The new US envoy to Sudan says he is pleased to have international consensus urging Sudanese authorities not to use violence against protesters, after meetings in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
In an exclusive interview, Donald Booth told The National he is on a mission in the region to understand the positions of international partners and ensure "we're rowing in the same direction".
“I was pleased that there was agreement on the need for a truly independent or credible investigation into the events of June 3," said Mr Booth, who took up the position this month.
"I think that’s very important and something we have called for, and so we were pleased to hear that reiterated here.”
On June 3, Sudanese militiamen from the country’s Rapid Security Forces raided a sit-in outside the Defence Ministry to remove what they said were criminal elements.
But it resulted in more than 100 protesters being killed, opposition doctors said.
The international community has called for an investigation into the incident. The military heads ruling the country since they removed President Omar Al Bashir in April have said they will conduct an inquiry.
Mr Booth said the US was concerned about the role of the militia in the raid, and that an investigation was needed to hold accountable those responsible for the deaths.
He said there was a lot of mistrust from opposition groups about the militia since talks stalled on forming a transitional body after three decades of Mr Al Bashir’s National Congress party rule, but the force was not going to leave.
“We have to recognise that the RSF are on the streets of Khartoum," Mr Booth said.
"They are the most powerful force there, you can’t just wish them away and so you have to figure out a way to deal with them, and so that clearly is an area we have been discussing,” he said.
He said the US would warn the force against “unilateral action” and said he had heard similar messages about not wanting more bloodshed from America's Gulf partners during his visit.
“If you think back to April, the RSF was one of those forces that refused to attack protesters and resulted in the fall of Omar Al Bashir," Mr Booth said.
"Why they then turned on their own people a month and a half later I think is a true tragedy for Sudan.
"Now there is definitely a lot of tensions but how to deal with them is something the Sudanese have to come up with some answers to and the international partners are seriously discussing.”
He said that his talks in the UAE, Egypt and Saudi Arabia – three nations who have backed the transition from Mr Al Bashir’s rule – were focused on how to advance negotiations for a civilian-led interim government.
“We compared notes on what our objectives are and we talked about the areas where we certainly share a lot of commonality in not wanting to see further violence, of wanting to see a civilian-led transition government,” Mr Booth said.
Talks between the ruling military council and the main opposition groups, who come under the umbrella of the Forces for Freedom and Change, have stalled since June 3.
But Mr Booth said he hoped that talks at the weekend could be the start of a new round of mediation, with the support of Ethiopia, the African Union, Gulf States, Egypt, the US, EU and UK.
“They are trying to find a way to bridge differences between Sudanese parties and help them get an agreement on forming the government,” he said.
“Sudan has been without an agreed government now for close to three months, and the longer that a vacuum exists the greater the dangers that vacuum will be filled by undesirable forces, whether by unilateral action or by efforts by the former regime to try to resume power.
“I think we’re all in agreement that we want to see a stable Sudan, we want to see one where there is a civilian-led transition.”
Mr Booth said he appreciated international consensus to “counsel Sudanese authorities against using any violence” against protests and “allowing the Sudanese people the right of assembly”.
These freedoms and allowing the protest groups the freedom to speak to the media was important for the military council and the future of the country, he said.
“Unwillingness to let people be heard, we believe, is counterproductive to the very thing that is in the benefit of the generals, security services as well as the broader Sudanese society, which is to reach an agreement now on a transitional government.”
On Sunday, hundreds of thousands of Sudanese marched in towns and cities across the country to urge the generals back to the table. Mr Booth said protest leaders were showing they had “people power”.
But he is also under no illusions about the challenges Sudan faces and described the stalled talks as “a learning curve for both sides”.
Mr Booth said that neither the opposition nor the military were professional politicians or negotiators, so the role of international mediators, such as the African Union, was important to ensure discussions moved towards the end goal.
“My impression is that, at least on the issues they are discussing, they are not that far apart," he said.
"But the issues under discussion are mostly about the structure of the transitional government and there are still many more discussions to be held about exact functions of each part of the transitional government.
"And then, of course, the hard part will be who participates in the transitional government.
“A signature on the structure would send a very positive signal to the Sudanese people and we hope that can be done very quickly, and then the negotiations for the other parts can move quickly after that.”
The Gentlemen
Director: Guy Ritchie
Stars: Colin Farrell, Hugh Grant
Three out of five stars
More coverage from the Future Forum
Panipat
Director Ashutosh Gowariker
Produced Ashutosh Gowariker, Rohit Shelatkar, Reliance Entertainment
Cast Arjun Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Kriti Sanon, Mohnish Behl, Padmini Kolhapure, Zeenat Aman
Rating 3 /5 stars
CHELSEA SQUAD
Arrizabalaga, Bettinelli, Rudiger, Christensen, Silva, Chalobah, Sarr, Azpilicueta, James, Kenedy, Alonso, Jorginho, Kante, Kovacic, Saul, Barkley, Ziyech, Pulisic, Mount, Hudson-Odoi, Werner, Havertz, Lukaku.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
THE DETAILS
Kaala
Dir: Pa. Ranjith
Starring: Rajinikanth, Huma Qureshi, Easwari Rao, Nana Patekar
Rating: 1.5/5
How it works
Each player begins with one of the great empires of history, from Julius Caesar's Rome to Ramses of Egypt, spread over Europe and the Middle East.
Round by round, the player expands their empire. The more land they have, the more money they can take from their coffers for each go.
As unruled land and soldiers are acquired, players must feed them. When a player comes up against land held by another army, they can choose to battle for supremacy.
A dice-based battle system is used and players can get the edge on their enemy with by deploying a renowned hero on the battlefield.
Players that lose battles and land will find their coffers dwindle and troops go hungry. The end goal? Global domination of course.
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At a glance
- 20,000 new jobs for Emiratis over three years
- Dh300 million set aside to train 18,000 jobseekers in new skills
- Managerial jobs in government restricted to Emiratis
- Emiratis to get priority for 160 types of job in private sector
- Portion of VAT revenues will fund more graduate programmes
- 8,000 Emirati graduates to do 6-12 month replacements in public or private sector on a Dh10,000 monthly wage - 40 per cent of which will be paid by government
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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.
'The Lost Daughter'
Director: Maggie Gyllenhaal
Starring: Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Dakota Johnson
Rating: 4/5
Salah in numbers
€39 million: Liverpool agreed a fee, including add-ons, in the region of €39m (nearly Dh176m) to sign Salah from Roma last year. The exchange rate at the time meant that cost the Reds £34.3m - a bargain given his performances since.
13: The 25-year-old player was not a complete stranger to the Premier League when he arrived at Liverpool this summer. However, during his previous stint at Chelsea, he made just 13 Premier League appearances, seven of which were off the bench, and scored only twice.
57: It was in the 57th minute of his Liverpool bow when Salah opened his account for the Reds in the 3-3 draw with Watford back in August. The Egyptian prodded the ball over the line from close range after latching onto Roberto Firmino's attempted lob.
7: Salah's best scoring streak of the season occurred between an FA Cup tie against West Brom on January 27 and a Premier League win over Newcastle on March 3. He scored for seven games running in all competitions and struck twice against Tottenham.
3: This season Salah became the first player in Premier League history to win the player of the month award three times during a term. He was voted as the division's best player in November, February and March.
40: Salah joined Roger Hunt and Ian Rush as the only players in Liverpool's history to have scored 40 times in a single season when he headed home against Bournemouth at Anfield earlier this month.
30: The goal against Bournemouth ensured the Egyptian achieved another milestone in becoming the first African player to score 30 times across one Premier League campaign.
8: As well as his fine form in England, Salah has also scored eight times in the tournament phase of this season's Champions League. Only Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, with 15 to his credit, has found the net more often in the group stages and knockout rounds of Europe's premier club competition.
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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Power: 819hp
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
The biog
Job: Fitness entrepreneur, body-builder and trainer
Favourite superhero: Batman
Favourite quote: We must become the change we want to see, by Mahatma Gandhi.
Favourite car: Lamborghini
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Specs
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Profile of Bitex UAE
Date of launch: November 2018
Founder: Monark Modi
Based: Business Bay, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: Eight employees
Investors: Self-funded to date with $1m of personal savings
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
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Pad Man
Dir: R Balki
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Radhika Apte
Three-and-a-half stars
