World
No benefit in talks without truce, says Sudan’s al-Burhan
Sudan’s navy ruler Normal Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has stated the talks going down in Saudi Arabia with the paramilitary Fast Assist Forces (RSF) could have no profit with out a ceasefire.
Al-Burhan’s remarks on Monday come as warring factions maintain talks in Jeddah in a bid to finish bloodshed that has killed lots of and triggered a mass exodus.
America-backed talks started on Saturday between the military and the rival paramilitary RSF. No progress has been reported to date on the talks, which have centered on the potential of introducing a long-lasting ceasefire.
“We will focus on a settlement after we attain a everlasting ceasefire in Khartoum,” al-Burhan stated in a dwell telephone interview with AlQahera Information, warning that battle would unfold to the remainder of Sudan if a division occurs within the capital Khartoum.
“The scenario is secure in all states aside from Khartoum,” al-Burhan was quoted as saying in Egyptian native media retailers.
To keep away from being focused by navy forces, he added that members of the “brutal and oppressive” RSF are “searching for shelter in civilian properties and in service centres”.
A Saudi diplomat, talking on situation of anonymity, informed AFP information company that the discussions have yielded “no main progress”.
“A everlasting ceasefire isn’t on the desk … either side consider they’re able to profitable the battle,” the diplomat added.
The combatants have beforehand stated they’d attempt to deal with solely a ceasefire and humanitarian points like protected passage. Quite a few ceasefires have been violated because the battle erupted on April 15.
Earlier on Monday, al-Burhan stated the military was searching for a peaceable answer however that there could possibly be discussions a few lasting settlement solely “after we attain a everlasting ceasefire in Khartoum”, the place a number of the combating is centred.
“We consider the peaceable answer is the best path to deal with this disaster,” he stated.
However the sound of air strikes and clashes echoed anew throughout Khartoum on Monday, witnesses stated, and neither aspect has publicly signalled it’s open to concessions.
Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan, reporting from Khartoum, stated there was intense combating between the RSF and the Sudanese military.
“There have been heavy air strikes launched by Sudanese military fighter jets … across the neighborhood of the presidential palace and within the central a part of Khartoum,” Morgan stated.
“All through the day we might see smoke rising from round that space in addition to in east Nile the place residents say air strikes have been additionally launched by Sudanese military fighter jets.”
Within the metropolis of Khartoum North, there have been additionally experiences of artillery shelling, she stated. Residents who have been there say it’s doubtless the “surface-to-air missiles which might be being fired by the RSF in opposition to the Sudanese military fighter jets”.
In the meantime, docs say the scenario in hospitals round Khartoum could be very dire, in response to Morgan, who added that they’re working out of drugs, have a scarcity of employees, and are in determined want of help.
Mahjoub Salah, a 28-year-old physician, witnessed heavy combating and a neighbour getting shot within the stomach in his central Khartoum district of Al Amarat final month, earlier than renting a flat for his household within the south of the capital.
“We’re nonetheless ready for our passports to get issued, however we don’t understand how lengthy this can take,” Salah stated. “Then our plan is to journey from Port Sudan to Saudi Arabia.”
Absence of ‘key stakeholders’
The US-Saudi initiative is the primary critical try to finish combating that has turned components of Khartoum into battle zones, stymied an internationally backed plan to usher in civilian rule after years of unrest, and touched off a humanitarian disaster.
The Saudi International Ministry stated “pre-negotiation” talks have been “within the expectation of reaching an efficient short-term ceasefire to facilitate humanitarian help”.
The US Division of State stated it believed the perimeters had additionally mentioned defending civilians. Talks on any extra everlasting settlement seem far off.
“We aren’t for negotiation proper now with [RSF chief] Normal Hemedti,” Dafallah Alhaj, an envoy to the military chief al-Burhan, stated in South Sudan on Monday.
Nevertheless, analysts have suggested warning on the end result, noting the presence of hardliners within the delegations and up to date RSF territorial features which will dissuade the highly effective militia from concessions now.
“Key home and worldwide stakeholders should not there like Egypt and the UAE, who’re the one ones to date who’ve confirmed that they will assure a ceasefire,” stated Kholood Khair, director of Confluence Advisory, a Sudanese think-tank.
“That no civilians are current recreates failings of earlier political negotiations,” she stated, including that African states that help civilian rule in Sudan have been additionally not current.
1000’s of persons are searching for to go away from Port Sudan on boats to Saudi Arabia, paying for costly industrial flights through Sudan’s solely working airport, or utilizing evacuation flights.
Because the combating erupted, the UN refugee company has registered greater than 30,000 folks crossing into South Sudan, greater than 90 p.c of them South Sudanese. The true quantity is probably going a lot larger, it says.
Support businesses worry the inflow will worsen an already dire humanitarian disaster in South Sudan, which gained independence from Khartoum in 2011 after a long time of civil battle.
World
Italian state railways plans 1.3 bln euro investment in solar plant
World
Christmas in Puerto Rico is a 45-day celebration with caroling, festive decorations, family feasts and more
Christmas, Navidad in Puerto Rico, extends far beyond Dec. 25.
The island proudly proclaims itself as having the “longest holiday season in the world,” according to the website Discover Puerto Rico.
On average, the holiday festivities in Puerto Rico last about 45 days, per the source, commencing right after Thanksgiving, and stretching all the way through mid-January.
HOW TO SAY ‘MERRY CHRISTMAS’ IN 10 LANGUAGES TO FRIENDS AROUND THE WORLD
The holiday season in Puerto Rico is full of rich traditions beloved by families.
One tradition those who visit Puerto Rico will immediately notice during the holiday season is decorations.
In Puerto Rico, decorations are typically put up by Thanksgiving, and kept up until the season concludes in mid-January, with opportune picture moments at every corner.
Parrandas, Christmas caroling, is a holiday staple.
17 SECRET TRAVEL TIPS FOR FALL AND WINTER THAT AREN’T SO SECRET AFTER ALL
Carolers choose houses of family and friends to visit, typically starting around 10 p.m., performing aguinaldos (traditional Christmas songs), with not only their voices, but often with instruments as well, according to Discover Puerto Rico.
The group you begin caroling with is likely not the same group you end with.
In Puerto Rico, when carolers visit a house, they’ll often stop inside for conversation, food and drink before moving to the next residence.
Usually, the residences of the house visited will join the group for the next house, according to Discover Puerto Rico.
CHRISTMAS TREES IN GERMANY WERE DECORATED WITH APPLES INSTEAD OF ORNAMENTS IN THE 1600S FOR ‘ADAM AND EVE DAY’
A night of serenading loved ones can last quite a while, often stretching into the early morning hours of the following day, according to the source.
The biggest day of the holiday season in Puerto Rico actually isn’t Christmas, but instead, the night before.
In Puerto Rico, Dec. 24 is Nochebuena. On that day, loved ones gather for the exchange of gifts, caroling and a large feast.
Many families will also attend a midnight Mass on the day, known as Misa de Gallo.
FLIGHT ATTENDANTS REVEAL THE SURPRISING DAY TO TRAVEL AHEAD OF THE CHRISTMAS RUSH
After Christmas passes, the festivities go on in Puerto Rico.
Another big event in the holiday lineup is Three Kings Day on Jan. 6, a holiday that “commemorates the visit that the Three Wise Men paid to Jesus after his birth,” according to Discover Puerto Rico.
On the eve of the day, children fill up a shoebox with grass to be left for camels to munch on while the Three Kings leave behind gifts for them, according to PuertoRico.com.
For a particularly festive Three Kings Day, Juana Díaz is the place to go, as it hosts the largest celebration in Puerto Rico for the holiday. In Juana Díaz, there is an annual festival and parade in honor of Three Kings Day that brings together over 25,000 people every year, according to Discover Puerto Rico.
Then, eight days later is Octavitas, a post-holiday celebration where families get together and celebrate one last time for the season.
The end of the holiday season is marked with the San Sebastián Street Festival.
This festival, spanning over multiple days, takes place in Old San Juan, and is filled with live music, dancing, shopping and parades.
World
Small plane crashes into Brazil town popular with tourists, killing 10
Twin-engine plane crashed in largely residential neighborhood of Gramado shortly after takeoff, authorities say.
A small plane has crashed into a tourist hotspot in southern Brazil, killing all 10 people on board and injuring more than a dozen people on the ground, officials have said.
The twin-engine Piper PA-42-1000 hit the chimney of a home and the second floor of a different house before crashing into a shop in a largely residential neighbourhood of Gramado shortly after takeoff from Canela, Brazil’s Civil Defense agency said on Sunday.
Rio Grande do Sul Governor Eduardo Leite told a news conference that the aircraft’s owner and pilot, Luiz Claudio Galeazzi, was killed along with nine members of his family.
Leite said that 17 people on the ground were injured, 12 of whom were still receiving treatment in hospital.
Galeazzi’s company, Galeazzi & Associados, confirmed that its CEO and Galeazzi’s wife and three daughters had died in the crash.
“Luiz Galeazzi will be forever remembered for his dedication to his family and for his remarkable career as a leader of Galeazzi & Associados,” the company said in a post on LinkedIn.
“In this moment of immense pain, Galeazzi & Associados is deeply grateful for the expressions of solidarity and affection received from friends, colleagues and the community. We also sympathize with all those affected by the accident in the region.”
Gramado, located in the Serra Gaucha mountains, is a popular destination for vacationers, especially during the Christmas season.
The crash comes a little more than a year after Brazil suffered its worst air disaster in nearly two decades when a twin-engine plane crashed in the southeastern city of Vinhedo, killing all 62 people on board.
-
Politics1 week ago
Canadian premier threatens to cut off energy imports to US if Trump imposes tariff on country
-
Technology1 week ago
OpenAI cofounder Ilya Sutskever says the way AI is built is about to change
-
Politics1 week ago
U.S. Supreme Court will decide if oil industry may sue to block California's zero-emissions goal
-
Technology1 week ago
Meta asks the US government to block OpenAI’s switch to a for-profit
-
Business1 week ago
Freddie Freeman's World Series walk-off grand slam baseball sells at auction for $1.56 million
-
Technology1 week ago
Meta’s Instagram boss: who posted something matters more in the AI age
-
News1 week ago
East’s wintry mix could make travel dicey. And yes, that was a tornado in Calif.
-
Technology2 days ago
Google’s counteroffer to the government trying to break it up is unbundling Android apps