Sudan’s Bashir to Step down in 2020

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. (Reuters)
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. (Reuters)
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Sudan’s Bashir to Step down in 2020

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. (Reuters)
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. (Reuters)

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir vowed on Monday to step down by the end of his presidential term in 2020.

“Our pledge with you is to hand Sudan over to you by 2020, after achieving peace in the Darfur region and the regions of the Blue Nile and South Kordofan,” said Bashir while addressing the 7th session of the National Union of Sudanese Youth in Khartoum Monday.

Bashir went on to announce the start of the implementation of a package of development and service projects in the five states of the Darfur region.

“The next phase will see the evacuation of displaced persons camps, reconstruction of their hometowns and the provision of basic services for them,” he said.

The president also vowed that he would use force against rebel movements if they rejected peace.

During his speech with the youths, Bashir said that the immigration of Sudanese people was not caused by the isolation of Sudan, but because the foreign labor market is interested in Sudanese youths who have high potential.

Bashir held talks on Monday with visiting Mauritania President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz.

Sudan and Mauritania agreed on a timeline to implement 35 agreements signed since 2007. They also agreed on joint coordination in regional and international issues.

The Mauritanian president had arrived in Khartoum on a two-day official visit after participating in the inauguration of the World Youth Forum in Sharm al-Sheikh in Egypt.



Qatar and Egypt See Some Progress in Gaza Ceasefire Talks

 Palestinians gather to receive food from a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis, in Gaza City, July 25, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians gather to receive food from a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis, in Gaza City, July 25, 2025. (Reuters)
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Qatar and Egypt See Some Progress in Gaza Ceasefire Talks

 Palestinians gather to receive food from a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis, in Gaza City, July 25, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians gather to receive food from a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis, in Gaza City, July 25, 2025. (Reuters)

There has been some progress in the latest round of Gaza ceasefire talks, mediators Qatar and Egypt said in a joint statement on Friday.

Suspending the negotiations to hold consultations before resuming talks is normal in the context of these complex negotiations, they said.

The ceasefire mediators affirmed their commitment to continuing their efforts to reach a comprehensive ceasefire agreement in Gaza in partnership with the United States.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump appeared on Friday to abandon Gaza ceasefire negotiations with Hamas, both saying it had become clear that the Palestinian group did not want a deal.

Netanyahu said Israel was now mulling "alternative" options to achieve its goals of bringing its hostages home from Gaza and ending Hamas rule in the enclave, where starvation is spreading and most of the population is homeless amid widespread ruin.

Trump said he believed Hamas leaders would now be "hunted down", telling reporters at the White House: "Hamas really didn't want to make a deal. I think they want to die. And it's very bad. And it got to be to a point where you're going to have to finish the job."

Israel and the United States withdrew their delegations on Thursday from the ceasefire talks in Qatar, hours after Hamas submitted its response to a truce proposal.

Senior Hamas official Basem Naim said on Facebook that the talks had been constructive.