Africa

Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha is one of several players not included the Ivory Coast squad for an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.

Theresa May outlines plans to stop abusive images being shared online as her African tour concludes.

Three people have been killed in Soweto as looters raid foreign-owned shops in the township.

Cameroon's Norbert Owona, homeless for two years, thanks Samuel Eto'o for promising him a new house.

The line up for the quarter-finals of the Confederation Cup is complete with five teams sealing their places after the final group games.

Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta says a new audit will show how public servants, including himself, got their wealth.

Elizabeth Ohene considers the controversial proposal to limit women to having three babies in Ghana.

Tanzanian designer Joctan Cosmas Malule makes traditional outfits for use in films and music videos.

A photographer spent 29 days on board a Spanish rescue boat off the coast of Libya

Deputy High Commissioner to UK, Kabiru Bala, calls for international cooperation.

Agnes Pareiyo is a Kenyan Maasai woman on a mission to educate people on the harm done by female genital mutilation.

August 28, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - Russia's Ambassador to Khartoum, Vladimir Zheltov, said the joint economic committee between Sudan and Russia would hold its 6th meeting in Moscow next month.

The semi-official Sudan Media Center (SMC) ha quoted Zheltov as saying the meeting would discuss a number of economic and political issues particularly on the domain of minerals.

He pointed out that the Russian embassy and the Sudanese government are currently working to determine the agenda of the meeting.

Zheltov added the Russian side would be headed by the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment while the Sudanese side is headed by the Minister of Minerals.

Politically, Russia is seen as a major ally of the government of al-Bashir that faces isolation from the West. However, economic cooperation between the two countries has remained very low, with a trade balance that does not exceed $400 million.

In December 2015, Sudan and Russia signed 14 cooperation agreements in different domains, including oil, minerals and banks.

The agreements also include a concession contract between Sudan and the Russian Rus Geology to prospect for oil in Sudan's Bloc E57 and another accord for the geological mapping of the Jebel Moya area, North Kordofan State.

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August 28, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said it has arrested twenty-eight illegal migrants the on border triangle among Libya, Sudan and Egypt on Monday.

Following the fall of Muammar Gaddafi's 40-year-rule in 2011, Libya has slid into chaos and has become the most important transit country for illegal migrants to Europe.

In press statements on Tuesday, Director of Guidance and Services Department at the RSF Murtada Osman Abu al-Gasim said the 28 illegal migrants are Sudanese nationals, pointing out that they were heading towards the Libyan territory.

He added human trafficking gangs attempted to sneak the 28 illegal migrants into Libya, saying these are the same gangs that had recently kidnapped Egyptian troops.

Last month, Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) freed five Egyptian troops abducted by Libyan gunmen on the border triangle between Libya, Sudan and Egypt.

Abu al-Gasim also said the RSF continued to carry out its duties in protecting the national borders, stressing their keenness to maintain border security and stability.

He further said the RSF have been deployed on Sudan's various borders to fight against negative phenomena including arms and illegal drugs smuggling and human trafficking.

In June 2016, hundreds of RSF elements have been deployed in the remote desert of the Northern State shortly after a complaint by the governor of drug and human trafficking by the criminal networks.

The RSF militia, which is widely known as the Janjaweed militias, were originally mobilised by the Sudanese government to quell the insurgency that broke out in Sudan's western region of Darfur in 2003.

The militia was activated and restructured again in August 2013 under the command of the NISS to fight rebel groups in Darfur region, South Kordofan and Blue Nile states following joint attacks by Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF) rebels in North and South Kordofan in April 2013.

Last year, the Sudanese parliament passed the RSF Act which integrates the
notorious militia in the Sudanese army and provides that its commander
is appointed by the President of the Republic.

Sudan is considered as a country of origin and transit for the illegal migration and human trafficking. Thousands of people from Eritrea and Ethiopia are monthly crossing the border into the Sudanese territories on their way to Europe through Libya or Egypt.

In January 2014, the Sudanese parliament approved an anti-human trafficking law which punishes those involved with human trafficking with up to 20 years imprisonment.

Also, in 2014, Khartoum hosted a conference on human trafficking in the Horn of Africa, organised by the African Union (AU), the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Sudanese government.

The East African nation has also forged a strategic partnership with several European countries and the EU to combat illegal migration and human trafficking.

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As the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) gears up for the upcoming academic year – with some 250 schools in Ebola-affected health zones – the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is scaling up education; health and water; sanitation; and hygiene programmes to assist children and their teachers.

August 28, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - The SPLM-IO leader Riek Machar has accepted to initial the final document of the revitalized peace agreement, announced the Sudanese foreign ministry in a statement released on Tuesday evening.

After intensive negotiations held with the Sudanese foreign minister and chief negotiator El-Dirdeiry Ahmed Machar has agreed to initial the final document on Thursday 30 August, said the statement.

"In return, the Sudanese mediation pledged to fill the points that Dr Riek Machar requested to examine it to the IGAD Summit for a mandate to be discussed," stressed the short statement.

On Tuesday morning, Machar's group refused to initial the final document asking to review the quorum for the cabinet meeting or the legislative assembly etc.. has not been changed after the increase of the cabinet members to 55 ministers. So he demanded to review this point.

Further, In a joint statement with the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA), his group has reiterated it that the permanent constitution-making process should be through the National Constitutional Assembly not the government-controlled National Constitutional Review Commission.

The Sudanese chief mediator in a previous statement on Tuesday said the issues raised by the SPLM-IO are not part of the mandate of Khartoum Round of talks, stressing that they cannot open a discussion on these topics unless all the parties agree.

Juba refused to discuss the matter.

Also, the South Sudanese negotiating delegation refused a compromise providing to ask South Sudanese to choose between the 32 or the 10 states. The mediators thought this can be a solution to settle the disagreement on the number of states and boundaries but they had to withdraw it after Juba veto.

The SSOA and the SPLM-IO deplored the position of the mediation in this respect saying it "will not reflect well on the impartiality of the Mediators and will throw doubts into the whole process".

But the Sudanese foreign ministry said this issue will be referred to the IGAD heads of state and government who decided to include the 32 states to the Khartoum Round.

The final document was initialled by the South Sudanese government, the SPLM-FDs, Other Political Parties (OPP) and the civil society representatives.

It is not clear if the SSOA will reconsider its position on the document, but the group leader Gabriel Chang Changson in his joint statement with the SPLM-IO they "shall remain on the negotiating table".

The final document has to be approved by the IGAD leaders before to be formally signed by the parties.

The parties have to discuss the implementation matrix until from the Wednesday 29 August to 2 September.

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August 28, 2018 (KHARTOUM) -The Sudanese foreign minister and IGAD chief mediator Tuesday said the SPLM-IO of Riek Machar and the South Sudan Opposition Alliance have refused to initial the final document of the revitalized peace agreement.

“The main opposition party, led by Machar, as well as another group, refused to sign, demanding guarantees over their reservations” El-Dirdeiry Ahmed.

The two groups have underscored their concerns on two different issues.

The SPLM-IO objected to the constitution-making process saying the permanent constitution have to elaborate through the National Constitutional Conference and not by the government-controlled National Constitutional Review Commission as provided in the draft agreement.

For the opposition alliance, their concerns were mainly focused on the referendum which is set by the mediation as the default solution to fix the disagreement over the number of the 32 states unilaterally established President Kiir. So, they call to re-establish the old 10 states as the default option.

On Monday evening, El-Dirdeiry and South Sudan information minister already announced the rejection to sign the deal by one of the two parties, adding that the other failed to meet the deadline and said the signing will be on Tuesday morning.

For the issue of the states, the mediators maintained the referendum as the default option but added two new elements. The first is to review the current boundaries of states and to ensure their conformity to the 1.1.1956 tribal border. The second that people would be asked if they want the 10 states system or the 32 states regime.

For the concern of the SPLM-IO, it is unclear what the mediators have proposed to the main opposition group.

The call for democratic reforms and was the reason that led to the eruption of the five-year civil war in South Sudan.

The Sudanese mediators are expected to reach the two parties to break the deadlock.

President Salva Kiir has already arrived in Beijing where he will meet Chinese leaders ahead of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation is scheduled for 3-4 September.

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August 27, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - A group of Sudanese activists has called to protest against the rising food prices in the country and accused the government of failing the address the economic crisis.

Since January 2018, bread prices have doubled and recently country experienced fuel and bread crises.

In a statement issued on Monday, the Sudan Revolution Command Initiative has called on the Sudanese to take to the street in Khartoum to overthrow the regime of President Omer al-Bashir.

The activists said they have already started the protests in different parts of the capital saying they can no more patience and "time has come to remove this tyranny".

Small groups were seen during the evening in Khartoum chanting anti-government slogans since few days.

The group further called on the Sudanese people to support the protests and to form the "leadership of the revolution" in order to continue this popular uprising by peaceful means until the collapse of the regime.

For its part, the U.S. embassy in Khartoum issued a demonstration alert advising the American nationals to avoid Khartoum neighbourhood of Al Sajjana and Al Hilla Al Jadida.

The embassy said demonstrations would begin on Tuesday at 6:00 am, adding that "Protestors plan to block major roads".

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August 27, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - The head of the Sudanese intelligence and security services Salah Gosh is visiting Mogadishu for talks with his Somali counterpart

Salah Gosh, former chief of Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS), smiles at his home after his release, in Khartoum July 10, 2013 (REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah)

Different Somali media reported Gosh's arrival in the Somali capital on Monday in a short visit for the horn of Africa country.

In Khartoum, the Sudanese authorities or official media didn't announce the visit.

The different Somali media outlets that reported the visit said the Sudanese official would discuss the Qatari funded training of Somali security and intelligence agents.

The Somali government was formed after a long UN-backed process to end the war, reunify and rebuild the centralized authority which had collapsed in 1991.

The Somali government is also fighting the Islamic extremist rebels Al-Shabaab who continue to carry out attacks across the country in a bid to weaken the state regular forces.

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August 27, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - The initialling of the final document of revitalized South Sudan peace agreement has been adjourned to Tuesday as some parties failed to hand over their observation or simply rejected it.

In line with the agenda of the talks, the parties to the negotiations had to initial the final document after concluding the three-day discussions on bracketed issues before to discuss the implementation matrix.

The South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA) rejects the referendum as a default solution to settle the disagreement over the number of states, while the SPLM-IO expressed strong reservation to the constitution-making process proposed by the mediation.

Sudanese Foreign Minister and Chief Mediator El- Dirdeiry Ahmed and South Sudan Information Minister Michael Makuei on Monday evening told reporters about the adjournment of the signing saying some failed to give their observations and other others reject the text.

Minister El Dirdeiri announced that the signing was delayed to Tuesday morning.

For his part, Makuei explained that the parties finished the text on Monday morning and were given the semi-final draft at about 05:00 pm, adding they handed it back to the mediation at 07:00 pm

He regretted that the rejection of the document by those who were party to the formulation and discussion of this same text.

Further, he went to claim that some of "these groups which are obstructing today" rejected the document because "there are some hidden hands some hidden groups behind all those".

He called on the opposition groups to join them and co-sign the document on Tuesday morning at 8:30 am.

"So that we take peace to our people in South Sudan, he stressed.

El-Dirdeiry stressed that the signing will take place on Tuesday pointing out that some are still preparing their observations.

"The document is accepted by all the parties and I do not think that there is a reason for any party to not sign it," he said.

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For more details please read
IGAD mediators propose to ask South Sudanese to choose between 32 or 10 states
SPLM-IO says drafting of permanent constitution should be "people-driven process

August 27, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) on Monday seized copies of Al-Jareeda and Al-Saiha newspapers from the printing house without stating reasons.

A Sudanese man reads a newspaper as he waits to pay at a kiosk in the capital Khartoum (AFP)

Journalists working for the two newspapers told Sudan Tribune the confiscation comes in continuation of previous confiscations which began prior to Eid al-Adha holiday.

They pointed out that the NISS director Salah Gosh, in a recent meeting with Chief-Editors of the newspapers, has stated redlines that mustn't be crossed including the president of the republic.

Gosh also warned the Chief-Editors against covering news of the armed movements in Darfur, and the Two Areas.

It is noteworthy that Al-Saiha columnist Abdel-Bagi Al-Zafer has recently published 'the behind-the-scenes report' on the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) decision to amend its constitution to re-nominate al-Bashir for a third term in 2020 elections.

Also, reliable sources told Sudan Tribune that the NISS has targeted Al-Jareeda because of its continued reporting on the opposition alliance “Sudan Call” which includes armed groups from Darfur region, South Kordofan and Blue Nile states.

Al-Jareeda has been one of the most newspapers in Sudan subject to suspension and confiscation. In May 2016, the NISS confiscated copies of the newspaper four times during five days.

The Sudanese security usually issues verbal directives to the Chief-Editors banning them from publishing particular news especially those pertaining to the protests and armed movements or other issues which the security sees sensitive.

It routinely confiscates newspapers either to prevent circulation of certain stories or to punish them retroactively for breaching unwritten red lines inflicting financial and moral losses on these media houses.

On January 7, the NISS confiscated 6 newspapers for publishing reports about the popular protests against the harsh economic conditions.

Also, in February 2015, it seized entire print runs of 14 newspapers in one day without stating the reasons for its decision.

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