The death toll from the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has surpassed 2,000, according to figures released Tuesday by the country's public health authorities.
The country has recorded 4,381 confirmed cases, including 2,011 deaths, with the overall case fatality rate standing at 45.9 percent. Over 700 patients remain in isolation or hospital care, while 869 people have recovered, according to official data.
Cases have been reported in five provinces -- Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uele and Tshopo -- with the province of Ituri remaining the epicenter of the outbreak.
"Today the Ebola epidemic surpassed 2,000 deaths, half of these in the last 20 days," UN Senior Ebola Coordinator Julien Harneis said on social media Tuesday.
"All of us in the response, aid workers, organisations, governments, donors, with the community, must do more, and do it today, to save lives and stop Ebola," he said.
The DRC government declared an outbreak on May 15. Ebola is caused by the Bundibugyo ebolavirus. There is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment for the virus species behind the outbreak, although clinical trials of candidate vaccines and therapeutics are underway.
The outbreak has become the largest ever recorded in the DRC and the second-largest Ebola outbreak globally, after the 2014-2016 West Africa epidemic.
DR Congo Ebola death toll surpasses 2,000 as outbreak continues
Hungary's parliament on Tuesday elected former Supreme Court chief Andras Baka as the country's new president.
Baka, 73, the sole candidate in the election, received 140 votes in a secret ballot. He was nominated by the ruling Tisza party, which holds the two-thirds parliamentary majority needed to elect the president without opposition support. Baka will officially take office on Aug 19.
In his speech, Baka said his role as president would be to represent both majority and minority views, acknowledge political differences rather than imposing artificial unity, and safeguard constitutional checks and balances.
He said Hungary's relationships with several international allies have deteriorated in recent years, and rebuilding those partnerships should be an important priority of his presidency.
Baka served as a judge at the European Court of Human Rights from 1991 to 2008 before Hungary's parliament elected him president of the Supreme Court in 2009.
His six-year mandate as Supreme Court president was cut short at the end of 2011 following judicial reforms introduced under the government of then Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Tuesday's election came after former President Tamas Sulyok signed the country's 17th constitutional amendment late in July, triggering the end of his mandate as head of state.
Following the end of Sulyok's term in office on July 20, Speaker of Parliament Agnes Forsthoffer served as acting president.
The president of Hungary is elected by parliament for a five-year term, shouldering constitutional duties including signing legislation and representing the state. The president is also commander-in-chief of the Hungarian Armed Forces.
Former Supreme Court chief Andras Baka elected as Hungary's new president
