The public health risk from the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) has been upgraded from "high" to "very high", the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.
"We are revising our risk assessment of Ebola to very high at the national level, high at the regional level, and low at the global level," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference.
Tedros said the Ebola outbreak remains a deep concern, noting there have been 82 confirmed cases, including seven deaths, as well as approximately 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths so far.
WHO said on Wednesday that the Ebola outbreaks in the DR Congo and Uganda remain a public health emergency of international concern but pose a low risk at the global level.
The Bundibugyo virus is a species of Ebola for which no approved vaccines or therapeutics currently exist, according to the WHO.
WHO upgrades Ebola risk in DR Congo to "very high"
WHO upgrades Ebola risk in DR Congo to "very high"
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO China Forum 2026 will be held in Beijing on June 21, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) announced on Friday.
The event will feature an opening ceremony and three seminars to review this year's key outcomes such as the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) Statement on Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) and the ABAC Statement on Connectivity, and prepare high-quality policy suggestions from the business community for the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting slated for November in south China's Shenzhen, the CCPIT said.
"The Asia-Pacific business community has released a joint statement on progress toward the FTAAP and called for an upgraded version of the APEC Connectivity Blueprint on the basis of the outcomes of the Beijing summit in 2014. This fully demonstrates the shared aspiration of the Asia-Pacific business community for stable and smooth industrial and supply chains, and for a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization," said Yang Mi, director of CCPIT's general office.
The APEC forum will be closely followed by the 4th China International Supply Chain Expo, which is scheduled for June 22-26 in Beijing.
The expo will feature more than 60 business exchange activities, with foreign provinces serving as guests of honor for the first time, according to the CCPIT.
"At this year's supply chain expo, 48 percent of the foreign exhibitors will be from China's Belt and Road partner countries. During the exhibition, we will hold a Belt and Road trade and investment forum and a roundtable on international chamber of commerce cooperation for the New Land-Sea Trade Corridor. In addition, we will hold an exchange activity for exhibitors, a working meeting of the China International Supply Chain Expo Exhibitors Alliance, the BRICS Women's Leadership Forum, and other exchange activities," said Liu Jiannan, vice chairman of CCPIT.
The expo will also host country-specific promotion sessions, bilateral economic and trade activities, and cross-industry exchanges to facilitate the flow of the resources along industrial and supply chains, according to the CCPIT.
The Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region of France and the Liguria region of Italy will be foreign guest provinces of honor, which will carry out promotion and exchange activities with Chinese guest provinces of honor, the CCPIT said.
As the world's first national-level exhibition focusing on supply chains, the China International Supply Chain Expo is an internationally shared public product.
First held in 2023, the expo has contributed to building more secure, stable, open and inclusive global industrial and supply chains, according to the CCPIT.
Beijing to host APEC CEO forum next month
Beijing to host APEC CEO forum next month