February 23, (bbabo.net). Since the beginning of this year, Nigeria, one of the most populous countries in Africa, has reported at least 72 deaths from Lassa fever, Xinhua reports.

The latest report from the Nigeria Center for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) states that there are now 411 confirmed cases of viral hemorrhagic fever across 21 states in the region, of which 65% of the cases were reported from the three states of Ondo, Edo and Bauchi .

Infectious disease experts have reported 2,122 cases of Lassa globally this year, a significant drop in infections, compared with 8,280 in the same period last year.

Somali authorities are concerned about a sharp rise in cholera cases

So far, two health workers have been affected by the outbreak in the country and the predominant age group of victims is 21 and 30 years, the NCDC report said.

Lassa fever is a disease transmitted to humans through food or household items.

***

The head of the Japanese mafia in the United States has been charged with conspiracy to traffic uranium and plutonium.

February 23, (bbabo.net). US prosecutors have charged an alleged member of the Japanese mafia with conspiracy to traffic uranium and plutonium, the BBC reports.

The 60-year-old suspect was reportedly trying to sell nuclear materials that he believed would be given to Iran to build a nuclear bomb.

The accused and his Thai accomplice were charged with possession of weapons and drugs in April 2022.

If the prosecutor manages to prove the criminal's involvement, he faces life imprisonment.

US authorities say the gunman, who is being held in a Brooklyn jail, is a senior figure in the Japanese organized crime syndicate known as the Yakuza, which has operations in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand and the US.

The US Department of Justice said the defendant and his co-conspirators showed samples of nuclear materials in Thailand to an undercover US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) agent.

Samples of nuclear weapons that arrived from Myanmar were confiscated by Thai authorities and handed over to US investigators. The laboratory confirmed that the material contains uranium and weapons-grade plutonium.

Prosecutors also allege he sought to acquire large quantities of military-grade weapons on behalf of an unidentified rebel group in Myanmar. Armament included surface-to-air missiles, assault and sniper rifles, machine guns, rockets of various calibers and a variety of tactical equipment.

The accomplices appeared in federal court in New York today.

bbabo.Net