Talks to bring an end to the fighting in Sudan are focusing on proposals to open three humanitarian corridors to deliver food and medicine as 20 million people are cut off from aid, US special envoy for Sudan Tom Perriello said on Monday.
Action must be swiftly taken as a child dies every two hours in the famine-stricken Zamzam displacement camp in the west of the country, which has been at war since April last year, he said.
“Our first priority is to look at how to open three roads that collectively would ensure that 20 million people who are currently cut off completely or largely from food and medicine would be able to get that relief,” the envoy told a news conference in Geneva, where the negotiations are being held.
He said about 100 lorries loaded with humanitarian assistance could travel from Chad to Zamzam camp in northern Darfur as early as Tuesday.
The Zamzam camp, home to about 500,000 people, was declared famine stricken by a UN-backed report this month. It sits close to El Fasher, a north Darfur city the Sudanese Armed Forces and their rival, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, have been fighting to control for months.
The fighting over El Fasher has displaced tens of thousands who found refuge in the Zamzam camp, whose creation dates to the civil war in Darfur in the 2000s.
More than a year into the war between the army and the RSF, he added, as many as two million Sudanese were starving and another 20 million suffered a shortage of food.
He said efforts were being made to persuade the army and the RSF to allow aid agencies to safely operate in three corridors to deliver food and medicine to Sudan's hardest stricken areas in Darfur, Kordofan in south-west Sudan as well as Sennar and Blue Nile to the south of the capital, Khartoum.
Last week, the military said it will open one of the three corridors – the Adre border crossing between northern Darfur and Chad – for three months.
Mr Perriello is in Geneva for talks on Sudan that have since last week brought together delegates from the UN, the African Union, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Switzerland.
The talks were initially called to broker a ceasefire, but the army boycotted the process, forcing participants, including the RSF, to shift their focus to finding ways to deal with Sudan's humanitarian crisis.
Army chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan has maintained he would not negotiate with the RSF before the paramilitary pulled out its fighters from private homes and state facilities they have occupied as provided for under an agreement on the protection of civilians brokered by the US and Saudi Arabia in May 2023.
Nevertheless, mediators are in touch with the army.
“The RSF delegation remains here, and we have met with them, and we have worked by phone with the army to accelerate progress that saves lives for the Sudanese people,” Mr Perriello told reporters.
Sudan's ruling, military-led sovereign council said on Sunday that, following a conversation with Mr Perriello, it was sending a delegation to Egypt to discuss the army's participation in the Geneva talks. It said its delegation, which will include two senior military officers, will meet in Cairo with a team of US and Saudi officials.
The US envoy, however, said on Monday that participants were in regular contact with representatives of the Sudanese military but added that their physical presence in Geneva would have produced more results.
Acknowledging that the military's boycott made working towards a cessation of hostilities “difficult,” he said: “We could have done more for the Sudanese people if the army had a delegation here.”
The war in Sudan began when weeks of tension between the army and the RSF over their role in a hoped-for Sudan turned into violence. The fighting has displaced about 10 million Sudanese, of whom more than two million fled to neighbouring countries.
Both sides claim to be fighting the other to bring freedom and democracy to Sudan. Both, however, are accused of committing war crimes in the war.
The specs: 2018 Renault Koleos
Price, base: From Dh77,900
Engine: 2.5L, in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Power: 170hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 233Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.3L / 100km
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
How they line up for Sunday's Australian Grand Prix
1 Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2 Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari
3 Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari
4 Max Verstappen, Red Bull
5 Kevin Magnussen, Haas
6 Romain Grosjean, Haas
7 Nico Hulkenberg, Renault
*8 Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull
9 Carlos Sainz, Renault
10 Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes
11 Fernando Alonso, McLaren
12 Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren
13 Sergio Perez, Force India
14 Lance Stroll, Williams
15 Esteban Ocon, Force India
16 Brendon Hartley, Toro Rosso
17 Marcus Ericsson, Sauber
18 Charles Leclerc, Sauber
19 Sergey Sirotkin, Williams
20 Pierre Gasly, Toro Rosso
* Daniel Ricciardo qualified fifth but had a three-place grid penalty for speeding in red flag conditions during practice
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Results
Ashraf Ghani 50.64 per cent
Abdullah Abdullah 39.52 per cent
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar 3.85 per cent
Rahmatullah Nabil 1.8 per cent
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
The specs: 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor
Price, base / as tested Dh220,000 / Dh320,000
Engine 3.5L V6
Transmission 10-speed automatic
Power 421hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 678Nm @ 3,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 14.1L / 100km
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EYango%20Deli%20Tech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EUAE%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELaunch%20year%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERetail%20SaaS%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESelf%20funded%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
A little about CVRL
Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.
One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases.
The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery.
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
Schedule:
Sept 15: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka (Dubai)
Sept 16: Pakistan v Qualifier (Dubai)
Sept 17: Sri Lanka v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 18: India v Qualifier (Dubai)
Sept 19: India v Pakistan (Dubai)
Sept 20: Bangladesh v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi) Super Four
Sept 21: Group A Winner v Group B Runner-up (Dubai)
Sept 21: Group B Winner v Group A Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 23: Group A Winner v Group A Runner-up (Dubai)
Sept 23: Group B Winner v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 25: Group A Winner v Group B Winner (Dubai)
Sept 26: Group A Runner-up v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 28: Final (Dubai)
