What is Ramadan, how long does it last and why do Muslims fast?
Full story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-56695447END
What is Ramadan, how long does it last and why do Muslims fast?
Full story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-56695447END
RESTORING Sudan's membership in the African Union is good news. Africa is the world's second largest continent and contains over 50 countries.
Report from Xinhua China ViewKHARTOUM, March 3 (Xinhua) -- Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, chairman of Sudan's Transitional Sovereign Council, stressed on Sunday Sudan's confidence in the African Union (AU), calling for the restoration of Sudan's full membership in the regional organization.
Al-Burhan made the remarks when he received the delegation of the AU High-Level Panel on the Resolution of the Conflict in Sudan, led by Mohamed Ibn Chambas, in Port Sudan, the capital city of the Red Sea state, the sovereign council said in a statement.
"Al-Burhan expressed Sudan's confidence in the African Union and the solutions it could offer, provided that Sudan deals with the organization as a full member," the statement said.
Al-Burhan further stressed that the basis of the solution lies in the withdrawal of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) from the cities and villages they occupied.
For his part, Ibn Chambas stressed the need to stop the conflict and achieve stability for Sudan and its people, according to the statement.
He pointed to the AU high-level panel's keenness and endeavor to find solutions to the crisis, noting that the panel listened to all Sudanese political forces.
On Jan. 17, the AU announced the formation of a High-Level Panel on the Resolution of the Conflict in Sudan. The panel consists of three African figures, including Ibn Chambas as chairman, besides Speciosa Wandira-Kazibwe, former vice president of the Republic of Uganda, and Francisco Madeira, former special representative of the chairperson of the Commission to Somalia, as members.
The AU had frozen Sudan's membership after Al-Burhan declared a state of emergency on Oct. 25, 2021, and dissolved the Sovereign Council and the transitional government which was headed by the then Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.
Sudan has been witnessing deadly clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF since April 15, 2023. More than 13,000 people have been killed since the fighting broke out, according to recent estimates released by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Source: http://www.chinaview.cn/africa/20240304/db8052893099462796fae829cb34545b/c.html
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A shipment of 7,600 tonnes of wheat flour, donated by Ukraine to the United Nations World Food Programme’s (WFP) Sudan operation, has arrived in Port Sudan and is being loaded onto WFP trucks, for emergency food distribution (Photo: WFP / Abubaker Garelnabei)
Assigned to be a core part of food rations for one million conflict-affected people in Sudan for one month, a shipment of 7,600 tonnes of emergency food aid donated by Ukraine to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Sudan operation, has arrived in Port Sudan, WFP says. The wheat flour is being loaded onto WFP trucks for emergency food distribution.
As the war raging across the country enters its 10th month, WFP is working around the clock to urgently deliver critical food assistance to families in Sudan who are struggling with skyrocketing food insecurity, the WFP says in a statement issued yesterday.
WFP says that the shipment – part of Ukraine’s humanitarian ‘Grain from Ukraine’ initiative launched by President Zelensky – was made possible by the German Federal Foreign Office, which covered the operating costs of €15 million, including the transportation costs from Ukraine to Sudan, and the implementation and distribution within the country to people in need.
Bags of Wheat flour donated by Ukraine to the United Nations WFP Sudan that have arrived in Port Sudan (Photo: WFP / Abubaker Garelnabei)
“The humanitarian situation in Sudan is catastrophic but we need to act now to stop it from spiralling further out of control,” says Eddie Rowe, WFP’s country director in Sudan. “WFP is working at pace to get food assistance into the hands of families that need it as quickly as possible.”
The 7,600 tonnes of wheat flour will be provided to families, many of whom have fled their homes due to the fighting and are struggling every day to meet their food needs. “This donation has arrived at a critical time in Sudan’s hunger crisis as fighting continues to spread ahead of the lean season in May, when food typically becomes scarcer, and hunger rises,” WFP says.
“This donation will enable WFP to support people whose lives have been completely upended by the war. We are deeply grateful to the Ukraine and Germany for supporting the Sudanese people in their greatest hour of need,” says Rowe.
During a press conference held in the Belgian capital Brussels last week, Rowe pointed out that that “five million people in Sudan cannot afford a square meal a day”.
WFP has been warning of a looming hunger catastrophe as the lean season approaches if civilians do not receive food assistance. Currently nearly 18 million people face acute food insecurity in Sudan, of which nearly five million are in emergency levels of hunger (IPC4). WFP has already provided around seven million people with emergency food and nutrition support since the conflict began last April, yet needs continue to grow.
Logistical challenges
The ongoing humanitarian catastrophe across Sudan is exacerbated by logistical challenges faced by organisations in delivering food and medical aid to those most in need, in light of the conflict, breakdown in security, banditry, and communications blackouts.
New reports suggest that the disruptions to shipping in the Red Sea due to escalating security concerns and attacks on commercial vessels has increased the cost of delivering vital supplies to Sudan by 40 per cent.
As reported by Radio Dabanga yesterday, The Darfur Joint Forces, which withdrew from El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur in November, have now completely stopped securing aid convoys from Port Sudan to El Fasher, due to renewed clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the North Darfur capital.
On February 22, the Darfur Network for Human Rights (DNHR) warned that El Fasher is witnessing “an intricate and dire humanitarian crisis as a violent conflict tightly grips the region”.
International law expert Motasim Ali has commented that “denying the right to humanitarian aid to civilians is considered a crime against humanity”.
Bags of Wheat flour donated by Ukraine to the United Nations WFP Sudan offloaded in Port Sudan (Photo: WFP / Abubaker Garelnabei)
Source: https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/wfp-grain-from-ukraine-docks-in-port-sudan
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My next step is to search for news on Sennar, Blue Nile, Gedaref State localities, Central Darfur to learn how people in those areas are managing in blackout and find out if anyone has received/sent a voice call/text/voicemail.
Meanwhile, if anyone affected by telecoms problems in Sudan, and the cost of running a phone, is reading this and can add further details - no matter how small - please email or post at X #keepeyesonsudan.
Going by what I have gathered so far, the telecoms situation in Sudan is extremely alarming and worrying for those living in the yellow part of the map. How are they getting news, help, food, water, meds, electricity? It's like they have been thrown back into the Stone Age. It is totally unacceptable.
Hundreds of Sudanese citizens flocked to the Sudani Telecommunications Company headquarters in Port Sudan to get their hands on the company’s special communication SIM cards. This surge in demand follows weeks of complete communication service interruption in Sudan, a result of the ongoing war in the country.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj Monday, Haired Abdel Salam, a Sudanese citizen, said: “I’ve been attempting to acquire a Sudani SIM for four days now. It’s not about getting a new SIM; rather, I’m trying to restore my old one.” He expressed difficulty in accessing the service due to the large crowds.
Mohammed Mustafa also recounted his visit to Sudani Communications Services, stating, “I needed to obtain a SIM card for the first time because of the communication outage. However, I was taken aback by the overwhelming number of people waiting for the service.” He noted the high cost of the service, even when attempting to acquire it from outside the company premises.
Meanwhile, the Executive Director of the Sudanese Telecommunications Company (Sudani), Engineer Majdi Mohammed Abdullah, stated that over the past five months, despite the loss of the billing system, the company has persevered in its efforts to provide services without charge. Emphasizing the importance of sustaining operations despite the incurred losses, Abdullah highlighted the commitment to continue working despite the challenges faced by the company.
In recent months, Sudan has experienced a complete halt in telecommunications services, impacting both communication and internet services. This situation has raised concerns, particularly with the interruption of essential banking services that citizens rely on, given the wartime conditions. Additionally, various other services dependent on the internet in Sudan have been affected.
View original: https://radiotamazuj.org/en/news/article/sudani-sim-card-frenzy-at-port-sudan-amidst-service-cuts
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UPDATE by Sudan Watch Editor on 25 Feb 2024, added the following:
Sudan Watch - February 12, 2024
NetBlocks: Major internet disruption in Chad, severed fibre optic cable supplying Chad from Cameroon
https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2024/02/netblocks-major-internet-disruption-in.html
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Sudan Watch - February 10, 2024
URGENT MESSAGE to Sir Tim Berners-Lee: The internet belongs to everyone including the Sudanese
https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2024/02/urgent-message-to-sir-tim-berners-lee.html
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Sudan Watch - February 08, 2024
Sudan hit by internet blackout as conflict continues
https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2024/02/sudan-hit-by-internet-blackout-as.html
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Sudan Watch - April 23, 2023
Sudan almost completely disconnected from Internet
Just 2% of all Internet users in Sudan have web connectivity at present
https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2023/04/sudan-almost-completely-disconnected.html
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Sudan Watch - June 24, 2019
Sudan internet shutdown has a projected cost of more than $1 billion, and will continue for three months
NetBlocks, an organization that tracks Internet freedom around the world, described the blackout as a “near-total restriction on the flow of information in and out of Sudan for a significant portion of the population.”
https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2019/06/sudan-internet-shutdown-has-projected.html
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HERE is footage posted to X by Sky News (@SkyNews) February 13, 2024. It shows Sky's reporter @YousraElbagir treading through debris in an empty street with ruins on each side in Omdurman where Sudan's largest street market was destroyed. She reached the city in a battered armoured vehicle.
Omdurman in Khartoum State is Sudan's most populous city. It is approximately 11 kilometres, a 15 minutes drive, from the country's capital Khartoum. Gunshots can be heard in the background of the video.
Since fighting broke out last April, Port Sudan is for now the capital of Sudan. Port Sudan is a city and port on the Red Sea in eastern Sudan, and the capital of Red Sea State. Port Sudan is Sudan's main seaport and the source of 90% of the country's international trade. Read more at Wikipedia.
Sky's @YousraElbagir is in Omdurman, Sudan's most populous city.
— Sky News (@SkyNews) February 13, 2024
Fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Defence Forces has destroyed the nation's largest street market - but the area isn't totally secure yet.https://t.co/OXBz6WA89g pic.twitter.com/FsVbCsI8iy
Africa correspondent Yousra Elbagir gives her personal reflections on what has happened to Sudan's famous street market through this year's conflict.
Souq Omdurman was the beating heart of our mother city. It was a traders' paradise, a meeting point and a lifeline.
A market where more than money exchanged hands. Agreements, ideas and jokes were yelled across its avenues and as visitors passed through, they were either beckoned into the shops or scoffed at for interrupting the banter.
Every trip was an excursion.
My friends and I went for the silver, antique records and leather. Our mothers went for spices, kitchenware and gold. Their mothers went for that and more, and their mothers before them too.
Our grandmothers and great-grandmothers went for different goods in a different era but at the same market with the same streets at the same iconic spot.
"All our memories are in Souq Omdurman. Our entire childhood was in Souq Omdurman - then we got older and bought our wedding things from there too," my mother tells me on the phone from Cairo.
She lost her home in Khartoum overnight and now, the home of her founding moments.
After standing for more than a century, the market has been desecrated and destroyed.
Looted and pillaged by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the early days of the war and then shelled, punctured with bullets and burnt to black in their ensuing battles with the army.
The cupboards of the gold shops were still open when we arrived. An emptied ring tray flattened on the ammunition-covered ashen ground.
At the corner facing the bullet-hole-ridden bus stop, the front of a wedding shop is littered with broken incense holders in traditional Sudanese scarlet synonymous with brides.
A nearby unexploded mortar round sat slanted on the debris and an upside-down fuschia couch blocked the road with dystopian absurdity.
It was there that I wept - out of disbelief and grief - as gunfire rang out a few hundred metres away.
Sounds, sights and smells I would never attach to this place had assaulted my senses all at once.
The loss is generational. Livelihoods and legacies shattered like the store-front glass.
An agony felt most by the shop owners and residents that once lined the streets, radiating outwards to all that walked them.
The heart of our city has stopped beating. The veins have emptied and the pulse has flatlined.
The destruction of Souq Omdurman is a massacre of memory and communal life. A casualty that even peace will struggle to restore.
View original including photos:
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