Ebola outbreak spreads to two new provinces as death toll climbs

The Ebola outbreak that has gripped central Africa for weeks has now spread to two additional provinces, health authorities confirmed Thursday, raising urgent fears that containment efforts are failing against one of the world’s deadliest viruses.

New provinces on alert

Officials from the World Health Organization reported that the virus has crossed into Équateur and Tshuapa provinces, both in the Democratic Republic of Congo, after weeks of being concentrated in a single region. The total confirmed and probable case count has risen to 47, with 31 deaths recorded — a fatality rate hovering near 65 percent. Contact tracers are currently monitoring more than 800 individuals who may have been exposed.

“We are deploying additional rapid response teams to the newly affected areas immediately,” said a WHO regional spokesperson. “But the geographic spread makes this significantly harder to manage.”

Aid workers say poor road infrastructure in both provinces is slowing the delivery of vaccines and protective equipment. It’s a familiar problem in this part of the Congo Basin, and one that didn’t get solved after previous outbreaks either.

Sudanese court delivers death sentences in absentia

In a separate development, a Sudanese court handed down death sentences Thursday to paramilitary commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo — widely known as Hemedti — along with 15 other senior figures in the Rapid Support Forces. The verdicts were issued in absentia, as Daglo remains at large. He is accused of war crimes and atrocities committed during the ongoing civil conflict that has displaced more than 10 million people since fighting erupted in April 2023.

The sentences carry enormous symbolic weight. But enforcing them is another matter entirely.

Human rights groups welcomed the ruling while cautioning that accountability without physical custody is largely a gesture. Still, they argue it could complicate Daglo’s international travel and diplomatic standing going forward.

Niger Delta residents march over pollution crisis

Hundreds of residents took to the streets Thursday in Billé, a fishing town in Nigeria’s Niger Delta, demanding immediate government intervention over what local leaders describe as catastrophic environmental destruction. Decades of oil spills have contaminated waterways that entire communities depend on for food and income. Fishermen say their catches have dropped by roughly 80 percent over the past five years alone.

Protesters carried banners reading “Our water is poison” and blocked a key access road for nearly three hours before dispersing peacefully. Organizers gave the federal government 21 days to respond with a concrete remediation plan or threatened a wider regional shutdown.

Nigeria’s Ministry of Environment didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

What comes next

All three stories share a common thread: institutions being tested by crises that aren’t new but keep demanding fresh responses. Health teams will race to ring-fence the Ebola spread before rainy season worsens travel conditions. In Sudan, legal proceedings may accelerate even as the war grinds on. And in Billé, residents say they’ve waited long enough. They won’t be waiting quietly anymore.