World
US says 8,000 North Korean soldiers to begin combat operations in war with Ukraine 'in coming days'
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed on Thursday that 8,000 North Korean soldiers in Russia are expected to begin combat operations against Ukrainian troops in Kursk “in the coming days.”
The secretary said that of the 10,000 North Korean soldiers believed to have been sent to Russia for training, 80% of that force is now in the Kursk region, where Ukraine first launched an incursion in August.
Ukraine has since captured and held onto roughly 460 square miles according to reports earlier this month, not only prompting civilian evacuations from the region but also forcing Russia to fight its war on its own territory.
Soldiers march in a parade for the 70th anniversary of North Korea’s founding day in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Sept. 9, 2018. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)
PENTAGON THREATENS NO NEW LIMITS ON UKRAINE WEAPONS IF NORTH KOREA JOINS RUSSIA’S WAR
Blinken, speaking alongside Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and their South Korean counterparts in a joint press conference Thursday, said Russia has been training the North Korean troops in artillery and UAV basic infantry operations like trench clearing in an indication that Moscow “fully intend[s] to use these forces in frontline operations.”
The Russian military has also apparently provided these troops with uniforms and equipment in what Austin also said “strongly indicates that Russia intends to use these foreign forces in frontline operations in its war of choice against Ukraine.”
Damage following what local authorities called a Ukrainian military strike in the town of Sudzha in the Kursk Region, Russia, in this handout image released on Aug. 6, 2024. (Acting Governor of Kursk Region Alexei Smirnov via Telegram/Handout via Reuters)
“[Russian President Vladimir] Putin has been throwing more and more Russians into a meat grinder of his own making in Ukraine. Now he’s turning to North Korean troops, and that is a clear sign of weakness,” Blinken said.
The secretary also said Russian troops are seeing record high casualty rates with some 1,200 casualties reported a day in eastern Ukraine – a rate that is more than Russia has endured at any other time since the war began more than two and half years ago.
North Korean soldiers participate in a demonstration of the Korean People’s Army’s air and amphibious combat units, in this picture released on March 16 by the Korean Central News Agency. (Reuters/KCNA)
The deployment of North Korean troops to Russia, first confirmed by the Pentagon a week ago, is the first time in 100 years that Russia has invited foreign troops onto its soil, confirmed Blinken.
NORTH KOREA LAUNCHES MISSILE TOWARD THE SEA OF JAPAN IN LONGEST ATTEMPT SO FAR: REPORTS
When pressed by reporters about whether Ukrainian forces can continue to hold onto the territory in Kursk, Austin said simply, “Yes.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during a news conference at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
“If you take a look at what I said earlier in terms of the numbers of casualties that Russia is suffering on a daily basis… [and] you do the math on a given month – those are pretty big numbers,” Austin said. “Ten thousand pales in comparison to those kinds of casualties.”
Blinken said additional security assistance will be announced for Ukraine in “the coming days.”
The joint address came just hours after North Korea on Thursday also launched its longest ever intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) roughly 620 miles over an 86-minute period in the direction of the East Sea, reported Japanese authorities.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un smile during their meeting at the Pyongyang Sunan International Airport outside Pyongyang, North Korea, on June 19, 2024. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
Austin told reporters on Thursday he did not believe Russia had any involvement in the latest missile test but said the U.S. is continuing to work with allies and partners in the region to analyze the missile launch. Though Austin also warned that North Korea’s partnership with Russia is likely to “embolden” it.
“[North Korea] stands a chance of gaining in this exchange,” Austin said in reference to its partnership with Russia. “This is something we’re going to have to continue to watch very, very closely.
“It will… potentially embolden them to do more of the kinds of things that we’ve seen them do here recently,” he added in reference to the ICBM launch.
Investigators have ruled out that terrorism was at play after a man drove a car into crowd in the Italian city of Modena on Saturday, injuring eight people.
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The driver, a 31-year-old Italian man of Moroccan heritage, hit several people before crashing into a shop window, colliding head-on with a woman. Four people were in critical condition following the incident, authorities said.
The driver, an economics graduate born in 1995 who was not known to the police, went through a spell of “psychological disturbance” in 2022, city prefect Fabrizia Triolo said at a news conference on Saturday.
“He was under treatment in our mental health centres in 2022 because he had problems with schizoid illness, after which he disappeared from the radar and unfortunately reappeared in this form today in a dramatic and unfortunate way,” said the mayor of Modena, Massimo Mezzetti.
His home near Modena has been searched but sources quoted in Italian media said the investigation so far has shown no sign of the man’s radicalisation.
Several injured in critical condition
Among those injured were two foreign citizens: a German tourist on holiday in Italy and a Polish woman. The patients were transported to various hospitals in Emilia Romagna.
A 55-year-old woman, who was crushed against a shop window, is hospitalised at the Ospedale Maggiore in Bologna. The patient’s life is in danger and her legs were amputated.
In the same hospital, a 52-year-old man is in intensive care. A second injured man who was run over by the car also had his lower limbs amputated.
A 53-year-old woman and a 69-year-old woman were instead admitted to Baggiovara Hospital in Modena. In the same facility is a 69-year-old man, whose condition is judged to be less serious.
A 27-year-old girl, a 71-year-old woman and a 47-year-old man were hospitalised at the Policlinico di Modena: they suffered minor injuries and are not in a serious condition.
Pedestrians helped with arrest
Immediately after crashing into the shop window, the driver, identified as Salim El Koudri, abandoned the car and attempted to escape on foot.
The suspect tried to flee the scene but was chased and cornered by four passers-by, then pulled a knife and injured one of them.
Although the 31-year-old was armed with a knife with a 20-centimetre blade, the group managed to immobilise and contain him until the police arrived, to whom he was then handed over.
The Modena Public Prosecutor’s Office formalised the arrest of the attacker on heavy charges of massacre and injuries aggravated by the use of a weapon.
Prime Minister and President visit Modena
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and President Sergio Mattarella visited Modena on Sunday.
Meloni had quickly condemned the attack on social media and contacted the victims. She wrote on X that the incident was “extremely serious”.
“I would also like to express my thanks to the citizens who courageously intervened to detain the perpetrator, as well as to the law enforcement officers for their response,” she added.
“I trust that the person responsible will answer to the full for his actions,” Meloni added.
Some far-right politicians quickly seized on the incident as a justification for further tightening controls on immigration, even though the alleged perpetrator is an Italian citizen.
The League party, a member of Meloni’s governing coalition, said the incident showed the need for legislation to revoke residency permits for immigrants when they commit crimes.
League leader Matteo Salvini attempted to emphasise the nationality of origin of the attacker, calling the 31-year-old ‘a second-generation criminal’.
But the city’s mayor Mezzetti pointed out that two Egyptian nationals had helped stop the knife-wielding driver when he tried to run.
The city’s mayor said Modena should “unite against those who want to divide and sow hatred” and called for a gathering in the city centre later on Sunday for a “collective embrace”.
“At the moment I see so much looting on social media and elsewhere, and I want to invite you once again to reflect on the fact that foreigners are not all similar to those who committed this act, there are many honest ones who serve our community,” he added.
The imam of Ravarino, Abdelmajid Abouelala, speaking to the Gazzetta di Modena, said he had never met El Koudri.
“I do, however, know his father well. All I can say about him is that he is a good person, as is the rest of the family. A hard worker, the kind who makes home, work, home. An educated person who I have never heard bad things about”.
“We are really upset by what happened, ours is a small community, we all know each other. I have also asked friends and volunteers: no one knows Salim,” the local Islamic community contact person later said.
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By Jorge Mitssunaga
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.
NEW EBOLA OUTBREAK LEAVES 65 DEAD AS OFFICIALS WARN OF CROSS-BORDER SPREAD
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.
EBOLA OUTBREAK REPORTED IN AFRICAN COUNTRY — HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
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.
‘DISEASE X’ HAS KILLED DOZENS IN THE CONGO — HERE’S WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE MYSTERY ILLNESS
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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