The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has become the deadliest in the country’s history, with 4,945 confirmed cases and 2,325 deaths as of Aug. 16. Health officials recorded 101 new confirmed cases during the previous 24 hours. The death toll has now surpassed the 2,299 fatalities recorded during the country’s 2018 to 2020 Ebola outbreak.
Latest News
Meta and TikTok sought immediate appellate review of lower court decisions involving Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The appeals court said Section 230 operates as a defense against liability, not as immunity from facing a lawsuit. As a result, the court found that the companies could not pursue the appeal at this stage. The decision did not determine whether Section 230 will ultimately block any claims. It instead allowed the federal proceedings to continue under the existing trial court orders.
Fujian authorities suspended 686 road passenger routes and 658 train services during the storm response. They also closed 234 major tourist attractions and canceled dozens of cultural and tourism events. In Shanghai, airlines canceled more than 900 flights at the city’s two main airports on Monday. Heavy rainfall caused flooding in parts of the financial center and disrupted public transportation. The measures followed widespread weather warnings across coastal areas exposed to Dolphin’s winds and rain.
More than 20,000 people fled communities around Okanagan Lake after the Bald Range wildfire surged through southern British Columbia over the weekend. Provincial authorities declared a state of emergency Saturday as flames advanced toward Summerland and areas near Peachland. The fire grew beyond 10,300 hectares by Saturday night. It destroyed homes and damaged other property along its path. Emergency crews used helicopters to reach dozens of residents cut off by the fire. Evacuation orders remained in force across several communities and rural areas Sunday.
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck southeast of Atka in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands late Saturday. The epicenter was about 48 miles southeast of Atka, with a depth of about 10.6 miles. The Aleutian region remains highly active, with thousands of earthquakes occurring each year due to subduction along the Pacific Plate boundary. Alaska has experienced some of the strongest earthquakes in modern history, with major events occurring in the Aleutians since 1900. Monitoring networks continue to track seismic activity across the state.
Travel
Spain has begun temporary border checks on travelers arriving from Italy by air and sea, in response to Italy imposing similar controls on arrivals from Spain. Document checks are being conducted on passengers at airports in Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Bilbao, Alicante, and Valencia. The controls are scheduled to remain in place until Sept. 7. Italy introduced its controls after a large migration influx into Ceuta, Spain’s North African enclave, and specified that they target non-EU nationals arriving from Spain.
South Korea recorded a $596.6 million tourism surplus in June 2026, its strongest monthly result since the COVID-19 pandemic. The figure marked a $1.44 billion improvement from June 2025, when the balance showed an $846.8 million deficit. Korea Tourism Organization data show June produced the second-highest monthly tourism surplus on record. Only October 2008 was higher, with a surplus of $661.5 million.
Business
Eco-friendly vehicles provided the strongest lift to South Korea’s auto exports during the month. Their export value increased 25.5% from a year earlier to US$2.59 billion. Electric and hydrogen vehicle exports rose 31.9% to US$940 million. Hybrid exports advanced 22.2% to US$1.65 billion. By contrast, exports of internal combustion engine vehicles fell 3.1% to US$3.65 billion. Eco-friendly models accounted for about 41.5% of the country’s total automobile export value in July.
Diesel prices remained elevated on Wednesday as tighter refined-product supplies kept pressure on fuel markets in the United States and Europe. U.S. ultra-low sulfur diesel futures jumped 7.4% on Monday to settle at $4.19 a gallon. That marked the contract’s biggest daily gain since July 13. Early Wednesday trading put the contract near $4.28 a gallon, while European diesel refining margins remained at historically high levels after rising nearly 10% on Monday.
Europe’s extreme summer heat and drought could cut EU economic output by about 1% in 2026, according to new analysis from Triodos Bank. The estimated loss equals roughly €180 billion and is close to the European Commission’s current growth forecast for the bloc. In May, the Commission projected EU gross domestic product would rise 1.1% this year. The comparison shows the scale of the weather-related damage estimated in the bank’s analysis.
Denmark’s annual consumer price inflation eased to 1.7% in July from 1.9% in June, official data showed. Statistics Denmark said the consumer price index rose 1.3% from June. Core inflation was 2.3%, unchanged from the previous month. Restaurants and hotels made the largest overall contribution to July inflation. Higher holiday home rental prices were the main driver inside that category.
Health
The Democratic Republic of the Congo recorded 26,064,143 malaria cases in 2025. The country also reported 29,938 deaths linked to the disease during the year. Guy Esebe Dembo, deputy director of the National Malaria Control Programme, announced the figures during a campaign launch in Ituri province. Dembo said malaria remains the country’s main public health challenge. The new totals confirm a heavy disease burden across one of Africa’s most malaria-affected countries.