Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) said on the 28th (local) it will begin removing remaining spent fuel from the Unit 2 spent fuel pool at Fukushima Daiichi in early next month. The operation is expected to take more than two years and TEPCO said it will proceed cautiously. Units 1–3 suffered core meltdowns after the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami, producing about 880 tonnes of highly radioactive core debris; removal of that debris is viewed as the biggest challenge in decommissioning F

May 17 WHO declared the Bundibugyo ebolavirus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo a Public Health Emergency of International Concern; on May 22 WHO raised the national risk level to very high. DRC has reported more than 900 suspected cases. The Chinese Foreign Ministry and China’s embassy in the DRC advised citizens to avoid non-essential travel and warned against entering Ebola-affected areas including Ituri and North Kivu provinces. They urged people in the DRC and neighboring countries to avoid contact with wild animals and suspected patients, seek medical care or assistance from Chinese medical teams for symptoms such as fever, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain or bleeding, and to report relevant symptoms to flight crews or port/border staff when returning to China.

The US Treasury said the United States and Vietnam will disclose FX data and view FX intervention as appropriate during periods of market volatility.