Business
The Central Bank of Egypt maintained its key policy rates on August 20, marking the fourth consecutive meeting without any adjustments. The Monetary Policy Committee decided to keep the overnight deposit rate at 19% and the overnight lending rate at 20%. Additionally, the main operation and discount rates were held steady at 19.5%. The CBE explained that this decision was based on its evaluation of prevailing inflation trends and the economic outlook since its July meeting. These rates have remained unchanged since February.
Travel
Etihad Airways will launch seasonal nonstop flights between Abu Dhabi and Gothenburg on December 17, 2026. The service will operate four times a week through March 21, 2027. The route will connect the UAE capital with Sweden’s second largest city during the winter travel period. Bookings for the new Abu Dhabi to Gothenburg flights are already available. The service will operate between Zayed International Airport and Göteborg Landvetter Airport.
Health
The outbreak has led to a total of 5,208 confirmed cases and 2,476 fatalities reported by Congolese authorities as of Aug. 18. The epidemic now spans 56 health zones across six provinces situated in the eastern and northeastern regions. Authorities have also recorded 1,115 recoveries, while 730 patients remain hospitalized or in isolation.
Congo’s Ebola outbreak can still be contained within three months if adequate resources are provided to response teams. The latest official figures show 5,021 confirmed cases and 2,378 deaths as of Aug. 16. Currently, cases are spread across 55 health zones in six provinces, with a case fatality ratio of 47.4%. This makes it the deadliest Ebola outbreak in the country’s history and the second-largest Ebola epidemic recorded worldwide.
DRC malaria response targets a disease that caused more than 26 million cases in 2025. The National Malaria Control Programme announced these figures as health officials intensified malaria response initiatives in Ituri. Dembo stressed that ongoing control efforts should persist while authorities enhance interventions proven effective. He also urged the adoption of strategies tailored to the specific conditions within individual health zones. The initiative in Ituri focuses on mass distribution of antimalarial medications. This campaign is part of broader efforts aimed at malaria prevention and treatment, coordinated by the programme to reduce infection rates, severe illnesses, and mortality related to malaria. According to World Health Organization, an estimated 282 million cases of malaria occurred worldwide in 2024, resulting in 610,000 deaths. Africa accounted for approximately 95% of both cases and fatalities that year, with an estimated 265 million cases and 579,000 deaths recorded within the region. The Democratic Republic of the Congo was responsible for 11.7% of malaria deaths in Africa. Children under five made up about three-quarters of all malaria deaths across the continent, according to WHO data. These figures place the country among the nations with the highest malaria burden globally. Malaria’s Impact Remains Heavy in Africa Malaria primarily spreads through bites from infected female Anopheles mosquitoes and remains both preventable and treatable. Its early symptoms include fever, chills, and headaches. If left untreated, severe infections can lead to breathing issues, seizures, exhaustion, and loss of
The World Health Organization confirmed that without swift action to contain unmonitored community spread and address regional supply chain issues, the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Ebola crisis will break previous death toll records. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus indicated that the ongoing epidemic’s trajectory threatens to surpass the devastating 2014–2016 West African outbreak, which caused over 11,000 fatalities.
An urgent health crisis in Chad has resulted in 13 deaths since late last month, as authorities confirm an acute waterborne disease outbreak. The Ministry of Public Health of Chad reports that epidemiological data indicates a cholera epidemic causing 13 fatalities, with confirmed and suspected cases rising to 239 across the country. The official statistics show a nationwide case fatality rate of 5.4 percent, which significantly surpasses international standards for emergency outbreak response.
In 2022, obesity was associated with 9,509 fatalities in Belgium, accounting for 8.2 percent of the country’s total deaths, according to recent data from the Belgian public health institute Sciensano. This marks the first systematic effort by public health researchers in Belgium to quantify mortality directly attributable to a high body mass index (BMI). The report indicates that weight-related health issues led to more than one death every hour nationwide. The analysis also reveals that excess weight resulted in over 150,000 lost years of life across all demographic groups during the year.
European health groups are pressing the European Union to adopt stronger and binding heat protection measures as extreme temperatures raise public health risks. The Health and Environment Alliance, or HEAL, wants EU-wide standards for national climate adaptation plans and mandatory heat goals for member states. The campaign also calls for more funding for health resilience. The proposals follow a June heatwave that pushed temperatures above 40 C in parts of Europe.
Moderna has launched a Phase 1 clinical trial for an experimental vaccine targeting Bundibugyo ebolavirus in Canada. The first volunteer received the mRNA-1469 vaccine on August 3 at a facility in Truro, Nova Scotia. This development comes amid ongoing transmission of the virus across multiple provinces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The World Health Organization has designated the outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern.
