Mahdi. (Maldives National Defense Force)

Albatros Top Boat, an Italian tour operator that managed the diving trip, denied authorizing the descent and said the divers appeared to be using standard recreational equipment instead of specialized gear required for technical cave diving, its lawyer told Italian daily Corriere della Sera on Saturday.

The Maldives Tourism Ministry has suspended the operating license of the expedition vessel involved in the trip as the investigation continues.

Experts warn cave diving is among the world’s most dangerous underwater activities, especially at extreme depths where visibility can disappear instantly and escape routes become limited.

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