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Ebola is spreading rapidly in parts of east Africa. The deadly disease, which kills around half of those it infects, is suspected to have claimed the lives of at least 240 people since the outbreak began in Ituri province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo earlier this month.<\/p>\n
Public health officials are scrambling to contain the virus in one of the toughest environments: Ituri province, the centre of the crisis,<\/strong> is a mining hub where thousands of people work in close proximity every day, and a conflict zone, with ongoing fighting between rebel groups. Medical facilities are modest, while waves of displaced people are being forced into overcrowded camps to escape fighting, <\/strong>making it even harder to control transmission. The virus has already spread to other regions in eastern DRC and the Ugandan capital Kampala.<\/p>\n It is also the first major Ebola outbreak since the US, UK and other western countries made brutal cuts to humanitarian aid, which began with Donald Trump and Elon Musk\u2019s gutting of USAID. The rapid response infrastructure from previous Ebola outbreaks has been stripped back so much of it is barely fit for purpose, hampering efforts to save lives, warn experts.<\/p>\n For today on First Edition, I spoke with Dr Papys Lame<\/strong><\/em>, the Ebola outbreak response coordinator in Ituri for the NGO Alima, and Selena Victor<\/strong><\/em>, senior director of policy and advocacy for Mercy Corps about efforts to contain the outbreak. But first, the headlines.<\/p>\n UK news <\/strong><\/em>| Britain risks a financial hit worth \u00a3125bn a year after a rise in the number of young people not in employment or education to more than 1 million.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n US-Israel-Iran <\/strong><\/em>| Donald Trump has circulated a draft peace agreement for the war with Iran among allies including Israel as both sides try to prevent fresh breaches of the ceasefire escalating out of control.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n UK politics <\/strong><\/em>| Andy Burnham has rolled back from his previous calls for ministers to scrap a restriction on immigrants claiming benefits as the Makerfield byelection places greater scrutiny on him.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Ukraine <\/strong><\/em>| A Russian drone that was part of an overnight attack on Ukraine crashed into an apartment building in eastern Romania, injuring two people, authorities said, in what an official statement condemned as an \u201cirresponsible escalation\u201d by Moscow.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Climate crisis <\/strong><\/em>| Abandoning net zero and drilling for more oil and gas would be a massive setback for the UK and would not help the economy, leading experts have said in response to Tony Blair.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n <\/span>Health workers can only do their jobs with a proper supply of PPE.<\/span> Photograph: Marie Jeanne Munyerenkana\/EPA<\/p>\n There is no current vaccine for Ebola. The virus, which is caught from wild animals and passed between humans through body fluids, was discovered in 1976 and is largely found in rainforest regions of western, central and eastern Africa. Between 2014 and 2016, the deadliest known outbreak killed 11,325 people in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Frontline workers are desperately trying to prevent a repeat in eastern DRC and Uganda.<\/p>\n Lame says that Ebola was likely passing through the community for some time in and around Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, before the outbreak was formally declared on 15 May. Symptoms are similar to common illnesses like malaria and typhoid: fever, muscle pain, vomiting and diarrhoea. While Ebola is not spread as easily as a respiratory illness like Covid-19 or influenza, the lack of lab facilities for testing has made it hard to monitor. Many more cases are suspected than the official WHO figures, he says.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t have a specific treatment for Ebola right now but we can save people if they come very early. Then, their chance of being cured is higher. But if people come late, the case fatality rate is high,\u201d says Lame, who is from Senegal. \u201cPatients are afraid because they know that Ebola does not have a cure. Many have lost a member of their family or a colleague. And it also impacts frontline workers, too, who have lost colleagues.\u201d<\/p>\n At least five doctors and nurses have died after treating patients at Bunia Evangelical medical centre, including 30-year-old Dr Vladimir Maduali who died on Sunday, and Dr Tibenderana Katho Blaise who died two days later. Other colleagues are believed to have contracted the virus.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have preventive measures that we are putting into place to protect our colleagues. They are working with some confidence because some have experienced previous Ebola outbreaks. You must be brave if you work in this environment,\u201d says Lame.<\/p>\n Conspiracy abounds<\/strong><\/p>\n Despite the immense bravery of medical staff, there is a fragile relationship with the local community, which is hampering the response. Some in Ituri province think that the virus does not exist or it has been brought in by humanitarian workers, fearing that they will die if they go to hospital, says Dr Lame.<\/p>\n There have also been attacks on healthcare facilities. The Ebola virus can spread from contact with cadavers, and authorities have implemented strict rules around burials which has sometimes angered families. In one case, a group of young men carried out an arson attack on an Ebola centre in the Rwampara region to try to retrieve a friend\u2019s body.<\/p>\n Speaking about the attack on Alima facilities, Lame explains how the conditions around containment can exacerbate the sense of loss and anger: \u201cThe death of a young footballer from suspected Ebola shocked the community and his family. Young people came to ask for his body without treatment. Because it was a suspected Ebola death, we had to organise a safe burial so people got angry,\u201d says Lame. \u201cFor us, this is not an attack against the organisation. It is anger and frustration against the loss of an important person in the community.\u201d<\/p>\n USAID cuts dismantled <\/strong>the system <\/strong><\/p>\n Maintaining cooperation with the community is vital to ending the outbreak as quickly as possible, say public health officials. On Wednesday, World Health Organization chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, appealed for a ceasefire in Ituri <\/strong>between rebel groups to help contain the outbreak.<\/p>\n But the effort to end the Ebola outbreak will probably take several months. The 2014 Ebola outbreak in west Africa took more than two years to end, and there was a major international effort to protect people from the disease. Enormous western cuts to humanitarian aid appear to have made the response much slower this time. US foreign assistance to the DRC has fallen from $1.4bn in 2024 to $21m so far this year, with health officials warning that the US appears to be doing little to stop the outbreak this time.<\/p>\n \u201cEbola is one of those truly terrifying, upsetting, horrific things that does happen intermittently. Since the 2014 outbreak, we had gotten much better at identifying it and responding to the virus. There was a major effort to train local epidemiologists and health workers. The USAID cuts were obviously devastating. The system took a long time to build but didn\u2019t take very long to dismantle,\u201d says Selena Victor, senior director of policy and advocacy for Mercy Corps.<\/p>\n Some countries, including the US, are providing more funding to help. But the amount is dwarfed by the resources used to contain previous Ebola outbreaks \u2013 and officials are warning that basic PPE supplies were already a concern. The world must do all it can to make sure medical staff have the resources to respond this time, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m blown away by people\u2019s willingness and commitment to help in these situations. Please, let\u2019s not have a situation where they don\u2019t have gloves, masks and gowns. The very least we can do is make sure that they have everything they need to stay safe,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n A global problem<\/strong><\/p>\n Last week, University of Oxford scientists said they are working on an Ebola vaccine that could be ready for clinical trials within two months, as part of the effort to contain the virus. The WHO is treating the outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern. But in the era of extreme political polarisation, governments are not responding as they have done to previous outbreaks.<\/p>\n The US has banned people from entering the country <\/strong>who have been in the DRC, South Sudan and Uganda in the previous 21 days. The Trump administration is also building a quarantine and treatment centre in Kenya for Americans affected by the Ebola outbreak, instead of bringing them home, attracting widespread criticism.<\/p>\n Lame said it was vital that his team get the resources they needed to help save lives \u2013 adding that more resources are still needed from abroad. \u201cThe community response against Ebola is critical, and we need many resources for this. International staff who can come and help with community engagement, human resources, logistics, water sanitation. Hopefully we will have enough to do our work.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/span>Brazil welcomed a record number of foreign tourists last year, with Argentinians accounting for the largest share, data shows.<\/span> Photograph: TRV\/imagerover.com\/Alamy<\/p>\n Argentina<\/strong> has a problematic self-image as \u201cEuropean\u201d at the expense of African-Argentinian and Indigenous communities, as Tiago Rogero looks at what a recent spate of racist incidents says about race relations on the continent. Yassin El-Moudden, newsletters team<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Laura Barton has a great interview with Paul McCartney<\/strong> about his early life and the inspiration for his new album. Patrick<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Is Jamaica on the verge of becoming the region\u2019s newest fossil-fuel<\/strong> producing state? Sarah Johnson takes stock of the debate triggered by news of a potential oil discovery. Yassin<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Steven Morris has a brilliant report on volunteers rechalking the enormous Cerne<\/strong> Giant<\/strong> in Dorset this year. Patrick<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Students in France are now able to say bon app\u00e9tit <\/em>over a three-course meal for no more than \u20ac1<\/strong>. Kim Willsher breaks bread with some of the beneficiaries of a student-led campaign that has borne fruit. Yassin<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n <\/span>Jannik Sinner described his \u00adsecond-round loss and the physical difficulties that \u00adscuppered him as \u2018tough to accept\u2019.<\/span> Photograph: Thibault Camus\/AP<\/p>\n Tennis <\/strong><\/em>| Jannik Sinner\u2019s bid for a maiden French Open title and career grand slam went up in smoke as he wilted in his second-round match against Juan Manuel Cer\u00fandolo.<\/p>\n Cycling <\/strong><\/em>| Paul Magnier of Soudal Quick-Step completed a hat-trick of victories in this Giro d\u2019Italia by winning a bunch sprint on stage 18 in Pieve di Soligo.<\/p>\n Athletics <\/strong><\/em>| Keely Hodgkinson has dangled the intriguing possibility that July\u2019s \u00adLondon Diamond League \u00admeeting could be the day where she takes down Jarmila Kratochvilova\u2019s 42-year-old 800m world record.<\/p>\n <\/span> Photograph: The Guardian<\/p>\n \u201cLabour plans welfare shake-up as scale of youth jobs crisis revealed\u201d, is the Guardian<\/strong>\u2019s front page today. The Times<\/strong> leads with \u201cBurnham backs state control in blast at Blair\u201d and the i Paper<\/strong> says \u201cBurnham hits back at Blair and Starmer as he outlines plan to run Britain\u201d.<\/p>\n The Telegraph<\/strong> says \u201cProstate screening set to be rationed\u201d and the Mail<\/strong>, on the same topic, writes \u201cDecision that will \u2018condemn thousands\u2019 to death\u201d.<\/p>\n The FT<\/strong>\u2019s splash is \u201cManifold clashed with BP\u2019s company secretary before ousting over conduct\u201d. The Express<\/strong> says \u201cJewish people don\u2019t feel safe on British streets\u201d. In the Mirror<\/strong> \u201cFlags group \u2018founder\u2019 charged with murder\u201d is the top story. The Sun<\/strong> goes with \u201cIt\u2019s all kicking off\u201d and finally Metro<\/strong>, on a drug gang who \u201cloved the high life\u201d, splashes \u201cBehind spas!\u201d.<\/p>\n Our critics\u2019 roundup of the best things to watch, read, play and listen to right now<\/em><\/p>\n <\/span>\u2018Barnstormingly good performance\u2019 \u2026 Chiwetel Ejiofor in Backrooms.<\/span> Photograph: A24\/AP<\/p>\n Film<\/strong><\/em> Music<\/strong><\/em> TV<\/strong><\/em> Theatre<\/strong><\/em> <\/span>Experts say the UK is unprepared for extreme heat.<\/span> Photograph: Tolga Akmen\/EPA<\/p>\n Why are our homes and cities all so hot?<\/strong><\/p>\n In the week when the hottest May days were recorded, the Guardian\u2019s environment editor, Fiona Harvey<\/strong><\/em>, <\/strong>examines a new Climate Change Committee report on how the UK can better withstand extreme heat.<\/p>\n <\/span> Illustration: Ben Jennings\/The Guardian<\/p>\n A bit of good news to remind you that the world\u2019s not all bad<\/em><\/p>\n <\/span>Making the rules work for them \u2026 milling British sequoias with National Saw Mills at Tipping Point East.<\/span> Photograph: Stephen Norman Young<\/p>\n \u201cThat felt bonkers to me: they were creating the exact material we needed next to our site\u201d says Joel de Mowbray, of the experience of watching trees felled near where he was working while he was having to source timber from miles away. He has now helped set up Tipping Point East, a hub set on a 20,000 sq metre industrial site in Newham, London, which promotes circular construction, where materials are reused instead of discarded. \u201cWe\u2019re creating a regenerative supply chain for the city we love,\u201d says De Mowbray. \u201cTurning things that would otherwise go to waste into objects that have cultural potential\u201d. The materials yard is full of neatly stacked glass panes, sinks and pipes that would otherwise have been thrown away which have now been certified to be re-used and donated to community builds or sold at very reasonable prices.<\/p>\n Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every Sunday<\/strong><\/p>\n And finally, the Guardian\u2019s puzzles are here to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ebola is spreading rapidly in parts of east Africa. The deadly disease, which kills around half of those it infects, is suspected to have claimed the lives of at least 240 people since the outbreak began in Ituri province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo earlier this month. Public health officials are scrambling to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":49918,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[1122,1043,562,6521,24543,2171,1042],"class_list":{"0":"post-49917","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-aid","9":"tag-briefing","10":"tag-cuts","11":"tag-drc","12":"tag-ebola","13":"tag-fight","14":"tag-friday"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=49917"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49917\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/49918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=49917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=49917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=49917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Five big stories<\/h2>\n
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In depth: \u2018You must be brave if you work in this environment\u2019<\/h2>\n
What else we\u2019ve been reading<\/h2>\n
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Sport<\/h2>\n
The front pages<\/h2>\n
Something for the weekend<\/h2>\n
Backrooms | \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605
<\/strong>YouTuber Kane Parsons makes his feature directing debut with this icily brilliant and genuinely disturbing conceptual horror film based on his web series, and scripted by Will Soodik. There is something here of J-horror, the V\/H\/S found footage franchise, Dan Erickson\u2019s Severance and Nathan Fielder\u2019s The Rehearsal. It\u2019s about people walled up in their own memories, imprisoned in endlessly remembered scenes from their past, or miserably perceived versions of their present existences in which they have become caricatures of themselves, gargoyle stars of their paralysed inner world of failure. Or perhaps the action of the film is not metaphorical in this or any other sense, and the \u201cbackrooms\u201d of the title simply exist. Peter Bradshaw<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n
<\/strong>Iceage<\/strong>: For Love of Grace & the Hereafter | \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605<\/strong>
Their sixth album, is billed as a return to punky first principles. It\u2019s certainly less epic than its predecessor \u2013 but the barely contained chaos that Iceage once dealt in is conspicuously absent. Instead, the new album feels powerful, but streamlined in every sense, and the songwriting is extraordinarily tight and punchily melodic throughout. The songs have a sparkle to them: a curiously effective backing for R\u00f8nnenfelt\u2019s lyrics, which still tend to the pugilistic, visceral and bleak, and make love sound like mortal combat. The result leaves you thinking that while the band\u2019s constant development and diversity is striking, their consistency is more striking still. Alexis Petridis<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n
Spider-Noir | \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2606
<\/strong>As the title suggests, Spider-Noir has been conceived as a homage to the hard-boiled films and fictions of the 1940s. The show is gloriously full of shadows and cigarette smoke, sassy secretaries and shady dames, as well as superheroes and supervillains. Plot twists are served up \u2013 and if none is brilliantly innovative, the whole is fast and fun enough to get away with it. Everything is shot with style and confidence, while the script contains just enough sharp dialogue and witty banter to keep it aligned with the templates of the past. And Nicolas Cage fans, of course, will have his turn as Ben Reilly to keep them going. Lucy Mangan<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n
Redcliffe, Southwark Playhouse Borough, London<\/strong> | \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2606
Queer history is made up of bad news. The official documents record the raids, the arrests, the executions. The rest \u2013 all the raging love and snatches of joy \u2013 is largely left for us to imagine. In Jordan Luke Gage\u2019s impressive Redcliffe, the writer-performer fills in the gaps of the lives of William Critchard and Richard Arnold, two men who collided in mid-18th-century Bristol. Inspired by true events romanticised into a musical, this is an open-hearted production. Kate Wyver<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nToday in Focus<\/h2>\n
Cartoon of the day | Ben Jennings<\/h2>\n
The Upside<\/h2>\n
Bored at work?<\/h2>\n