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In a statement on Saturday, the RSF accused the army of violating the ceasefire and destroying the country's mint in an air strike. Those who remain in Khartoum are struggling with failures of services such as electricity, water and phone networks. On Saturday, Sudanese police said they were expanding deployment and also called in able retired officers to help. Services have collapsed and chaos has spread in Khartoum," said 52-year-old Ahmed Salih, a resident of the city. The RSF has denied reports that its soldiers are engaged in sexual assaults or looting.

☆ CNN getting more Republicans on-air as it seeks political diversity
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Helen Coster | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

We need to show both sides of every issue.”Advertisers “don’t want to be part of an advocacy network” but they do want to be part of a news network, Zaslav said. CNN has taken heat for its broadcast of a May 10 town hall with former Republican President Donald Trump. On Wednesday CNN chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour publicly criticized the town hall in remarks at Columbia Journalism School, the first of the network’s on-air talent to do so. “I still respectfully disagree with allowing Donald Trump to appear in that particular format,” Amanpour said, according to the CNN “Reliable Sources” newsletter Wednesday night. The Trump town hall attracted 3.3 million viewers, making CNN the most-watched cable news network that evening, according to Nielsen data.

☆ Warner Bros. Discovery CEO Zaslav backs CNN chief Licht amid anger over Trump town hall
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Alex Sherman | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Discovery CEO David Zaslav supported CNN CEO Chris Licht during an investor conference Thursday as tension at the network rises over the decision to air a live Donald Trump town hall packed with his supporters. Zaslav continues to be supportive of CNN's decision to host the Trump town hall, according to a person familiar with his thinking. "He's the frontrunner — he has to be on our network," Zaslav said on CNBC's "Squawk Box." Amanpour said she met with Licht this week to convey her disappointment with airing a Trump town hall in the format in which it happened. Amanpour is the first significant CNN journalist to publicly criticize Licht and Zaslav's decision to air the town hall.

☆ Christiane Amanpour voices dissent over Trump town hall, says she had ‘very robust exchange’ with CNN chief
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —It has been one week since CNN’s town hall with Donald Trump — and the fierce fallout stemming from the event is still reverberating. She said that Licht “welcomed that exchange of views,” but stood by his decision to hold the town hall. After hearing out Licht, Amanpour told the Columbia Journalism School graduates that she had not been moved. In private, the town hall has been widely criticized by employees at all levels across the organization. A CNN spokesperson said Licht was aware she planned to address the town hall in her speech.

☆ The Case for Journalistic Independence
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( David Leonhardt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The occasion is a new essay in the Columbia Journalism Review by A.G. Sulzberger, our publisher, in which he explains why The Times’s guiding principle is independence. Sulzberger writes:Independence is the increasingly contested journalistic commitment to following facts wherever they lead. Those may sound like blandly agreeable clichés of Journalism 101, but in this hyperpolarized era, independent journalism and the sometimes counterintuitive values that animate it have become a radical pursuit. Independence calls for plainly stating the facts, even if they appear to favor one side of a dispute. The idea of journalistic independence has many critics, he notes.

"I am moving freely around my forces, I am present in Bahri, I am present in Omdurman, I am present in Khartoum, I am present in Sharq al-Nil," Hemedti said. "They are spreading rumours that Mohamed Hamdan has been killed, and these are all lies that show that they are being defeated ... 'FALLING APART'Residents report a rise in looting and lawlessness after police vanished from the streets at the outset of the conflict. On Monday an employee of Sharq el-Nil hospital said the southern part of the facility had been hit by an air strike. On Sunday Burhan froze the bank accounts of the RSF and affiliated firms, and replaced the central bank governor.

[1/3] A man walks while smoke rises above buildings after aerial bombardment, during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum North, Sudan, May 1, 2023. Riyadh and Washington earlier welcomed the "pre-negotiation talks" between the army and the RSF, and urged them to actively engage following numerous violated ceasefires. But both sides have made it clear they would only discuss a humanitarian truce, not negotiate an end to the war. Turkey's foreign minister said Turkey would move its embassy from Khartoum to Port Sudan following the attack. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan was travelling to Saudi Arabia at the weekend for talks with Saudi leaders.

[1/3] Smoke rises above buildings after an aerial bombardment, during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum North, Sudan, May 1, 2023. "It's been four days without electricity and our situation is difficult," said 48-year-old Othman Hassan from the southern outskirts of the city. Despite multiple ceasefire declarations, the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) appeared to be fighting for territory ahead of proposed talks. The army and RSF, which had shared power after a coup in 2021, have accused each other of breaching a string of truces. The U.N. has pressed the warring sides to guarantee safe passage of aid after six of its trucks were looted.

[1/2] A view shows a damaged car at Martyr Muhammad Hashem Matar Street in Bahri, Khartoum North, Sudan, April 30, 2023, in this still image taken from video obtained by Reuters. Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands wounded since a long-simmering power struggle between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted into conflict on April 15. Violence has rocked the capital Khartoum and risks reawakening war in the vast Western region of Darfur scarred by a two-decade old conflict, despite numerous ceasefire pledges. We are extremely concerned by the immediate as well as long-term impact on all people in Sudan and the broader region," he said. In Khartoum, the army has been battling RSF forces entrenched in residential areas.

He said no timeline had been set for talks. The prospects of negotiations between the leaders of the two sides have so far seemed bleak. "They both think they will win, but they are both sort of more open to negotiations, the word 'negotiations' or 'talks' was not there in their discourse in the first week or so," he said. While the sides had made statements that the other side had to "surrender or die," Perthes said, they were also saying, "ok we accept ... some form of talks". Jeddah had been offered as a venue for "military-technical" talks while Juba had been offered as part of a regional proposal by East African states for political talks.

☆ Elon Musk says Twitter will soon let publishers charge to read content on a 'per article basis with one click'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Aaron Mcdade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Twitter users could soon have the option to pay to read individual articles rather than subscribe to a news outlet. Elon Musk said Saturday that a feature allowing publishers to charge for one article would roll out next month. Media publishers may soon be able to charge Twitter users to read individual articles shared on the platform rather than require them to purchase a subscription to a paywalled outlet. Twitter CEO Elon Musk announced Saturday that the company plans to roll out the feature next month, allowing news outlets to "charge users on a per article basis with one click." It's also currently unclear what amount, if any, of the payment to read an individual article would go to Twitter.

The army and the paramilitary RSF, which are waging a deadly power struggle across the country, had both issued statements saying they would uphold a three-day ceasefire from Friday for Islam's Eid al-Fitr holiday. The army has air power but the RSF is widely embedded in urban areas including around key facilities in central Khartoum. Burhan said the army was providing safe pathways but that some airports including in Khartoum and Darfur's largest city Nyala were still problematic. [1/5] People gather to get bread during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum North, Sudan, April 22, 2023. The army on Friday accused the RSF of raiding the prison, which the paramilitary force denied.

[1/5] People gather to get bread during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum North, Sudan, April 22, 2023. The army and the paramilitary RSF, which are waging a deadly power struggle across the country, had both issued statements saying they would uphold a three-day ceasefire from Friday for Islam's Eid al-Fitr holiday. The army has air power but the RSF is widely embedded in urban areas including around key facilities in central Khartoum. The army said the United States, Britain, France and China would evacuate diplomats and other nationals from Khartoum "in the coming hours". The army on Friday accused the RSF of raiding the prison, which the paramilitary force denied.

[1/4] People gather at the station to flee from Khartoum during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum, Sudan April 19, 2023. Guterres and senior officials from the U.S., Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and Egypt called Sudan's army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan to urge an end to violence. Urging a three-day ceasefire, he said civilians trapped in conflict zones should be allowed to escape and to seek medical treatment, food and other supplies. Witnesses in the city of El-Obeid, east of Darfur, described clashes between the army and RSF troops and widespread looting. Many other local people remain trapped, along with thousands of foreigners in a city that has become a war zone.

[1/2] Smoke rises from burning aircraft inside Khartoum Airport during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum, Sudan April 17, 2023. Gunfire was heard in Bahri and residents reported violent clashes west of Omdurman where they said the army had moved to block the arrival of RSF reinforcements. Some of the most intense fighting has been focussed around the compound housing the army HQ and the residence of Sudan's military ruler, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. The army controls access to Khartoum and appeared to be trying to cut off supply routes to RSF fighters, residents and witnesses said. More people have been leaving the capital with most able to pass but some stopped at checkpoints, according to residents and social media posts.

"The hospitals now serving the wounded are so few, with limited number of doctors, so there's overcrowding of wounded," said Esraa Abou Shama, a doctor at Sudan's health ministry. Over four days of fighting nine hospitals in Sudan have been hit by artillery and 16 forcibly evacuated, the Sudanese Doctors' Union said, with none still providing a full service inside the capital. His hospital's water and cooking gas tanks have been hit, many staff fled, and diesel fuel for the power generator is almost exhausted, he said. Staff cannot access the morgue because of the fighting, so dead bodies are stored in rooms with air conditioning turned up. "We all have the same problems - electricity, water, staff.

The army's high command said it would continue operations to secure the capital and other regions. Khartoum residents were asked to limit their electricity usage, as the state's distribution authority said the servers that manage online purchases of power had gone out of service. Many residents planned to travel south to rural areas of Khartoum state or Gezira state if the ceasefire had held. The outbreak of fighting pitting Sudan's military leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against RSF chief General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, followed rising tensions over a plan for the RSF's integration into the regular military. Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz in Khartoum, Nafisa Eltahir; Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Frank Jack DanielOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

From a vantage point in his home, Motasim said that earlier on Tuesday he could see RSF troops aiming anti-aircraft missiles from the street below. Residents from other districts said shops had been looted and people ejected from homes by armed men. In the well-heeled Khartoum 2 district, an area that is home to embassies and RSF offices, residents said RSF troops had stormed homes and raided supermarkets. RSF buildings and bases are dispersed across the capital, often in densely populated areas that have become a focus for fighting. Elsewhere in the capital area, several people told Reuters they saw RSF troops dispersing quickly into streets of residential districts when airstrikes began.

[1/3] Smoke rises from the tarmac of Khartoum International Airport as a fire burns, in Khartoum, Sudan April 17, 2023 in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said an immediate ceasefire was needed, saying that view was shared by the international community. By Sunday it appeared that the army was gaining the upper hand in the fighting in Khartoum, using air strikes to pound RSF bases. Sudan has been affected by rising levels of hunger in recent years as an economic crisis has deepened. The WFP says it reached 9.3 million people in Sudan, one of its largest operations globally.

The Sudanese Doctors' Union earlier reported at least 25 people were killed and 183 wounded in battles that erupted on Saturday between the military and the RSF. The army told soldiers seconded to the RSF to report to nearby army units, which could deplete RSF ranks if they obey. The military and RSF, which analysts say is 100,000 strong, have been competing for power as political factions negotiate forming a transitional government after a 2021 military coup. The RSF shared a video that it said showed Egyptian troops who "surrendered" to them in Merowe. Clashes also erupted between the RSF and army in the Darfur cities of El Fasher and Nyala, eyewitnesses said.

The Sudanese air force is conducting operations against the RSF, the army said. Footage from broadcasters showed a military aircraft in the sky above Khartoum, but Reuters could not independently confirm the material. A Reuters journalist saw cannon and armoured vehicles deployed in streets, and heard heavy weapons fire near the headquarters of both the army and RSF. The RSF, which analysts say is 100,000 strong, said its forces were attacked first by the army. Civilian political parties that had signed an initial power-sharing deal with the army and the RSF called on them to cease hostilities.

☆ Fact Check-No evidence Anonymous hacked Tucker Carlson’s Twitter account
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A screenshot of Carlson’s Twitter bio shared on social media says “Non-binary climate change activist of color. One March 15 tweet said: “Last night, Tucker Carlson's Twitter was hacked by Anonymous to show him as a ‘non-binary climate change activist of color’” (here). As of March 20, Carlson’s Twitter bio (@TuckerCarlson) reads: “Emmy-award-winning broadcast journalist, graduate of Harvard College & Yale Law School. A similar bio could be seen on May 12, 2022, according to archived versions of Carlson’s Twitter account (here), (here). There is no evidence that Anonymous hacked Tucker Carlson’s Twitter account or changed his bio, and a Fox News spokesperson denied the allegation.

☆ Trump says that if he's reelected he won't use the powers of the presidency to punish his enemies, but adds that he'd be 'entitled to a revenge tour'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Trump said if reelected he won't go on a revenge tour even though he's 'entitled' to one. He went on a tirade against the New York Times and Washington Post for their reporting on Russiagate. "I was a victim," he told Hewitt. Trump said he planned to sue to have the outlets return their Pulitzer Prizes, calling the Washington Post the "Washington Compost." "The Pulitzer Prize is supposed to be for great reporting, for accurate reporting, congratulations," Trump told Hewitt.

☆ How different media outlets are handling the Tyre Nichols arrest footage
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

“This will not be easy for anyone,” CNN anchor Erin Burnett said before playing the footage for the network’s audience. In such cases, often a decision is made to run the graphic footage in an uncensored manner for a limited time, before later airing more limited clips of the incident. Just hours before the release of the Nichols footage, graphic video capturing the grisly attack on Paul Pelosi, the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was also released to the public. “We had no idea what that was going to look like and that should have had a warning and a graphic warning before we showed it and then on screen,” Faulkner said. Content warnings were applied stressing to audiences that the footage was graphic in nature.

Black users have long been one of Twitter’s most engaged demographics, flocking to the platform to steer online culture and drive real-world social change. But a month after Elon Musk took over, some Black influencers are eyeing the exits just as he races to shore up the company’s business. And while there is no hard data on how many Black users have either joined or left the platform over that period, some prominent influencers say they’re actively pursuing alternatives. Some signs indicate a slowdown among Black Twitter users that predates Musk. “It’s crippling to the economies of cities when Black folks leave, platforms when Black folks leave, entertainment sites when Black folks leave,” she said.

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