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☆ Sudanese help one another find medicine, water as state collapses
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Mai Shams El-Din | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Elsewhere, individuals have used technology to match local stocks of food, fresh water and medicine to neighbourhoods in need. It mobilised a team of surgeons and other medics, reopened a local health centre for urgent cases and set up a hotline for less urgent ones. It has handled at least 25 medical cases since the fighting began, Surketty said. With most of Khartoum's hospitals shut down, and the few still open offering only limited services, medical needs have been intense. They're not meant to be treated using Telehealth, they actually need to go to a hospital," Mujtaba said.

☆ A journey across Sudan's capital Khartoum, a city transformed by war
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Khalid Abdelaziz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

On the outskirts, people lug suitcases long distances by foot towards bus stops as they try to flee the city. The violence has cut water and power to much of the city, and damaged and closed hospitals. At the main market in Bahri, many buildings were badly damaged and burned by fighting and air strikes. People carrying small bags tried to hitch rides with passing cars or catch minibuses heading out of the city. Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz in Khartoum; Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Frank Jack DanielOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

BANGKOK, April 22 (Reuters) - Thailand's opposition bloc should stick together to dislodge the military from politics and form a government after an election in May, the leader of a popular opposition party told Reuters on the sidelines of a packed campaign rally on Saturday. Thailand's election, on May 14, is shaping up as a contest between pro-military conservatives and the populist opposition led by Pheu Thai Party and its ally the Move Forward Party. Two governments Pheu Thai supported were overthrown by military coups, in 2006 and 2014. He is contesting the upcoming election but recent opinion polls put him behind both Pheu Thai and Move Forward, who maintained first and second places. Pita said that support bases complimented compliment Pheu Thai, backed by the working class and farmers in the rural north and northeast.

[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 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.

The regular army and the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) issued statements accusing each other of failing to respect the ceasefire. "We have not received any indications here that there's been a halt in the fighting," United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric told a news briefing in New York. The fighting has triggered what the United Nations has described as a humanitarian catastrophe, including the near collapse of the health system. Fighting also raged in the west of the country, the United Nations said. [1/7] Satellite image shows a closer view of a burning building at the Merowe Airbase, Sudan, April 18, 2023.

☆ Saudi foreign minister visits Assad, further easing Syria's isolation
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/6] Syria's President Bashar al-Assad meets with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, in Damascus, Syria, in this handout released by SANA on April 18, 2023. The statements made no mention of an Arab League summit that Riyadh is due to host next month. On Friday, Gulf Arab foreign ministers and their counterparts from Egypt, Iraq and Jordan discussed Syria's possible return to the body at a meeting in Saudi Arabia, but no agreement was reached. Saudi Arabia has said in recent months that isolating him was not working. Syria's foreign minister, who recently visited Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Tunisia, has said his country's return to the Arab League would be "almost impossible before correcting bilateral relations".

[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.

KHARTOUM, April 17 (Reuters) - Fighting has erupted across Khartoum and at other sites in Sudan in a battle between two powerful rival military factions, engulfing the capital in warfare for the first time and raising the risk of a nationwide civil conflict. Tension had been building for months between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which together toppled a civilian government in an October 2021 coup. The friction was brought to a head by an internationally-backed plan to launch a new transition with civilian parties. Smoke rises from the tarmac of Khartoum International Airport as a fire burns, in Khartoum, Sudan, April 17. Gulf states have pursued investments in sectors including agriculture, where Sudan holds vast potential, and ports on Sudan's Red Sea coast.

☆ China holds the key to understanding COVID-19 origins: WHO chief
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"Without full access to the information that China has, you cannot say this or that," said Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in response to a question about the origin of the virus. That's WHO's position and that's why we have been asking China to be cooperative on this." Data from the early days of the COVID pandemic was briefly uploaded by Chinese scientists to an international database last month. The WHO's Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead for COVID-19, said the latest Chinese information offered some "clues" on origins but no answers. She added WHO still did not know whether some of the research required had been undertaken in China.

In recent weeks authorities made it harder for same-sex couples to be legal parents and lawmakers proposed an anti-surrogacy law widely seen as targeting gay couples. In January, the government issued orders that municipalities stop the registration of most children with same-sex parents, complicating access to schooling and medical services. Rainbow Families, a group representing same-sex parents in Italy, says its members are parents to around 1,500 children, but that this underestimates the national total. In some places, already-registered children of same-sex families are now being erased from the records, upon the initiative of prosecutors. In similar cases previously, judges have routinely ruled against same-sex parents.

☆ Russia's weekly consumer prices rise quickened in late March
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MOSCOW, April 5 (Reuters) - The rise in Russia's weekly consumer prices quickened at the end of March, data from state statistics service Rosstat showed on Wednesday, with authorities still fighting to slow inflation. Russia's central bank held the key interest rate at 7.5% last month, maintaining a hawkish stance as a widening budget deficit and labour shortages pose ongoing inflationary risks. On Wednesday, Central Bank Deputy Governor Alexei Zabotkin maintained that hawkish signal, addressing the State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament. Consumer prices rose 0.13% in the week to April 3, Rosstat said, compared with a 0.05% rise the previous week. Russia's annual inflation rate in 2022 was 11.9%, almost three times the official 4% target.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres would view any ban on Afghan women working for the United Nations in their country as "unacceptable and, frankly, inconceivable", he said. The restrictions did not initially apply to the United Nations and some other international organisations. In January, the U.N Deputy Secretary-General flagged concerns that authorities could next restrict Afghan women working at international organisations. It was not immediately clear whether foreign embassies in Kabul had received similar instructions on female staff. Article 8 of its governing charter requires the U.N. not to place any restrictions on men and women working for U.N. agencies.

☆ In Russia's St Petersburg, locals say Finland 'making problems' with NATO accession
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ST PETERSBURG, April 4 (Reuters) - Citizens of St Petersburg, the Russian city closest to Finland, on Tuesday accused their neighbour of turning its back on them by joining the Western military alliance NATO, following their government's line that the accession was a hostile act. "I don't think anything will change for us," said St. Petersburg resident Yevgeny, who like others declined to give his surname. Another resident, Nikolai, said Finland was "making problems for itself". "We have always had good neighbourly relations with Finland." Another citizen, Alexei, had a recommendation for Finland: "If they wanted to unite with Russia against NATO, then I would be glad."

☆ India avalanche kills six, injures 30 and traps many more - police
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Rescue team members search for survivors after an avalanche in the northeastern state of Sikkim, India, April 4, 2023. Indian Ministry of Defence/Handout via REUTERSGUWAHATI, India, April 4 (Reuters) - An avalanche in India's northeastern state of Sikkim on Tuesday killed at least six people, injured 30 and trapped many more, local officials said. All six dead were tourists and at least 70 people were feared trapped in the snow, rescue officials said. Rescue operations were on at the site, Reuters partner ANI reported on Twitter. An ANI video showed rescue workers and local residents crowding at the site of the accident.

Nestle (NESN.S) and Hershey (HSY.N) said they paid the LID premium. But when the COVID pandemic cratered demand, global cocoa prices plunged before they built up a cushion. Ivory Coast and Ghana say companies should pay both premiums. Industry data from the International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO) shows cocoa output in Ivory Coast rose to record levels in the 2020/21 season. Of the roughly 2 million tonnes of cocoa Ivory Coast produces each year, between 20-30% is grown illegally in protected forests by an estimated 1.3 million people, many of them children.

☆ Former Kosovo president Thaci pleads not guilty to war crimes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Ivana Sekularac | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

THE HAGUE, April 3 (Reuters) - Former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci on Monday pleaded not guilty to 10 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity as his trial opened at a special court in The Hague. Thaci and three co-defendants, all former close associates in the guerrilla Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and later in peacetime politics, all pleaded not guilty shortly after hearings got underway. "I understand the indictment and I am fully not guilty," Thaci said in court. The trial, conducted by international judges and prosecutors, began with opening statements by the prosecution followed by defence lawyers and a representative of Kosovo's war Victims Council over the ensuing three days. Thaci, 54, resigned as president shortly after his indictment and was transferred to detention in The Hague.

☆ French feminist politician under fire for Playboy front cover
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, April 3 (Reuters) - French junior social affairs minister Marlene Schiappa is facing criticism from her own party for posing in a white dress for the cover of Playboy, with French media reporting Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne called Schiappa to express her displeasure. The furor comes at a time of social unrest in the country as the government is facing a big backlash over pension reforms. The Playboy cover will be accompanied by a 12-page interview in which Schiappa, who brought in legislation outlawing catcalling and street harassment, talks about women's and LGBT rights. In France, women are free. The Playboy issue is available to buy from April 8th, according to Le Parisien.

'LET THE PROCESS PROCEED'Shortly after the news of his indictment broke, Trump appealed to supporters to provide money for a legal defense. As news of Trump's indictment flashed across a news ticker on a Times Square skyscraper on Thursday evening, New York City resident Elizabeth Blaise welcomed the news. Trump lawyer Susan Necheles confirmed the Tuesday surrender date and said she did not expect charges to be unsealed until that day. "Do you really think that they're going to take President Trump out of the running for president because of some old horse-face story? The Manhattan District Attorney's office successfully prosecuted Trump's business on tax-fraud charges last year, leading to a $1.61 million criminal penalty.

☆ China rolls over $2 bln loan to Pakistan - finance minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Asif Shahzad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ISLAMABAD, March 31 (Reuters) - Pakistan's finance minister, Ishaq Dar, said on Friday that China had rolled over a $2 billion loan that matured last week, providing relief during the South Asian nation's acute balance of payment crisis. "I am happy to confirm that this had been rolled over on March 23," Dar told parliament, referring to the maturity date. Dar's comments were the first official announcement of the rollover after the loan matured. A top finance ministry official told Reuters on Wednesday that a formal confirmation of the refinancing would be made after the process was completed. Longtime ally Beijing is the only help Islamabad has got so far, with refinancing of $1.8 billion credited last month to Pakistan's central bank.

☆ India slashes current account deficit in Dec-qtr as trade gap narrows
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Swati Bhat | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, March 31 (Reuters) - India's current account deficit shrank more than expected in the October-December quarter on the back of a narrower goods trade deficit alongside robust services exports and remittances, data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed on Friday. In absolute terms, the current account deficit (INCURA=ECI) was $18.2 billion in the third quarter of fiscal year 2022/23 compared with $22.2 billion last year. The goods trade deficit in the December quarter narrowed to $72.7 billion compared with $78.3 billion in the preceding quarter, the central bank said. The country's balance of payments (INBOP=ECI) recorded a surplus of $11.1 billion compared to a $0.5 billion surplus in the same quarter a year earlier. Reporting by Swati Bhat Additional reporting by Sudipto Ganguly; Editing by Frank Jack DanielOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Italy PM's party presents bill to split retail and investment banks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ROME, March 29 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's party has presented a bill in parliament to separate retail and investment banks - a move that, it approved, would force a radical overhaul of the country's banking sector. Allowing retail banks to engage in "speculative trading" is "dramatically negative for the real economy and undermines the most elementary principles of safeguard for the social and ethical foundation of the economy," the FdI bill states. The draft law, seen by Reuters on Wednesday, would give banks 12 months to reorganise their operations and choose between commercial and financial investment activities. In the United States, calls for similar banking reforms, with the reintroduction of the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act, have come from left-wingers within the Democratic Party, such as Senator Elizabeth Warren. Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte and Alvise Armellini, editing by Frank Jack DanielOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Netanyahu sees Israel joining U.S. Visa Waiver Programme in September
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JERUSALEM, March 29 (Reuters) - Israel expects to join the U.S. Visa Waiver Programme in September, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday, after Israeli legislation of measures required by Washington. The embassy said on Jan. 30 that Israel met its requirement of being below the 3% non-immigrant refusal rate - a reference to the number of applicants turned away due to faulty paperwork. Before Netanyahu's announcement, his national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, said on Twitter that parliament was due to ratify the last of four bills "that will advance us toward getting the U.S. visa waiver for the citizens of Israel". It was not immediately clear whether Israel met another U.S. condition for the visa waiver - free passage for Palestinian-Americans at its airports and into the occupied West Bank. Netanyahu's statement said Israel would in the coming months address outstanding requirements, which it did not detail.

"It is not clear whether some citizens are alive or dead in the earthquake zone. Erdogan's AK Party has said it is committed to a free and fair election that respects the will of the people. BALLOT BOX SECURITYOpposition parties and non-governmental organisations say the exodus of more than 3 million people from the disaster zone poses extra concerns. While some 300,000 to 500,000 of them were thought to have changed addresses, many of those who had left the disaster zone had not, added Tiryaki. For Yigit, the earthquake and what he sees as the government's slow response to the disaster weighs on him as he decides how to vote.

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