World
Death toll rises to 18 in South Africa mass shootings, police say
- One more person has died from mass shootings at two houses in a South African village over the weekend, raising the death toll to 18.
- Police are still searching for the suspects who opened fire on a family event in Lusikisiki village in Eastern Cape province on Saturday.
- South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that 38 people had been killed in mass shootings in the past two years.
One more person has died from mass shootings at two houses on the same street in a South African village over the weekend, bringing the death toll to 18, officials said Monday.
Police are still searching for the assailants who opened fire Saturday on people who had reportedly gathered for a family event in Lusikisiki village in Eastern Cape province.
The shootings, which took place in two separate houses on the same street, fueled outrage over a recent spate of mass shootings in the country.
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The motive for the killings remains unknown and police said on Monday that the investigation is continuing, and no arrests have been made.
This photo shows the scene where 17 people were killed in two mass shootings that took place in close proximity to each other on Friday night in Lusikisiki, South Africa, police said on Sept. 28, 2024. (South African Police Services via AP)
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa condemned the killings and promised that the government would deploy all needed resources in the investigation.
He said Monday that 38 people had been killed in previous mass shootings in the past two years and 25 suspects have been arrested.
“I feel deeply for all the families and members of the broader community affected by this attack, and on behalf of all of us as South Africans, I offer you our deepest sympathies,” he said.
“While we are united in our grief, we are also united in our outrage and condemnation of this excessive criminal assault which will not go unpunished,” he said.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa condemned the killings and promised that the government would deploy all needed resources in the investigation. (South African Police Services via AP)
The shootings follow a mass killing in KwaZulu-Natal province in April 2023. Ten members of the same family, including seven women and a 13-year-old boy, were killed at their home.
Sixteen people were fatally shot in a bar in the Johannesburg township of Soweto in 2022, the worst mass shooting in South Africa in decades before the latest killings in Lusikisiki.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world. It recorded 12,734 homicides in the first six months of this year, according to police.
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May 16, 2026
World
WHO declares Ebola outbreak in Central Africa a public health emergency after 80 suspected deaths
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The World Health Organization declared an Ebola outbreak in Central Africa an international public health emergency on Sunday after dozens of suspected deaths were reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring Uganda.
The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo virus, does not meet the criteria for a pandemic emergency, the WHO said.
The declaration follows reports of 80 suspected deaths, eight laboratory-confirmed cases and 246 suspected cases as of Saturday across at least three health zones in the Democratic Republic of Congo, including Bunia, Rwampara and Mongbwalu.
The development comes as global health officials continue monitoring a rare hantavirus outbreak tied to the MV Hondius cruise ship, which left multiple passengers and crew members sick, and caused three deaths.
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A health worker sprays disinfectant on a colleague after working at an Ebola treatment center in Beni, eastern Congo, on Sept. 9, 2018. (Al-hadji Kudra Maliro/AP)
As of May 13, the WHO said 11 hantavirus cases had been identified in connection with the cruise outbreak, including eight confirmed cases, two probable cases and one inconclusive case.
In neighboring Uganda’s capital, Kampala, the WHO said two apparently unrelated laboratory-confirmed Ebola cases — including one death — were reported Friday and Saturday involving people who had traveled from the DRC.
Another laboratory-confirmed case was reported in the DRC capital of Kinshasa involving a person returning from Ituri province.
Initial tests suggested the outbreak does not involve the Ebola Zaire strain, which caused Congo’s devastating 2018–2020 epidemic that killed more than 1,000 people.
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Health workers wearing protective suits tend to an Ebola victim in an isolation tent in Beni, Congo, on July 13, 2019. (Jerome Delay/AP)
However, unlike Ebola-Zaire strains, there are currently no approved vaccines or therapeutics for the Bundibugyo strain, which the WHO described as making the outbreak “extraordinary.”
The WHO warned the outbreak could be larger than currently reported due to the high positivity rate among initial samples and the growing number of suspected cases.
The outbreak also poses a public health risk to other countries, the WHO said, urging nations to activate emergency-management systems and implement cross-border screening measures.
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Ambulances parked at Bunia General Referral Hospital following confirmation of an Ebola outbreak involving the Bundibugyo strain in Bunia, Ituri province, Democratic Republic of Congo, May 16, 2026. (REUTERS/Victoire Mukenge)
Ebola is a highly contagious and often fatal disease spread through bodily fluids, including blood, vomit and semen. Symptoms can include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain and internal bleeding.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recently said Congo has a “strong track record” responding to Ebola outbreaks while announcing the release of $500,000 in emergency funding to support containment efforts.
The WHO said it will convene an emergency committee to review recommendations for how affected countries should respond.
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Health workers dressed in protective gear begin their shift at an Ebola treatment center in Beni, Congo, on July 16, 2019. (Jerome Delay/AP)
The organization did not recommend border closures or travel restrictions.
Congo has now recorded 17 Ebola outbreaks since the virus was first identified in the country in 1976.
Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr and Brittany Miller, along with Reuters, contributed to this report.
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