Stories for May 19th 2026

Tuesday, May 19th 2026 - 18:53 UTC
WHO warns of “magnitude and speed” of Ebola outbreak in Congo with 131 deaths and cases in Uganda

The director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned on Tuesday before the World Health Assembly meeting in Geneva that “the magnitude and speed” with which the Ebola outbreak is spreading in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are alarming, with more than 543 suspected cases, 131 deaths linked to transmission, and 33 laboratory-confirmed infections. Two further cases have been confirmed in neighboring Uganda, both involving Congolese citizens who had crossed the border, one of whom has died. The WHO director convened the organization's Emergency Committee to formulate containment recommendations.
Tuesday, May 19th 2026 - 12:17 UTC
Falklands marks in May the landing of British forces and the liberation of Goose Green

May is a month of commemoration for the population of the Falkland Islands, as the 44th anniversary of the Argentine armed invasion falls this month — an occupation that was defeated and expelled following the landing of the Task Force dispatched by London.
Tuesday, May 19th 2026 - 12:10 UTC
Bolivia: miners' dynamite and peasants' siege reach the heart of power in La Paz

The center of La Paz turned on Monday into the stage of a more than three-hour pitched battle in which thousands of salaried miners and peasants clashed with police forces trying to prevent their entry to Plaza Murillo, the seat of Bolivia's executive and legislative branches. The protesters threw dynamite charges at the police, who responded with tear gas. The cordons were not overrun, and the Army, deployed around the square as the last line of defense, did not intervene directly. The mobilization is the largest challenge President Rodrigo Paz has faced since taking office six months ago.
Tuesday, May 19th 2026 - 02:31 UTC
Uruguay: Orsi's approval falls to 29% and disapproval climbs to 46%, new survey shows

The administration of Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi has reached its lowest approval level since he took office as head of state in March 2025, according to the national survey by the polling firm Factum released on Monday for the second two-month period of 2026. The poll places presidential approval at 29% and disapproval at 46%, while 24% of those surveyed neither approve nor disapprove of the administration. The firm describes the dynamic as “a systematic process of falling approval and rising disapproval,” confirming the trend already identified last week by the polling firm Equipos, which had placed disapproval at 48%.
Tuesday, May 19th 2026 - 02:09 UTC
After CIA director's trip to Havana, Cuba warns of “bloodbath” in case of attack

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel warned on Monday that a possible US military attack on the island “will provoke a bloodbath of incalculable consequences,” in the most explicit hardening of Havana's discourse toward Washington since the start of the oil blockade imposed in January. The message, released through the X social media platform, coincided with the public confirmation that the Cuban government has acquired more than 300 drones from China and Iran, a purchase that island authorities framed as part of the exercise of their “legitimate defense.” The rhetorical shift comes just four days after the visit to Havana by the director of the US Central Intelligence Agency, John Ratcliffe.
Tuesday, May 19th 2026 - 02:08 UTC
Top naval medical service containerized module successfully tested in HMS Protector

UK engineering SME Force Development Services (FDS) has successfully tested its containerized medical mission module at sea for the first time, marking a significant milestone for the UK Royal Navy’s (RN’s) NavyPODS – Navy Persistent Operational Deployment System – program.
Tuesday, May 19th 2026 - 02:06 UTC
Musk loses USD 150 billion lawsuit against OpenAI and Sam Altman

A federal jury in Oakland, California, on Monday unanimously rejected the lawsuit that magnate Elon Musk had filed against OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman and the company's president, Greg Brockman, in which he sought USD 150 billion in damages and the reversal of the artificial intelligence firm's transformation into a for-profit entity. The verdict, reached by all nine jurors, found that the lawsuit is barred by the statute of limitations and amounts to a sharp setback for the founder of Tesla, who has already announced his intention to appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Tuesday, May 19th 2026 - 01:45 UTC
Royal Navy Type 31 program hit by £140M cost adjustment amid rework challenges

Royal Navy’s Type 31 frigate program has been hit by a £140 million cost adjustment, after contractor Babcock International identified higher-than-expected rework and productivity issues during construction of the vessels, points out The Center for National Interest, a US Public Policy Think Tank.
Tuesday, May 19th 2026 - 01:42 UTC
Chilean executive detained in Brazil for racist and homophobic insults to Latam flight attendant

Chilean executive Germán Naranjo Maldini has been held since Friday 15 May at the Guarulhos prison on the outskirts of São Paulo, charged with racial slur after directing racist and homophobic insults at a flight attendant of the airline Latam during a flight between São Paulo and Frankfurt on 10 May. The Chilean fishing company Landes, where he served as commercial manager, formally and preventively removed the executive from his position following the circulation over the weekend of a video showing the verbal attacks.
Tuesday, May 19th 2026 - 01:37 UTC
Alex Saab appears in Miami charged with money laundering tied to bribery in Chavismo's food programs

Colombian-Venezuelan businessman Alex Saab, regarded for years as the main financial frontman of former president Nicolás Maduro, appeared on Monday before a federal court in Miami, where he was formally charged with one count of money laundering linked to a bribery scheme used to enrich himself through contracts of Venezuela's state food import program. The hearing took place two days after acting President Delcy Rodríguez handed him over to the United States in what the Venezuelan government described as a deportation but which, in legal terms, amounts to an extradition.