AfDB Cuts Africa 2026 Growth Forecast to 4.2% Amid US War on Iran

By Al Mayadeen English

27 May 2026 17:10

Disruptions to global energy and fertilizer markets fuel inflation, weaken currencies, and threaten food security across the continent.

The African Development Bank warned Tuesday that the economic fallout from the US-Israeli war on Iran is increasingly weighing on African economies, as disruptions to global energy and fertilizer markets fuel inflation, weaken currencies, and threaten food security across the continent.

In its latest economic outlook presented during the bank’s annual meetings in Brazzaville, the AfDB projected Africa’s growth rate at 4.2% for 2026, down from 4.4% recorded last year, while warning that a prolonged war could trigger an even sharper slowdown.

The bank linked the weaker outlook to supply chain disruptions and soaring import costs triggered by the expanding Middle East conflict, particularly after Washington’s military escalation against Iran intensified instability around the Strait of Hormuz, a corridor through which roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies and a major share of global fertilizer exports transit.

"The impact of this shock on growth and macroeconomic stability will depend on the duration of the supply chain disruptions and their effects on global energy and fertilizer prices," the report said.

Growing fears of wider economic crisis

A separate report issued jointly by the AfDB, the African Union, and UN agencies earlier this year warned that Africa could lose at least 0.2 percentage points of growth in 2026 if the war drags on for more than six months. The report said higher fuel and food prices could rapidly evolve into a continent-wide cost-of-living crisis.

The economic strain is already prompting governments to seek emergency financial assistance. A Reuters report published last week revealed that 27 countries have activated or are preparing to activate World Bank crisis-financing mechanisms since the outbreak of the war on February 28.

Kenya has acknowledged seeking rapid World Bank support to manage rising fuel import costs, while multiple governments across Africa are facing mounting debt and inflation pressures amid fears of IMF-linked austerity measures.

East Africa among hardest hit

East Africa, traditionally the continent’s fastest-growing region, is expected to be among the hardest hit as fuel and transport costs surge. Reports from several countries point to worsening economic stress linked to the conflict.

In Kenya, fuel prices reached record highs in April, forcing transport operators to raise fares by roughly 25%, while exporters faced shipping delays linked to rerouted maritime traffic.

In Ethiopia, authorities reported severe fuel shortages after diesel supply volumes were nearly cut in half, contributing to sharp increases in the prices of cooking oil, eggs, and other basic goods.

Fertilizer and food security concerns deepen

The crisis has also intensified concerns over fertilizer access. The Gulf region remains central to global ammonia, LNG, sulfur, and urea exports essential for agricultural production, with analysts warning that disrupted supplies during planting seasons could reduce crop yields across vulnerable African states.

The World Food Programme warned Wednesday that the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran is contributing to historic levels of global hunger, with rising oil and transport costs pushing millions deeper into food insecurity, including populations across Africa already struggling with inflation and humanitarian crises.

AfDB pushes domestic financing strategy

Despite the worsening outlook, the AfDB said Africa remains among the world’s fastest-growing regions alongside Asia, and forecast growth could recover to 4.4% in 2027 if the Middle East crisis subsides within several months.

AfDB President Sidi Ould Tah said the continent must reduce dependence on shrinking foreign aid and mobilize domestic capital to shield itself from future geopolitical shocks.

"Achieving sustained and inclusive growth will require a substantial increase in investment," Tah said in the report.

Tah added that Africa would need to maintain annual growth above 7% over decades in order to generate sufficient employment opportunities and significantly reduce poverty across the continent.

RSF Drone Strike Kills 14 Civilians in Sudan Border Town

By Al Mayadeen English

27 May 2026 22:31

An RSF-linked drone strike killed 14 civilians, mostly women, in Sudan’s border town of al-Tina as violence and displacement continue to worsen across Darfur.

A drone strike blamed on the Rapid Support Forces killed at least 14 civilians in the Sudanese border town of al-Tina, as violence and displacement continue to escalate across the Darfur region.

A survivor and a local government official told AFP that the strike struck a market area on Monday in al-Tina, a town near the border with Chad that has repeatedly come under attack this year.

Locals recovering victims from the scene “found 14 bodies at the bomb site, most of them women,” the survivor said via satellite internet due to an ongoing communications blackout.

The witness, who requested anonymity for security reasons, said the attack “targeted a gathering of women selling food and tea in the al-Tina market.”

A Sudanese official also confirmed the strike and said authorities were “working to tally the number of casualties.”

Darfur crisis deepens

The attack comes as fighting intensifies between the Sudanese army and the RSF, whose war since April 2023 has devastated large parts of Sudan and triggered what humanitarian organizations describe as one of the world’s worst hunger and displacement crises.

Al-Tina lies in North Darfur, where famine conditions are worsening and large numbers of civilians have fled toward Chad. The RSF consolidated control over most of Darfur last year, although armed groups allied with the Sudanese army continue to hold several positions near the frontier, including areas around al-Tina.

The conflict has increasingly involved drone warfare, with both sides relying on unmanned strikes as fighting spreads across the country. According to the United Nations, at least 880 civilians were killed in drone attacks between January and April alone.

Meanwhile, survivors fleeing the RSF’s recent takeover of El Fasher have continued arriving at the Tine refugee transit center along the Sudanese-Chadian border, recounting abuses allegedly committed during the assault.

Siege horror unfolds

The famine-stricken city, once home to nearly one million residents, had endured an 18-month siege before RSF forces launched a major offensive on October 25.

Witnesses cited by Reuters described civilians escaping through the desert under severe conditions, with many arriving wounded, barefoot, or traumatized after days of walking.

According to testimonies from survivors, RSF fighters carried out executions, beatings, detentions, and looting during the operation.

“They could do nothing but watch as fighters from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) opened fire on their loved ones and killed them,” survivors said, adding that civilians “were taken hostage and severely beaten. Their phones, shoes, and lifelong savings were stolen.”

Mohamed Adam, one of the displaced civilians, said he lost his wife, a former member of parliament, in a drone strike, while other survivors reported seeing relatives killed during mass executions allegedly carried out by RSF fighters.

Videos circulated online in recent days also appeared to show killings attributed to commanders affiliated with the paramilitary group.

US Global Dominance Faces Mounting Structural Pressures: FT

By Al Mayadeen English

Source: Financial Times

Mounting debt, militarization, tariffs, and weakening trade structures are raising concerns over the long-term stability of US global dominance.

The United States’ position as the world’s dominant power is increasingly facing pressure from mounting debt, weakening trade structures, and shifting geopolitical realities, according to an opinion analysis by Pimco co-founder Bill Gross for the Financial Times.

Gross argues that the foundations of US “hegemonic” power, built over decades through free trade, military supremacy, and dollar dominance, are showing signs of structural deterioration amid deepening fiscal and geopolitical strains.

It describes American global leadership as dependent on continuous economic and political maintenance rather than permanent superiority, warning that several of the conditions that historically enabled Washington’s dominance are now eroding.

“Pax America requires continued maintenance and favourable government policies that promote its number-one status,” Gross states.

Debt expansion and military spending strain US power

The analysis identifies expanding fiscal deficits as one of the clearest indicators of declining US stability, pointing to widening trade and budget deficits that have reached roughly 6% of GDP annually in recent decades.

Structural obligations linked to healthcare and social security spending are also expected to place additional long-term pressure on US finances, alongside sustained military expenditures.

Citing Congressional Budget Office projections, Gross notes that US public debt is expected to rise from 101% of GDP in 2026 to 120% by 2036, exceeding levels recorded immediately after World War II.

Gross further links these pressures to military expansion and overseas confrontations, including the costs associated with the war on Iran.

The article argues that the financial burden of war “is likely to far exceed” the $29 billion estimate already discussed by US military officials, while warning that Washington’s long-term military commitments will continue driving expenditures higher.

Tariffs and protectionism weaken free-trade foundations

Gross states that another central pillar of US dominance, free trade, has been significantly undermined through tariffs and protectionist economic measures introduced during the Trump era.

While tariffs were promoted domestically as part of an industrial revival strategy, the analysis states that they have failed to meaningfully reduce trade and fiscal imbalances.

“The reversal of free-trade policies has led to a weak dollar,” the piece states, noting that the trade-weighted DXY dollar index had declined by roughly 10% over the past 18 months.

Gross also argues that current US economic growth is disproportionately dependent on artificial intelligence-driven capital investment rather than broad industrial expansion.

China challenge and the 'Thucydides Trap'

The FT opinion piece further links concerns over the US decline to the rise of China as a competing global power.

It references a reported discussion between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump earlier in May, during which Xi invoked the concept of the “Thucydides Trap”.

The phrase references the ancient Greek historian Thucydides’ argument that war between Athens and Sparta emerged from the fear generated by the rise of Athenian power.

According to Gross, the reference signaled Beijing’s long-term strategic outlook regarding global leadership, contrasting with what it characterized as the short-term orientation of current US policymaking.

Financial markets reflect concerns over decline

The FT article argues that financial markets are increasingly reflecting concerns over what it describes as “hegemonic decay”.

It notes that yields on 30-year US Treasury bonds have risen in recent months despite historically weak inflation-adjusted returns.

According to Gross, growing concerns over future government liabilities and long-term structural instability, not inflation alone, are contributing to investor anxiety surrounding US debt markets.

The article further warns that continued erosion of confidence in US fiscal stability could weaken one of Washington’s central instruments of global influence: the dollar’s reserve currency status.

AI and the future of global power

Gross speculates that future global dominance may ultimately move beyond traditional nation-states altogether.

While acknowledging China’s geopolitical ambitions, he argues that artificial intelligence could emerge as a defining hegemonic force depending on who controls its development and infrastructure.

“Another hegemon may replace America and China as well,” the article states. “It goes by the name of AI.”

'Israel' Expands Strikes on Lebanon, Strikes Area South of Beirut

By Al Mayadeen English

Israeli airstrikes across southern Lebanon killed and injured civilians, including children, amid intensified raids on Saida, Tyre, and surrounding areas.

"Israel" has ramped up its aggression on Lebanon overnight and into the afternoon, targeting major population centers like Tyre, Saida, and the Choueifat area south of Beirut.

Israeli forces carried out a series of wide-ranging strikes across southern Lebanon during the night and early hours of Thursday, resulting in multiple deaths and injuries, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.

The agency reported that six people were killed, including children, in a massacre after a vehicle was struck on the Adloun highway.

In a separate incident, three people were killed and five others injured when an Israeli airstrike targeted a residential apartment in the Qaya’a area of Sidon Saida.

According to the National News Agency, the apartment was sheltering a displaced family from southern Lebanon at the time of the attack. Emergency teams and civil defense crews transported victims to nearby hospitals.

Motorcycle strikes and additional casualties

The agency also reported that two people were killed in an Israeli strike targeting a motorcycle on the Masaken al-Shaabi road in Tyre, while another motorcycle in the village of Bazouriyeh was also struck.

In addition, an airstrike on the village of Jebchit left three people injured, according to field reports cited by local media.

Israeli forces also targeted multiple towns overnight, including Deir al-Zahrani, Zibqin, Al-Mansouri, Toul, Ghassaniyeh near Saida, and Qaaqaiyat al-Snoubar.

Intensified strikes on Tyre

Strikes on the city of Tyre intensified, with reports of multiple buildings and civilian sites being hit, including structures on Hiram Street, Al-Halwani Street, Al-Rifai neighborhood, and areas near the Jabal Amel roundabout. Additional strikes reportedly targeted camps in Al-Rashidieh and Al-Bass.

The latest casualties add to the broader toll of the ongoing Israeli aggression on Lebanon. According to figures published by the Lebanese Ministry of Health, the total number of people killed since March 2 has reached 3,269, while 9,840 others have been injured.

IOF issue threat for whole South Lebanon

Israeli warplanes carried out a series of intense airstrikes on Wednesday, striking multiple locations across southern Lebanon and the Bekaa region, as the Israeli occupation forces issued a displacement threat for the entirety of South Lebanon.

The displacement threat constitutes a violation of international law, particularly international humanitarian law, which prohibits the mass forcible transfer of civilians and collective punishment during wars.

Israeli airstrikes hit several towns, including Qsaybeh, Houmine al-Fawqa, Jarjou', Haddatha, Yater, Qaaqaiyat al-Jisr, and Kfar Houna, along with Kfar Joz, Mleekh, and al-Luwaizeh in the south. The heights of Ali al-Taher were also repeatedly targeted.

In the Bekaa region, Israeli warplanes targeted the highlands of Hrabta and Brital, as well as the area between the Brital and al-Khraibeh hills. Fresh raids were also reported on the outskirts of Hermel in northern Bekaa.

Concurrently, Al Mayadeen's correspondent in southern Lebanon reported that three people were killed, according to a preliminary toll, following an Israeli aggression on the town of Shoukine in the Nabatieh district.

Israeli Strike Kills Former Correspondent for Iran's al-Alam TV, Three Refugees in Southern Lebanon

Thursday, 28 May 2026 11:12 AM

 Former correspondent for Iran's al-Alam Arabic-language al-Alam television news channel, Hussam Zaidan.

An Israeli airstrike has killed a former correspondent for Iran's Arabic-language al-Alam television news channel alongside three other civilians in southern Lebanon, as the Tel Aviv regime's military continues its atrocious campaign in the area despite a ceasefire in effect since April 17.

Journalist Hussein Ezzeddine said on Thursday that an Israeli air raid targeted a residential building in the Qiya’a neighborhood of the southern Lebanese city of Sidon late last night.

He explained that the assault resulted in the martyrdom of Hussam Zaidan, in addition to three civilians, who were internally displaced persons.

The refugees had come from the town of Qalila in southern Lebanon to take refuge in Sidon, thinking it was a safe city and immune from recurrent Israeli attacks.

"We will try to document everything that happened in this crime to shed light on the extent of aggression perpetrated against the residential building, where Hussam was staying alongside some displaced people," Ezzedine pointed out.

The exact number of casualties remains unknown. Some reports suggest that while four people lost their lives in the aerial raid, another six sustained injuries.

Meanwhile, Zaidan's son lies in intensive care unit (ICU) as a result of the Israeli forces' aggression on Sidon.

Hussam Zaidan worked as a correspondent for al-Alam TV’s office in Syria from 2009 until the fall of president Bashar al-Assad's government in December 2024.

He extensively covered battles between government forces and foreign-sponsored Takfiri militants in the Syrian cities of Deir al-Zawr, Hama and Aleppo at the peak of the Arab nation's crisis.

Zaidan used to work as a news editor for the al-Alam TV in Tehran after the fall of the Assad government in Syria.

Iran Urges ‘Unconditional’ Release of all Its Frozen Assets; US Defies

Thursday, 28 May 2026 8:48 AM

Deputy Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Bagheri Kani

A senior Iranian security official urges the United States to “unconditionally” release all the country’s frozen assets, describing the demand as the “legal right” of the Iranian people.

“We are seeking the release of all Iranian assets frozen by the United States, and this is the legal right of the Iranian nation,” Deputy Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Bagheri Kani said in an interview with Russia's RIA Novosti news agency, Tasnim reported.

He added that Iran’s frozen assets must be returned to the country “in full and unconditionally.”

For 47 years, the United States has held billions of dollars of legitimate Iranian wealth: oil revenues, central bank reserves, and commercial assets, seized through illegitimate executive orders and maintained through political pressure.

Days after a ceasefire halted the joint US-Israeli aggression on Iran that began on February 28, the question of Iran's frozen assets emerged as the central test of American sincerity at the negotiating table.

Fars news agency on Tuesday cited a source close to the negotiating team with the US as saying that the issue of Iran's frozen assets remains a key sticking point in the talks between Tehran and Washington, and that negotiations cannot proceed without the release of these funds.

Meaningful negotiations cannot begin without the release of Iran's frozen funds, the source said.

Despite suggestions that indirect talks between Iran and the US, mediated by Pakistan, is close to lead to a memorandum based on the Islamic Republic's 14-point proposal to end the war, American officials continue to make conflicting statements.

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Iran would not receive any sanctions relief as a result of the negotiations.

“We’re not talking about any easing of sanctions or giving money,” Trump told the cabinet meeting.

In an interview with PBS News earlier in the day, the US president also reiterated his claim that Iran would surrender its reserves of enriched uranium but added that Iran would not receive any sanctions relief as a result of the negotiations.

“They’re going to give up their highly enriched uranium, not for sanctions relief. No, no, not at all,” Trump said.

US' excessive demands detached from reality: Bagheri

In an interview with RT, Bagheri Kani, who served as acting foreign minister in 2024, criticized the US for making “excessive demands” in talks with Iran, saying it indicated that officials in Washington are “detached from reality.”

He said the US is making unacceptable demands during the negotiations after failing to defeat Iran militarily.

The IRGC warns the enemies that it will give decisive response to any act of aggression against the Islamic Republic.

Pointing to Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, he added that the conflict shows that the status of the strategic waterway is vital to national security.

“Iran, like other independent countries, believes in peace through dialogue and negotiations. The US does not believe in peace through diplomacy. It believes in peace through force, aggression, and barbarism,” the Iranian official emphasized.

He also held the US accountable for current tensions in the region, reiterating that there is “no problem” in relations between Iran and the Persian Gulf states.

The military presence of the US and Israel is an obstacle to peace in the region, he noted.

Bagheri Kani participated in a security conference in Moscow and met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Georgi Borisenko.

The United States and Israel launched their unprovoked war of aggression against Iran on February 28. They assassinated Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and struck nuclear facilities, schools, hospitals and civilian infrastructure.

Iran’s Armed Forces responded with retaliatory strikes under Operation True Promise 4, launching hundreds of ballistic and hypersonic missiles, as well as drones, against American military bases across West Asia and Israeli positions throughout the occupied territories.

Iran also shut down the Strait of Hormuz to enemies and their allies following the unprovoked aggression targeting the Islamic Republic.

It began exercising far stricter controls after Trump announced an illegal blockade of Iranian vessels and ports in continuation of the aggression and in violation of the terms of a ceasefire the US president, himself, had declared earlier.

The Islamic Republic has consistently maintained that its retaliatory operations were legitimate self-defense under international law, targeting only American and Israeli military assets while avoiding harm to civilian infrastructure. 

Iran also maintains that it seeks to ensure the security of the Strait of Hormuz through enforcing Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei's "historic" directive concerning the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian Armed Forces Inflicted ‘Historic Defeat’ on Enemies in Imposed Wars: Acting Foreign Minister

Thursday, 28 May 2026 6:40 AM

Iranians chant slogans and wave national flags as they celebrate the victory over Israel in the June war, at Enqelab Square in the capital Tehran on June 24, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

Iran’s acting defense minister says the country’s armed forces, backed by the nation’s support, managed to inflict a "historic defeat" on the US and the Israeli regime in their two imposed wars.

Brigadier General Majid Ibn Reza made the remarks in a message sent to his counterparts in Muslim countries on Wednesday, on the occasion of Eid al-Adha (the Feast of the Sacrifice) which marks the end of the annual Hajj pilgrimage.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran was invaded by the United States and the Zionist regime two times in less than a year. These acts of aggression led to the martyrdom of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution and a group of military commanders, political officials, civilians, innocent children and students, destroying parts of the country's civilian infrastructure,” he said.

“However, with the divine grace and support of the heroic Iranian nation, as well as the world’s Muslims and freedom-seeking people, the Iranian Armed Forces were able to inflict a historic defeat on the enemies’ prestige and credibility.”

He also noted that the United States’ priority is to support the "ominous" Israeli regime that has over the past seven decades desecrated the holy city of al-Quds by occupying Islamic lands, killing the innocent, and carrying out other heinous acts.

He further emphasized the need for reinforcing Muslim unity and cooperation aimed at solving problems and upholding rights.

Meanwhile, the general said that strengthening dialogue and consensus among Muslim countries should be the most important priority of the Islamic Ummah in the current circumstances.

The US and the Israeli regime waged their first illegal war of aggression against Iran, which lasted 12 days, in June 2025. Their second invasion began in late February and was halted in early April as part of a Pakistani-brokered ceasefire.

In the face of threats, Iran, however, has asserted that it stands ready to repel any fresh act of aggression. 

Analysts say Iran's brave resistance and successful retaliatory operations have created a sense of pride among Muslims.

Iran Condemns Repeated US Truce Violations, Urges UN Intervention

Thursday, 28 May 2026 9:41 AM

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei (Photo by Tasnim news agency)

Iran has strongly condemned the United States’ repeated threats against the Islamic Republic and violations of the ceasefire that halted the recent illegal war of aggression, urging the UN to intervene.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the US military aggression against areas in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas on Thursday violate Iran's territorial integrity and national sovereignty in flagrant breach of international law and the UN Charter.

“The UN Security Council is obligated to uphold its legal responsibility to hold American aggressors accountable,” he added.

The spokesman also pointed to the US’s continued violations of the ceasefire with Iran, especially attacks on commercial shipping in the Persian Gulf region and high seas, as well as aerial assaults on the country’s southern regions over the past few days.

He emphasized the Islamic Republic's determination to take all necessary measures to defend its national sovereignty and territorial integrity in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter.

In response to the US aggression, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) launched retaliatory attacks on a US base in the region. 

The IRGC warns the enemies that it will give decisive response to any act of aggression against the Islamic Republic.

Meanwhile, Baghaei denounced the threatening rhetoric of American officials against Iran and some other regional countries, expressing solidarity with the friendly and brotherly country of Oman.

On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said he would “blow up” Oman if it agreed to work with Iran to share control of the Strait of Hormuz.

“Threatening to ‘blow up’ a UN member state, which has always played a constructive, effective, and responsible role in regional peace and security, spent many years as a mediator in diplomatic processes, and made endeavors to serve regional peace and stability, not only violates the principle on the prohibition of threat or use of force, but is another dangerous sign of the normalization of lawlessness and bullying in international relations,” Baghaei said.

Iran has restricted transit through the Strait of Hormuz since the early days of the unprovoked US-Israeli aggression on the country that began on February 28 and came to a halt as part of a Pakistan-brokered ceasefire on April 8.‌

However, coordinated passage through the strategic waterway is allowed for all ships except for those linked to the US and the Israeli regime and associated entities.

Iran Forces Trespassing US Tanker Back After Illegal Attempt at Crossing Strait of Hormuz: Report

Thursday, 28 May 2026 3:16 AM

File photo shows an Iranian serviceman manning a post on the country's coastline along the Persian Gulf.

A report says the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)'s Navy has forced an American tanker trying to illegally cross the Strait of Hormuz, despite Iran's restrictions, to turn back.

Tasnim News Agency published the report on Thursday, citing an informed military source.

"Several hours earlier, an American oil tanker had attempted to pass through the Strait of Hormuz after switching off its tracking system," the report said.

"However, following a swift and decisive response by the IRGC Navy, including warning fire directed towards the vessel, the tanker was forced to stop and retreat," it added.

In response, US forces fired at an open ground near the port city of Bandar Abbas, the source noted, adding that earlier reports about the sound of explosion heard in the area was related to that incident.

The remarks followed reports about sound of explosion ringing out from the direction of areas lying to the city's east.

Iran shut down the strait to enemies and their allies following the launch on February 28 of the United States' and the Israeli regime's latest bout of unprovoked aggression targeting the Islamic Republic.

It began exercising far stricter controls after Donald Trump announced an illegal blockade of Iranian vessels and ports in continuation of the aggression and in violation of the terms of a ceasefire the US president, himself, had declared earlier.

The IRGC's Navy has pledged to enforce Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei's "historic" directive concerning the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.

Through the directive, Ayatollah Khamenei has asserted that foreigners with "ominous" plots targeting the Persian Gulf have no place in the region "except at the bottom of its waters."

On May 20, the Iranian authority controlling the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf defined the supervisory management zone of the waterway.

It has defined the management zone as "the line connecting Mount Mubarak in Iran and southern Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates, on the eastern side of the strait, extending to the line connecting the end of Qeshm Island in Iran and Umm Al Quwain in the United Arab Emirates, on the western side of the strait."

So far, the IRGC's Navy has issued passage permits for scores of vessels for transit through the waterway in line with the Islamic Republic's instructions.

‘Stern Warning’: IRGC Announces Retaliatory Attack on US Base Following American Aggression

Thursday, 28 May 2026 8:31 AM

Screengrab from footage released by the IRGC on May 28, 2026, shows missiles being prepared before launch against a US base in response to an earlier American aggression against Bandar Abbas in southern Iran.

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) warns the enemies that any act of aggression against the Islamic Republic will not go unanswered.

In a statement on Thursday, the IRGC issued a “stern warning” to the enemies after US forces launched strikes against the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas.

Following the US military attack on a point on the outskirts of Bandar Abbas Airport with aerial projectiles, the IRGC carried out new strikes targeting the US air base from which the attack originated in the wee hours of Thursday, it added.

“This response is a serious warning to the enemy that they should know the act of aggression will not go unanswered,” the IRGC emphasized.

The elite military force warned of a “more decisive” response if the enemy repeated any act of aggression.

It also said the responsibility for the consequences of any IRGC response lies with the aggressor.

The statement comes after the IRGC Navy on Thursday forced an American tanker to turn back. The tanker was trying to illegally cross the Strait of Hormuz after it had switched off its tracking system, despite Iran's restrictions.

"Following a swift and decisive response by the IRGC Navy, including warning fire directed towards the vessel, the tanker was forced to stop and retreat," Tasnim news agency reported.

A report says the IRGC

Iran shut down the strait to enemies and their allies following the launch on February 28 of the United States' and the Israeli regime's latest bout of unprovoked aggression targeting the Islamic Republic.

It began exercising far stricter controls after US President Donald Trump announced an illegal blockade of Iranian vessels and ports in continuation of the aggression and in violation of the terms of a ceasefire the US president, himself, had declared earlier.

The IRGC's Navy has pledged to enforce Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei's "historic" directive concerning the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.

Kuwait air defenses activated

Meanwhile, the Kuwaiti Armed Forces announced early Thursday that the country had activated its air defenses in response to what it called "hostile missile and drone threats."

It did not say where the attacks originated from but added, "Any explosions that may be heard are the result of air defense systems intercepting hostile targets."

Ebola Virus Disease Outbreak in Central and East Africa Causes Alarm

Since early May the World Health Organization and the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are working to contain the spread of this rare and virulent strain 

By Abayomi Azikiwe

Editor, Pan-African News Wire

Wednesday May 27, 2026

Geostrategic Analysis

Beginning in early May, healthcare workers and medical scientists noticed a new outbreak of a suspected rare strain of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Ebola was first detected a half century ago in the-then Zaire, now the DRC, as a potentially deadly disease with an extremely high mortality rate.

Since 1976, several waves of EVD have erupted in Central, East and West Africa. Between late 2013 and early 2015, over 11,000 people died in the West African states of Guinea-Conakry, Liberia and Siera Leone in what has been so far the worst outbreak of the disease.

By the end of May, it has been reported that over 200 deaths have occurred in the latest outbreak of EVD, which is one of most dangerous of a number of Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers (VHF). Other similar VHFs include Marburg and Lassa Fevers. 

Due to the continuing conflicts in the Eastern DRC, the capacity of the healthcare sector in the region is hampered by the fighting between the government’s military forces and rebel organizations. Although the United States President Donald Trump through his Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed that they had ended the war between the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel grouping and the Congolese defense forces, fighting is continuing. 

This purported peace agreement brokered by the State Department was ostensibly based upon access by U.S.-based firms to strategic minerals so abundant in the DRC. Yet, transnational corporations including those based in the U.S. have long exploited the natural resources and labor of the Congolese people. 

Despite the wealth of the DRC in regard valuable minerals and metals, the overwhelming majority of the people remain impoverished. As a former Belgian colony, since its independence in 1960, the system of neo-colonialism has encapsulated the DRC. It is impossible to separate the level of socioeconomic underdevelopment from the recurrent outbreaks of infectious diseases and the inability to effectively respond through the existing emergency services.

Even though the United Nations has peacekeeping forces in the Eastern DRC totaling more than 13,000 soldiers and police, the fighting and instability have continued. The UN Security Council has extended the mandate of the UN Peacekeeping Mission to Congo (MONUSCO) until December 2026, although the ability to halt the war and restore some form of normalcy remains elusive. 

In specific regard to the latest EVD outbreak, the World Health Organization (WHO) says of the current situation:

“On 5 May 2026, the World Health Organization (WHO) was alerted of a high-mortality outbreak of unknown illness in Mongbwalu Health Zone, Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), including deaths among health workers. On 14 May 2026, the Institut national de recherche biomédicale (INRB) Kinshasa analyzed 13 blood samples from Rwampara Health Zone, Ituri Province. Laboratory analysis confirmed Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD) in eight of these samples on 15 May, a species of Ebola. The case fatality rates in the past two BVD outbreaks have ranged from 30% to 50%. Unlike Ebola virus disease, there is no licensed vaccine or specific therapeutics against Bundibugyo virus, though early supportive care is lifesaving.” (https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2026-DON602)

The announcements by the WHO has caused alarm internationally particularly within the African continent. Memories of previous outbreaks, particularly in the 2013-2015 period, prompted imposition of policy measures which would limit and soon arrest the spread.

Due to the threat which has emerged in Ituri province on the border with neighboring Uganda, the border with the DRC has been closed by government officials based in Kampala. A smaller number of cases of the Bundibugyo strain have been reported in Uganda as well.

The same above-quoted statement from the WHO goes on to say:

“On 17 May 2026, WHO Director-General, after having consulted the States Parties where the event is known to be currently occurring, determined that the Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus in DRC and Uganda constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), as defined in the provisions of IHR. Response measures include deployment of rapid response teams, delivery of medical supplies, strengthened surveillance, laboratory confirmation, infection prevention and control assessments, the set-up of safe treatment centers, and community engagement. WHO is supporting the coordination of the response, case management, and cross-border preparedness. WHO advice has been issued to countries.” 

The African Response to the Outbreak

On May 23, the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (ACDC) held a press conference to put forward a continental response to the public health crisis engendered by the Bundibugyo outbreak. The ACDC is an affiliate of the 55 member-states African Union (AU) based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

During the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020-2022, the ACDC played an important role in cooperation with the WHO in coordinating responses across the continent. These efforts were important in circulating information about the level of infections while advocating for an equitable distribution of vaccines. 

In the present outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of EVD, the world economic crisis is worsening as a result of the U.S.-Israel unprovoked war against Iran. The escalating costs for fuel, fertilizer and food stuffs have compounded the already undeveloped conditions prevailing in various regions of the African continent.

According to a statement issued by the ACDC on its website notes:

“Building on the extensive Ebola response experience of both the DRC and Uganda, Africa CDC is scaling up technical and operational support across the region, including the deployment of additional expertise and strengthened coordination mechanisms. Priority measures include enhanced surveillance, laboratory testing and sequencing, contact tracing, infection prevention and control, and cross-border collaboration to rapidly contain transmission and protect communities. Africa CDC is continuing to work closely with national health authorities, the World Health Organization and other partners to support a coordinated response aimed at interrupting transmission, strengthening preparedness in neighboring countries and safeguarding regional health security. The response also reflects growing efforts to strengthen Africa’s collective capacity to detect, prepare for and respond to public health emergencies through stronger regional coordination, resilient health systems and faster deployment of expertise and resources where they are most needed.” (https://africacdc.org/news-item/africa-cdc-weekly-brief-11-17-may-2026/)

U.S. Has Largely Ignored the Recent Outbreak

These initiatives by the ACDC working alongside the WHO will undoubtedly be impacted by the policies of the current U.S. administration. One of the first executive orders of the Trump White House was to withdraw Washington’s membership in the WHO. 

This is the second time that Trump has dropped out of an international agency whose purpose is to engage in coordination efforts involving global health. The policy towards the WHO as well as United Nations Climate Agreements are a reflection of the priorities and ideological orientation of the far-right in the U.S. 

In the U.S., Trump appointed Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as the Secretary for Health and Human Services (HHS). Kennedy has been a longtime anti-vaccination advocate and holds views which are at variance with the scientific community in the U.S. and internationally. 

Although the U.S. was the most devastatingly impacted country during the COVID-19 pandemic leaving in excess of a million people dead with millions more infected, the MAGA grouping has remained in denial over this and other potential global health crises. This view easily explains the lack of response by Washington to the current EVD outbreak.

For example, many of the leading universities in the U.S. have had their research grants suspended by the White House pending their ideological vetting by the White House. The Trump administration has accused universities of promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) which they have issued executive orders terminating programs designed to bring more people of color and women into academia. 

Moreover, during 2024 when students, staff and faculty members demanded the full disclosure and divestment of financial holdings by the higher educational institutions from corporations and institutions with ties to the State of Israel. These demonstrations held on the campuses across the U.S. were in response to the ongoing genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza.

During the final year of the administration of former President Joe Biden in 2024, a federally coordinated campaign smashed many of the encampments on the campuses erected in solidarity with Palestine. Under the Trump regime this anti-Palestine atmosphere has continued and expanded where the administration has urged a complete ban on not only academic research and instruction related to West Asian Studies it is also attacking and eliminating funding for African, African American, Asian, Latin American and Gender Studies programs. 

Consequently, the U.S. has appeared quite unconcerned about the recent EVD outbreak in Central and East Africa. These developments should compel the WHO and the ACDC to encourage programs based on self-reliance for Africa and other regions of the Global South.

International Airlines Urged to Stick to Safety Measures in Wake of Ebola Outbreak

Michael Castofas/WFP

WFP staff and responders handle boxes of supplies at a logistics site in DR Congo during the Ebola outbreak.

26 May 2026

UN News Service

As a deadly Ebola strain continues to spread in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), with cases confirmed in neighbouring Uganda, the UN aviation agency is urging governments and flight operators to closely follow guidelines put in place following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The outbreak of the Bundibugyo (BVD) strain is a major cause for concern in the DRC, where there have been more than 900 suspected cases and around 220 suspected deaths.

So far, there have been seven confirmed cases in Uganda. The World Health Organization (WHO) says that the outbreak, which it has declared a public health emergency of international concern, is spreading faster than health workers can contain it.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) will update its guidance as necessary in light of the evolving situation, but for now it insists that international air services remain safe.

Clear guidance in place

On Tuesday, the UN agency called on governments and aviation stakeholders to adhere strictly to WHO recommendations to mitigate any Ebola-related risks.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused massive disruption to air travel, prompting ICAO to establish new protocols for rapid, standardised information sharing among States, airlines, airports, and health agencies.

Digital innovations such as electronic health declarations and contactless border processes have been integrated into ICAO's recommendations to track and manage health risks more effectively, and the agency is coordinating with WHO and its Member States to provide measures to prevent the transmission of the disease through air travel.

These measures are also designed to protect the health of aviation personnel and passengers, reassure travelers, and keep flight cancellations to a minimum.

Read the original article on UN News.

Trump Will Send Americans Exposed to Ebola While Abroad to a New Facility in Kenya

By ALI SWENSON and MIKE STOBBE

3:49 PM EDT, May 27, 2026

NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration is planning to send Americans who are exposed to Ebola while abroad to a new facility in Kenya instead of flying them to the United States, an administration official said Wednesday.

The quarantine and treatment center being set up by the Departments of Defense, State and Health and Human Services will be designed for Ebola patients who need to get out of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and receive care quickly, said the official, who insisted on anonymity to share the Republican administration’s plans. The person said the plan would help patients avoid an hourslong medical evacuation to the U.S.

It was unclear where in Kenya the new facility will be built or whether the Kenyan government has signed off on the plan.

The official said the facility will be able to care for the full spectrum of Ebola, a rare but severe disease that is often fatal in people. But the official said people may be transported elsewhere for more advanced care as appropriate.

Kenya’s health minister confirmed officials there were talking with the U.S. about “preparedness and response mechanisms for Ebola” but didn’t address whether the country would establish a treatment facility for Americans.

“Any arrangements regarding international health cooperation will be guided by Kenya’s national laws, public health regulations, biosafety and biosecurity standards, and the government’s responsibility to safeguard the health and welfare of Kenyans,” Health Minister Aden Duale said in a statement.

For decades, medical experts have suggested moving patients suffering from Ebola and similar illnesses as little as possible in case their condition worsens, said Dr. Ali Khan, the public health college dean at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. But, he added, the quality of care must be equivalent to what someone would receive in American facilities.

“You’ve got to make sure the patient gets the best quality care, and you need to ensure excellent infection control,” said Khan, who earlier in his career led international responses to Ebola and other outbreaks for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Craig Spencer, a public health professor and emergency medicine doctor at Brown University who survived Ebola in 2014, said he doesn’t expect the facility in Kenya to provide the same quality of care that dedicated facilities in the United States do. He said refusing to consider bringing American Ebola patients home for treatment is “a moral abdication of what this country owes its own.”

An earlier outbreak

During a massive Ebola outbreak in west Africa in 2014 and 2015, more than a half dozen infected Americans were brought back to the United States. That experience prompted the establishment of a U.S. network of quarantine and isolation facilities across the country.

But during that earlier outbreak, Trump, then a businessman and reality TV star, repeatedly criticized then-President Barack Obama, a Democrat, for bringing infected Americans home for care.

“The U.S. cannot allow EBOLA infected people back. People that go to far away places to help out are great — but must suffer the consequences!” he wrote in a 2014 tweet.

He also suggested a plan similar to the one described to the AP by the administration official: “Treat them, at the highest level, over there,” Trump wrote in July 2014.

During a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the State Department and other agencies were working “very, very hard to contain this crisis to the countries where it’s currently located, particularly the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”

“We cannot and will not allow any cases of Ebola to enter the United States,” he said.

Americans who’ve been exposed to Ebola

Earlier this month, an American doctor working in Congo tested positive for Ebola and was sent to Germany for medical care. Serge, a Christian missionary organization, identified him as Dr. Peter Stafford. Stafford’s wife and four children did not have symptoms but also were flown to Germany and placed in isolation at Berlin’s Charite University Hospital.

On Wednesday, the hospital said the patient was in stable condition.

“The viral load measured in the patient has dropped very, very rapidly over the course of the week,” likely thanks to antiviral therapy, Dr. Leif Erik Sander, director of the hospital’s infectious diseases department, told reporters.

Another American medical missionary, Dr. Patrick LaRochelle, was transported to the Czech Republic for isolation after he was exposed to Ebola, though he did not have any symptoms, according to the missionary organization.

Health authorities in Congo have been struggling to contain the outbreak, which the World Health Organization has said is outpacing them.

The number of suspected Ebola cases in eastern Congo is nearing 1,000, with at least 220 suspected deaths. Congo’s health ministry on Tuesday said 101 cases have been confirmed and it’s looking into more than 3,000 possible contacts.

Challenges include the threat of armed groups in eastern Congo, a large number of displaced people and poor infrastructure.

The Wall Street Journal was first to report the Trump administration’s plan for the Kenya facility.

US officials expand airport screening

Meanwhile, officials have been expanding the number of U.S. airports where CDC staffers are screening and monitoring incoming passengers from outbreak countries. Enhanced screenings began last week at Washington Dulles International Airport and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. CDC staff began screenings at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston this week, and are being dispatched to start screenings Friday at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.

The CDC’s acting director, Jay Bhattacharya, sent an email Monday to CDC employees asking for volunteers from across the agency to work the screening stations. CDC veterans say it’s not unusual to see a call for volunteers for staffing major epidemic responses.

The government also has temporarily banned the entry of people without U.S. passports, as well as U.S. green-card holders, who have visited Congo, Uganda or South Sudan in the last 21 days.

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AP journalists Evelyne Musambi in Nairobi, Julie Walker in New York and Kerstin Sopke in Berlin contributed to this report.

Renewable Energy is Overtaking Traditional Power Projects Across Africa, Industry Leaders Say

A shepherd watches livestock near Khi Solar One, a solar thermal plant that converts the sun's light energy into electricity, outside Upington, South Africa, in the Northern Cape province, Aug. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File)

By ALLAN OLINGO

12:14 AM EDT, May 27, 2026

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Africa’s next generation of power projects is increasingly being built around solar and wind power and battery storage, as governments and investors shift away from coal and large hydropower dams in search of cheaper, faster and more reliable electricity.

The shift is visible in a $1.5 billion energy agreement between China and Zambia announced in early May that includes three separate 300-megawatt projects spanning solar, wind and coal-fired power.

While the inclusion of coal underscores the continent’s continuing need for stable baseload electricity, African countries facing rising fuel import bills as a result of the Iran war, unreliable grids and growing industrial demand are increasingly turning to renewable energy projects that can be deployed faster and more cheaply than traditional plants.

Solar and wind power are gaining

Of the 322 energy projects announced across Africa in 2025, 173 were solar projects, followed by hydropower at 46, wind at 34, gas at 22 and hybrid energy projects at 14, according to the energy research firm Electron Intelligence.

“Africa is not on the periphery of the global energy transition, it is sitting at its center,” said Mugwe Manga, climate finance lead at FSD Kenya. “The continent holds the world’s best renewable resources, and the economics have now decisively turned in favor of clean energy.”

According to Olamide Niyi-Afuye, CEO of the Africa Minigrid Developers Association (AMDA), the continent is undergoing a broader strategic shift in how energy infrastructure is being developed, with an emphasis on systems that can be deployed faster and expanded gradually with flexible financing.

Niyi-Afuye pointed to the growing role of solar within mini-grid systems.

According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, Africa added a record 11.3 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity in 2025, triple the previous year. South Africa, Egypt and Ethiopia accounted for much of the growth.

Lower costs are a major factor

Increasingly affordable technology is helping. Utility-scale solar power costs have dropped by nearly 90% globally since 2010, while onshore wind costs have fallen around 70%, making renewables the cheapest source of new electricity generation in many African markets.

“Renewable energy is now unequivocally the fastest, cheapest, and most bankable way to connect people, companies and economies to the megawatts they need to grow,” said Matt Tilleard, CEO of CrossBoundary Energy, which invests in renewable energy in Africa.

Much of the growth is through distributed solar and battery systems installed directly in mines, factories, telecom towers and homes.

“Most official statistics still measure the energy transition the old way, by counting megawatts connected to national grids,” he said. “But solar and batteries don’t need central utilities.”

Data from the Africa Solar Industry Association shows 23.4 gigawatts of operational solar projects had been tracked across Africa by the end of 2025. But Chinese export figures indicate 58.1 gigawatts of solar panels have been shipped to African countries since 2017, suggesting solar adoption may be growing far faster than official figures capture.

Renewables bring faster returns

Investors increasingly favor renewable projects because they can generate returns faster and with less exposure to global fuel price shocks.

“Solar and wind projects are especially attractive at this moment because they combine strong commercial fundamentals with relatively lower investment risk,” Niyi-Afuye said.

At the Kamoa-Kakula copper complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo, CrossBoundary Energy is developing a 233-megawatt solar and battery project to supply one of Africa’s largest copper mines. Tilleard said the project moved from signing to more than 80% completion within a year. Coal-fired plants can take up to 12 years to complete, while major hydropower projects often require a decade or more.

“Investors deploy capital and see assets generating revenue within 18 months,” Tilleard said.

Policy changes help but challenges remain

The continent’s renewable push is also being accelerated by policy changes. Ethiopia was the first country to ban imports of internal combustion engine vehicles, spurring faster adoption of electric vehicles. In South Africa, relaxing limits on private power generation has opened the door to a surge in industrial renewable energy projects.

Still, major obstacles remain. Many African utilities are in financial trouble. So lenders are wary of long-term power purchase agreements. Financing costs for renewable projects in Africa are up to triple those in advanced economies because of perceived country risk, according to the International Energy Agency.

Development finance institutions, including the African Development Bank and the International Finance Corporation, are helping bridge the gap with concessional loans, guarantees and risk-sharing structures.

“What remains is not a question of technology or cost,” Manga said. “It is a question of finance, political will and preparing bankable projects that will drive demand for power on the continent.”

Senegal’s Lawmakers Defy President and Elect Ousted Sonko as Speaker

By BABACAR DIONE and MARK BANCHEREAU

9:34 AM EDT, May 26, 2026

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Senegal ’s National Assembly elected ousted Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko as parliament speaker Tuesday, defying President Bassirou Diomaye Faye who fired him days earlier and threatening political deadlock in a country already buckling under record debt.

Sonko was sacked alongside all other ministers last week, following months of tensions between him and the president as their powerful partnership that drove them to power crumbled. His firing triggered the resignation of the parliament speaker. Faye named a new prime minister Monday and is expected to announce a new cabinet in the coming days.

Faye and Sonko took office following the March 2024 presidential election, promising to carry out ambitious reforms that included fighting corruption, creating jobs for Senegal’s growing young population and maximizing natural resource benefits.

But the two have openly disagreed on key policies in recent months, including about negotiations for a loan from the International Monetary Fund.

As speaker, Sonko now can shape which laws come to a vote, scrutinize government reforms and introduce legislation — powers that could put him on a collision course with the president he once served, said Babacar Ndiaye, a political analyst at the Senegal-based Wathi think tank.

Sonko said he would not use his role as parliament speaker to settle personal scores with Faye, but promised to hold the government to account and use every constitutional power at his disposal to do so.

Faye and Sonko were former allies from the party known as Pastef, which holds a strong majority in parliament with 130 deputies out of 165. Sonko leads the party and could challenge Faye’s authority.

Senegal meanwhile grapples with a deepening debt crisis and rising cost of living. The country has one of the highest debt-to-GDP ratios in Africa, after a government audit last year revealed a larger-than-reported debt of $13 billion attributed to the previous administration.

MARK BANCHEREAU

Banchereau covers 22 countries across West and Central Africa for The Associated Press. He is based in Dakar, Senegal.

A Bitter Eid al-Adha in Mali’s Capital as al-Qaida-linked Blockade Sends Sheep Prices Soaring

ASSOCIATED PRESS

6:58 AM EDT, May 27, 2026

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — As Muslims around the world prepare to celebrate Eid al-Adha, the feast of sacrifice, the holiday carries a bitter edge in Mali ’s capital. A blockade by armed groups linked to al-Qaida has sent sheep prices soaring and put the central ritual of slaughtering an animal and sharing its meat with the poor beyond the reach of many families.

The shortage and high prices are largely due to a blockade of Bamako announced earlier this month by fighters from Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, an al-Qaida-linked group. The militants regularly attack convoys of trucks and vehicles transporting goods to the capital, often setting them ablaze.

Landlocked Mali depends heavily on fuel and goods trucked in from coastal neighbors like Senegal and Ivory Coast. The militants’ blockade is designed to strangle the country’s economy and undermine the military government’s legitimacy, analysts say.

The blockade is not total, as the armed groups avoid holding roadblocks for long, fearing retaliation from the Malian army, and goods continue to trickle into Bamako, staving off an outright food shortage for now.

Nonetheless, it has driven up prices for some goods like meat and led to fuel shortages, forcing residents to line up at the few gas stations still selling fuel.

Since September 2025, the group had already enforced a stifling road blockade on oil imports.

Mountaga Touré, 38, a teacher, said he visited several livestock markets before ultimately giving up on buying a sheep for the feast, saying the price of sheep has almost doubled since the blockade was announced.

“The small sheep that used to cost $177 are now $266 or more,” Touré said.

In some neighborhoods of Bamako, residents have swapped the traditional sheep for cows, pooling money to purchase one so they can have meat during the important Muslim holiday in West Africa.

The blockade follows sweeping, coordinated attacks by separatist and jihadi forces across Mali last month, the largest in the country in over a decade.

Mali has been plagued by insurgencies fought by militants affiliated with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, as well as a separatist rebellion in the country’s north for over a decade.

Following a 2020 military coup, the ruling junta turned from Western allies to Russia for help combating Islamic militants. But the security situation has worsened in recent times, analysts say, with a record number of attacks by militants. Government forces and Russian mercenaries have also been accused of killing civilians they suspect of collaborating with militants.

The Malian army and its Russian Africa Corps mercenaries are circumventing the blockade by escorting convoys of trucks carrying goods and fuel to supply markets in Bamako. The military also regularly says it struck positions held by armed groups.

But the escorts and strikes have not been enough to adequately supply the capital, residents say.

“Usually, I bring up to 200 sheep to Bamako to sell during Tabaski,” said Amadou Cissé, 45, a livestock trader specializing in Eid sheep, using the West African word for the holiday. “But this year I barely brought 50 because there is not enough space in army-escorted trucks.”

Cissé said the sheep he ordered are still in Diema, a town some 345 km (215 miles) west of Bamako, where many animals bound for the capital originate.

“I was told more escorted convoys would be organized, but so far none have left Diema, so I doubt the sheep will arrive before the holiday,” he said.

Drissa Traoré, who has been selling sheep in Bamako for over a decade, said supply has dropped significantly recently. “This year, we have barely half the number of sheep we usually have during Tabaski,” he said.

The insecurity has also affected the travel plans of many.

Sidi Diarra, an employee at a major financial institution in Bamako, said he usually celebrates the holiday with his parents in Segou, around 240 km (150 miles) from the capital.

“This year, I am afraid to go because of attacks by extremist groups. It is safer to stay in Bamako,” he said.

Uganda Closes Its Border With DR Congo, Where Suspected Cases of a Rare Ebola Type Are Surging

By RODNEY MUHUMUZA

6:09 PM EDT, May 27, 2026

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Uganda on Wednesday ordered the closure of its border with Congo, where suspected cases of a rare type of Ebola are surging, and as cases have been confirmed at home after Ugandan health workers were exposed to the disease from Congolese patients.

The measure, which goes against the guidance by the World Health Organization, underscores growing fears of contagion in East Africa from Bundibugyo, a rare type of the Ebola virus that is behind this outbreak and that has no approved medicines or vaccines.

Like Congo, Uganda has faced Ebola outbreaks in the past. A local Ugandan task force made the decision on the border closure. The Ugandan health workers were exposed to the virus by Congolese patients who had crossed the border before the outbreak was declared in eastern Congo on May 15.

The border closure was temporary, with “immediate effect,” Dr. Diana Atwine of the Ugandan Ministry of Health, told journalists. Border crossings will be authorized only in emergency cases, including for the outbreak response, humanitarian, cargo or security reasons, she added.

Anyone entering from Congo under emergency circumstances will be taken into mandatory isolation for 21 days.

Congo says over 100 cases have been confirmed

Tracing and isolating Ebola contacts is seen as key to stopping the spread of the disease, which usually manifests as hemorrhagic fever. The virus is spread through close contact with sick or deceased patients’ bodily fluids. Experts say healthcare workers and family members caring for patients face the highest risk.

The number of suspected cases in eastern Congo is nearing 1,000, with at least 220 suspected deaths. Congo’s health ministry on Tuesday said 101 cases have been confirmed, and they are looking into over 3,000 possible contacts.

On Wednesday, Congolese authorities said that the first person who recovered from the Bundibugyo virus has been released home from a treatment center in Rwampara, one of the towns in eastern Congo at the heart of the outbreak.

WHO has discouraged border closures with Congo while acknowledging that neighboring countries are at high risk of contagion. The U.N. health agency has declared this outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.

Closures “push the movement of people and goods to informal border crossings that are not monitored, thus increasing the chances of the spread of disease,” the agency said.

The Uganda-Congo border is several hundred miles long and crossed by numerous footpaths beyond formal border posts. Many people come and go in the course of a day to visit families or to trade.

Congolese health authorities are struggling to contain the outbreak, which WHO says is outpacing them. The rare type of Ebola was confirmed weeks late as tests were carried out for a more common type. Challenges also include the threat from armed groups in eastern Congo, a large number of displaced people and poor infrastructure.

WHO’s Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called on Wednesday for a ceasefire in eastern Congo to allow safe access for responders and others, saying on social media that “attacks on health facilities make tracking cases and their contacts nearly impossible.”

Responders in Congo have said they are underprepared and under-protected for this outbreak, while conflict-traumatized residents, long wary of outsiders, have attacked a number of clinics and hurled stones and abuse at volunteers trying to make people aware of the virus and its risks.

Infected people or those have been in contact should not undertake international travel unless it’s a medical evacuation, WHO has said. On Wednesday, the Trump administration said it is planning to send Americans who are exposed to Ebola to a new facility in Kenya instead of flying them to the United States.

Uganda is concerned about exposed health workers

Uganda has reported seven cases of Ebola, including the first case of a 59-year-old man who died in Kampala, the country’s capital, on May 14. While the Ebola case load is not spiking, the number of locals exposed to infection via health workers has been rising.

“They have families, and so the number has been increasing,” Atwine, the Ugandan health official, said of the health workers.

She also said she was dismayed to see some Ugandans forming crowds to celebrate Arsenal as British Premier League champions. The team has a large following in Uganda. Atwine urged people to be vigilant, avoid shaking hands and use sanitizer.

Congo has had 17 Ebola outbreaks. Health experts say aid cuts last year by the U.S. and other rich nations are devastating for eastern Congo, in part because of the region’s unique problems.

Aid groups fighting this outbreak say they don’t have the equipment they need, including face shields and suits to protect health workers from infection, testing kits and body bags needed to safely bury victims.

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Associated Press writer Jean-Yves Kamale in Kinshasa, Congo, contributed to this report.

Ebola With Sand, Oatmeal and One Thermometer But No Water

By JUSTIN KABUMBA and MONIKA PRONCZUK

3:45 AM EDT, May 27, 2026

BUNIA, Congo (AP) — There is one handwashing station and one infrared thermometer to fight the Ebola epidemic in a camp for 10,000 displaced people in Bunia, a city at the heart of the outbreak in eastern Congo.

Camp leaders say they tell residents to wash their hands before eating — with soap for the lucky ones who have it. For the rest, the advice is to use oatmeal or sand.

“My fear is that we are here with nothing to protect ourselves. We have no protection, no water or soap, and we live near garbage,” Francine Leve Janguzi, a resident of the so-called ISP camp told The Associated Press, as she opened an empty tap in a sea of tarpaulin roofs.

Supplies are being rushed to Ituri province as aid groups and healthcare workers try to stem an outbreak of the infectious disease that has been declared a global health emergency.

But front-line responders are concerned the disease might spread to the large displacement camps located near Bunia, where thousands of people are crammed into limited space, without access to basic hygiene.

“Eastern DRC’s years of conflict and displacement have left health systems on their knees, and that makes containing this outbreak all the harder,” said Heather Kerr, Congo director with the International Rescue Committee.

Almost a million people have been displaced from their homes by conflict in Ituri, according to the U.N.

That means this Ebola outbreak is “unfolding in communities already facing insecurity, displacement and fragile healthcare systems,” said Gabriela Arenas, a regional coordinator at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

The majority of residents of the ISP camp — which owes its name to its proximity to the Higher Pedagogical Institute, or Institut Superieur Pedagogique in French — were forced to leave their villages in the Djugu territory following attacks by CODECO, one of the multiple armed groups which operate in the region.

“I’ve been here for eight and a half years. Now we’re hearing about Ebola,” camp resident Janguzi said. “Look at the state of where we’re sleeping. We don’t have any help whatsoever. We don’t have soap or water, yet we’re told to wash our hands regularly and be clean.”

There is no vaccine or treatment for the rare Bundibugyo type of Ebola, which has been spreading undetected for weeks in eastern Congo. Standard tests struggle to detect the Bundibugyo.

Over 1,000 suspected cases and at least 220 deaths had already been recorded as of Tuesday, including seven confirmed cases in Uganda. But the World Health Organization and aid groups on the ground say the outbreak is much larger.

Ebola is a highly contagious virus and can be contracted from bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or semen. The disease it causes is rare but severe and often fatal. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle pain, weakness, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain and unexplained bleeding or bruising.

Eastern Congo has for years seen attacks by dozens of separate rebel and militant groups, some of them with links to foreign countries or the extremist Islamic State group.

The Rwanda-backed M23 rebels are in control of parts of the region. While the Congolese government still largely controls the northeastern Ituri Province, the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak, that control is tenuous. The Allied Democratic Forces, a Ugandan Islamist group linked to IS, is one of the dominant rebel groups there and responsible for violent attacks against civilian targets.

Before the outbreak, humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders said in an assessment that the insecurity in Ituri had worsened recently, causing doctors and nurses to flee and leaving overwhelmed health facilities and in some parts, “catastrophic conditions.”

Gérard Maki, a community leader in the camp, told AP the disease is very frightening. “I’ve learned that there’s no cure, which is why it scares me. ... Our government should also do everything possible to find a solution to this disease.”

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Pronczuk reported from Dakar, Senegal. Associated Press writer Jean-Yves Kamale contributed to this report from Kinshasa.

Why Trump’s Allegations that White People Are Being Persecuted in South Africa Have Been Denied

Farmers visit the Nampo agricultural fair, one of the largest in the southern hemisphere, near Bothaville, South Africa, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

By GERALD IMRAY

8:58 AM EDT, May 27, 2026

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump has expanded the number of refugee places available for white South Africans, saying there have been “recent increases in the incitement of racially motivated violence” against them by their Black-led government and other political parties.

It’s not clear what incitement Trump was referring to when his administration made the announcement Tuesday of 10,000 additional places for white South Africans in the refugee program this year to raise it to 17,500.

It’s Trump’s latest contention that minority white Afrikaners are being persecuted, which the South African government denies.

Here’s a look at what Trump says is happening to white people in South Africa to justify their resettlement and why his position that they are being persecuted is condemned as baseless:

Attacks on farmers

Trump laid the foundation for the resettlement of Afrikaners in an executive order last year that said they were victims of racial violence fueled by government actions.

Afrikaners are white South Africans descended from mainly Dutch and French settlers who first came to South Africa in the 1600s.

The U.S. has cited a small number of home attacks on white farmers as evidence of racial persecution. The South African government and analysts say that’s a distortion of the facts, because Black farmers and farmworkers are also killed and injured in what are largely violent robberies and not racial attacks.

It’s true that South Africa has a violent crime problem that affects all races, including white farmers.

There were more than 23,000 homicides across South Africa from April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026, according to official annual crime statistics, affecting all races but mostly the poor Black majority. In comparison, there were 29 homicides on farms in 2025, according to the Afrikaner lobby group, AfriForum. Farm killings represent about 0.1% of homicides.

South African police say Black people were also killed in those farm homicides, though they don’t typically break rural crimes down as a separate category or by the race of victims.

AfriForum, the Afrikaner group at the forefront of raising concerns over rural crimes, also doesn’t publish how many Black farmers and farmworkers were killed, saying it “does not racialize the issue.”

Anti-white rhetoric

The Trump administration said that a recent increase in incitement to racial violence by the South African government and other politicians led to “an unforeseen emergency refugee situation” and “grave humanitarian concerns” for Afrikaners.

It wasn’t clear what he was referring to, because there has been no public incitement to violence by the South African government, which is made up of a coalition of 10 political parties — some of which are led by white people. White people, including some with Afrikaner heritage, serve in South Africa’s Cabinet.

Afrikaners are part of South Africa’s white minority, which also includes white people with British and other heritage. There are around 4.5 million white people in South Africa’s population of 62 million, which is more than 80% Black, but also has other minorities with Indian and multiracial heritage.

Allegations of an “emergency refugee situation” for Afrikaners aren’t reflected in everyday life in South Africa, where Afrikaners are prominent politicians, business leaders and sports stars.

Their language, Afrikaans, is widely spoken and taught in schools as one of the country’s 11 official languages, and Afrikaner monuments and churches stand and are maintained as part of the country’s multicultural makeup.

The Trump administration has previously focused on one far-left opposition party in South Africa, which has stoked racial tensions by sometimes using a decades-old chant from the era of resistance to the apartheid system of white minority rule, which ended in 1994. The chant has the lyrics “kill the Boer” — with Boer referring to white farmer — and it has been investigated for hate speech.

The South African government hasn’t condemned the chant, saying it has a historical place connected to the fight against apartheid and shouldn’t be taken literally. Some Afrikaner groups like AfriForum have criticized the government for that stance and called for the chant to be outlawed.

The far-left party isn’t part of the government and has no power on the national stage.

Affirmative action laws

South Africa’s affirmative action laws have also been cited by the Trump administration as evidence of anti-white policies. The laws are aimed at advancing opportunities for Black people and others who were oppressed under white minority rule. They also are meant to help women and people with disabilities, though how successful they’ve been is debated.

They have become a focus for Trump allies like South African-born billionaire Elon Musk, who has said he was prevented from getting a license for his Starlink satellite internet service in South Africa because he’s white.

The government says that’s a distortion. Starlink can operate in South Africa, though it needs to follow affirmative action regulations in that sector that require previously disadvantaged groups to have a minority stake in any local entities. The South African government says more than 600 American companies currently operate in South Africa and follow affirmative action regulations.

Afrikaners’ refugee status

The South African government has previously said that Afrikaners are free to leave for the U.S., just as other South Africans have emigrated in search of opportunities in other countries. However, the government says they shouldn’t be classified as refugees fleeing persecution.

“The assertion that white Afrikaners, in particular, endure systemic persecution is entirely without foundation,” South African foreign ministry spokesperson Chrispin Phiri said in a statement to The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Around 6,000 South Africans have moved to the U.S. since the Afrikaner program started last year, according to the U.S. government.

Other issues with South Africa

The Trump administration has a larger problem with South Africa’s government, especially its stance on the Israel-Palestinian issue. South Africa, a longtime supporter of the Palestinian cause, has accused close U.S. ally Israel of genocide in Gaza in a highly emotive case at the United Nations’ top court.

Israel, founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust, has vehemently denied the allegations, and countered that the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, was itself a genocidal act.

The U.S. has cited South Africa’s position on that issue, and the country’s diplomatic relations with Iran, as evidence of an anti-American foreign policy, which South Africa denies.

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Michelle Gumede contributed to this report from Johannesburg.