Ebola outbreak declared an international emergency

Plus, the cost of war in the Middle East? $25 billion bill — and counting.

Go beyond the headlines with Reuters on the stories shaping the day. Subscribe for $1/week. Subscribe now. Daily Briefing Daily Briefing By Claire Beers Hello. The WHO declares the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda's Ebola outbreak an international emergency, the Iran war saddles global companies with a $25 billion bill — and counting, and Samsung Electronics holds last-ditch talks to avert strike action. Plus, our reporter’s guide to revolutionary history, clam chowder and Red Sox fandom in Boston. Today's Top News   Workers stand guard at the gate of the Kibuli Muslim Hospital where a man died of Ebola Bundibugyo virus in Uganda. REUTERS/Abubaker Lubowa An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda has been declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization. The hantavirus-hit cruise ship has docked in Rotterdam for disinfection as health officials battle another outbreak: misinformation. Global Health Correspondent Jennifer Rigby tells the Reuters World News podcast why fighting rumors and conspiracy theories with facts may not be enough.  A drone strike caused a fire at a nuclear power plant in the UAE, while Saudi Arabia reported intercepting three drones, as US President Donald Trump warned that Iran must act 'fast' after efforts to ‌end the war. A magnitude 5.2 earthquake in China's southwest region of Guangxi ‌killed two and forced more than 7,000 in the city of Liuzhou to evacuate as search and rescue operations continue. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is under intense pressure to quit from within his Labour Party after ‌a set of poor local election results, will not set out a timetable for his departure, his deputy David Lammy said. Russia has high expectations for President Vladimir Putin's trip to China this week, and the two sides will use it to ‌develop their 'privileged partnership', the Kremlin said.  Business & Markets   Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, Musandam, Oman, May 18, 2026. REUTERS The US-Israeli war with Iran has already cost companies around the world at least $25 billion, and the bill is climbing, according to a Reuters analysis. Bonds from Tokyo to New York extended losses as rising energy prices from the ongoing Middle East war fanned inflation fears and stoked investor wagers on rate hikes ‌from global central banks. Samsung Electronics and its labor union started talks in ‌a last-ditch bid to avert the biggest strike in the tech giant's history as concerns grow that a walkout by more than 45,000 workers could hit South Korea's economy and disrupt global supply chains. China has committed to purchasing at least $17 billion of US agricultural products in 2026, 2027 and 2028, the White House ‌said in a fact sheet. The commitment was made during the US-China summit last week. Inter IKEA, which franchises the Swedish budget home furniture brand in 63 ‌countries, is laying off 850 workers in a cost-cutting drive. Nikka Whisky is betting the Japanese whisky boom has further to run, ‌spending big on capital investment and setting a long-term sales target that would eventually quadruple its current revenue, president Naoto Ono said. Trump's crypto venture and Iran's top exchange tapped into the same industry networks   Iran’s Nobitex processed at least $2.3 billion through Tron and BNB Chain, blockchain ledgers started by backers of the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial. REUTERS When Iran’s largest crypto exchange customers needed to move money, networks created by two of the industry’s biggest players served as conduits. And from the early stages of President Trump’s flagship digital currency venture, the same two lent the startup credibility. According to data analyzed by Reuters, Iran’s Nobitex exchange processed at least $2.3 billion since 2023 on Tron and BNB Chain, blockchains established respectively under crypto billionaires Justin Sun and Changpeng Zhao. Read our exclusive report And Finally... REUTERS/Illustration/Kate Evans Boston is the cradle of American liberty, the birthplace of Benjamin Franklin, home to umpteen universities and renowned for its rabid sports fans. Reuters reporter Tim McLaughlin takes us around his home away from home in this week's City Memo.  Read more   Sponsors are not involved in the creation of newsletters or other Reuters news content. Advertise in this newsletter or on Reuters' website   Reuters Daily Briefing is sent 5 days a week. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here. Want to stop receiving this email? Unsubscribe here. To manage which newsletters you're signed up for, click here. This email includes limited tracking for Reuters to understand whether you’ve engaged with its contents. For more information on how we process your personal information and your rights, please see our Privacy Statement. Terms & Conditions   © 2026 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. 3 Times Square, New York, NY 10036

Trump’s unstoppable force, Iran’s immovable object

And an AI bot you can take to court

Stay informed with Reuters. Subscribe for $1/week. Subscribe now. Weekend Briefing Weekend Briefing From Reuters Daily Briefing   By Robert MacMillan, Reuters.com Weekend Editor Thanks for reading the Weekend Briefing. Most of you will read this at breakfast, but chef recommends our visual rundown of the dinner menu at the U.S.-China summit, which pairs well with the seating chart. Democrats are portraying Donald Trump’s ballroom project as a waste of money as Americans swallow a jump in gasoline prices because of the Iran war. Canada is strengthening its defense ties with Nordic countries after Trump’s threats to seize Greenland. Trump’s unstoppable force meets Iran’s immovable object   Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS Bluster and coercion: Trump’s package of public threats, insults and ultimatums seems to have hit a wall with Iran and may undermine his efforts to end the war. Trump said Xi Jinping agreed that Tehran must open the Strait of Hormuz, but China gave no indication it would weigh in. High gasoline prices aren’t dissuading these Colorado voters from supporting Trump. They also are straining U.S. school-district budgets. Middle East and Africa: Hamas said its military chief died after Israel said it targeted him in airstrikes. Trump said U.S. and Nigerian forces killed ISIS’ second in command. Thousands of Israeli nationalists marched through the Muslim quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City to commemorate Israel’s capture of the eastern part of the city six decades ago. They chanted “May your villages burn” and “Death to Arabs” while waving Israeli flags. U.S. dangles $100 million in aid in front of Cuba Strings attached: Cuba said it would entertain the offer of humanitarian aid and “free and fast satellite Internet” while expressing skepticism over Trump’s intentions. The CIA chief visited top Cuban officials, offering U.S. engagement if Havana makes “fundamental changes.” Learn about the 1996 incident that the U.S. plans to use to indict Raúl Castro. The big heat: A U.S. blockade of oil to the island has caused interminable power outages as summer heat mounts and tempers short-circuit. Most gas stations remained shut while the price of gasoline and diesel nearly doubled.  Ukraine graft probe widens Operation Midas: Investigators took Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s former top aide Andriy Yermak into custody, naming him an official suspect in a sprawling corruption case. The case could hang over Zelenskiy once the war with Russia ends. Separately, Zelenskiy met the CEO of Palantir Technologies as Ukraine works with the company to deploy AI to gain an edge in the war. Ripping it up in Riga: Latvia’s prime minister booted her defense chief after holding him responsible for the army failing to stop two Ukrainian drones from exploding at an oil-storage facility. Andris Sprūds’ party in turn pulled their support from Evika Siliņa’s coalition government, triggering her resignation and its collapse. No lawyers, guns or money Bot, get me out of this: More Americans are using AI tools so they can act as their own advocates in court. On the other side of the legal coin: a family sued OpenAI, saying the man who killed their son in a mass shooting used ChatGPT to plan the attack. On a tangential note: Does it make a difference to a jury when a man accuses a woman of sexual harassment instead of the other way around? At the movies: The sense I get from reading this story from the Cannes Film Festival is that attitudes in the business toward AI are growing slightly more accommodating. Learn what this could mean for the future – as well as for the adventures of a giant shark in the Seine. No clear link: antidepressants, pregnancy and autism Study: Using antidepressants while pregnant does not raise children’s risk for autism, the analysis found. It appears to contradict such assertions by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Law: A U.S. judge blocked the Justice Dept. from forcing a Rhode Island hospital to hand over records on gender-affirming care for transgender children. The Supreme Court ensured that doctors can prescribe the abortion pill through telemedicine and that people can receive it by mail. Before I forget… Albertans who want to secede from Canada suffered a setback after a provincial court ruled in favor of a First Nations bid to stop a referendum petition. Flávio Bolsonaro stunned aides and members of his right-wing party by admitting he has a connection to a jailed banker at the center of a major scandal in Brazil after denying it. Here’s how Jim Caviezel is involved. The Solomon Islands parliament elected opposition leader Matthew Wale as prime minister. Australia welcomed the decision despite his softening of criticism of China, which is trying island by island to build its influence in the Pacific. Friedrich Merz said he never meant to call Germans lazy. He did not, however, revisit his comment about how he would not advise his children to live in the U.S. at this time. Reuters Fact Check: China has not banned U.S. citizens from entering because of hantavirus. There is no evidence that ivermectin would work on a hantavirus infection. Neanderthal dental surgery: It was probably more painful than the interrogation scene in Marathon Man. Who moved my skull?   Sponsors are not involved in the creation of newsletters or other Reuters news content. Advertise in this newsletter or on Reuters' website   Weekend Briefing is sent once a week. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here. Want to stop receiving this email? Unsubscribe here. To manage which newsletters you're signed up for, click here. This email includes limited tracking for Reuters to understand whether you’ve engaged with its contents. For more information on how we process your personal information and your rights, please see our Privacy Statement. Terms & Conditions   © 2026 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. 3 Times Square, New York, NY 10036