UN News Service/N. Sheki View of the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku. Top news of the day | Friday: Ebola, hantavirus, Ukraine, city forum UN
The main news of the day in the UN and in the world: the Ebola outbreak is growing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, WHO reports a new case of hantavirus infection, the UN is following with concern reports of an attack on an academic building and a college dormitory in the Lugansk region of Ukraine, the World Urban Forum has ended in Baku.
Ebola Outbreak
The scale of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is growing faster than expected, World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Friday. The risk of the virus spreading within the DRC is now assessed as “very high”, regionally as “high”, but remains “low” globally. To date, 82 cases and seven deaths have been confirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo. At the same time, the number of suspicious cases is approaching 750, and suspicious deaths are approaching 177. In neighboring Uganda, the situation remains stable.
New case of hantavirus infection
WHO reported on Friday a new confirmed case of hantavirus infection among crew members of the cruise ship MV Hondius. The patient had previously disembarked in Tenerife and was repatriated to the Netherlands, where he remained in isolation. A total of 12 cases of hantavirus infection and three deaths have been reported. The latest death was reported on May 2. More than 600 people are now under surveillance in 30 countries.
Attack on a college in the Lugansk region
The UN is following with concern reports of an attack on an academic building and a college dormitory in the city of Starobilsk, Lugansk region of Ukraine, which resulted in deaths and injuries civilians, including children. UN spokesman Setphane Dujarric told a briefing in New York: “We strongly condemn any attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, wherever they occur. As the Secretary-General has repeatedly stressed, such attacks are prohibited under international humanitarian law and must cease immediately.”
Baku Urban Forum
A historic meeting of more than 57,000 delegates – the largest ever at the World Urban Forum – ended on Friday in Baku with an appeal to the international community to reconsider approaches to providing people with housing. The plan, approved in Azerbaijan’s capital, calls on governments, cities and communities to act together in the face of a crisis affecting billions of people around the world.