Port Sudan, Sudan: The ongoing civil war in Sudan has provoked one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises in decades, the international chief of the medical charity Doctors Without Borders said Thursday.
War has raged for more than a year between the regular military under army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces led by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
“Sudan is one of the worst crises the world has seen for decades... yet the humanitarian response is profoundly inadequate,” Christos Christou, international president of Doctors Without Borders (MSF), said on social media platform X.
“There are extreme levels of suffering across the country, and the needs are growing by the day,” he added.
The conflict, which began in April 2023 has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and displaced more than nine million people, according to the United Nations.
Both sides have been accused of war crimes including deliberately targeting civilians, indiscriminate shelling of residential areas and blocking humanitarian aid, despite warnings that millions are on the brink of starvation.
Rights groups and the United States have also accused the paramilitaries of ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.
Sudan one of world’s ‘worst crises’ in decades: medical charity
https://arab.news/brmj5
Sudan one of world’s ‘worst crises’ in decades: medical charity
- War has raged for more than a year between the regular military under army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces led by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo
- Both sides have been accused of war crimes including deliberately targeting civilians, indiscriminate shelling of residential areas and blocking humanitarian aid
What We Are Reading Today: ‘On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous’
- Vuong, a celebrated poet, brings his mastery of language to this debut novel, crafting a work that is as emotionally resonant as it is stylistically daring.
Author: Ocean Vuong
Ocean Vuong’s “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous” is a breathtaking and poignant exploration of identity, memory and the enduring impact of generational trauma.
Written as a letter from a son to his mother, the novel bridges the personal and the universal, weaving together themes of love, family and survival with exquisite lyricism.
Vuong, a celebrated poet, brings his mastery of language to this debut novel, crafting a work that is as emotionally resonant as it is stylistically daring.
The narrator, Little Dog, writes to his illiterate mother, recounting his experiences growing up as a Vietnamese immigrant in America. Through this deeply personal lens, Vuong delves into the complexities of their relationship, marked by both tenderness and violence, shaped by her own traumas from the Vietnam War.
Little Dog’s reflections extend beyond their dynamic to explore his own coming of age, his struggles with identity, and the weight of cultural dislocation.
What sets the novel apart is Vuong’s poetic prose, which transforms every sentence into something luminous. His language is evocative and tactile, imbuing even the smallest moments with profound significance. Whether describing the beauty of a first love or the scars left by intergenerational pain, Vuong’s words resonate with a raw honesty that cuts to the core.
At its heart, “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous” is a meditation on the power of storytelling. Little Dog’s letter becomes an act of preservation — a way to make sense of his own life and honor the sacrifices of those who came before him.
Vuong examines the ways memory is shaped by trauma and love, showing how the past informs the present in both painful and redemptive ways.
The novel’s structure, non-linear and fragmented, mirrors the nature of memory itself, creating a narrative that feels both intimate and expansive. While its introspective style and heavy themes may not appeal to all readers, “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous” is an unforgettable work that demands attention.
Vuong has crafted a novel of extraordinary beauty and depth, a tender and haunting reflection on what it means to be human, to love and to endure. It is a book that lingers in the heart and mind long after the final page.
Trump immigration enforcement memo targets migrants who entered legally under Biden
- The US Department of Homeland Security memo provides guidance for the use of a fast-track deportation process
- The process, known as “expedited removal,” had been applied only to people apprehended within 14 days of entering the country
WASHINGTON: The Trump administration is empowering federal immigration officers to consider whether to strip temporary legal status from migrants who entered through former President Joe Biden’s signature “parole” programs in an effort to ramp up deportations to record levels, according to a memo issued on Thursday.
The US Department of Homeland Security memo provides guidance for the use of a fast-track deportation process that the Trump administration reinstated earlier this week, suggesting officers focus on migrants who failed to request asylum within a one-year deadline after arriving in the US
The process, known as “expedited removal,” had been applied only to people apprehended within 14 days of entering the country and within 100 miles (160 km) of the border under Biden. On Tuesday, it was expanded nationwide and applied to all those who entered within two years.
President Donald Trump issued a series of executive orders after returning to the White House on Monday intended to deter illegal immigration and position the US to deport millions of immigrants without legal status.
The Republican president says the moves are necessary after millions of immigrants entered the US under Biden, both crossing illegally and through Biden’s legal entry programs.
Some Democrats and advocates counter that Trump’s aggressive enforcement could target non-criminals, disrupt businesses and split apart families. Immigrant rights group Make the Road New York sued on Wednesday to block Trump’s expansion of the fast-track deportation process.
Some 1.5 million migrants entered the US from 2022 to 2024 through two Biden legal entry “parole” programs aimed at reducing illegal crossings, according to US government statistics. One program allowed migrants waiting in Mexico to schedule an appointment to request asylum at a legal border crossing. Another allowed Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans outside the US to enter by air if they had US sponsors and underwent vetting.
Trump ended those programs on Monday, leaving some migrants in Mexico
stranded and unsure of next steps. Migrants who might have entered legally could face riskier routes if they cross illegally and higher prices from smugglers.
The latest guidance allowing US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to consider stripping active parole from people who entered in the past two years could face legal challenges, one former Biden official said.
ICE made some 500 arrests on Thursday, Fox News reported, about a third of which were people without criminal records. The agency’s daily average for arrests was 311 in fiscal year 2024 and 467 in fiscal year 2023.
Ras Baraka, the Democratic mayor of Newark, New Jersey, criticized ICE last night
for an enforcement action in his city that involved detaining US citizens and a military veteran.
Pakistan forms special task force to curb human smuggling after Morocco boat capsize
- A migrant boat capsized near Morocco’s coast on Jan. 15 while carrying 86 migrants, including 66 Pakistani nationals
- The tragedy once again underscored the perilous journeys many migrants embark on due to conflict, instability at home
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has formed a special task force to curb human smuggling in Pakistan, Sharif said on Friday, days after a migrant boat carrying over 60 Pakistanis capsized near Morocco.
The boat capsized near Morocco’s coast on Jan. 15 while carrying 86 migrants, including 66 Pakistanis, according to migrant rights group Walking Borders.
Moroccan authorities said a day later 36 people were rescued from the vessel which left Mauritania on Jan. 2, while the Pakistani Foreign Office has said the survivors include 22 Pakistanis.
Sharif announced the launch of the task force at a meeting to review action against human traffickers, his office said, adding that the prime minister will himself head the task force.
“The arrests of members of groups involved in human trafficking should be expedited,” Sharif told officials at the meeting. “All institutions, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, should play their full role in identifying human traffickers.”
The Morocco tragedy has once again underscored the perilous journeys many migrants, including Pakistanis, embark on due to conflict and economic instability in their home countries.
In 2023, hundreds of migrants, including 262 Pakistanis, drowned when an overcrowded vessel sank in international waters off the southwestern Greek town of Pylos, marking one of the deadliest boat disasters ever recorded in the Mediterranean Sea. More recently, five Pakistani nationals died in a shipwreck off the southern Greek island of Gavdos on Dec. 14.
The Pakistani government has ramped up efforts in recent months to combat human smugglers facilitating dangerous journeys for illegal immigrants to Europe, resulting in several arrests. PM Sharif has also urged increased collaboration with international agencies like Interpol to ensure swift action against human trafficking networks.
Officials informed participants of Friday’s meeting that so far, six organized human trafficking gangs have been identified, 12 cases have been registered, three key traffickers have been arrested, and 16 names have been placed on the passport control list. They were also apprised of the details of seizure of vehicles, bank accounts and assets.
“The murderers of humanity involved in human trafficking will be brought to justice,” Sharif said.
King Abdulaziz University hosts National Development Fund’s governor at panel discussion
- Stephen Groff looks at achieving aims of Saudi Vision 2030
RIYADH: King Abdulaziz University hosted Stephen Groff, the National Development Fund’s governor, in a panel discussion at the Academic Dialogue Table organized by the Faculty of Economics and Administration.
Groff discussed the role of the NDF and the broader development ecosystem in achieving Saudi Vision 2030, in an event also attended by Dr. Tareef Al-Aama, the university’s president.
Groff said that the fund aimed to enhance developmental impact and improve productivity, highlighting the key strategic priorities and ongoing initiatives being provided to entities under the fund’s umbrella, such as economic diversification and growth stimulation.
He added that the NDF contributed to creating sustainable job opportunities as well as supporting small and medium-sized enterprises and entrepreneurship.
Groff stressed that one of the fund’s core missions was to develop infrastructure by financing large-scale projects in sectors such as transportation, housing, and public utilities through its affiliated entities, including the recently established National Infrastructure Fund.
He explained that the primary mission of the fund, as a development finance institution, was to empower development funds and banks to achieve their sector-specific objectives, beneficiary goals, and activity targets, while focusing on specific areas and ensuring the financial sustainability of development finance entities in the future.
He concluded by stressing the critical role of the fund in reviewing and evaluating the impact of every program, project, or initiative aimed at addressing developmental needs, economic priorities, challenges, and available opportunities.
Sudan army breaks paramilitary siege on key base: military source
- “Our forces were able to lift the siege on the Signal Corps,” the source in the Sudanese army told AFP
- “This victory opens the way to link our forces in Bahri (Khartoum North) with our forces in the General Command“
PORT SUDAN: The Sudanese army broke a paramilitary siege on one of its key Khartoum-area bases on Friday, paving the way to also freeing the besieged military headquarters, a military source said.
The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had since the outbreak of the war with Sudan’s army in April 2023 encircled both the Signal Corps in Khartoum North and the General Command of the Armed Forces, its headquarters just south across the Blue Nile river.
“Our forces were able to lift the siege on the Signal Corps,” the source in the Sudanese army told AFP.
With a months-long communications blackout in place, AFP was not able to independently verify the situation on the ground.
The RSF could not be immediately reached for comment.
“This victory opens the way to link our forces in Bahri (Khartoum North) with our forces in the General Command,” the military source said, requesting anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
A military source had previously told AFP the army was advancing closer to Khartoum North following days of military operations aimed at dislodging the RSF from fortified positions in the city.
This comes around two weeks after the army reclaimed the Al-Jazira state capital Wad Madani, just south of Khartoum, securing a key crossroads between the capital and surrounding states.
The army and the RSF had seemed to be in a stalemate since the military nearly a year ago seized control of Omdurman — Khartoum’s twin city on the west bank of the Nile.
RSF has controlled Khartoum North on the east bank.
They have regularly exchanged artillery fire across the river, with civilians reporting bombs and shrapnel often hitting homes.
The military source said Friday’s advance “will secure Omdurman from the artillery shelling launched from Bahri.”
Seizing the General Command would signal a major shift for the army, securing its positions in all three districts of the capital.
Since the early days of the war, when the RSF quickly spread through the streets of Khartoum, the military has had to supply its forces inside the headquarters via airdrops.
Army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan was himself trapped inside for four months, before emerging in August 2023.
Khartoum and its surrounding state have been torn apart by the war, with 26,000 people killed between April 2023 and June 2024, according to a report by The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
Entire neighborhoods have been emptied out and taken over by fighters as at least 3.6 million people fled the capital, according to United Nations figures.
Across the northeast African country, the war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and uprooted more than 12 million people in what the United Nations calls the world’s largest internal displacement crisis.
Famine has been declared in parts of Sudan but the risk is spreading for millions more people, a UN-backed assessment said last month.
Before leaving office on Monday, the administration of United States president Joe Biden sanctioned Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, accusing the army of attacking schools, markets and hospitals and using food deprivation as a weapon of war.
That designation came about one week after Washington sanctioned RSF leader Mohammad Hamdan Dagalo and said his forces had “committed genocide.”
