General Abdel Fattah Al Burhan has been invited to Washington by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. EPA
General Abdel Fattah Al Burhan has been invited to Washington by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. EPA
General Abdel Fattah Al Burhan has been invited to Washington by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. EPA
General Abdel Fattah Al Burhan has been invited to Washington by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. EPA

Sudan forms sovereign council to lead transition


Hamza Hendawi
  • English
  • Arabic

Sudan on Wednesday swore in members of a council that will rule for the next three years, the first concrete step toward implementing a landmark power-sharing agreement reached between the military and a protest movement that forced authoritarian ruler Omar Al Bashir from office in April.

Gen Abdel-Fattah Al Burhan, chairman of the Transitional Military Council that ruled Sudan since Mr Al Bashir’s removal, was first sworn in as head of the 11-member Sovereignty Council that will function as a collective presidency until November 2022. Several hours later, nine members of the council were sworn in by Gen Al Burhan himself at the presidential palace in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital.

The nine included four generals and five civilians. The civilians included two women, one of them, Nicola Abdel-Maseeh, is Christian. The 11th member, Mohammed Al-Taayshi, lives in Britain and will be sworn in upon his return later this week.

The swearing-in of the Sovereign Council spelt the end of the transitional military council and signalled the beginning of a rare formal partnership between the military and the opposition that, in theory, will last until late 2022 when free elections are held.

The creation of the Sovereign Council is part of an agreement reached earlier this month and signed at a high-profile ceremony held amid jubilant street celebrations and a wave of optimism on August 17. The agreement outlines a roadmap for Sudan’s transition to civilian rule, including a government of technocrats and a 300-seat legislature to be created in the next three months.

Gen Al Burhan will chair the Sovereignty Council for 21 months, after which a civilian will take over for 18 months.

The nominee for prime minister, economist Abdullah Hamdouk, was scheduled to be sworn in later on Wednesday. Hundreds, many waving Sudanese flags, gathered outside the arrival hall at Khartoum airport to greet him on arrival.

Mr Al Bashir was removed from power by the military on April 11 following four months of street protests against his 29-year, Islamist rule. An alliance of political parties, rebel groups and professional unions borne out of these protests – the Forces of Freedom and Change – negotiated with the military for months in a tortuous process that on occasion looked on the brink of collapse.

The violent break-up by security forces of a sit-in encampment outside the headquarters of the armed forces in Khartoum on June 3 drew a sharp response from the Forces of Freedom and Change, which pulled out of the negotiations. The opposition says nearly 130 were killed in the break-up of the sit-in and that scores remain missing. The power-sharing agreement provides for a thorough and transparent probe into the violence.

The talks resumed following intense, behind-the-scenes mediation by diplomats from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Britain and the United States. Later, envoys from the African Union and neighbouring Ethiopia helped the two sides reach an agreement.

The nomination of two women to the Sovereign Council has been interpreted as a glimpse of a “new Sudan” where inclusion and equality are envisioned to replace the divisions and bitterness created by three decades of war and disenfranchisement under Mr Al Bashir’s tutelage.

Significantly, the Christian member of the council, government legal adviser Ms Abdel-Maseeh, was jointly selected by the generals and the Forces of Freedom and Change. The other female council member is Aisha Al Saeed, who has had a career in education and is a veteran civil society activist.

The transition administration faces a host of serious challenges, including negotiating an end to long-running conflicts in western and southern Sudan. There is also the daunting task of dismantling the “deep state” of regime loyalists planted by Mr Al Bashir over the past 30 years in government, the armed forces and security agencies.

Perilously, overhauling the ailing economy will likely entail the gradual removal of state subsidies on basic commodities like fuel and bread. Past attempts to enact such reforms have been met by street protests. Improving the economy will also likely necessitate an equally sensitive measure: Reducing the massive defence and security budgets that Mr Al Bashir happily sanctioned to maintain his grip on power.

“It’s a revolution and people are expecting milk and honey but, at least in the short term, they will instead get pain,” said a top Western diplomat in Khartoum, alluding to the wave of price hikes likely to follow subsidy cuts.

Ending armed conflicts and effectively eradicating the country’s legendary corruption would likely ease the crunch but, according to the diplomat, continuing emergency aid from Sudan’s backers in the Gulf region is essential to keep the economy afloat in the near and medium future.

The UAE and Saudi Arabia already provided Sudan with $3 billion (Dh11bn) in emergency aid soon after Mr Al Bashir’s removal. Of the $3 billion, $500 million were deposited in the Central Bank to boost foreign currency reserves, while the remainder is being used to finance imports of fuel and basic foodstuffs.

Most wanted allegations
  • Benjamin Macann, 32: involvement in cocaine smuggling gang.
  • Jack Mayle, 30: sold drugs from a phone line called the Flavour Quest.
  • Callum Halpin, 27: over the 2018 murder of a rival drug dealer. 
  • Asim Naveed, 29: accused of being the leader of a gang that imported cocaine.
  • Calvin Parris, 32: accused of buying cocaine from Naveed and selling it on.
  • John James Jones, 31: allegedly stabbed two people causing serious injuries.
  • Callum Michael Allan, 23: alleged drug dealing and assaulting an emergency worker.
  • Dean Garforth, 29: part of a crime gang that sold drugs and guns.
  • Joshua Dillon Hendry, 30: accused of trafficking heroin and crack cocain. 
  • Mark Francis Roberts, 28: grievous bodily harm after a bungled attempt to steal a £60,000 watch.
  • James ‘Jamie’ Stevenson, 56: for arson and over the seizure of a tonne of cocaine.
  • Nana Oppong, 41: shot a man eight times in a suspected gangland reprisal attack. 
Water waste

In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.

Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.

A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.

The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.

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.

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RESULTS
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About Karol Nawrocki

• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.

• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.

• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.

• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.

The Facility’s Versatility

Between the start of the 2020 IPL on September 20, and the end of the Pakistan Super League this coming Thursday, the Zayed Cricket Stadium has had an unprecedented amount of traffic.
Never before has a ground in this country – or perhaps anywhere in the world – had such a volume of major-match cricket.
And yet scoring has remained high, and Abu Dhabi has seen some classic encounters in every format of the game.
 
October 18, IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders tied with Sunrisers Hyderabad
The two playoff-chasing sides put on 163 apiece, before Kolkata went on to win the Super Over
 
January 8, ODI, UAE beat Ireland by six wickets
A century by CP Rizwan underpinned one of UAE’s greatest ever wins, as they chased 270 to win with an over to spare
 
February 6, T10, Northern Warriors beat Delhi Bulls by eight wickets
The final of the T10 was chiefly memorable for a ferocious over of fast bowling from Fidel Edwards to Nicholas Pooran
 
March 14, Test, Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by six wickets
Eleven wickets for Rashid Khan, 1,305 runs scored in five days, and a last session finish
 
June 17, PSL, Islamabad United beat Peshawar Zalmi by 15 runs
Usman Khawaja scored a hundred as Islamabad posted the highest score ever by a Pakistan team in T20 cricket

Scoreline

Liverpool 4

Oxlade-Chamberlain 9', Firmino 59', Mane 61', Salah 68'

Manchester City 3

Sane 40', Bernardo Silva 84', Gundogan 90' 1

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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FIGHT%20CARD
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