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Sudan Approves Anti-Corruption National Commission Law

A general view shows Sudanese people and traffic along a street in Khartoum, Sudan (Reuters)
A general view shows Sudanese people and traffic along a street in Khartoum, Sudan (Reuters)
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Sudan Approves Anti-Corruption National Commission Law

A general view shows Sudanese people and traffic along a street in Khartoum, Sudan (Reuters)
A general view shows Sudanese people and traffic along a street in Khartoum, Sudan (Reuters)

Sudan’s transitional parliament has approved the Anti-Corruption National Commission Law after removing all the provisions that contradict with the articles stipulated by the committee tasked with dismantling the government of toppled former president Omar al-Bashir.

The legislative body, which includes members of both the sovereign council and the cabinet, voted on the draft law on Saturday. It affirmed that the committee would continue to carry out its duties and recover public funds.

The committee tasked with dismantling Bashir’s ruling apparatus has been facing organized campaigns by supporters of the ousted regime and several parties in the transitional government in an attempt to dissolve it.

The committee had previously accused senior officials in the sovereign council and the cabinet of working against dismantling the Islamist regime and threatened to expose them to the public.

It has so far recovered huge sums of money, properties and companies owned by Bashir’s associates.
 
By virtue of a law issued in 2020, the committee has the authority to abolish public posts, terminate the service of officials who obtained jobs through nepotism, dissolve profit and non-profit organizations, request reports and information from state institutions and summon people to provide information.

It is also entrusted with seizing bank accounts of persons, institutions and companies, for the purpose of dismantling the former regime.

Sovereign Council member Mohamed Alfaki Suleiman said after the vote on Saturday that the transitional parliament threw its support behind the committee.

He pointed out that a commission would also be formed to fight corruption in the country.

The legislative body ensured there would be no conflict between the roles of the commission and the dismantling committee.

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Arab World

EU, Partners Launch $1 billion Scheme to Help Gaza Recover from War

Displaced Palestinians shelter in tents near the rubble of buildings destroyed during the Israeli offensive, in Gaza City, July 6, 2026. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Displaced Palestinians shelter in tents near the rubble of buildings destroyed during the Israeli offensive, in Gaza City, July 6, 2026. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
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EU, Partners Launch $1 billion Scheme to Help Gaza Recover from War

Displaced Palestinians shelter in tents near the rubble of buildings destroyed during the Israeli offensive, in Gaza City, July 6, 2026. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Displaced Palestinians shelter in tents near the rubble of buildings destroyed during the Israeli offensive, in Gaza City, July 6, 2026. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

The European Commission and more than a dozen countries launched an initiative on Monday to deliver €883.6 million ($1 billion) in aid projects to help Gaza recover from war. The small coastal enclave remains in ruins more than 2-1/2 years after the conflict was triggered by the October 2023 attack on Israel by Palestinian militant group Hamas. A fragile ceasefire has been in place since last October, and the United Nations has estimated the cost of rebuilding work in Gaza at around $70 billion.

The "Team Gaza Initiative", launched at a meeting of aid donors in Brussels, will support projects such as restoring water and sanitation, removing debris and re-establishing health systems, the Commission said in a statement, Reuters reported.

Spain, Denmark, Britain, Germany, Norway, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands, France, Japan, Switzerland, Sweden and Belgium, the World Bank and the European Investment Bank are taking part in the initiative, along with the Commission itself, the statement said. Australia and Canada are also expected to join.

"Our objective is clear: to help build hope, resilience and a better future for the Palestinian people," said Dubravka Suica, the European Commissioner for the Mediterranean.

The European Commission did not provide a breakdown of how much each partner would contribute to the new initiative.

Israel's devastating aerial and ground bombardment of Gaza displaced nearly the entire population of 2 million people, most of whom now live in tents or damaged buildings in a greatly reduced coastal strip of territory governed by Hamas.

Israeli troops control nearly 70% of Gaza, patrolling what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu describes as a buffer zone to deter Hamas attacks. Netanyahu says Israel will not withdraw from the territory.

Arab World

Hezbollah Insists on Linking Lebanon to Iran-US Negotiations

People stroll along the seafront in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre after the ceasefire agreement was reached (Reuters). 
People stroll along the seafront in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre after the ceasefire agreement was reached (Reuters). 
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Hezbollah Insists on Linking Lebanon to Iran-US Negotiations

People stroll along the seafront in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre after the ceasefire agreement was reached (Reuters). 
People stroll along the seafront in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre after the ceasefire agreement was reached (Reuters). 

As Lebanon places its hopes on direct negotiations with Israel, Hezbollah continues to insist that the Lebanese file be tied to Iran-US talks, with party officials declaring Sunday that Lebanon would be the first item in any final agreement.

Days before a sixth round of Lebanese-Israeli negotiations expected in Rome, Hezbollah MP Hussein Hajj Hassan said Iranian officials had assured Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem that Lebanon would top the agenda of any potential final agreement with Washington.

“The first item will be a permanent ceasefire, an end to the war and an Israeli withdrawal,” Hajj Hassan told a memorial ceremony, calling this a clear and sufficient Iranian commitment.

He also denounced the Framework Agreement between Lebanon and Israel as “full of sins, flaws and loopholes.” It linked redeployment to pilot zones whose number and size remained unclear, he argued, while making disarmament dependent on Israeli satisfaction with the outcome.

Hajj Hassan renewed Hezbollah’s refusal to surrender its weapons. “Disarmament is unattainable,” he told Lebanese officials. “You will not be able to achieve it, and we will not hand over our weapons.”

Fellow Hezbollah MP Ibrahim Mousawi likewise reaffirmed support for the “resistance and its leadership,” maintaining that its popular base would remain steadfast despite mounting pressure.

Mousawi claimed Lebanon was the first item in the memorandum of understanding signed by Iran and the United States in Islamabad. He also criticized Lebanon’s negotiating track, arguing that sovereignty was achieved through defending and sacrificing for the country, not through slogans.

President Joseph Aoun, however, has insisted on keeping the Lebanese and Iranian tracks separate.

“Under no circumstances will I allow anyone to negotiate on Lebanon’s behalf,” Aoun said recently, adding that Lebanon had secured Israeli recognition that it had no territorial ambitions in the country.

“The state’s train has left the station, and the decision to establish a state monopoly on weapons will be implemented,” he added.

Meanwhile, Israeli violations continued across southern Lebanon early Sunday. Israeli forces demolished homes in Majdal Zoun, fired toward houses in Mansouri and carried out explosions in Bint Jbeil. Artillery struck Kfar Tibnit, while machine-gun fire was reported from Qantara. An Israeli aircraft also dropped a stun grenade near Mansouri, and artillery fire sparked blazes around Hamra Farm, between Zawtar al-Sharqiya, Arnoun and Yohmor al-Shaqif.

Lt. Col. Ella Waweya, the Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesperson, maintained that Israel would not allow Hezbollah to rebuild. She wrote on X that the 551st Brigade, under the 91st Division, had completed a two-month deployment in southern Lebanon, during which Israeli troops killed more than 80 Hezbollah members and destroyed over 200 sites, including underground routes, launchers, weapons depots and observation posts.

The developments came as a US military delegation visited Beirut to discuss implementing an Israeli withdrawal from the first pilot zone.

Lebanon, Israel and the United States signed the Framework Agreement in Washington on June 26. It provides for a phased Israeli withdrawal alongside Lebanese Army deployment. Implementation, however, remains stalled by Israel’s demand that further withdrawals be tied to Hezbollah’s disarmament, which the group rejects while continuing to rely on Iran’s role in any future settlement.

 

 

 

Arab World

Pilot Zones: Netanyahu Rejects Simultaneous Israeli Withdrawal, Lebanese Army Deployment

An Israeli flag hangs on a damaged building in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
An Israeli flag hangs on a damaged building in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
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Pilot Zones: Netanyahu Rejects Simultaneous Israeli Withdrawal, Lebanese Army Deployment

An Israeli flag hangs on a damaged building in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
An Israeli flag hangs on a damaged building in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Implementation of the “pilot zones” in southern Lebanon under the Framework Agreement remains stalled by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to allow the Lebanese army to deploy simultaneously with an Israeli troop withdrawal, a move intended to prevent a security vacuum.

The issue has become a top US priority as Washington presses Netanyahu to facilitate the Lebanese army’s deployment ahead of the sixth round of US-mediated Lebanese-Israeli talks, scheduled for July 15-16 in Rome.

The negotiations are expected to discuss the formation of joint committees, including a coordination committee headed by US General Joseph Clearfield, to oversee the Lebanese army’s deployment in the areas covered by the agreement and coordinate field operations to ensure smooth implementation.

The talks are also expected to consider expanding the pilot zones beyond southern towns already under Lebanese state control to include, in phases, towns that remain under Israeli occupation. The proposed committee would intervene immediately to address any operational problems that could disrupt the deployment.

A ministerial source told Asharq Al-Awsat that a recent meeting between the Lebanese army command and the US monitoring team overseeing the deployment ended with an understanding that Lebanese forces should deploy simultaneously with an Israeli withdrawal. The plan would extend beyond areas already under state control to include occupied towns.

According to the source, the main obstacle remains Netanyahu himself, who opposes both the concept of pilot zones and the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from occupied Lebanese towns.

The source said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio intervened during the fourth and fifth negotiating rounds to pressure the Israeli delegation into making the pilot zones a main clause because they would pave the way for the Lebanese army’s deployment up to the international border.

The source argued that Netanyahu’s position is shaped by domestic politics as he prepares for parliamentary elections and therefore opposes any explicit commitment in the Framework Agreement requiring an Israeli withdrawal.

Instead, Netanyahu insists that the Lebanese army first deploy only in towns outside the occupied areas to test its ability to establish full control and prevent any armed Hezbollah presence before considering subsequent phases.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, however, continues to insist on simultaneous deployment and withdrawal, the source underlined, adding that his position has received backing from the US monitoring team following a meeting with Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM).

The source added that Aoun reiterated the same position during talks with US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, who expressed understanding for Lebanon’s insistence on simultaneity and did not object to amending certain provisions of the Framework Agreement, describing it as a negotiating roadmap rather than a final accord.

In practical terms, the source said, any amendments would facilitate implementation on the ground with US support. Lebanese and American preparations for the deployment plan are complete, pending Netanyahu’s approval of simultaneous implementation.

Issa is said to view the planned July 21 meeting in Washington between US President Donald Trump and Aoun as an opportunity to gauge whether the US administration is prepared to back Lebanon with concrete action rather than rhetoric.

The source said Washington’s military pressure on Iran serves two objectives: compelling Tehran to honor its commitments under its memorandum of understanding with the US and ending its interference in Lebanon by encouraging Hezbollah to facilitate implementation of the Framework Agreement, now viewed as the only viable path after the military option collapsed.

According to the source, Trump remains committed to supporting Lebanon, while Washington continues to pressure Iran to curb the Revolutionary Guard’s role in Lebanese affairs and remove obstacles to implementing the agreement, seen as the only route toward an Israeli withdrawal.