Morocco sees first mpox case in North Africa during emergency

Morocco sees first mpox case in North Africa during emergency
​ The hands of a patient with skin rashes caused by the mpox virus are pictured at the treatment center of Vijana Hospital in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, on August 30, 2024. (REUTERS/File Photo) [Click and drag to move] ​
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Updated 14 September 2024
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Morocco sees first mpox case in North Africa during emergency

Morocco sees first mpox case in North Africa during emergency
  • With Morocco, 15 African Union member states have reported cases — now across every region of the continent, according to Africa CDC
  • Since the beginning of the year, 26,544 cases have been reported in the 15 affected countries, 5,732 of which were confirmed

RABAT: Morocco has recorded a case of mpox in the tourist city of Marrakech, the first in north Africa since the WHO declared an international emergency last month, the Africa CDC said Friday.
“Africa CDC confirms the first mpox case in North Africa for 2024, reported by Morocco’s Ministry of Health” on September 12, a statement on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website said.
With Morocco, 15 African Union member states have reported cases — now across every region of the continent, according to Africa CDC.
Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, is caused by a virus transmitted to humans by infected animals but can also be passed from human to human through close physical contact.
Sometimes deadly, it causes fever, muscular aches and large boil-like skin lesions.

The 32-year-old patient from Marrakech “tested positive and is receiving treatment,” Africa CDC said.
“The Moroccan authorities have activated emergency operations, deployed a rapid response team and begun epidemiological investigations and contact tracing,” the statement added.
Morocco’s health ministry said separately that the patient was receiving care at a specialized medical center in Marrakech and was “in a stable health condition that does not give cause for concern.”
So far, nobody who has been in contact with the patient is showing symptoms, the ministry added.
The World Health Organization declared an international emergency on August 14, concerned by the surge in cases of the new Clade 1b strain in the Democratic Republic of Congo that spread to nearby countries.
Africa CDC figures show most of the cases are in Central Africa.
According to the agency, since the beginning of the year, 26,544 cases have been reported in the 15 affected countries, 5,732 of which were confirmed. It said that 724 deaths have also been reported.
 


Iran says action against Israel concluded unless it invites further retaliation

Iran says action against Israel concluded unless it invites further retaliation
Updated 19 sec ago
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Iran says action against Israel concluded unless it invites further retaliation

Iran says action against Israel concluded unless it invites further retaliation
  • Tehran launched a salvo of missiles on Tuesday against Israel in retaliation for the killing of several leaders of Iran-aligned armed groups

DUBAI: Iran exercised “self-defense” against Israel and its action is concluded unless the “Israeli regime decides to invite further retaliation,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in a post on social media platform X early on Wednesday.

Tehran launched a salvo of missiles on Tuesday against Israel in retaliation for the killing of several leaders of Iran-aligned armed groups.

Araqchi said Washington was told by Tehran not to interfere following its attack on Israel.

“Message exchanges do not mean coordination. No message was sent prior to our response (to Israel). After this response, a warning was conveyed via Switzerland telling Americans that it was our right to self-defense and that we do not intend to continue (the attack),” Araqchi said according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency.

The Iranian foreign minister said Iran’s action against Israel came after exercising tremendous restraint to give space for a ceasefire in Gaza.

“Our action is concluded unless the Israeli regime decides to invite further retaliation. In that scenario, our response will be stronger and more powerful,” Araqchi added.

Iran’s foreign ministry called earlier on the United Nations Security Council to take “meaningful action” to prevent threats against regional peace and security.

“I am optimistic about future days. There is a possibility of conflict but our forces are fully prepared. We expect to gradually witness stability in our region over the coming days,” the Iranian foreign minister said according to Tasnim.


Israeli strikes pound Beirut’s southern suburbs on Wednesday

Israeli strikes pound Beirut’s southern suburbs on Wednesday
Updated 29 min 22 sec ago
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Israeli strikes pound Beirut’s southern suburbs on Wednesday

Israeli strikes pound Beirut’s southern suburbs on Wednesday
  • Five Israeli strikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs early Wednesday
  • Israeli military said it was targeting sites of the Hezbollah group 

BEIRUT: At least five Israeli strikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs early Wednesday, a Lebanese security source said, as the Israeli military said it was targeting Hezbollah sites and issued several evacuation orders.

“At least five Israeli strikes targeted Beirut’s southern suburbs,” the source said, requesting anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

AFP correspondents heard multiple explosions and saw smoke rising in one area while a fire appeared to burn.

The Israeli military said early Wednesday that it was “currently striking Hezbollah terror targets in Beirut.”

Israel has repeatedly bombarded Beirut’s southern suburbs since last week, a densely-populated Hezbollah bastion where Israel says it is targeting sites belonging to the group.

A massive raid in the area on Friday killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.

Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee had earlier on X issued several orders for residents to leave.

“You are located near dangerous Hezbollah facilities, which the IDF (Israeli military) will act against with force in the near future,” read one of the warnings, which mentioned the area of Haret Hreik.


What are Iran’s missile capabilities?

What are Iran’s missile capabilities?
Updated 02 October 2024
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What are Iran’s missile capabilities?

What are Iran’s missile capabilities?
  • “Years of reverse-engineering missiles and producing various missile classes have also taught Iran about stretching airframes and building them with lighter composite materials to increase missile range,” the report said

TEHRAN: Iran fired a salvo of ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday in retaliation for Israel’s campaign against Tehran’s Hezbollah allies in Lebanon, drawing on an array of weapons that has long worried the West. The attack came five months after a strike in April that was the first ever direct Iranian strike on Israel. Ballistic missiles are an important part of the arsenal at Tehran’s disposal. According to the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Iran is armed with the largest number of ballistic missiles in the region.

Here are some details: * The semi-official Iranian news outlet ISNA published a graphic in April showing nine Iranian missiles it said could reach Israel. These included the ‘Sejil’, capable of flying at more than 17,000 km (10,500 miles) per hour and with a range of 2,500 km (1,550 miles), the ‘Kheibar’ with a range of 2,000 km (1,240 miles), and the ‘Hajj Qasem’, which has a range of 1,400 km (870 miles), ISNA said. * The Arms Control Association, a Washington-based non-governmental organization, says Iran’s ballistic missiles include ‘Shahab-1’, with an estimated range of 300 km (190 miles); the ‘Zolfaghar’, with 700 km (435 miles); ‘Shahab-3’, with 800-1,000 km (500 to 620 miles); ‘Emad-1’, a missile under development with a range up to 2,000 km (1,240 miles) and ‘Sejil’, under development, with 1,500-2,500 km (930 to 1,550 miles).
* Fabian Hinz, a Berlin-based expert on Iran’s missile arsenal with the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said that based on the locations of videos of launches posted on social media and the ranges to Israel, he assessed that Iran fired a combination of solid- and liquid-fueled missiles.
The former category of missile, which is more advanced, is fired from angled mobile launchers and the latter from vertical launchers, he said.
He said three solid-propellent missiles fired on Tuesday could be the ‘Hajj Qasem’, ‘Kheibar Shekan’ and ‘Fattah 1’. Liquid propellant missiles reported as being launched from Isfahan might potentially be the ‘Emad’, ‘Badr’ and ‘Khorramshahr’, he said.
* Iran says its ballistic missiles are an important deterrent and retaliatory force against the US, Israel and other potential regional targets. It denies seeking nuclear weapons.
* According to a 2023 report by Behnam Ben Taleblu, a Senior Fellow at the US-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Iran continues to develop underground missile depots complete with transport and firing systems, and subterranean missile production and storage centers. In June 2020, Iran fired its first ever ballistic missile from underground, it said.

“Years of reverse-engineering missiles and producing various missile classes have also taught Iran about stretching airframes and building them with lighter composite materials to increase missile range,” the report said. * In June 2023, Iran presented what officials described as its first domestically made hypersonic ballistic missile, the official IRNA news agency reported. Hypersonic missiles can fly at least five times faster than the speed of sound and on a complex trajectory, which makes them difficult to intercept.
* The Arms Control Association says Iran’s missile program is largely based on North Korean and Russian designs and has benefited from Chinese assistance.
* Iran also has cruise missiles such as Kh-55, an air-launched nuclear-capable weapon with a range up to 3,000 km (1,860 miles), and the advanced anti-ship missile the Khalid Farzh, with about 300 km (186 miles), capable of carrying a 1,000-kg (1.1-ton) warhead.

REGIONAL ATTACKS
• Iran’s Revolutionary Guards used missiles in January 2024 when they said they attacked the spy headquarters of Israel in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, and said they fired at Daesh militants in Syria. Iran also announced firing missiles at two bases of a Baluchi militant group in neighboring Pakistan.
• Saudi Arabia and the US have said they believe Iran was behind a drone and missile attack on Saudi Arabia’s prized oil facilities in 2019. Tehran denied the allegation.
• In 2020, Iran launched missile attacks on US-led forces in Iraq, including the Al-Asad air base, in retaliation for a US drone strike on an Iranian commander.

BACKING FOR YEMEN’S HOUTHIS
• The United States accuses Iran of arming the Houthis of Yemen, who have been firing on Red Sea shipping and Israel itself during the Gaza war, in a campaign they say is aimed at supporting the Palestinians. Tehran denies arming the Houthis. * On Sept. 24, Reuters reported Iran had brokered secret talks between Russia and the Houthis to transfer anti-ship missiles to the armed group, citing Western and regional sources.
• In 2022, the Houthis said they fired ballistic missiles and drones at the United Arab Emirates. This included a missile attack targeting a base hosting the US military in the UAE, which was thwarted by US-built Patriot interceptor missiles.

SUPPORT FOR HEZBOLLAH * Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group has said it has the ability within Lebanon to convert thousands of rockets into precision missiles and to produce drones. Last year, the late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said the group was able to transform standard rockets into precision missiles with the cooperation of Iranian experts.

SYRIA
• Iran has transferred indigenous precision-guided missiles to Syria to support President Bashar Assad’s fight against rebels, according to Israeli and Western intelligence officials.
• It has moved some production capacity to underground compounds in Syria, where Assad’s military and other pro-Tehran forces have learned to build their own missiles, those sources say.

 


Airlines scramble to divert flights after Iran missile attack

Airlines scramble to divert flights after Iran missile attack
Updated 02 October 2024
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Airlines scramble to divert flights after Iran missile attack

Airlines scramble to divert flights after Iran missile attack
  • Eurocontrol, a pan-European air traffic control agency, earlier sent a warning to pilots about the escalating conflict

PARIS: Israel’s neighbors closed airspace and airline crews skirted an escalating conflict, with many seeking diversions, after Iran fired a salvo of ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday.
A spokesperson for tracking service FlightRadar24 said flights diverted “anywhere they could,” and a snapshot of traffic in the region showed flights spreading in wide arcs to the north and south, with many converging on Cairo and Istanbul.
FlightRadar24 said Istanbul and Antalya in southern Turkiye were becoming congested, forcing some airlines to divert south.
Iran launched the strikes in retaliation for Israel’s campaign against Tehran’s Hezbollah allies in Lebanon, and Israel vowed a “painful response” against its enemy.
Eurocontrol, a pan-European air traffic control agency, earlier sent a warning to pilots about the escalating conflict.
“A major missile attack has been launched against Israel in the last few minutes. At present the entire country is under a missile warning,” it said in an urgent navigation bulletin.
Shortly afterwards it announced the closure of Jordanian and Iraqi airspace as well as the closure of a key crossing point into airspace controlled by Cyprus.
An Iraqi pilot bulletin said its Baghdad-controlled airspace was “closed due to security until further notice.”
Iraq’s transport ministry later announced the reopening of Iraqi airspace to incoming and outgoing civilian flights at Iraqi airports. FlightRadar24 said on X that “it will be a while before flights are active there again.”
Jordan also reopened its airspace after closing it following the volley of Iranian missiles fired toward Israel, the Jordanian state news agency reported.
Lebanon’s airspace will be closed to air traffic for a two-hour period on Tuesday, Transport Minister Ali Hamie said on X.
The latest disruptions are expected to deal a further blow to an industry already facing a host of restrictions due to conflicts between Israel and Hamas, and Russia and Ukraine.

 


Six dead in separatist attacks in southeast Iran

Six dead in separatist attacks in southeast Iran
Updated 02 October 2024
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Six dead in separatist attacks in southeast Iran

Six dead in separatist attacks in southeast Iran
  • Local head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps among victims of militant group

RIYADH: Six people including a local head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were killed on Tuesday in gun attacks by militant separatists in Iran’s restive southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan.

Town council chief Parviz Kadkhodaei and two volunteer members of the Guards were also among the dead in the first attack at a school ceremony in the small town of Bent, about 1,350 kilometers southeast of Tehran. Two police officers were killed in the second attack in the town of Khash.

Both attacks were carried out by gunmen from Jaish Al-Adl, a militant group based in Pakistan that seeks greater rights for the ethnic Baloch minority.

Sistan-Baluchistan, one of Iran’s poorest regions, is mostly inhabited by the Baloch community. The province bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan has long been plagued by unrest involving drug-smuggling gangs, rebels from the Baluchi minority and militants.

In September, gunmen from Jaish Al-Adl killed four border guards in the province in two separate attacks.

In January Iran carried out a missile and drone strike against militant groups in Pakistan. Pakistan retaliated with strikes against militants in Iranian territory.

Pakistan’s Balochistan province also suffers from low-level insurgency waged by separatist militants against the government of Pakistan. These Pakistani Baloch separatist militant groups are allied with Iranian Baloch groups. Iran and Pakistan historically have a strategic alliance fighting these groups.