Sudan's army chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan has toned down his criticism of a US plan to end his country's civil war, shifting from rejecting it as the “worst” proposal he had seen to saying it is up to “relevant authorities” to draft a response.
Gen Al Burhan further moderated his position when he called on US President Donald Trump to bring peace to Sudan in an opinion piece published on Wednesday in the Wall Street Journal.
“The Sudanese people now look to Washington to take the next step: to build on the US President's honesty and work with us – and those in the region who genuinely seek peace – to end this war,” he wrote.
“The consensus among Sudanese is that Mr Trump is a leader who speaks directly and acts decisively. Many believe he has the resolve to confront the foreign actors prolonging our suffering,” wrote Gen Al Burhan.
The first sign of his less hardline tone came in a statement issued on Tuesday night after a meeting of Sudan's Defence and Security Council, which Gen Al Burhan, head of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), chaired.
Sudan, said the statement, thanks Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and President Trump for what it called their interest in Sudan's affairs and their desire to achieve a peace that safeguards the country's unity and the security of its territory.
“The Defence and Security Council has asked the relevant authorities to respond to the road map presented by the American President's adviser on Arab and African Affairs, Massad Boulos.”
However, there was still no commitment to a ceasefire.
On Sunday, Gen Al Burhan dismissed Washington's latest proposal as the “worst” he had received.
He said it sidelined the army and granted legitimacy to the rival Rapid Support Forces. He also vowed to continue the war until the paramilitary group is defeated and thrown out of Sudan.
The military-backed government appeared to throw its weight behind those hard-line comments. A statement issued after a government meeting said it supported them along with “his positions that fulfils the right of the Sudanese people to defend their land and honour”.
Speaking at a news conference in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, Mr Boulos said Gen Al Burhan's criticisms were based on incorrect information.
The US has presented Sudan's warring parties with a proposal for a truce but neither side has formally accepted it, he added. While there were no objections to the content of the plan, the Sudanese army had come back with “preconditions” Mr Boulos described as impossible to achieve.
The RSF has unilaterally declared a cessation of hostilities in response to the US road map. However, the army said on Tuesday it had repelled an RSF attack on a base in the city of Babanoussa, in Kordofan, where the front lines of the 31-month war have shifted after the RSF seized the army's last stronghold in the neighbouring Darfur region.
Mr Trump said last week that Prince Mohammed had urged him during the latter's visit to Washington to be directly involved in the search for peace in Sudan. Tens of thousands of people have been killed in Sudan, more than 12 million displaced and some 30 million – more than half the population – are facing hunger, with pockets of famine surfacing.
Mr Boulos has indicated that the latest US proposals are built on a road map announced in September with Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, but which had foundered. The earlier proposal provided for a 30-day humanitarian truce followed by a longer one in which a civilian-led government oversees the transition to democratic rule.
“We have presented a strong text for a truce, but neither the SAF nor RSF have formally accepted the text we put forward,” Mr Boulos said.
The war in Sudan began in April 2023 after months of tension between Gen Al Burhan and RSF commander Gen Mohamed Dagalo over the future of the army and the paramilitary in a democratic Sudan.
The SAF now controls the capital Khartoum, as well as the central, northern and eastern regions, with a military-backed government that sits in Port Sudan on the Red Sea.
The RSF holds sway over the whole of Darfur and parts of neighbouring Kordofan in the south-west.
Al Shafie Ahmed contributed to this report from Kampala, Uganda.
THE BIO
Ms Davison came to Dubai from Kerala after her marriage in 1996 when she was 21-years-old
Since 2001, Ms Davison has worked at many affordable schools such as Our Own English High School in Sharjah, and The Apple International School and Amled School in Dubai
Favourite Book: The Alchemist
Favourite quote: Failing to prepare is preparing to fail
Favourite place to Travel to: Vienna
Favourite cuisine: Italian food
Favourite Movie : Scent of a Woman
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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South Korea
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Brief scores:
Everton 0
Leicester City 1
Vardy 58'
What is an FTO Designation?
FTO designations impose immigration restrictions on members of the organisation simply by virtue of their membership and triggers a criminal prohibition on knowingly providing material support or resources to the designated organisation as well as asset freezes.
It is a crime for a person in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to knowingly provide “material support or resources” to or receive military-type training from or on behalf of a designated FTO.
Representatives and members of a designated FTO, if they are aliens, are inadmissible to and, in certain circumstances removable from, the United States.
Except as authorised by the Secretary of the Treasury, any US financial institution that becomes aware that it has possession of or control over funds in which an FTO or its agent has an interest must retain possession of or control over the funds and report the funds to the Treasury Department.
Source: US Department of State
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Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
French Touch
Carla Bruni
(Verve)
SERIE A FIXTURES
Friday Sassuolo v Benevento (Kick-off 11.45pm)
Saturday Crotone v Spezia (6pm), Torino v Udinese (9pm), Lazio v Verona (11.45pm)
Sunday Cagliari v Inter Milan (3.30pm), Atalanta v Fiorentina (6pm), Napoli v Sampdoria (6pm), Bologna v Roma (6pm), Genoa v Juventus (9pm), AC Milan v Parma (11.45pm)
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
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Juliot Vinolia’s checklist for adopting alternate-day fasting
- Don’t do it more than once in three days
- Don’t go under 700 calories on fasting days
- Ensure there is sufficient water intake, as the body can go in dehydration mode
- Ensure there is enough roughage (fibre) in the food on fasting days as well
- Do not binge on processed or fatty foods on non-fasting days
- Complement fasting with plant-based foods, fruits, vegetables, seafood. Cut out processed meats and processed carbohydrates
- Manage your sleep
- People with existing gastric or mental health issues should avoid fasting
- Do not fast for prolonged periods without supervision by a qualified expert
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
Company%20profile
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
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