Sudan factions agree to form transitional government April 11: Spokesperson

A man waves a Sudanese national flag while taking part in a protest march. (File/AFP)
(File/AFP A man waves a Sudanese national flag while taking part in a protest march. (File/AFP)
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Updated 20 March 2023
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Sudan factions agree to form transitional government April 11: Spokesperson

A man waves a Sudanese national flag while taking part in a protest march. (File/AFP)
  • The parties have agreed on a committee for drafting a new constitution that will include 9 members of the civilian groups, one from army and another from RSF

CAIRO: Sudan’s political factions have agreed to form a new transitional government on April 11, Khalid Omar Yousif, the spokesperson for the signatories to the political settlement, said on Sunday.
Sudan’s military leaders who took over in a coup in late 2021 have been negotiating a deal with the civilian political parties previously in power aimed at restoring a civilian government.
The parties have agreed on a committee for drafting a new constitution that will include nine members of the civilian groups, one from the army and another from the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, Yousif said.
They will sign the transitional framework for the agreement early next month and a constitutional declaration on April 6.
The formation of a new government following the October 2021 coup is a result of Western, Gulf, and UN-sponsored talks, and it could revive flows of badly needed economic assistance to Sudan.


CNN producer Ibrahim Dahman loses nine relatives in Israeli strike on Gaza

CNN producer Ibrahim Dahman loses nine relatives in Israeli strike on Gaza
Updated 06 December 2023
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CNN producer Ibrahim Dahman loses nine relatives in Israeli strike on Gaza

CNN producer Ibrahim Dahman loses nine relatives in Israeli strike on Gaza
  • Israel resumed combat operations after a seven-day temporary truce with Hamas
  • Dahman’s childhood home in Gaza City has been destroyed in the Israeli offensive

DUBAI: CNN producer Ibrahim Dahman lost nine relatives in an Israeli air strike in northern Gaza, CNN reported.

Dahman had escaped to Egypt with his family, but on Sunday heard news that at least nine family members were killed when the building they were living in Beit Lahia took a direct hit by an Israeli strike.

His uncle, and the uncle’s wife, daughter and two grandchildren, as well as his aunt, her husband and two children perished, while at least two other relatives are in critical condition and others are still buried under the rubble.

Dahman’s childhood home in Gaza City was also destroyed in a separate strike on an adjacent building the same day, CNN reported.

“I will never be able to forget every stone and corner of the house in which I was born and raised and in which my children were born,” Dahman said in the CNN report.

“They were extremely peaceful and simple people, and their entire lives were devoted solely to work and raising their sons and daughters. They have no affiliation with any organization or group… Pray to God to have mercy on them all.”

Dahman’s brother had earlier called to tell him that his home in Gaza City, where he was born and grew up, has been reduced to ruins by the Israeli bombardment.

He had just finished renovating the apartment months before the Hamas attack, and told CNN he had fond memories living there, including celebrating his sons’ birthdays with cake and candles surrounded by family.

“Unfortunately, I left all my memories, my belongings, and the gifts that my bosses sent me at work in this house, all of which were lost under the rubble now.”

Israel’s military resumed combat operations against Hamas in Gaza last week after accusing Hamas of violating a seven-day temporary truce by firing toward Israeli territory.

The seven-day pause, which began on Nov. 24 and was extended twice, had allowed for the exchange of dozens of hostages held in Gaza for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and facilitated the entry of humanitarian aid into the shattered coastal strip.

Israel has sworn to annihilate the Palestinian militant group, which rules Gaza, in response to the Oct. 7 rampage when Hamas gunmen killed 1,200 people and took 240 hostages.


Putin lands in Abu Dhabi on Middle East visit: UAE state media

Putin lands in Abu Dhabi on Middle East visit: UAE state media
Updated 06 December 2023
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Putin lands in Abu Dhabi on Middle East visit: UAE state media

Putin lands in Abu Dhabi on Middle East visit: UAE state media
  • UAE President welcomes Russian leader at an official reception held at Qasr Al-Watan

ABU DHABI: President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday landed in the United Arab Emirates for a rare visit outside the former Soviet Union, UAE state media reported, as Moscow seeks to reassert itself on the global stage.

“Putin’s plane has landed in Abu Dhabi,” the state-run RIA Novosti also reported on social media, while Russian state television showed Putin being greeted by officials on the runway.

The Russian president’s plane was accompanied by a number of military aircraft to greet Putin upon entering the UAE airspace.

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed greeted Putin at an official reception held at Qasr Al-Watan. The Russian leader’s convoy was accompanied by a group of honor guards mounted on Arabian horses.

The two countries’ national anthems were played and a 21-gun salute fired as part of a welcoming ceremony, WAM reported.

An Emirati air display then followed, painting the sky in the colors of the Russian flag.


Iran says it sent a capsule with animals into orbit as it prepares for human missions

Iran says it sent a capsule with animals into orbit as it prepares for human missions
Updated 06 December 2023
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Iran says it sent a capsule with animals into orbit as it prepares for human missions

Iran says it sent a capsule with animals into orbit as it prepares for human missions
TEHRAN, Iran: Iran said Wednesday it sent a capsule into orbit carrying animals as it prepares for human missions in coming years.
A report by the official IRNA news agency quoted Telecommunications Minister Isa Zarepour as saying the capsule was launched 130 kilometers (80 miles) into orbit.
Zarepour said the launch of the 500-kilogram (1,000-pound) capsule is aimed at sending Iranian astronauts to space in coming years. He did not say what kind of animals were in the capsule.
State TV showed footage of a rocket named Salman carrying the capsule into space.
Iran occasionally announces successful launches of satellites and other space crafts. In September, Iran said it sent a data-collecting satellite into space. In 2013, Iran said it sent a monkey into space and returned it successfully.
It says its satellite program is for scientific research and other civilian applications. The US and other Western countries have long been suspicious of the program because the same technology can be used to develop long-range missiles.

Iran Revolutionary Guards seize two vessels smuggling 4.5 million liters of fuel — Tasnim

Iran Revolutionary Guards seize two vessels smuggling 4.5 million liters of fuel — Tasnim
Updated 06 December 2023
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Iran Revolutionary Guards seize two vessels smuggling 4.5 million liters of fuel — Tasnim

Iran Revolutionary Guards seize two vessels smuggling 4.5 million liters of fuel — Tasnim

DUBAI: Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ Navy have seized two vessels smuggling 4.5 million liters of fuel, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Wednesday.
Tasnim said 34 foreign crew have been detained by the Guards in the operation.
Iran, which has some of the world’s cheapest fuel prices due to heavy subsidies and the plunge in the value of its national currency, has been fighting rampant fuel smuggling by land to neighboring countries and by sea to Gulf Arab states.


Israel reviewing strike that harmed Lebanese troops, army says

Israel reviewing strike that harmed Lebanese troops, army says
Updated 06 December 2023
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Israel reviewing strike that harmed Lebanese troops, army says

Israel reviewing strike that harmed Lebanese troops, army says
  • Lebanese army say the soldier, a sergeant, was killed when an army position was shelled by Israel on Tuesday

JERUSALEM: The Israeli army said on Wednesday it was reviewing a strike that harmed Lebanese troops in south Lebanon, an apparent reference to Israeli shelling that killed a Lebanese soldier and wounded three others the previous day.
“The Lebanese Armed Forces were not the target of the strike. The IDF expresses regret over the incident. The incident is under review,” the Israeli military said in a statement.
Israel and the heavily armed Lebanese group Hezbollah have been exchanging fire across the Lebanese-Israeli border since the start of the war between the Palestinian group Hamas and Israel on Oct. 7.
The Lebanese army said the soldier, a sergeant, was killed when an army position was shelled by Israel on Tuesday.
The Israeli army said its soldiers had acted in “self defense to eliminate an imminent threat that had been identified from Lebanon” from a “known launch area and observation point” used by Hezbollah.
The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon UNIFIL noted in a statement on Tuesday it was the first Lebanese army soldier killed during the hostilities, and that the Lebanese army had not engaged in conflict with Israel.