Briefs Bound

Health authorities in Algeria’s Skikda province have confirmed a fatal case of diphtheria, triggering a high public health alert. The bacterial disease—once nearly eradicated—is resurging, with several serious infections reported.

Attacks in the Red Sea have cost the Egypt over $9 billion in lost Suez Canal revenue, cutting daily ship traffic by nearly 60% and straining the country’s foreign reserves.

Hospitals in Nouakchott and Nouadhibou are reporting a surge of patients suffering from an unidentified fever that health experts say may be linked to the spread of Rift Valley fever across West Africa.

Mauritania is warning that Africa’s security landscape is shifting from ideological insurgencies to profit-driven “religious-front criminal enterprises,” describing how jihadist networks have merged with organized crime.