Sudan Bans Travelers from India, Imposes COVID Curbs

Cargo containing a batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), is seen at an airport in Sudan. Reuters file photo
Cargo containing a batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), is seen at an airport in Sudan. Reuters file photo
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Sudan Bans Travelers from India, Imposes COVID Curbs

Cargo containing a batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), is seen at an airport in Sudan. Reuters file photo
Cargo containing a batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), is seen at an airport in Sudan. Reuters file photo

Sudan on Tuesday banned travelers arriving from India and imposed new coronavirus restrictions including closing schools, as coronavirus cases rise.

"Entry will be prevented for all travelers arriving directly from India or through any other country after having visited India in the past 14 days," said the country's ruling council in a statement.

Travelers from Egypt and Ethiopia will be re-tested upon arrival, it said.

India is experiencing elevated numbers of Covid-19 cases following the spread of a variant which has been classified by the World Health Organization as a "variant of concern."

Sudan has registered 34,707 Covid-19 cases including 1,116 fatalities as of May 16.

Authorities fear the virus caseload would exceed 100,000 during the first and second weeks of June if people fail to take the necessary measures, according to the statement.

"The Supreme Health Emergencies Committee ... ordered the suspension of all universities and schools for a month," it said.

Mass prayers and rituals will also be put on hold.

In March, the country began inoculating healthcare workers after receiving AstraZeneca vaccinations through the Covax initiative which provides jabs to poor countries.



Israeli Civilians Enter Lebanese Territory Near Houla

United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) soldiers patrol past the rubble of destroyed buildings in the village of Houla, southern Lebanon, 07 March 2025. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) soldiers patrol past the rubble of destroyed buildings in the village of Houla, southern Lebanon, 07 March 2025. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
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Israeli Civilians Enter Lebanese Territory Near Houla

United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) soldiers patrol past the rubble of destroyed buildings in the village of Houla, southern Lebanon, 07 March 2025. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) soldiers patrol past the rubble of destroyed buildings in the village of Houla, southern Lebanon, 07 March 2025. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH

Lebanon’s army said Friday that the Israeli military had escorted Israeli civilians onto Lebanese territory to visit a Jewish shrine near the village of Houla without permission from Lebanese authorities.

The move was in violation of the US-brokered ceasefire agreement in late November that ended the Israel-Hezbollah war.

Hezbollah began firing rockets across the border on Oct. 8, 2023, one day after a deadly Hamas-led incursion into southern Israel that sparked the war in Gaza. Israel responded with shelling and airstrikes in Lebanon, and the two sides became locked in an escalating conflict that became a full-blown war in late September.
The army statement said the incident “represents a blatant violation of Lebanese national sovereignty” and of the ceasefire agreement under which Israel was supposed to withdraw its forces from all Lebanese territory last month.

The Israeli military withdrew from border villages, but stayed in five strategic overlook locations inside Lebanon. Lebanese leaders have denounced the continued presence of the Israeli troops as an occupation and a violation of the deal.