Sovereign Council Optimistic about Achieving Comprehensive Peace in Sudan

Sudanese protesters in a mass rally. (AFP file photo)
Sudanese protesters in a mass rally. (AFP file photo)
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Sovereign Council Optimistic about Achieving Comprehensive Peace in Sudan

Sudanese protesters in a mass rally. (AFP file photo)
Sudanese protesters in a mass rally. (AFP file photo)

Head of Sudan's Sovereign Council, Lt. Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan is optimistic about the current negotiations in Juba, indicating that he believes they can achieve comprehensive peace in the country.

Burhan said the government will hold consultations with the United Nations and the African Union (AU) to choose mechanisms for monitoring the ceasefire, and technical and logistical support.

During his meeting with a UN delegation visiting Khartoum, he lauded the UN's partnership with Sudan on peace issues and economic challenges facing the country, noting that all displaced citizens will return to their areas, which requires the provision of basic services such as education, health, and infrastructure.

United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) spokesman Ashraf Eissa said the delegation sought to discuss UN’s contribution to supporting the peace process and a number of issues related to the transitional period.

Eissa relayed a message from the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, confirming that the institutions of the transitional period are the main authority in defining UN's cooperation and work in Sudan at the current stage.

Meanwhile, members of the Sovereign Council and the government delegation to the negotiations, Yasser al-Atta and Mohammad Alfaki Suleiman, returned to Khartoum after their participation in the current round in Juba.

Alfaki stated that they returned to Sudan to conduct further consultations, report on the developments regarding the negotiations and participate in the meeting of the Supreme Peace Council.

In a related context, the Sudanese Prime Minister, Abdalla Hamdok, said that one of the transitional government’s main priorities is to achieve peace and stability in the country.

Hamadok met Sunday with the delegation of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) headed by the movement's Deputy Secretary General, Adam Issa Ibrahim Hasbo.

Ibrahim Hasbo revealed the meeting tackled the issues of prisoners and displaced persons, as well as arrangements with concerned authorities for the Movement's visits to various states of the country.

He affirmed the armed movements' support for the existing transitional authorities because they represent the will of the “December Revolution”.

Meanwhile, head of the National Umma Party, Sadiq al-Mahdi, stressed the need for an alliance between civilians and the military to stabilize the country, calling for an agreement on a new structure of the armed forces.

Speaking at a forum held by his party in Khartoum, al-Mahdi announced that Sudan must sign the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court before extraditing wanted persons.

The Umma Party has repeatedly demanded the extradition of ousted President Omar al-Bashir, wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity.

Al-Mahdi warned against chaos in the country, noting that the international community should realize the importance of achieving stability in Sudan.



Rescue Teams Search for Survivors in Building Collapse that Killed at Least 2 in Northern Lebanon

A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
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Rescue Teams Search for Survivors in Building Collapse that Killed at Least 2 in Northern Lebanon

A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

At least two people were killed and four rescued from the rubble of a multistory apartment building that collapsed Sunday in the city of Tripoli in northern Lebanon, state media reported.

Rescue teams were continuing to dig through the rubble. It was not immediately clear how many people were in the building when it fell.

The bodies pulled out were of a child and a woman, the state-run National News Agency reported.

Dozens of people crowded around the site of the crater left by the collapsed building, with some shooting in the air.

The building was in the neighborhood of Bab Tabbaneh, one of the poorest areas in Lebanon’s second largest city, where residents have long complained of government neglect and shoddy infrastructure. Building collapses are not uncommon in Tripoli due to poor building standards, according to The AP news.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry announced that those injured in the collapse would receive treatment at the state’s expense.

The national syndicate for property owners in a statement called the collapse the result of “blatant negligence and shortcomings of the Lebanese state toward the safety of citizens and their housing security,” and said it is “not an isolated incident.”

The syndicate called for the government to launch a comprehensive national survey of buildings at risk of collapse.


Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
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Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)

Israel's security cabinet approved a series of steps on Sunday that would make it easier for settlers in the occupied West Bank to buy land while granting Israeli authorities more enforcement powers over Palestinians, Israeli media reported.

The West Bank is among the territories that the Palestinians seek for a future independent state. Much of it is under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian self-rule in some areas run by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA).

Citing statements by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz, Israeli news sites Ynet and Haaretz said the measures included scrapping decades-old regulations that prevent Jewish private citizens buying land in the West Bank, The AP news reported.

They were also reported to include allowing Israeli authorities to administer some religious sites, and expand supervision and enforcement in areas under PA administration in matters of environmental hazards, water offences and damage to archaeological sites.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the new measures were dangerous, illegal and tantamount to de-facto annexation.

The Israeli ministers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The new measures come three days before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet in Washington with US President Donald Trump.

Trump has ruled out Israeli annexation of the West Bank but his administration has not sought to curb Israel's accelerated settlement building, which the Palestinians say denies them a potential state by eating away at its territory.

Netanyahu, who is facing an election later this year, deems the establishment of any Palestinian state a security threat.

His ruling coalition includes many pro-settler members who want Israel to annex the West Bank, land captured in the 1967 Middle East war to which Israel cites biblical and historical ties.

The United Nations' highest court said in a non-binding advisory opinion in 2024 that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements there is illegal and should be ended as soon as possible. Israel disputes this view.


Arab League Condemns Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
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Arab League Condemns Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit strongly condemned the attack by the Rapid Support Forces on humanitarian aid convoys and relief workers in North Kordofan State, Sudan.

In a statement reported by SPA, secretary-general's spokesperson Jamal Rushdi quoted Aboul Gheit as saying the attack constitutes a war crime under international humanitarian law, which prohibits the deliberate targeting of civilians and depriving them of their means of survival.

Aboul Gheit stressed the need to hold those responsible accountable, end impunity, and ensure the full protection of civilians, humanitarian workers, and relief facilities in Sudan.