Follow the latest Sudan updates here
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Monday called on the Security Council to exert maximum leverage on the warring parties in Sudan to end the violence, restore order and return to the path of the democratic transition.
“The violence must stop. It risks a catastrophic conflagration within Sudan that could engulf the whole region and beyond.” Mr Guterres said, according to a statement from the council.
He added that the world body would not be leaving Sudan and that he has authorised the temporary relocation, both inside and outside the country, of some UN personnel and their families.
Street battles broke out on April 15 between the forces of military chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan and those of his former deputy Gen Mohamed Dagalo, who heads the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
The dispute between the Sudanese military and the RSF centres on the proposed integration of the paramilitary group into the regular army.
As the fighting rages, countries are working to bring their citizens out of Sudan.
UK Armed Forces Minister James Heappey hinted at possible further military action to help Britons in the country, recognising that “the job isn’t done” when it comes to rescuing the 4,000 or more British and dual citizens trapped in Sudan.
"Work is under way and has been all weekend, and all the back end of last week, to give the Prime Minister [Rishi Sunak] and Cobra options for what else could be done to support the wider community of British nationals in Sudan," he said.
Cobra is the UK's Civil Contingencies Committee. It is an emergency response committee made up of ministers, civil servants and others.
The British government swiftly evacuated diplomats and their families from Sudan, but has come under fire for leaving thousands of British citizens behind, with many saying they feel abandoned by the UK.
Lebanon, Tunisia and Iraq became the latest countries to begin high-risk evacuation operations from Sudan as the death toll climbed to more than 420 on Monday.
About 60 Lebanese citizens were evacuated from Khartoum at the weekend, Lebanon’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday.
Most were evacuated from the city in a convoy before arriving in Port Sudan by land, from where they will sail to Lebanon.
The Tunisian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it would begin the evacuation process for its citizens in Sudan on Monday.
“We are closely following, around the clock, the conditions of the Tunisian community [in Sudan] … and in co-ordination with the Tunisian embassy in Khartoum we will prepare for the evacuation of the Tunisian community, starting Monday, April 24, 2023,” the statement said.
Iraq is co-operating with other countries to evacuate its citizens, foreign ministry spokesman Ahmed Al Sahaf said. He added that so far, 14 Iraqis have been evacuated from Khartoum to Port Sudan.
Jordan's foreign ministry said four military planes left Port Sudan airport overnight heading to Amman with 343 evacuees on board.
Jordanian citizens made up most of the evacuees but there were also Palestinians, Germans, Syrians and Iraqis on board, the ministry said.
A military plane carrying 101 evacuees landed in Berlin on Monday morning, a German military source said. The military said it had so far evacuated 313 from Sudan.
Der Spiegel said Germany had to turn back three military transport planes that were originally due to start taking people out of Sudan last Wednesday.
On Monday, Sweden said that its embassy staff in Khartoum and their dependents, in addition to a number of civilians, were flown to Djibouti.
The Danish government said six of its citizens had chosen to remain in Sudan.
The Spanish government said it flew out about 100 people, including 30 Spanish citizens and 70 others from Europe and Latin America. They were taken from Khartoum to Djibouti at about 11pm local time on Sunday.
Citizens of Argentina, Colombia, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Poland, Mexico, Venezuela and Sudan were also on the plane, the Spanish government said.
France said it had helped transport 388 people out of Sudan while Italy evacuated about 300 people, according to the countries' foreign ministries.
“We reiterate the call for a ceasefire and resumption of dialogue in Sudan,” Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares tweeted.
Endre Stiansen, Norway's ambassador to Sudan, tweeted from a “safe place” outside the country that he feared for the future of his Sudanese colleagues and friends.
Switzerland has closed its embassy in Khartoum and evacuated staff and their families, the Swiss foreign ministry wrote on Twitter.
Ireland said it was sending an emergency team to assist with evacuating its citizens and their dependents.
Egypt, Sudan's neighbour to the north, said it had evacuated 436 citizens by land.
Long convoys of UN vehicles and buses were seen leaving Khartoum, heading east to Port Sudan, about 850km away on the Red Sea, carrying “citizens from all over the world”, according to one Sierra Leonean evacuee.
Several other nations have also begun evacuating their citizens from Sudan, including the UK and US.
On Sunday, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell held a telephone call to discuss Sudan.
“Protection of civilians is a priority,” Mr Borrell tweeted after the call.
The World Health Organisation said the death toll had climbed to more than 420. The Sudan Doctors' Trade Union said 264 civilians had been killed and 1,543 injured.
“Out of Khartoum's 79 hospitals, 55 are out of service,” the union said in a Facebook post.
Thirteen hospitals have been struck during the fighting and 19 were forcefully evacuated, it said.
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
The End of Loneliness
Benedict Wells
Translated from the German by Charlotte Collins
Sceptre
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERobert%20Lorenz%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Liam%20Neeson%2C%20Kerry%20Condon%2C%20Jack%20Gleeson%2C%20Ciaran%20Hinds%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Global institutions: BlackRock and KKR
US-based BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager, with $5.98 trillion of assets under management as of the end of last year. The New York firm run by Larry Fink provides investment management services to institutional clients and retail investors including governments, sovereign wealth funds, corporations, banks and charitable foundations around the world, through a variety of investment vehicles.
KKR & Co, or Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, is a global private equity and investment firm with around $195 billion of assets as of the end of last year. The New York-based firm, founded by Henry Kravis and George Roberts, invests in multiple alternative asset classes through direct or fund-to-fund investments with a particular focus on infrastructure, technology, healthcare, real estate and energy.
Mobile phone packages comparison
Dubai World Cup factbox
Most wins by a trainer: Godolphin’s Saeed bin Suroor(9)
Most wins by a jockey: Jerry Bailey(4)
Most wins by an owner: Godolphin(9)
Most wins by a horse: Godolphin’s Thunder Snow(2)
The biog
Name: Dhabia Khalifa AlQubaisi
Age: 23
How she spends spare time: Playing with cats at the clinic and feeding them
Inspiration: My father. He’s a hard working man who has been through a lot to provide us with everything we need
Favourite book: Attitude, emotions and the psychology of cats by Dr Nicholes Dodman
Favourit film: 101 Dalmatians - it remind me of my childhood and began my love of dogs
Word of advice: By being patient, good things will come and by staying positive you’ll have the will to continue to love what you're doing
Anti-semitic attacks
The annual report by the Community Security Trust, which advises the Jewish community on security , warned on Thursday that anti-Semitic incidents in Britain had reached a record high.
It found there had been 2,255 anti-Semitic incidents reported in 2021, a rise of 34 per cent from the previous year.
The report detailed the convictions of a number of people for anti-Semitic crimes, including one man who was jailed for setting up a neo-Nazi group which had encouraged “the eradication of Jewish people” and another who had posted anti-Semitic homemade videos on social media.
If you go
The flights Etihad (www.etihad.com) and Spice Jet (www.spicejet.com) fly direct from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Pune respectively from Dh1,000 return including taxes. Pune airport is 90 minutes away by road.
The hotels A stay at Atmantan Wellness Resort (www.atmantan.com) costs from Rs24,000 (Dh1,235) per night, including taxes, consultations, meals and a treatment package.
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Saudi Arabia 1-0 Japan
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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