Bashir’s Wife Faces Charges of Illicit Enrichment

Bashir’s second wife, Widad Babiker. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Bashir’s second wife, Widad Babiker. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Bashir’s Wife Faces Charges of Illicit Enrichment

Bashir’s second wife, Widad Babiker. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Bashir’s second wife, Widad Babiker. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Sudan’s Public Prosecution has completed investigations into several financial corruption cases and premeditated murder committed during the rule of ousted President Omar al-Bashir. Some lawsuits involve Bashir’s second wife, Widad Babiker, and other leaders who served his regime.

Sudan’s attorney general, Mubarak Mahmoud, has received from the Unlawful and Suspicious Enrichment prosecution the results of investigations led into four cases against prominent figures in the former regime, announced the Public Prosecution in a statement on Wednesday.

Other than Babiker, the cases involve the former governor of Khartoum, the former minister of urban planning, and the ex-official charged with the commission for distributing state revenues.

For Babiker, she faces charges of transgressing and unlawfully owning residential lands and real estate. Babiker has been under house arrest since her release from custody due to health reasons.

In other news, the attorney general visited the new Khartoum prosecution headquarters for empowerment removal and fund recovery and the prosecution headquarters of information crimes and digital investigations.

Mubarak Mahmoud, while inspecting the facilities, reviewed obstacles faced by authorities.

The head of the empowerment removal and funds recovery prosecution, Al-Amthal Abdelfattah, explained that the visit confirms the attorney general’s interest in the progress of work in all prosecutions.

Abdelfattah confirmed that his department, despite being new, is conducting investigations into a large number of lawsuits and that it has recently referred four cases involving suspects who are accused of activities and actions that undermine the constitution.



Biden: Joseph Aoun is ‘First-Rate Guy’

FILE - President Joe Biden addresses the nation from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, July 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, Pool, File)
FILE - President Joe Biden addresses the nation from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, July 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, Pool, File)
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Biden: Joseph Aoun is ‘First-Rate Guy’

FILE - President Joe Biden addresses the nation from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, July 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, Pool, File)
FILE - President Joe Biden addresses the nation from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, July 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, Pool, File)

US President Joe Biden welcomed the election of Joseph Aoun as Lebanon's president on Thursday, saying in a statement that the army chief was the “right leader” for the country.

“President Aoun has my confidence. I believe strongly he is the right leader for this time,” said Biden, adding that Aoun would provide “critical leadership” in overseeing an Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire.

Aoun's election by Lebanese lawmakers ended a more than two-year vacancy and could mark a step towards lifting the country out of financial meltdown.

“We finally have a president,” Biden said later, at the end of a meeting on the response to major wildfires in the US city of Los Angeles.

He said he had spoken to Aoun by phone on Thursday for “20 minutes to half an hour,” describing the Lebanese leader as a “first-rate guy.”

Biden pledged to continue US support for Lebanon’s security forces, and for Lebanon’s recovery and reconstruction, the White House said in a readout of Biden’s call with Aoun.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Aoun's election “a moment of historic opportunity,” which offered Lebanon a chance to “establish durable peace and stability.”

Aoun, who turned 61 on Friday, faces the difficult task of overseeing the fragile ceasefire with Israel in south Lebanon.

Separately, Biden spoke about the hostage talks between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

“We’re making some real progress,” he told reporters at the White House, adding that he had spoken with US negotiators earlier Thursday.

“I know hope springs eternal, but I’m still hopeful that we’ll be able to have a prisoner exchange.”

Biden added: “Hamas is the one getting in the way of that exchange right now, but I think we may be able to get that done. We need to get it done.”