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Six people have died of Marburg virus disease (MVD, a haemorrhagic fever, Minister of Health Dr Sabin Nsanzimana, announced on September 28.

'A high-fever disease caused by Marburg virus has been identified in Rwanda. We count 20 people who are suffering from it, and six it has killed,' Nsanzimana said in a video posted on X by Rwanda Broadcasting Agency (RBA).

The update comes after the Ministry of Health, on Friday, September 27, announced that Marburg virus disease had been confirmed in a few patients in health facilities in the country.

Nsanzimana said that most of the people who suffer from and those who died from the disease are healthcare workers [at health facilities], especially in intensive care units.

'The Ministry of Health, other government entities and partners, we are collaborating on contact tracing to get those who had contact with those patients and the deceased.'

He indicated that the virus infections are transmitted through contact with blood and body fluids of people who are visibly sick, and sharing equipment or clothes with them.

He indicated that it can take between three days and three weeks without the person who contracted it showing signs.

'It is a very severe disease such that a person who contracted it has high risk of losing life to it,' he said.

'But we are ensuring that tests are carried out early so that those who were affected by the disease be provided treatment to prevent serious cases or more deaths,' he added.

According to the World Health Organisation, Marburg virus disease (MVD) is a severe, often fatal illness caused by the Marburg virus. The virus causes severe viral haemorrhagic fever in humans characterized by fever, headache, back pain, muscle pain, abdominal pain, vomiting, confusion, diarrhoea, and bleeding at very late stages.

It has a fatality ratio of up to 88 per cent, and it is in the same family as the virus that causes Ebola virus disease, as per WHO.

Nsanzimana said that Rwanda is working with the international organisation to curb the disease.

He requested the public not to panic, and to comply with measures to deal with the outbreak, especially by avoiding sharing equipment with a person who shows signs like those of Marburg, washing hands with clean water and soap, as well as sanitizers, among others.

He condoled with the families of the virus victims and promised that the government will continue being by their side.

'It is our partnership that enabled us to defeat previous epidemics. We hope we will also defeat this one soon,' he said.

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Source : https://thecustomreports.com/marburg-update-in-rwanda-six-people-succumb-to-viral-disease/

The assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon shows that no place in the Middle East is beyond the reach of Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned in a televised address on Saturday.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) killed the leader of the Lebanese militant group in a bombing of an underground compound in Beirut. Hezbollah confirmed Nasrallah's death on Saturday.

Netanyahu warned Iran — referring to it as the 'ayatollahs' regime' — that Israel will retaliate against any state that threatens it.

'Those who strike at us, we will strike at them. There is nowhere in Iran or the Middle East beyond the reach of the long arm of Israel, and today you know how true that is.'

The killing of Nasrallah serves as an additional message to Hamas, Netanyahu said. 'The more that Hamas political chief Yahya Sinwar realizes that Hezbollah is no longer coming to save him, the greater the chances for the return of our hostages.'

The prime minister cautioned Israelis, however, that the coming days will be difficult. 'We will face significant challenges in the days ahead and will meet them,' he said, calling it a 'historical turning point.'

According to sources from ABC News, the IDF may be planning a ground operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Hezbollah and Israel have engaged in increasingly frequent cross-border strikes recently, raising concerns of a full-scale conflict since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war last October.

Tensions escalated earlier in September when thousands of pagers and handheld radios detonated across Lebanon, resulting in dozens of deaths and thousands of injuries. The UN condemned the attacks as 'unacceptable,' with the organization's human rights chief, Volker Turk, calling for a thorough investigation.

While Israel has neither confirmed nor denied involvement, the covert attack is widely believed to have been conducted by Israeli intelligence.

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Source : https://thecustomreports.com/netanyahu-threatens-iran-with-israels-long-arm/

The Ukrainian military has been so depleted by attrition that new infantry troops are often unfit for combat and flee at the first sign of fighting, the Financial Times reported on Friday. In some units, around two thirds of soldiers are reportedly killed or wounded within days of arriving at the front.

Manpower shortages have plagued the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) for well over a year, according to reports in Ukrainian and Western media outlets. After multiple rounds of conscription, the average age of a Ukrainian soldier is now 45, and many of those sent to the front are unfit for combat, multiple commanders and soldiers told the British newspaper.

'When the new guys get to the position, a lot of them run away at the first shell explosion,' a deputy commander fighting near Ugledar in Donetsk Region said. Another commander whose unit is attempting to hold the nearby town of Khurakove said that 'some guys freeze [because] they are too afraid to shoot the enemy, and then they are the ones who leave in body bags or severely wounded.'

The commanders estimated that 50-70% of new infantry troops are killed or wounded within days of starting their first rotation.

Russian forces have gained ground near Ugledar, Khurakove, and the key logistics hub of Povrovsk in recent weeks. Many of the AFU's most experienced troops were pulled from this sector of the front in August to take part in the invasion of Russia's Kursk Region, an operation that has cost Kiev more than 17,750 servicemen, over 130 tanks, and hundreds of other combat vehicles, according to the latest figures from the Russian Defense Ministry.

Experienced soldiers 'are being killed off too quickly' and replaced by older and less fit men, another commander told the Financial Times. 'As infantry, you need to run, you need to be strong, you need to carry heavy equipment,' he said, adding: 'It's hard to do that if you aren't young.'

As of May, the Ukrainian military has been drafting 30,000 soldiers per month. However, AFU Commander-in-Chief General Aleksandr Syrsky admitted earlier this month that these new recruits are often sent to fight with as little as six weeks' training. The commanders who spoke to the Financial Times said that they consider this training worthless, as many of the AFU's instructors haven't seen combat themselves.

'Some of them don't even know how to hold their rifles,' one officer said. 'They peel more potatoes than they shoot bullets,' he complained, explaining that he had bought paintball guns in order to teach his new men how to shoot without wasting ammunition.

Those who survive often go AWOL after their first rotation, while others are so shell-shocked and exhausted that they are checked into psychiatric wards, the newspaper reported. With the AFU under no legal obligation to demobilize troops, joining the army or getting conscripted is viewed by recruits as 'a one-way ticket,' a ten-year veteran told the Financial Times.

While the Ukrainian military does not publish casualty figures, the Russian Defense Ministry estimates Kiev's losses since February 2022 at around half a million men.

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, however, maintains that with more Western weapons and money, Russia can be 'forced into peace.' Moscow considers Zelensky's belief in military victory 'delusional,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier this week.

The post Most Ukrainian soldiers last only a few days — FT appeared first on The Custom Reports.

Source : https://thecustomreports.com/most-ukrainian-soldiers-last-only-a-few-days-ft/

Source : https://en.igihe.com/health/article/5-key-measures-to-protect-yourself-from-the-marburg-virus

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he had spoken with Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Saturday, following an Israeli airstrike on Beirut which killed Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

'We agreed on the need for an immediate ceasefire to bring an end to the bloodshed. A diplomatic solution is the only way to restore security and stability for the Lebanese and Israeli people,' Lammy said in a statement on social media platform X.

Earlier in the week Lammy told the United Nations' General Assembly that there should be an immediate ceasefire between Lebanon's Hezbollah and Israel and that a full-blown war was not in the interest of the people in the region.

Britain's foreign ministry has advised its nationals to leave Lebanon as soon as possible.

The post UK calls again for immediate ceasefire in Lebanon appeared first on The Custom Reports.

Source : https://thecustomreports.com/uk-calls-again-for-immediate-ceasefire-in-lebanon/

Hassan Nasrallah, whom Israel believes it killed in a strike on southern Beirut, turned Hezbollah into one of the most powerful paramilitary forces in the Middle East. His death caps a series devastating blows for the group, already reeling from the humiliation of having its communications network comprehensively infiltrated, and suggests that one of Israel's most formidable enemies is deeply wounded.

One of the founding members of the group formed four decades ago with the aid of Iran, Nasrallah ascended to the top of Hezbollah in 1992. He replaced his predecessor and mentor, Abbas Musawi, as secretary-general of Hezbollah, after he was killed by an Israeli helicopter strike.

Born to a grocer and his wife in Beirut in August 1960, Nasrallah spent his early adolescence under the shadow of Lebanon's civil war.

His family were forced to flee the capital when the fighting erupted in 1975, moving further south to a village near the coastal city of Tyre.

One year later, Nasrallah moved to Iraq to attend a Shiite seminary. But he was swiftly expelled during the persecution of Shiite Muslims under Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's repressive regime — returning to Lebanon to study under his teacher, Musawi.

When Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982, Nasrallah rallied a group of fighters to resist the occupation — which would evolve into Hezbollah.

Israeli forces took almost half of Lebanon's territory that year, and were held responsible for the killing of at least 17,000 people, according to reports and an Israeli inquiry into a massacre at a Beirut refugee camp.

Transformation of Hezbollah

Known for his fiery speeches, the leader oversaw the transformation of Hezbollah, from a rag-tag group of militants in the 1980s to an organization that mounted a concerted campaign to drive out Israeli occupation in 2000.

The Lebanese militant group became a regional fighting force under Nasrallah. He led the growth of Hezbollah's forces — his fighters and reservists are thought to number 100,000 — as well as the proliferation of its arsenal, which boasts long-range as well as medium and short-range missiles and drones.

Nasrallah commands a dedicated following of hundreds of thousands of largely Shiite Muslims — in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen. His influence in the Iran-backed so-called axis of resistance grew exponentially after the US assassinated Iran's top general Qassem Soleimani, the architect of the region-wide axis, in 2020.

Hezbollah is the most robustly armed non-state group in the region — and is the most dominant political force in crisis-ridden Lebanon. Much of the Western world has designated Hezbollah a terrorist organization.

The post Israel claims Hezbollah leader killed in Beirut strike appeared first on The Custom Reports.

Source : https://thecustomreports.com/israel-claims-hezbollah-leader-killed-in-beirut-strike/

Israel's Hostages Families Forum called for renewed efforts to free the remaining hostages held in Gaza on Saturday, following the Israeli military's claim that it had killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

'And now, to the most important mission, after a year's delay: returning all the hostages home,' the organization wrote in a post on X.

As escalating attacks between Israel and Hezbollah over the past week have dominated news coverage and political attention, the families of the hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza have expressed dismay that government's efforts to secure the release of their loved ones is being overshadowed.

The number of Israeli captives still in the enclave stands at 101, including 35 believed to be dead, according to data from the Israeli Prime Minister's Office.

The Israeli military has claimed that the group's chain of command 'has been almost completely dismantled' after it killed a series of what it says are top officials in the organization this week.

The chain of command is not publicly known, however, and CNN cannot independently verify Israel's claims.

'Hezbollah has taken the biggest blow to its military infrastructure since its inception. In addition to losing weapon depots and facilities, the group has lost most of its senior commanders, and its communications network is broken,' said Hanin Ghaddar, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute and author of 'Hezbollahland.'

Despite its losses however, the group still retains skilled commanders and many of its most powerful assets, including precision-guided missiles and long-range missiles that could inflict significant damage to Israel's military and civilian infrastructure, said Ghaddar. Most of those missiles haven't been deployed yet.

Since Israel stepped up its campaign, Hezbollah's military performance 'has proven that it was able to absorb that shock and was able to bounce back and it has been striking hard at northern Israel for days now,' said Amal Saad, Hezbollah expert and lecturer in politics and international relations at Cardiff University in Wales.

On Wednesday, Israel intercepted a ballistic missile fired by Hezbollah near Tel Aviv, an unprecedented attack that reached deep into the country's commercial heartland. Hezbollah said it targeted the headquarters of Israel's intelligence agency.

The post Israel's Hostages Families Forum calls for renewed efforts to free hostages in Gaza appeared first on The Custom Reports.

Source : https://thecustomreports.com/israels-hostages-families-forum-calls-for-renewed-efforts-to-free-hostages-in-gaza/

Washington should stop 'smearing' China, especially when it comes to Beijing's stance on the Ukraine conflict, Foreign Minister Wang Yi has told US counterpart Antony Blinken.

The two top diplomats met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York to discuss tensions in bilateral relations and international issues. Hostilities between Moscow and Kiev loomed large on the agenda, as Blinken rebuked China for what he claimed was the fueling of Russia's 'war machine.'

The US Secretary of State charged that while Beijing says it wants peace, it is 'allowing its companies to take actions that are actually helping [Russian President Vladimir] Putin continue the aggression, that doesn't add up.'

Wang Yi fired back, saying, as quoted by China's Foreign Ministry, that 'the United States should stop smearing and framing China, imposing sanctions indiscriminately, and stop using this as an excuse to create confrontation and incite confrontation between camps.'

Beijing, he added, maintains an 'open and above board' position on the Ukraine conflict, and 'has always insisted on promoting peace and dialogue, and has made its own efforts to promote a political solution.'

Wang also noted that China opposes what he called 'the US suppression of China's economy, trade and technology,' adding that 'national security cannot be politicized, and the 'small courtyard and high walls' cannot become the 'big courtyard iron curtain'.'

Last month, the US released a new sanctions list targeting almost 400 companies and individuals, including those from China, UAE, and Türkiye, over what Washington says is their support for Russia in the Ukraine conflict. At the time, the State Department voiced particular concern about 'the magnitude of dual-use goods exports' from China to Russia which it claimed helped Moscow address 'critical gaps in Russia's defense production cycle.'

Following the start of the Ukraine conflict, China refused to join Western sanctions against Russia, and trade between the two has since steadily increased. Beijing has also positioned itself as a neutral party in the crisis, repeatedly calling for peace talks.

Commenting on ties with Beijing, Putin has rejected the idea that Russia is becoming too dependent on China economically, insisting that the EU economy is much more vulnerable in that regard.

The post China demands US stop 'smearing' campaign over Ukraine conflict appeared first on The Custom Reports.

Source : https://thecustomreports.com/china-demands-us-stop-smearing-campaign-over-ukraine-conflict/

According to Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) statement, Admiral Mangrasse commended the progress made over the past years since Rwanda Security Forces deployed to fight terrorists.

He appreciated the strong partnership between Rwandan Security Forces and Mozambican Forces which brought peace and stability and enabled thousands of displaced persons to return to their homes in Cabo Delgado Province.

Both sides discussed the progress registered so far in the joint effort to uproot terrorists from their strongholds and hideouts in the last three years since the first deployment of Rwanda Security Forces in Cabo Delgado Province in July 2021.

Before the intervention of Rwandan troops , terrorists had claimed the lives of 3,000 civilians, and more than 800,000 people had been displaced. The insecurity had also brought all development projects in the insurgent-controlled areas to a standstill.

Over the past three years, the Rwandan security forces, in collaboration with Mozambique’s armed forces, have made significant strides in dismantling the Al Sunna Wa Jama (ASWJ) terrorist group from their strongholds in Mocimboa da Praia and Palma. This has allowed a substantial number of internally displaced people to safely return to their villages.

Rwanda and Mozambique have enjoyed vibrant relations for many years, with cooperation agreements spanning various sectors, including security, trade, and investment.

Military leaders from both countries have reviewed gains in anti-terror operations.

Rwanda Security Forces (RSF) Joint Task Force Commander, Maj Gen Emmy K Ruvusha received Mozambique Armed Forces Chief of General Staff (CGS) Admiral Joaquim Mangrasse, on September 27, 2024 met in Pemba, Cabo Delgado province.

A group photo was taken following the visit.

Source : https://en.igihe.com/news/article/mozambique-rwanda-military-leaders-review-gains-in-cabo-delgado-anti-terror

Source : https://en.igihe.com/news/article/over-82-mln-people-face-food-insecurity-in-east-central-africa-report