Army leader Abdel-Fatteh al-Burhan has asked the UN to replace its envoy to the country
Sudan’s army has asked the United Nations to change its envoy to the country, as it calls on reservists and retired soldiers to re-enlist amid the ongoing conflict with a rival paramilitary force.
Friday’s call to former soldiers to present themselves at their nearest military base comes days into a shaky truce between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Continue reading...Deal to release Olivier Vandecasteele in exchange for Assadollah Assadi raises concerns Tehran’s hostage diplomacy has been rewarded
A Belgian aid worker jailed in Tehran has been released in a prisoner swap with an Iranian diplomat who had been sentenced to 20 years in jail for his role in a plan to bomb an Iranian opposition rally in Paris in 2018.
Assadollah Assadi had served just over two years of his 20-year sentence, and his release will raise questions about whether Iranian hostage diplomacy – the practice of seizing dual nationals as bargaining chips – has been rewarded by the Belgian authorities. The final stages of the deal were negotiated by Oman, but Belgium had been negotiating with Iran over the fate of the diplomat for much longer.
Continue reading...Niloofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi reported on death of Mahsa Amini and face charges of conspiring with foreign powers
Supporters of the two award-winning Iranian female journalists who were among the first to report on the death of Mahsa Amini, the young Kurdish woman who died last year in police custody, have demanded that their trials due to start next week are held in public.
Niloofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi, who both have a prestigious record of on-the-ground reporting on social affairs in Iran, have been kept in jail since first being arrested eight months ago and are accused of conspiring with hostile foreign powers, a charge that potentially carries the death penalty.
Continue reading...Family say couple were not offered support to evacuate despite living near British embassy in Khartoum
An 85-year-old British citizen was shot by snipers and his wife died of starvation after they were left behind in Sudan, their family has said.
Abdalla Sholgami, who owns a hotel in London, lived with his 80-year-old wife, Alaweya Rishwan, who is disabled, close to the UK’s diplomatic base in Khartoum, the BBC said.
Continue reading...Companies with direct links to Russian military set to attend, which is likely to heighten tensions with US
Seven sanctioned Russian companies, including a manufacturer of military helicopters deployed in the war in Ukraine, are visiting Saudi Arabia next week as part of a trade mission to increase business with the Gulf state.
Companies including weapons manufacturers with direct links to the Russian military, state corporations involved in the invasion of Ukraine, and the agency overseeing a Ukrainian nuclear plant in the country seized by the Russian military last year, are set to attend.
Continue reading...Workers at World Cup 2022 venues fired as tournament ended and allegedly jailed or deported after trying to claim unpaid wages
Three World Cup security guards who were detained while trying to resolve a dispute over unpaid wages are still being held in Qatar four months after their arrest.
Shakir Ullah and Zafar Iqbal from Pakistan, and an Indian national, have allegedly been sentenced to six months in prison and fined 10,000 riyals (£2,220) each.
Continue reading...Daughters of Rached Ghannouchi and Said Ferjani demand justice amid continuing crackdown on dissent by President Saied
Families of detained Tunisian opposition politicians filed a case at the African court on human and peoples’ rights in Arusha, Tanzania, on Wednesday, accusing Tunisia of unlawfully arresting and detaining the leaders.
“On the evidence we are seeing so far, there is no proper basis for the charges,” said Rodney Dixon, a British lawyer handling the case. “They weren’t arrested lawfully with proper warrants, and the allegations haven’t been substantiated.”
Continue reading...Report by Syrian Network for Human Rights details laws giving Assad’s government powers to seize land
As many as 14 million Syrians face a near insurmountable barrier to returning to their homes after the government passed laws giving the state power to seize their land and property, according to a report by the Syrian Network for Human Rights.
The report, shared with the Guardian, urged the UN high commissioner for refugees to highlight the laws as one of the main obstacles to refugees returning home.
Continue reading...Researchers analysed cartographic data and aerial photos to identify three possible locations in former fishing village Tantura
An investigation into a massacre in a destroyed Palestinian village carried out by Israeli forces in the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation has identified three possible mass graves beneath a present-day beach resort.
Palestinian survivors and historians have long claimed that men living in Tantura, a fishing village of approximately 1,500 people near Haifa, were executed after surrendering to the Alexandroni Brigade and their bodies dumped in a mass grave believed to be located under an area that is now a car park for Dor Beach. Estimates have ranged from 40 to 200 people.
Continue reading...Other payment companies do business with Palestinians in the occupied territories, but PayPal only provides services to Israelis there
Eleven members of the US Congress have demanded PayPal end a ban on doing business with Palestinians in the occupied territories while permitting Israeli settlers to use the digital payment platform.
The letter, authored by Representative Mark Pocan, says PayPal is discriminating against Palestinians by denying “equal access to the digital economy”.
Continue reading...Ibrahim Faraj, seven, was abducted and taken to Saudi Arabia in November
A woman whose seven-year-old son was kidnapped by his father and taken to Saudi Arabia has said she repeatedly warned authorities it would happen but “no one listened”.
Ranem Elkhalidi has not seen or spoken to Ibrahim Faraj since November, when he was abducted by his father, Hamzah Faraj, in breach of a court order.
Continue reading...NGOs dismayed at reduction in Britain’s contribution as crisis-hit region faces challenges from drought, rising prices and conflict
The UK has been accused of taking the “insulting and shortsighted” decision to cut humanitarian aid to east Africa at a time of chronic drought, conflict and rising food prices.
At a United Nations pledging conference in New York on Wednesday, which the UK is co-chairing, Andrew Mitchell, the UK’s international development minister, announced a humanitarian aid package to the region of £143m.
Continue reading...Coming rainy season threatens 80,000 living in ‘heartbreaking’ conditions in vulnerable border region after fleeing war at home
Tens of thousands of Sudanese refugees, many of them children, who have crossed the border into Chad risk a “major humanitarian disaster” when the rainy season begins within weeks, a Red Cross official has warned.
About 80,000 people have sought refuge in the country to the west of Sudan as weeks of fighting between two warring generals forces hundreds of thousands from their homes.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Extensive deployments ‘raise serious concerns about transparency’, says research group Action on Armed Violence
SAS and other British special forces have been involved in covert operations in 19 countries in the past dozen years, including in Nigeria, the Philippines and Russia, as well as in Syria, Ukraine and most recently Sudan, a study reveals.
The elite military units operate in secret, without ministers publicly confirming their activities. But a research group, Action on Armed Violence, has compiled a list of their activities since 2011 based on media leaks.
Continue reading...Tory senior treasurer Mansour says he wants to assist ‘very capable prime minister’ Rishi Sunak
The Conservatives have accepted a £5m donation from an Egyptian-born billionaire who served as a minister in the government of the former president Hosni Mubarak.
Mohamed Mansour, who was made senior treasurer of the Conservatives in December, announced he had given the sum to the party, its biggest one-off donation for more than 20 years.
Continue reading...Indian presidency of group becomes mired in controversy as tourism session hosted in disputed territory
India’s presidency of the G20 group of leading nations has become mired in controversy after China and Saudi Arabia boycotted a meeting staged in Kashmir, the first such gathering since India unilaterally brought Kashmir under direct control in August 2019.
The meeting, a tourism working group attended by about 60 delegates from most G20 countries taking place from Monday to Wednesday, required a large show of security at Srinagar international airport.
Continue reading...Deal to stop violence comes as journalists’ syndicate accuses paramilitary group of targeting reporters
A weeklong ceasefire in Sudan intended to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid got off to a shaky start on Monday evening as witnesses in the capital, Khartoum, reported fighter jets over the city and continued fighting in some areas.
The US and Saudi Arabia announced the deal to stop six weeks of fighting, saying it would come into force at 9.45pm (7.45pm BST). World powers had put pressure on the army and the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces to sign a deal. Previous attempts have fallen apart.
Continue reading...More than half of weapons exports were for repressive regimes such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia, as sales doubled last year
British arms exports doubled during 2022 to a record £8.5bn according to the only publicly available official figures, reflecting escalating geopolitical uncertainties and fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The largest destination for UK-made weaponry was Qatar, which bought £2.7bn-worth, and 54% went to countries designated as “not free” by the human rights group Freedom House. These include Saudi Arabia and Turkey, as well as Qatar.
Continue reading...Comments by Itamar Ben-Gvir draw condemnation from Palestinians amid escalating tensions
Israel’s far-right security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, visited a site in Jerusalem holy to both Muslims and Jews and declared Israel was “in charge”, drawing condemnation from Palestinians after months of escalating tension and violence.
The early morning visit to the site, revered by Jews as the Temple Mount and by Muslims as the compound housing al-Aqsa mosque, also drew denunciations from two of Israel’s Arab peace partners, Jordan and Egypt.
Continue reading...US and Saudi Arabia announce deal that comes after six weeks of fighting between Sudan’s army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces
Sudan’s warring factions signed an agreement late on Saturday for a seven-day ceasefire, the US and Saudi Arabia said in a joint statement, as fighting that has plunged the country into chaos and displaced more than a million entered its sixth week.
The fighting between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has led to a collapse in law. Stocks of food, cash and essentials are rapidly dwindling, and mass looting has hit banks, embassies, factories and aid warehouses.
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