The administration of US President Donald Trump announced emergency travel restrictions and containment measures after an American citizen tested positive for the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus in Africa, while insisting there were currently no cases inside the United States.

The announcement came during a White House event where Trump was asked whether Americans should be worried about the outbreak spreading beyond Africa.

“I’m concerned about everything,” Trump told reporters. “It’s been confined right now to Africa, but it’s something that has had a breakout.”

Trump then turned to senior administration health official Dr Heidi Overton, who outlined what she described as a “full interagency response” involving the US State Department, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of War.

“There is an American that is symptomatic and has tested positive for the Bundibugyo virus, a strain of Ebola,” Overton said during the briefing.

She said the infected American, along with six other high-risk contacts, would be medically evacuated from the outbreak region and transferred to Germany for treatment at a specialised viral haemorrhagic fever facility.

“We want to thank our German counterparts,” Overton said. “That is an internationally recognised location for viral haemorrhagic fever treatments.”

The Trump administration also announced immediate entry restrictions targeting non-US citizens who had recently travelled to affected parts of Africa, including Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo and South Sudan.

“We have instituted just today entry restrictions for non-US citizens that have been in the region in the past 21 days,” Overton said.

US officials added that travel warnings had already been issued for Americans currently in the affected region and said authorities were taking “very serious measures” to prevent the virus from reaching American soil.

“Right now there are no cases of Ebola in America,” Overton stressed. “We want to keep it that way.”

The Bundibugyo strain is one of several known forms of the Ebola virus and can cause severe haemorrhagic fever in humans. Symptoms typically include fever, vomiting, diarrhoea and, in severe cases, internal bleeding. The virus spreads through direct contact with infected bodily fluids.

The White House remarks came shortly after the CDC held a separate press briefing on containment efforts linked to the outbreak in Africa. US officials did not reveal the precise location of the infected American but said the case remained connected to the active outbreak zone.

With IANS inputs

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Thursday that it had targeted an American military base in retaliation for what it described as US air strikes in southern Iran earlier in the day, according to state broadcaster IRIB.

The Guards said the retaliatory strike was launched after the United States military allegedly attacked a location near Bandar Abbas Airport using aerial projectiles.

“Following this morning's aggression by the invading US military against a location on the outskirts of Bandar Abbas Airport using aerial projectiles, the American air base that served as the source of the attack was targeted at 4:50 am,” the IRGC said in a statement carried by IRIB.

Iranian authorities did not disclose the exact location of the American base allegedly targeted in the operation, nor did they provide details regarding casualties or damage caused by the strike.

The escalation came amid rising tensions between Tehran and Washington following recent US military operations in southern Iran, which American officials have described as defensive actions aimed at preventing threats to regional maritime security.

Bandar Abbas, situated along Iran’s southern coast near the strategically crucial Strait of Hormuz, is one of Iran’s most important naval and military hubs. The waterway carries nearly one-fifth of global oil and gas shipments, making any military confrontation in the area a matter of international concern.

Shortly after the Iranian announcement, Kuwait — a close US ally that hosts American military facilities — said it was responding to missile and drone attacks early Thursday morning. Kuwaiti authorities, however, did not specify the source of the attacks or whether any military installations had been directly targeted.

The United States military did not immediately comment on the Iranian claims.

The latest confrontation has intensified fears of a broader regional conflict involving American forces, Iran and Tehran-backed armed groups operating across West Asia.

In recent weeks, the region has witnessed a sharp rise in military tensions following clashes linked to the ongoing conflict involving Iran, Israel and US forces. Diplomatic efforts mediated by regional powers, including Pakistan and Gulf nations, have so far failed to produce a lasting de-escalation framework.

Security analysts warn that any sustained military exchange near the Strait of Hormuz could severely disrupt global energy markets and international shipping routes, further deepening geopolitical instability across the region.

At least 26 people have been killed and more than 61 injured after a powerful explosion at a fireworks manufacturing facility in central China’s Hunan, triggering a large-scale rescue operation and the evacuation of surrounding areas.

The blast occurred on Monday afternoon at a plant operated by the Huasheng Fireworks Manufacturing and Display Company in Liuyang, a major centre for the country’s fireworks industry. The facility lies within the administrative jurisdiction of Changsha, the provincial capital.

Authorities said nearly 500 rescue personnel were deployed in multiple teams, supported by specialised equipment including rescue robots, as they combed through the site for survivors. The injured have been taken to nearby hospitals, while search operations continue for those still unaccounted for.

Emergency teams evacuated residents living within a three-kilometre radius of the plant amid fears of further explosions. The presence of nearby storage units containing black powder has heightened the risk of secondary blasts, prompting officials to establish safety buffers and take precautionary measures such as dampening the site.

China’s Ministry of Emergency Management has sent experts to oversee the response and guide rescue efforts. Police have detained individuals associated with the company as part of an ongoing investigation into the cause of the explosion.

President Xi Jinping has called for urgent efforts to locate the missing and provide treatment to the injured, while also ordering a thorough inquiry into the incident and accountability for those responsible.

Liuyang is widely regarded as the world’s largest hub for fireworks production, but the industry has long been associated with safety concerns. Explosions at such facilities are not uncommon, and often result in significant casualties. Earlier this year, a similar incident in Hubei claimed 12 lives.

With IANS inputs

Koji Suzuki, the Japanese novelist whose chilling psychological horror stories reshaped the genre and inspired globally successful film adaptations including Ring (1991), died at a Tokyo hospital on Friday, 8 May. He was 68.

Widely regarded as one of the defining voices of modern Japanese horror fiction, Suzuki built an international following through stories that blended supernatural terror with emotional unease, social anxieties and psychological suspense. His breakthrough novel Ring (1991) became a cultural phenomenon in Japan before spawning one of the most influential horror franchises in the world.

Born in Japan on 13 May 1957, Suzuki began his literary career at a time when horror fiction occupied only a limited space in mainstream Japanese publishing. He made his debut as a novelist in 1990 with Rakuen (Paradise, 1990), which won a superior prize at the Japan Fantasy Novel Award and immediately marked him out as a promising new voice.

But it was Ring that transformed Suzuki into a household name. The novel centred on a cursed videotape that killed viewers days after watching it — a premise that tapped into growing fears surrounding technology, media and isolation in late 20th-century society. The story’s eerie atmosphere and restrained storytelling distinguished it from more graphic horror traditions and helped establish a new template for Japanese psychological horror.

Ring was adapted into the hugely successful Japanese film Ringu (1998), directed by Hideo Nakata. The film’s haunting imagery, particularly the ghostly figure of Sadako emerging from a television screen, became iconic worldwide. Its success triggered a wave of Japanese horror films that found international audiences and later inspired Hollywood remakes, including the 2002 American adaptation The Ring.

Suzuki followed up Ring with sequels and companion works including Rasen (Spiral) (1995), which expanded the mythology of the original novel and won the prestigious Eiji Yoshikawa literary award for newcomers in Japan. His stories often moved beyond conventional horror, incorporating themes of science fiction, philosophy and existential dread.

Over the years, Suzuki’s work earned both domestic and international recognition. His novel Edge (2008) received the Shirley Jackson Award in the United States, underlining his influence beyond Japan and his standing among contemporary masters of literary horror and suspense.

Apart from Ring and Spiral, Suzuki produced a diverse body of work that included Honogurai Mizu no Soko kara (Dark Water, 1996), another acclaimed supernatural tale later adapted for cinema. Other notable works included Kamigami no Promenade (Promenade of the Gods, 2003) and Ubiquitous (2005).

Critics often credited Suzuki with helping redefine horror for a modern audience by relying less on gore and more on atmosphere, suggestion and deeply human fears. His writing influenced filmmakers, authors and screenwriters across the world, particularly during the late 1990s and early 2000s, when Japanese horror enjoyed a global boom.

Though best known for terrifying readers, Suzuki’s stories were equally noted for their melancholy and emotional depth. His legacy endures not only through his novels, but also through the vast cinematic universe and cultural impact that emerged from them.

With media inputs