Press release: PM call with Turkish President Erdogan: 3 July 2017

The Prime Minister spoke to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan by telephone earlier this evening.

The Prime Minister offered her condolences following the killings of the President’s party colleagues in the south-east of Turkey this weekend. They agreed this kind of brutality only strengthens our resolve to work together to tackle terrorism, and noted countering extremism would be a key topic for discussion at this week’s G20 summit in Hamburg.

They discussed the ongoing Cyprus talks in Geneva, with the Prime Minister noting we now have a unique opportunity to reach a settlement. The Prime Minister said we know that to reach a final outcome there will have to be flexibility on all sides, but with continued commitment and political will, a historic agreement is within reach. The Prime Minister confirmed the UK fully supports the process and stands ready to play its part.

They looked forward to seeing each other at the G20 summit later this week.

UN health agency declares end to latest Ebola outbreak in DR Congo

3 July 2017 – A recent outbreak of the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is over, the United Nations health agency today said, while adding that enhanced surveillance for the virus continues.

The announcement comes 42 days since the last confirmed Ebola patient in the affected Bas-Uélé province tested negative for the disease for the second time.

&#8220With the end of this epidemic, DRC has once again proved to the world that we can controlthe very deadly Ebola virus if we respond early in a coordinated and efficient way,&#8221 said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the new Director-General of the UN World Health Organization (WHO).

At least four people died, and more that 580 were registered and closely monitored after having come into contact with the virus, the UN agency reported.

The virus emerged in Likati, which according to WHO is &#8220a remote, hard-to reach area&#8221 bordering the Central African Republic and other provinces of the DRC.

UN officials said the response was &#8220effective&#8221 and praised &#8220the timely alert by local authorities of suspect cases, immediate testing of blood samples due to strengthened national laboratory capacity, the early announcement of the outbreak by the government, rapid response activities by local and national health authorities with the robust support of international partners, and speedy access to flexible funding.&#8221

National officials continue to screen for the virus and provide medical care to people who may have come into contact for Ebola.

This was the eighth outbreak of Ebola in the DRC, where the virus was discovered in 1976.

Likati is one of the areas where the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) had been providing technical support to local officials in May, to help them deliver lifesaving information about Ebola to local populations.

In coordination with WHO, UNICEF also trained people on how to use chlorine and disinfect homes to avoid spreading the virus, as well as how to wash hands properly and reduce contamination by adapting local burial practices.