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Sudan Reports First Confirmed Monkeypox Case

Test tube labelled monkeypox virus positive. Reuters file photo
Test tube labelled monkeypox virus positive. Reuters file photo
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Sudan Reports First Confirmed Monkeypox Case

Test tube labelled monkeypox virus positive. Reuters file photo
Test tube labelled monkeypox virus positive. Reuters file photo

Sudan reported its first confirmed Monkeypox case, the country's health ministry said late on Sunday.

A 16-year-old student was confirmed sick with the disease in West Darfur state, the ministry said in a statement posted on its Facebook page.

The ministry said there were at least 38 suspected cases of monkeypox and all tested negative to the virus but one in West Darfur. It said health authorities were working to determine the student's contacts to limit the spread of the virus.

An outbreak of monkeypox could be devastating for Sudan, which suffered from decades of conflict in Darfur and other parts of the country, and international isolation. The East African nation is in turmoil since a military coup last year derailed its short-lived transition to democracy.

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Iraq Holds Kurdish Government Legally Responsible for Continued Oil Smuggling

Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo
Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo
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Iraq Holds Kurdish Government Legally Responsible for Continued Oil Smuggling

Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo
Kurdish protesters block the road in front of trucks carrying oil in the Arbat area near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq February 23, 2025. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed/File Photo

Iraq's oil ministry said on Thursday it holds the Kurdish regional government (KRG) legally responsible for the continued smuggling of oil from the Kurdish region outside the country.

The ministry reserves the right to take all legal measures in the matter, it added.

Control over oil and gas has long been a source of tension between Baghdad and Erbil, Reuters reported.

Iraq is under pressure from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut output to compensate for having produced more than its agreed volume. OPEC counts oil flows from Kurdistan as part of Iraq's quota.

In a ruling issued in 2022, Iraq's federal court deemed an oil and gas law regulating the oil industry in Iraqi Kurdistan unconstitutional and demanded that Kurdish authorities hand over their crude oil supplies.

The ministry said the KRG’s failure to comply with the law has hurt both oil exports and public revenue, forcing Baghdad to cut output from other fields to meet OPEC quotas.

The ministry added that it had urged the KRG to hand over crude produced from its fields, warning that failure to do so could result in significant financial losses and harm the country’s international reputation and oil commitments.

Negotiations to resume Kurdish oil exports via the Iraq-Türkiye oil pipeline, which once handled about 0.5% of global oil supply, have stalled over payment terms and contract details.