UN says up to 300,000 Sudanese fled their homes after a notorious group seized their safe haven

UN says up to 300,000 Sudanese fled their homes after a notorious group seized their safe haven
People displaced by the conflict in Sudan gather outside a passport office in the city of Gedaref as they attempt to get passports and exit visas after fleeing flee Wad Madani, the capital of Al-Jazirah state (AFP)
Short Url
Updated 21 December 2023
Follow

UN says up to 300,000 Sudanese fled their homes after a notorious group seized their safe haven

UN says up to 300,000 Sudanese fled their homes after a notorious group seized their safe haven
  • Fighting erupted in the city of Wad Medani which is the provincial capital of Jazeera province after the Rapid Support Forces attacked the city earlier this month
  • Jazeera, Sudan’s breadbasket was home to about 6 million Sudanese

CAIRO: Fighting between Sudan’s military and a notorious paramilitary group forced up to 300,000 people to flee their homes in a province that had been a safe haven for families displaced by the devastating conflict in the northeastern African country, the UN said Thursday.
The fighting erupted in the city of Wad Medani, the provincial capital of Jazeera province, after the Rapid Support Forces attacked the city earlier this month. The RSF said that it took over Wad Medani earlier this week, and the military said that its troops withdrew from the city, and an investigation was opened.
Sudan’s war began in mid-April after months of tensions between military chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan and RSF commander Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. Both generals led a military coup in October 2021 that derailed Sudan’s short-lived transition to democracy following a popular uprising that forced the removal of President Omar Al-Bashir in April 2019.
The UN agency International Organization for Migration said that between 250,000 and 300,000 people fled the province — many reportedly on foot — to safer areas in the provinces of Al-Qadarif, Sinnar and the White Nile. Some sheltered in camps for displaced people and many sought shelter in local communities, it said.
Jazeera, Sudan’s breadbasket, was home to about 6 million Sudanese. Since the war, about 500,000 displaced fled to the province, mostly from the capital, Khartoum, which has been the center of fighting, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Medani, which is about 100 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Khartoum, had hosted more than 86,000 of the displaced, OCHA said.
The World Food Program announced Wednesday that it has temporarily halted food assistance in some parts of Jazeera, in what it described a “major setback” to humanitarian efforts in the province.
The UN food agency said that it had provided assistance to 800,000 people in the province, including many families that fled the fighting in Khartoum.
The conflict in Sudan has wrecked the country and killed up to 9,000 people as of October, according to the United Nations. However, activists and doctors’ groups say the real toll is far higher.
More than 7 million people were forced out of their homes, including more than 1.5 million who have sought refuge in neighboring countries, according to the UN figures.
The fighting in Wad Medani forced many aid groups, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, to evacuate its staff from the city, which was a center of the humanitarian operations in the country.
The RSF takeover prompted fears among Wad Medani residents that they would carry out atrocities in their city as they did in the capital, Khartoum, and the western region of Darfur. The UN and rights groups have accused the RSF of atrocities in Darfur, which was the scene of a genocidal campaign in the early 2000s.
The RSF grew out of the state-backed Arab militias known as Janjaweed, which were accused of widespread killings, rapes and other atrocities in the Darfur conflict.
Ahmed Tag el-Sir, a father of three, fled along with his family to the neighboring province of Al-Qadarif after the RSF rampaged through their village of Al-Sharfa Barakar north of Wad Medani.
“They shelled the village and took over residents’ homes, like they did in Darfur,” the man said from a relative’s house where he shelters along with two other families. “We fled out of fear of being killed or our women being raped by the Janjaweed.”


Israel says it has met most US demands on Gaza aid as deadline looms

Israel says it has met most US demands on Gaza aid as deadline looms
Updated 24 sec ago
Follow

Israel says it has met most US demands on Gaza aid as deadline looms

Israel says it has met most US demands on Gaza aid as deadline looms
  • US told Israel last month to take steps to improve the aid situation in Gaza within 30 days
  • Israel appears to have refused Washington’s demand to allow entry of 50-100 trucks a day

JERUSALEM: Israel said on Monday it had met most demands by the United States to improve humanitarian conditions in Gaza but was still discussing some items as a deadline looms to improve the situation or face potential restrictions on US military aid.
There are a number of things that remain under discussion and they touch on safety issues, an Israeli official told reporters. He said most issues had been addressed.
Among the US demands that Israel appears to have refused is allowing the entry of 50-100 commercial trucks a day.
The official said commercial activity had been halted because Hamas was controlling the merchants. Restrictions on the entry of closed containers would also not be lifted due to security risks, the official said.
Others, including the opening of a fifth crossing into Gaza, have been implemented.
The United States told its ally Israel in a letter on Oct. 13 that it must take steps to improve the aid situation within 30 days, with Tuesday as the final deadline.
Last week, the State Department said Israel had taken some measures to increase aid access to Gaza but had so far failed to significantly turn around the humanitarian situation.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Monday he had met the US ambassador and was confident that “we can reach an understanding with our American friends and that the issue will be solved.”
Last week, a committee of global food security experts warned of a strong likelihood that famine is imminent in certain areas of northern Gaza, a claim which Israel rejected outright.
The Israeli official said Israel had added entrances into Gaza, expanded the humanitarian zone, increased security for aid vehicles and managed joint task forces with the international community and many others as part of the process to improve the humanitarian situation.
Israel began a wide military offensive in northern Gaza early last month. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US envoy to the UN, said on Oct. 16 that Washington was watching to ensure Israel’s actions on the ground show it does not have a “policy of starvation” in the north.


Turkiye mulls unifying telecom fiber infrastructure in one entity, official says

For years Ankara has demanded that telecom operators invest more to accelerate fiber network expansion. (REUTERS)
For years Ankara has demanded that telecom operators invest more to accelerate fiber network expansion. (REUTERS)
Updated 12 November 2024
Follow

Turkiye mulls unifying telecom fiber infrastructure in one entity, official says

For years Ankara has demanded that telecom operators invest more to accelerate fiber network expansion. (REUTERS)
  • Turk Telekom owns and maintains 78 percent of Turkiye’s 577,000-kilometer (359,000-mile) national fiber network through a concession agreement that is set to expire in 2026

ANKARA: Turkiye is considering adopting a unified fiber optic telecoms entity to expand its network, signalling it could create a separate manager for the expensive infrastructure investments, a senior official told Reuters.
The study is at an early stage and all options remain on the table, said the Turkish official, who has direct knowledge of government telecoms policy but requested anonymity.
Such a consolidation of telecoms infrastructure could help accelerate Turkiye’s broadband Internet usage and speed, benefit smaller service providers and pose a challenge for the network’s largest stakeholder, Turk Telekom.
“We are considering the unification of the fiber infrastructure and conducting a study on it,” the senior Turkish official said when asked about some sector demands for infrastructure and sales to be separated, and for the establishment of a common infrastructure holding company.
“It is in early stages and not yet finalized. By establishing a common infrastructure, we aim to further strengthen our country’s fiber-optics network,” the official told Reuters.
For years Ankara has demanded that telecom operators invest more to accelerate fiber network expansion. The companies have grown the network by a bit more than 3 percent per year over the past decade, and have partly blamed complicated permissions and high costs for the slow progress.

NETWORK OWNERSHIP
Turk Telekom owns and maintains 78 percent of Turkiye’s 577,000-kilometer (359,000-mile) national fiber network through a concession agreement that is set to expire in 2026.
A handful of other players, including Turkcell , Turksat and Vodafone own the rest.
Turk Telekom and Turkcell are controlled by the country’s wealth fund.
Smaller service providers have long advocated that investments should be made by a jointly-owned entity, rather than largely by Turk Telekom, which also sells telecom services. An effort in the mid-2010s to set up such an entity failed.
In July, UK-based Vodafone’s Turkiye unit again suggested in a report that the business of selling telecoms services should be separated from infrastructure investment and management, which could be handled by a separate “common” entity.
In September, Turk Telekom’s chief executive rejected the suggestion, saying it was aimed at carving away its infrastructure assets, which are set to return to the government once the concession period ends.
Turkiye trails its peers on fixed-line broadband Internet usage, with 23 subscribers per 100 inhabitants as of last year, below the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average of 36.
It also lags on broadband speed with less than one high-speed subscriber with greater than 100 Mbps speed per 100 people, compared to a 24 OECD average.
 

 


Israel says it has met most US demands on Gaza aid as deadline looms

Israel says it has met most US demands on Gaza aid as deadline looms
Updated 12 November 2024
Follow

Israel says it has met most US demands on Gaza aid as deadline looms

Israel says it has met most US demands on Gaza aid as deadline looms
  • The United States told its ally Israel in a letter on Oct. 13 that it must take steps to improve the aid situation within 30 days, with Tuesday as the final deadline

JERUSALEM: Israel said on Monday it had met most demands by the United States to improve humanitarian conditions in Gaza but was still discussing some items as a deadline looms to improve the situation or face potential restrictions on US military aid.
There are a number of things that remain under discussion and they touch on safety issues, an Israeli official told reporters. He said most issues had been addressed.
Among the US demands that Israel appears to have refused is allowing the entry of 50-100 commercial trucks a day.
The official said commercial activity had been halted because Hamas was controlling the merchants. Restrictions on the entry of closed containers would also not be lifted due to security risks, the official said.
Others, including the opening of a fifth crossing into Gaza, have been implemented.
The United States told its ally Israel in a letter on Oct. 13 that it must take steps to improve the aid situation within 30 days, with Tuesday as the final deadline.
Last week, the State Department said Israel had taken some measures to increase aid access to Gaza but had so far failed to significantly turn around the humanitarian situation.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Monday he had met the US ambassador and was confident that “we can reach an understanding with our American friends and that the issue will be solved.”
Last week, a committee of global food security experts warned of a strong likelihood that famine is imminent in certain areas of northern Gaza, a claim which Israel rejected outright.
The Israeli official said Israel had added entrances into Gaza, expanded the humanitarian zone, increased security for aid vehicles and managed joint task forces with the international community and many others as part of the process to improve the humanitarian situation.
Israel began a wide military offensive in northern Gaza early last month. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US envoy to the UN, said on Oct. 16 that Washington was watching to ensure Israel’s actions on the ground show it does not have a “policy of starvation” in the north.


Head of Tunisia olive oil giant held on corruption suspicion: media

Head of Tunisia olive oil giant held on corruption suspicion: media
Updated 12 November 2024
Follow

Head of Tunisia olive oil giant held on corruption suspicion: media

Head of Tunisia olive oil giant held on corruption suspicion: media
  • Mosaique FM reported that a total of 15 people, including a former agriculture minister, are being prosecuted in the case

TUNIS: The head of Tunisia’s leading olive oil exporter, CHO group, has been detained on suspicion of corruption, local media reported on Monday.
Tunisian website Business News, citing a source familiar with the case, said the detention of Abdelaziz Makhloufi, CHO’s president, had been extended until Tuesday.
The company is known abroad for its Terra Delyssa brand olive oil.
Makhloufi is also known in Tunisia for being the president of football team CS Sfaxien.
He was initially questioned on November 2 as part of an investigation into suspected corruption in the management of the Henchir Chaal state-owned lands which include 360,000 olive plants, local media said.
Mosaique FM reported that a total of 15 people, including a former agriculture minister, are being prosecuted in the case.
President Kais Saied, whose critics accuse of ushering in a new authoritarian regime, has made fighting corruption a priority.
Along with dates, olive oil is one of Tunisia’s main agricultural exports.
Official figures foresee production of about 340,000 tons in the 2024-25 season, putting Tunisia alongside Turkiye and just ahead of Greece and Italy, but far behind Spain’s 1.3 million tons.
Tunisian authorities expect a 50-percent increase in olive oil exports this year, at about 300,000 tons.
 

 


Jordan condemns Israeli minister’s comments on West Bank sovereignty

Jordan condemns Israeli minister’s comments on West Bank sovereignty
Updated 11 November 2024
Follow

Jordan condemns Israeli minister’s comments on West Bank sovereignty

Jordan condemns Israeli minister’s comments on West Bank sovereignty
  • Smotrich adamant about rejecting establishment of Palestinian state in West Bank and Gaza Strip

LONDON: Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates on Monday condemned statements by Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich instructing government staff to work on applying Israel’s sovereignty over the occupied West Bank.

Smotrich wrote on X on Monday that “2025: the year of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria,” two biblical names Israeli government officials use to refer to Palestinian territories in the West Bank.

Earlier, he told a meeting of the Religious Zionism political faction, which is part of the coalition government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that he had instructed Israeli authorities “to begin professional and comprehensive staff work” to apply sovereignty over the West Bank, Ynet reported.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Smotrich’s statements were a “flagrant violation of international law and the Palestinian right to an independent, sovereign state along the June 4, 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

Palestinians have long sought the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem as the territories for their future state, a demand recognized by Arab states and the majority of UN members.

Sufian Qudah, a spokesperson for the ministry, confirmed Amman’s “firm rejection of these provocative statements, emphasizing that Israel has no sovereignty over occupied Palestinian territories,” the Jordan News Agency reported.

He called on the international community to hold Israel accountable for its actions in Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank and to ensure the protection of the Palestinian people.

Smotrich, who also has a supervisory role within Israel’s Defense Ministry, has been adamant about rejecting the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, supported the expansion of illegal settlements and called for annexing the Jordan Valley, an agriculturally rich region that borders Jordan.

On Monday, he said that Donald Trump’s election victory “brings with it an important opportunity for Israel,” a possible reference to the president-elect recognizing Israel’s push for sovereignty over the occupied West Bank.

Meanwhile, Palestinian presidency spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said that Smotrich’s comments signal that Israel intends to fulfil its plans to control the West Bank in 2025, in disregard of international law.

“These statements are an Israeli confirmation to the entire world that the occupation’s new plan will focus on the West Bank in order to implement the racist annexation and expansion and to consolidate the occupation,” Abu Rudeineh said.

“We also hold the American administration responsible for its continued support for the [Israeli] occupation to continue its crimes,” he added.

The spokesman said that 2025 will be the year in which an independent Palestinian state will be established with East Jerusalem as its capital.