World
Sudan army chief backs ceasefire extension
Sudan’s army has expressed willingness to extend a shaky ceasefire for a further 72 hours amid continuing battles with the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the outskirts of the capital Khartoum.
The army said late on Wednesday that its leader, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, had given initial approval to a plan to extend the truce – due to expire late on Thursday – for another 72 hours and send an army envoy to Juba, the South Sudan capital, for talks.
There was no immediate response from the RSF to the proposal from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), a regional bloc.
The military said the presidents of South Sudan, Kenya and Djibouti worked on a proposal that includes extending the truce and talks between the two forces.
“Burhan thanked the IGAD and expressed an initial approval to that,” the army statement said.
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken and African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat have also discussed ways to work together to end the fighting in Sudan, the US State Department said in a statement on Wednesday.
African Union leadership remained “essential in pressing the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces to immediately cease military operations and allow unhindered humanitarian access,” it added.
Some of the heaviest battles on Wednesday were in Omdurman, a city on the northern edge of Khartoum where the army was fighting RSF reinforcements from other regions of Sudan, according to the Reuters news agency.
The AFP news agency also reported warplanes flying over the northern suburbs of Khartoum drawing heavy anti-aircraft fire from the paramilitaries. In the south, machine-gun fire was reported near one of the homes of RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti.
Since fighting erupted in Sudan on April 15, at least 512 people have been killed in air raids and artillery attacks. Thousands have been wounded and hospitals destroyed, with many residents – some on foot – trying to flee the unrest.
Hundreds have been killed with Khartoum residents struggling to find food, water and other basic supplies.
A third of the country’s 46 million people were already reliant on humanitarian aid even before the violence began.
World
Former US President Bill Clinton hospitalised with fever
Bill Clinton, the former US president who has faced a series of health issues over the years, was admitted to hospital Monday in Washington after developing a fever, his office said.
“President Clinton was admitted to Georgetown University Medical Center this afternoon for testing and observation after developing a fever,” the 78-year-old’s deputy chief of staff Angel Urena said on social media platform X, adding Clinton “remains in good spirits.”
Bill Clinton was previously hospitalized for five nights in October 2021 due to a blood infection.
In 2004, at age 58, he underwent a quadruple bypass operation after doctors found signs of extensive heart disease. He had stents implanted in his coronary artery six years later.
The health scare motivated him to make lifestyle changes, including adopting a vegetarian diet, and he has since spoken publicly about his efforts.
Clinton’s health last made headlines in November 2022 when he tested positive for Covid-19. He said at the time that his symptoms were “mild” and he was “grateful to be vaccinated and boosted.”
Clinton, who led the United States for two presidential terms from 1993-2001, is the second-youngest living US president, after 63-year-old Barack Obama.
He was born mere months after fellow former US president George W. Bush and President-elect Donald Trump.
Though his prosperous time in office was marred by scandals, he has enjoyed a second life in the two decades after his presidency, which has seen him venture into numerous diplomatic and humanitarian causes.
World
Trump dismisses claims of handing presidency to Musk as ‘hoax’
Could Elon Musk, who holds major sway in the incoming Trump administration, one day become president? On Sunday, Donald Trump answered with a resounding no, pointing to US rules about being born in the country.
“He’s not gonna be president, that I can tell you,” Trump told a Republican conference in Phoenix, Arizona.
“You know why he can’t be? He wasn’t born in this country,” Trump said of the Tesla and SpaceX boss, who was born in South Africa.
The US Constitution requires that a president be a natural-born US citizen.
Trump was responding to criticism, particularly from the Democratic camp, portraying the tech billionaire and world’s richest person as “President Musk” for the outsized role he is playing in the incoming administration.
As per ceding the presidency to Musk, Trump also assured the crowd: “No, no that’s not happening.”
The influence of Musk, who will serve as Trump’s “efficiency czar,” has become a focus point for Democratic attacks, with questions raised over how an unelected citizen can wield so much power.
And there is even growing anger among Republicans after Musk trashed a government funding proposal this week in a blizzard of posts — many of them wildly inaccurate — to his more than 200 million followers on his social media platform X.
Alongside Trump, Musk ultimately helped pressure Republicans to renege on a funding bill they had painstakingly agreed upon with Democrats, pushing the United States to the brink of budgetary paralysis that would have resulted in a government shutdown just days before Christmas.
Congress ultimately reached an agreement overnight Friday to Saturday, avoiding massive halts to government services.
World
Seven confirmed dead in Western Mexico plane crash
At least seven people died when a light aircraft crashed Sunday in a heavily forested area of Jalisco in western Mexico, local authorities reported.
The aircraft, a Cessna 207, was flying from La Parota in the neighbouring state of Michoacan.
Jalisco Civil Protection said via its social media that the crash site was in an area that was difficult to access.
Initial authorities on the scene “reported a preliminary count of seven people dead,” who haven’t been identified yet, according to the agency.
“A fire was extinguished and risk mitigation was carried out to prevent possible additional damage,” it added.
Authorities said they were awaiting the arrival of forensic investigators to remove the bodies and rule out the presence of additional victims.
-
News1 week ago
Naseni’s Executive Vice Chairman, Khalil Suleiman Halilu, Named 2024 Winner Of Daily Global Newspaper Conference Series Award For Science, Technology, Innovation, And Infrastructure
-
Relationships1 week ago
Four dating tips for single mum
-
Relationships6 days ago
‘I wish I met you before the wrong person’ – says Portable’s baby mama, Honey Berry, as she flaunts new lover
-
Politics1 week ago
Ibrahim Kashim resigns as Bauchi SSG
-
Business5 days ago
PoS operators increase withdrawal charges, blame electronic levy, cash scarcity
-
Entertainment1 week ago
Apostle Femi Lazarus, others top Spotify most streamed podcasts in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa
-
News1 week ago
Lagos state government shuts Lord’s Chosen Church, businesses across Lekki, VI, others over noise, environmental infractions
-
Entertainment6 days ago
Bovi speaks against beating children, reveals why his family relocated to UK