An 18-storey building in the centre of Khartoum was engulfed in flames on Sunday as fighting intensified between the army and a rival paramilitary group in the Sudanese capital.
Images posted online showed the Greater Nile Petroleum Oil Company Tower, a conical building with glass facades that had become an emblem of the city, on fire as fighting centred on the armed forces' headquarters in the heart of Khartoum, with fighters from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) trying to seize the part of the sprawling complex that remains under army control.
The tower is located in the Nile-side Al Mugran district, a short distance away from the city's downtown area.
Four other key buildings in central Khartoum — the Justice Ministry, State Authority for Measurements, Tax Authority and Ministry of Higher Education — were also gutted by fire in the fighting, which was continuing on Sunday afternoon.
The four buildings are about a kilometre away from the armed forces headquarters.
The fighting was taking place near to where army chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan was stranded for about four months before he was able to slip out last month and leave the capital. He has since been based in the Red Sea city of Port Sudan, visiting Egypt, Qatar, Eritrea, South Sudan and Uganda in the past month.
Video clips posted online on Sunday showed deserted and debris-strewn streets and badly damaged vehicles in central Khartoum with the sound of heavy machinegun fire ringing out in the background. Other clips purported to show fighting inside the armed forces headquarters.
Gen Al Burhan's one-time deputy and ally, RSF commander Gen Mohamed Dagalo, last week threatened to march on Port Sudan. He claimed his fighters were in near total control of the entire Nile-side capital and challenged the army chief's legitimacy as the country's leader.
He has also threatened to set up a governing administration in Khartoum if Gen Al Burhan declares one in Port Sudan. The threat drew warnings from politicians that the country could be heading to effective partition.
It was not immediately clear how the buildings caught fire but the fighting over the nearby armed forces' headquarters involved artillery shelling and air strikes. There has been no word from the army or the RSF on the fires.
The fighting in Sudan boils down to a struggle for political and military supremacy between Gen Al Burhan and Gen Dagalo, who in 2021 staged a joint military coup that toppled the civilian-led government, derailing Sudan's democratic transition and plunging the vast Afro-Arab nation into a political and security crisis.
The conflict has created a massive humanitarian crisis, forcing more than five million of Sudan's 48 million people to flee their homes. More than one million of those sought refuge in neighbouring nations.
There are no reliable estimates for the number of people killed so far but it is widely thought to be in the thousands.
ENGLAND SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Jack Butland, Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope
Defenders: John Stones, Harry Maguire, Phil Jones, Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier, Gary Cahill, Ashley Young, Danny Rose, Trent Alexander-Arnold
Midfielders: Eric Dier, Jordan Henderson, Dele Alli, Jesse Lingard, Raheem Sterling, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Fabian Delph
Forwards: Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, Marcus Rashford, Danny Welbeck
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Kathryn Hawkes of House of Hawkes on being a good guest (because we’ve all had bad ones)
- Arrive with a thank you gift, or make sure you have one for your host by the time you leave.
- Offer to buy groceries, cook them a meal or take your hosts out for dinner.
- Help out around the house.
- Entertain yourself so that your hosts don’t feel that they constantly need to.
- Leave no trace of your stay – if you’ve borrowed a book, return it to where you found it.
- Offer to strip the bed before you go.
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
Monster Hunter: World
Capcom
PlayStation 4, Xbox One
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Match info:
Portugal 1
Ronaldo (4')
Morocco 0
more from Janine di Giovanni
Results
Stage 7:
1. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal - 3:18:29
2. Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - same time
3. Phil Bauhaus (GER) Bahrain Victorious
4. Michael Morkov (DEN) Deceuninck-QuickStep
5. Cees Bol (NED) Team DSM
General Classification:
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 24:00:28
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:35
3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:02
4. Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:42
5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45
MATCH INFO
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi
Director: Kangana Ranaut, Krish Jagarlamudi
Producer: Zee Studios, Kamal Jain
Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Ankita Lokhande, Danny Denzongpa, Atul Kulkarni
Rating: 2.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
