Your World Tonight - Ebola declared global health emergency, Iranians in the UAE, Canadians practicing witchcraft, and more

Episode Date: May 17, 2026

A rare strain of Ebola is spreading rapidly through Congo, and has made its way into Uganda. Now, the World Health Organization has declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. Its putting neighbouring countries on edge, and the WHO says an international effort is necessary to fight against further spread of the virus.Also: Ever since the US and Israel's war with Iran began nearly three months ago, the United Arab Emirates has faced repeated drone and missile strikes from Iran. The UAE has mostly withheld a military response -- but it has retaliated in other ways, closing down institutions led by the Iranian diaspora within the country.And: Something is brewing in this country. It seems a small, but growing number of Canadians are turning to witchcraft. From public rituals to a witch school, you'll hear why people are seeking out this form of spiritual practice. Plus: Growing Israeli settlements in the Occupied West Bank, PCOS renamed to PMOS, and more

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A rare strain rapidly spreading means an Ebola outbreak in the middle of Africa is declared a global health emergency. The concern now, what other countries could be hit next. Welcome to Your World Tonight. I'm Tanya Fletcher, also on the podcast. That suspected case of hantavirus in BC is now confirmed to look at what's next for the four. Canadians quarantining one week after leaving the cruise ship at the epicenter of the outbreak.

Plus, we still have patients who don't really understand that it is a metabolic disease and it's not just about their ovaries and reproduction. What's in a name? Why the renaming of a condition affecting millions of women is considered a game changer with how it's treated. We begin with a global emergency declared now by the World Health Organization. It's over an Ebola outbreak in Congo that's now moving through Uganda too. The rapid spread of a rare strain of the virus is threatening to spill into other neighboring countries as well. And health officials warned the true scope of this outbreak could be much greater than reporting suggests.

Alexander Silberman has our top story tonight. Outside an overwhelmed hospital in the eastern Congo city of Bunia, people watch with distress, wearing masks, as yet another severely ill patient with Ebola arrives by ambulance. Ebola has been spreading in the war-torn eastern part of Congo for weeks, undetected until recently. The virus has now killed at least 80 people, with at least 250 suspected cases. There is still no vaccine for this strain.

in the World Health Organization is calling the outbreak a public health emergency. Today, I have released $500,000 U.S. dollars to immediately support the response. Dr. Tedros Adonim Gabriesu, director of the WHO, says a high positive test rate signals the outbreak is likely larger than what is being reported. Priority actions include risk communication and community engagement, strengthening disease surveillance, active case finding, contact tracing. Ebola is a severe and often fatal disease, which spreads through bodily fluids and causes fever, vomiting, intense weakness, and in some cases, internal and external bleeding. This is actually quite concerning. Dr. Zane Chagla is an infectious disease specialist in Hamilton, Ontario. He says this strain of Ebola is caused by an extremely rare species of the virus, and that means fewer tools to fight it.

So tests apparently in the field are not working particularly well. We don't have access to vaccines and therapeutics. Congo is conducting contact tracing and trying to get the virus under control. But civil war is making the response challenging. And the WHO says countries that share land borders are at high risk of further spread. In neighboring Uganda, some residents are feeling uneasy. The country has recorded two laboratory confirmed cases. linked to travel, including one death in the capital, Kampala.

Resident Daya Naconde says she's concerned. Because I work in an environment where I meet many people every day, so it puts me on a high risk of getting also Ebola. While neighboring countries are on edge, the risk to Canada and the whole world remains very low. During the major outbreak between 2014 and 2015, three cases were detected in the UK. All healthcare workers who volunteered to help.

None have ever been detected in Canada. But the complexity of the situation in Central Africa requires an international response. Alexander Silberman, CBC News, Montreal. Canada's first case of Hanta virus linked to the M.V. Hondias cruise ship is now confirmed. One of four Canadian passengers who was flown back from Europe a week ago is infected. That patient, a Yukon resident, was isolating in BC when they started experiencing symptoms. Our Caroline Bargut has the latest.

The Public Health Agency of Canada says tests confirmed one person has the Andy strain of Hanta virus. That person and their partner both showed symptoms. They were taken a hospital along with a third person who was isolating at the same lodging facility since last Sunday. All were tested. Only one was positive. Dr. Bonnie Henry, British Columbia's provincial health officer says, all three are undergoing monitoring and assessment. As you can imagine, this is a very challenging and precarious time for these individuals and for their families and loved ones.

It is encouraging that symptoms were identified early. Supportive care can be provided. They will be monitored carefully over the next few days in particular. A fourth person has been isolating at home. All were passengers on the MV Hondias for about a month. Dr. Henry says, while this is not the outcome, public health officials wanted, everyone was prepared for it. They know their own risk, but also are very cognizant of making sure that they're not putting

anybody else at risk. They did contact as protocol as soon as they developed any concerning symptoms, and the processes were followed all the way through. Infectious disease expert, Dr. Zane Chagla says we are still within the 21-day incubation period, which means other people may still test positive in the near future. It does suggest that they're still ongoing. transmission that's occurred from that exposure. He says while the risk to the general public is low, people on the cruise ship were in a closed environment for a long period of time. They dine together, you know, often common rooms are together.

And so there is still a significant exposure from person to person. But, you know, it does suggest that perhaps it's not as, you know, as close as, you know, having a hug or sitting in the same room for a significant amount of time. It may have been, you know, more of a transient exposure that in the right circumstance, leads to one of these transmission events. He says the important thing is the passengers were placed in quarantine when they left the ship, which reduces the risk to the general public. Caroline Bargout, CBC News, Vancouver.

Still ahead, it's considered a form of spiritual practice, and more people in this country are drying it out. We look at what's behind the resurgence of witchcraft. That's later on your world tonight. To Mexico, now 10 people have been found dead southeast of Mexico City. officials there say six men, three women, and a child were killed in a targeted armed attack. No one is in custody at this point. State and federal forces have launched an investigation to find the suspects and the motive. Israeli strikes killed at least five Palestinians in the Gaza Strip,

according to local health officials. And there have been more Israeli strikes in Lebanon, despite the 45-day extension of that ceasefire. But while there has been plenty of, of attention on those areas of conflict, Israel continues its push to build settlements in the occupied West Bank. The CBC's Cameron McIntosh visits a village near Ramallah. This was your shop? Fadi Jabri had a car wash and garage here along Al-Azri's main road in the occupied West Bank. It's among 40 shops demolished in the past week by the Israeli military. Jabri, tossing the court papers, he says, were supposed to prevent it to the ground.

The red roofs of Israel's neighboring Malay Abdumin's settlement are just down the road. The new development, E1, will push it towards Jerusalem. Al-Azreya stands in the way. I have my livelihood here, I don't have another place, says Gibri. The demolitions here are an example of the accelerating pace of Israel. expansion into the West Bank. This week, that brought violence. In Ramallah, sirens marked a somber parade on the anniversary of the Nakba,

the displacement of Palestinians during the creation of Israel. While on Jerusalem Day, a celebration of Israel's victory in the six-day war, Arab residents of the old city were harassed and attacked by Israeli nationalist youth. In a West Bank Bedouin community, a 16-year-old was killed, was killed where settlers allegedly stole sheep. And at a mosque in the village of Jibia, cars torched, along with the bottom floor of the mosque, where women usually pray. He drew graffiti on the mosque wall reads, for the liberation of Jerusalem. Mahanah Shalah was first on the scene.

I feel quite unsafe thinking about such an incident happening to my house or to my family, he says. The Israeli defense forces condemn the attack and say police are investigating. Israel's government supports West Bank expansion, claiming its Jewish land. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government says it wants to prevent a Palestinian state. It's the Israeli society that has been changing in a very dangerous way. Gassan Khatib is a Palestinian political scientist. He's pointing to a settler outpost on a hill. The Israeli settlements, he says, are succeeding.

and breaking up hopes for a future contiguous Palestinian state. The outcome, the net outcome, is not going to be killing the possibility of two-state solution. It's worse than that. It will be a creation of an apartheid reality. Back in Alazria, Jebris is defiant. We will start over again, God willing, he says. It's hard to imagine how. Cameron McIntosh, CBC News in the occupied West Bank.

A terrorism suspect accused of plotting attacks on Jewish communities in the United States is also being linked to attacks on Toronto synagogues and a shooting outside the U.S. consulate in downtown Toronto in March. Philip Leashanuk reports. He was targeting the heart of our Jewish community. New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch says Muhammad Al-Sadi planned a deadly attack on an unnamed synagogue in the city, one that was a beacon for solidarity and support for Israel. The attack never occurred because the defendant was, in fact, plotting with an undercover law enforcement officer.

The threat was identified, monitored, and controlled from the outset. The Iraqi National was arrested in Turkey and brought to the U.S. to face six terrorism-related charges. Prosecutors say Al-Sadi agreed to pay. an undercover informant $10,000 to attack the synagogue and two Jewish centers. The 32-year-old appeared in court in New York City Friday. U.S. authorities say in recorded calls, Al-S. discussed Canadian attacks, including a shooting at the U.S. consulate in downtown Toronto in March and an attack on a synagogue in Canada. The RCMP did not respond to CBC's request for comment, but at the time, Chief Superintendent Chris Leather, said there would be an extensive investigation.

It's definitely a national security incident because we had the U.S. consul after all struck by gunfire. Whether it's a terrorist event or not, that'll be subject to the investigation. U.S. investigators say al-S. Saudi is a high-ranking militant in the Qatab Hezbollah, which has close ties to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He's also suspected of planning, funding, and executing 20 attacks in Europe and Canada in retaliation for the U.S. Israeli war on Iran. Defense attorney Andrew Dallak questioned the most. for the charges and says his client has afforded due process protections under the U.S. Constitution.

He's essentially being subjected to a political prosecution and that he's a prisoner of war and should be treated as such. Jonah Fried of B'nai Brith says the case suggests some attacks on the Jewish community go beyond acts of hate. These allegations against al-Saudi and its potential link to proxies affiliated with the Islamic Republic of Iran, that underscores the importance of investigating any of these tax as potential acts of terror. The U.S. indictment says the undercover law enforcement officer was posing as a Mexican cartel member and was also given Jewish targets in California and Arizona. Al-Sadi will be back in court at the end of the month. Philip Lishanak, CBC News, Toronto.

Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada condemns a drone strike on a nuclear power plant in Abu Dhabi. The strike sparked a fire, though no one was injured. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack either. The United Arab Emirates has faced repeated drone and missile strikes from Iran ever since the U.S. and Israel began their attack in the region nearly three months ago. The UAE has mostly withheld a military response, though it has shot back at Iran in other ways. Megan Williams has more from Dubai. This is one of the best kebab and you are.

It's just before lunchtime at El Ustad's special kebab, an Iranian restaurant in one of Dubai's oldest neighborhoods. Owner Majid Ansari's father opened the place in 1978. As many as 500 customers eat here each day. But since Israel and the U.S. launched missiles against Iran, it's mostly delivery. We have lots of Iranians here because they're business, grocery, supermarket, trading. Iranians have been settling in the Emirates for generations. Today, around half a million live in the UAE. Many hold Emirati citizenship, speak, dress, and live as Arabs.

In fact, more than half of all Emirates traced their roots to southern Iran. But the war has rattled that dual sense of belonging. Debris from Iranian drones and missiles struck the airport, landmark buildings, and hotels. And in response, the Emirati government ordered the closure of the Iranian hospital, the Iranian club, schools and a university. Institutions, it says, were tied to Tehran's regime. I was kid. I studied here. I was 16. I was helping my father here. I go to Iranian school. Which they closed now? Unfortunately, yes.

They are close neighbors, which means that they can do business together and they can have close cultural ties and close personal ties. but they also are neighbors and they have to get along. And when they don't, things go really, really bad. Says former Canadian diplomat to the UAE and consultant in corporate diplomacy, Aziz Moulet Shah. He's lived in the Emirates for almost two decades and says today the rules of getting along are clearer than ever.

It is a police state. There is no fooling around. There are red lines here and you cross those red lines and you're in trouble. Down the road from the restaurant, The Tohid Iranian boys' school is shuttered. The Iranian hospital sits empty too. Some Iranian residents have been detained for questioning, then released.

Ansari is staying. Despite his long family history here, he's still on a two-year renewable visa and has to have an Emirati sponsor to run his restaurant. Like all Iranian merchants here, he can't risk talking about the war, how it's affected his business, or shifted his sense of belonging. We grow here, we're born here. We have two mothers. One Dubai, one Iran.

They're all one. We are neighbors. For now, that's the story he's holding on to. This is my life. It's enough. We are alive. Thanks God. Thanks God, yeah. Megan Williams, CBC News, Dubai. To Health News now, a condition that affects tens of millions of women globally, once called PCOS, has now been renamed to P.M.OS. It's a small change that makes a big difference.

Jennifer Lagrasa explains why. They didn't really consider or put a lot of importance on my symptoms in the beginning. It took multiple visits to the doctor for Sankyirthina Diapa to know what was wrong. When I was first diagnosed, the doctor was like, it's just cis on your ovary and it can literally just be treated with birth control. That was only four years ago. But experts have known. for quite some time that the condition Diapa has PCOS or polycystic ovarian syndrome is actually not caused by cysts at all. Those are not cysts. What you find in the ovaries are follicles. Roland Antachy is an obstetrician and gynaecologist in Montreal. Follicles support egg growth and when they develop abnormally, they overproduce a certain type of hormone, leading to a list of symptoms,

like irregular periods, excessive hair growth or hair loss, and mental health issues like anxiety and depression. We still have patients who don't really understand that it is a metabolic disease and it's not just about their ovaries and reproduction. More than a decade of studies and advocacy, which University of Alberta researcher Donna Vine has been a part of, have led the condition to be renamed. It's now called polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, or P.M.O.O. Andocrine means basically hormones released from different organs. And the metabolic piece is related to

higher insulin levels or insulin resistance and a predisposition in these individuals to weight gain, metabolic syndrome, prediabetes, diabetes, cardiovascular disease. The new name, say experts, reminds doctors and patients of everything the condition impacts, with the hope that by focusing on other symptoms, diagnosis and treatment will improve. Dr. Matthew Leonardi is a gynecological surgeon in Ontario. So if we can do better at diagnosing patients at a young age and start to address the disease, we can do a lot of really good work being proactive. And for those with the chronic disorder like DAPA, earlier diagnosis can make a huge difference. That would have really helped me feel less confused and isolated.

And diagnosis is not just about putting a label on someone, but it gives them the validation, the answers, and the ability to make informed lifestyle and health care decisions earlier in life. The new name, more than just a rebrand, but also a chance to take control of a condition that affects one in ten Canadian women. Jennifer Lagrasa, CBC News, Windsor, Ontario. To the untrained eye, the hemlock woolly adelgid doesn't look like much of a threat. The tiny bugs are barely a millimeter.

But they are threatening Nova Scotia's vital hemlock trees. Researchers at Acadia University say chemical treatments are not a long-term solution. So they're raising an insect army to fight the invasive species. Gareth Hampshire has that story. Researchers wearing white hooded suits and blue rubber gloves are working in a greenhouse like facility at Acadia University, about 100 kilometers northwest of Halifax. This is where they've set up tanks containing hemlock branches, showing signs of damage by the invasive woolly adelchut. The insect is tiny but can be identified by its woolly coating

that looks like small pieces of cotton at the base of the needles. Biology professor, Kirk Hillia, says the insect is spreading in Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia has roughly a quarter of a million hectares of hemlock that are under threat right now. percent of our forested area. Hillia is using a suction tube to capture flies that are also in the tanks. They've been brought here from British Columbia where they feed on the Adeljut, keeping it in check. Hillia's hope is these silver flies can do the same in Nova Scotia,

where so far existing predators like spiders have not slowed down the insect, known as HWA. Hemlock-W-Edelgit has been on the west coast for 10,000 years, and it has this group of predators present that actually controls it and keeps it at low populations. And as a consequence, even though there's HWA in the West, it doesn't kill trees. After capture, the silverflies are being held in jars in this climate-controlled facility that launched in March before they're released. The strategies being seen as a more sustainable one than chemical treatments.

Wendy Hillier is the lab manager. The chemicals that are being used are necessary. at this point to help the trees recover. Different agencies, federal government, everybody's working together to make sure our forest remains here. If we do nothing, the forest is going to die. Hemlocks can live for hundreds of years, but can die within 10 years if infested with the woolly Delgid, which has also been detected in southern Ontario. The trees provide wildlife habitat and protect against possible erosion. Professor Hillia says lots of them on a big scale could also present other environmental concerns.

If we see a lot of dead wood and hemlock dying in the forest, this, of course, increases the risk of forest fires down the line. With the droughts that we've had in recent years, that's a significant concern as well. The flies being deployed in this battle are considered low risk, but will be monitored to see how far they spread and if they feed on anything else. The team plans to unleash them into the forest as soon as it receives regulatory approval. Gareth Hampshire, CBC News, Wolfville, Nova Scotia. Well, something is brewing in this country.

It seems a small but growing number of Canadians are turning to witchcraft. From public rituals to a witch school, Talia Sarv looks at why more people are seeking out this form of spiritual practice. Alexandra Raquel Hughes crushes rose petals at an altar in her Toronto living room. They're merging into one another. The mother of three is a witch in training. You know, to come about and to claim or reclaim that word, often people have a lot of questions.

And we're witnessing one of her online lessons with a Canadian witch school. Great. Today's lesson is spellcasting. Teacher Kiki Kiki Kaskinen runs the program from her home in Quebec. I'm not wrong to call it a witch school. It is a formal program that you enroll in, like a private school. but it's closer to a feminist MBA than anything. Without the degree. She says popularity has surged since its humble beginnings in 2017.

We've grown from three teachers to 13. We've grown from one course to three courses a year. The term witchcraft is no distinct definition, but broadly refers to the practice of using magic to influence people or events. Historically stigmatized towards women, its resurgence is heavily driven by social media since the pandemic, transitioning witchcraft from widely misunderstood into a mainstream cultural phenomenon. Feeling overwhelmed, there's a spell for that.

The online subculture witch talk now has more than 9.1 million posts. Hi, I'm Tua. Tua is a practicing witch and witch fluencer from rural British Columbia. I've never had my account grow this fast. She's gained more than 8,000 online followers of all genders and ages since October, but she says women in particular are attracted to witchcraft. As it gives them that sense of power. We are living through a very bizarre time.

There is a lot of anxiety. Professor Melanie Ool teaches a course on magic and occult traditions at the University of Ottawa. She says a desire for personal empowerment and a deeper connection with nature is also contributing to the rise. So practicing magic is a way to get control sometimes. We may never know Canada's true witch population. Not all identify as Wiccan, a form of pagan religion where witchcraft is deeply intertwined. But witch school founder Kiki says Canadians should feel comfort, not concern, in the witches among us. We want to make change happen to better the world.

One thing's for sure. The cauldron of curiosity is hot. Talia Sarv, CBC News, Toronto. And finally tonight, a quintessential Canadian icon is hosting country music's biggest night. Shania Twain is hosting the 61st Annual Academy of Country Music Awards tonight in Las Vegas. It's her first time doing the honors, and she has some pretty big shoes to fill. Ify Twain is taking over MC duties from Reba McIntyre, who's hosted this awards show 18 times. Twain told the Today's show she's honored and she can't wait. Cheer all of these wonderful artists on.

Absolutely. So as a host, that's kind of your job. Well, it's the privilege. Yeah, it's the privilege to be able to cheer everybody on and wish everybody luck. And for the second straight year, women lead the award nominations. Megan Maroni tops the list with nine nods. Miranda Lambert took close behind with eight nominations, followed by Ella Langley and Lainey Wilson. with seven each.

We'll leave you tonight with more of Lainey Wilson's Somewhere Over Laredo as we say goodbye. This has been your world tonight for Sunday, May 17th. Thanks for being with us. I'm Tanya Fletcher. Have a good night.