News
Educational geography classrooms display large physical world map charts on classroom walls. The focus centered on the widely used Mercator projection, created in the 16th century by Flemish mapmaker Gerardus Mercator for navigation at sea. While it remains effective for maritime navigation, the mathematical scaling of the Mercator map consistently exaggerates the size of landmasses away from the equator and compresses those near it. The United Nations General Assembly’s documentation states that these distortions continue to influence modern educational textbooks, news broadcasts, online mapping tools, and official government publications globally. During assembly discussions, delegates recognized that cartographic distortions extend beyond technical issues into broader socioeconomic and cultural realms. The assembly pointed out that such visual inaccuracies impact public perception of the economic, political, and cultural importance of entire continents. To address this, the UN adopted a resolution supporting the use of equal-area projections, including the 2018-introduced Equal Earth model, which accurately depicts continental landmasses in their correct proportions.
Business
Celebrating two decades of bilateral collaboration, this event will bring together government ministers, development financiers, and industry leaders in technology. Confirmed by official sources, the initiative aims to direct Korea-Africa efforts towards deploying AI digital infrastructure along emerging trade routes, while reflecting on 20 years of joint investments and capital mobilization. Discussions will focus on blending South Korean manufacturing expertise with Africa’s human resources and vital mineral resources. Korea Africa chart new course AI digital infrastructure strategies as the continent seeks to bridge an estimated $400 billion annual development financing gap.
Travel
According to official fleet disclosures, the route will be serviced by the airline’s fleet of Airbus A320 and Airbus A321 aircraft. The single-aisle aircraft are equipped with cabin seating configurations designed to optimize passenger comfort while maintaining low-cost operational efficiency. Onboard amenities for the non-stop route include the SkyTime complimentary in-flight streaming entertainment system and the SkyCafe catering service.
Health
The World Health Organization has urged a significant scaling up of the Ebola response within the Democratic Republic of the Congo. According to Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, health teams are still unable to trace every transmission chain. As of Sept. 1, the latest government data reported 6,250 confirmed cases and 3,039 deaths in Congo. The outbreak in Bundibugyo now spans 60 health zones across six provinces. Congo’s Ebola response expands as Bundibugyo transmission remains active. This outbreak marks Congo’s most extensive and deadly Ebola event on record, ranking as the second-largest Ebola outbreak worldwide after the 2014-2016 epidemic in West Africa. Ituri remains the epicenter of the crisis, accounting for approximately 85% of cases and 88% of deaths. Tedros emphasized that many fatalities involve individuals not listed as known contacts, indicating that transmission chains are still being overlooked by health teams. Community deaths and unsafe burial practices continue to pose significant challenges to containment efforts. According to Africa CDC, over 60% of fatalities in the most recent seven-day period occurred within communities. Health officials have also highlighted delays in identifying new infections and transporting patients to treatment centers. The latest government statistics show 1,439 recoveries and a case fatality rate of 48.6%, underscoring the severe impact of the Bundibugyo Ebola strain. Active Transmission Persists in Eastern Congo Despite signs of a slight decline in recent weeks
Authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have begun an targeted Ebola immunization campaign in Kisangani, the administrative center of Tshopo Province, aiming to contain the country’s most severe outbreak of the virus to date. Frontline healthcare workers, emergency response personnel, and those with direct contact to confirmed cases are being prioritized during the initial rollout. Health Minister Roger Kamba confirmed that the government launched the vaccination initiative using doses of the Ervebo vaccine to protect frontline staff working in the affected eastern regions.
The European Commission has committed to purchasing €2.1 million worth of PCR tests to support the ongoing Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak. These versatile, open-platform tests are intended to enhance infection detection capabilities and bolster laboratory infrastructure amid the crisis. This procurement was arranged with the assistance of the European Health and Digital Executive Agency. The delivery process is scheduled to commence in August, providing essential diagnostic supplies as health authorities battle the rising number of cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
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.
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.
The Ebola outbreak in DR Congo has resulted in 1,916 fatalities and 4,209 confirmed cases, according to official figures through Aug. 7. This indicates an increase of 29 deaths from the previous update reporting 1,887. Additionally, health officials have identified 595 patients receiving treatment in isolation, while 828 individuals have recovered from the Bundibugyo virus disease outbreak.
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.
