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The beach, Red Sea State, Port Sudan, Sudan.

Eric Lafforgue / Hans Lucas via Reuters Connect

Sudan’s lost sea access worsens humanitarian disaster

Since fighting between rival military factions in Sudan erupted last April, nearly 8 million people have been displaced, and 24 million require urgent food aid. But the crisis now may begin to beggar description as the country loses access to its Red Sea coast and migrants stream across its borders.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attends a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, on June 28, 2023.

REUTERS/Alina Smutko

Ukraine extends its reach ... and to some strange places

With the frontlines stuck, and its conventional munitions dwindling, Kyiv is looking to expand its reach against Russian interests – both near and far.

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Two men cast their votes in the early presidential election in the Azerbaijani capital on Wednesday.

DPA via Reuters

Hard Numbers: Azerbaijan “votes” for Aliyev, UN seeks Sudan aid, Marines missing in California, Orcas swim to safety off Japan, Marianne Williamson calls it quits

94: Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev was “reelected” almost unanimously on Wednesday, garnering 94% of the vote to secure his fifth term in office, according to a state media exit poll. Aliyev likely called the snap election to leverage any good feelings he generated with his quick war last September to take control of the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh. While Azerbaijan’s elections are neither free nor fair, it’s a step up from 2013, when the country released election results before the polls opened.

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FILE PHOTO: A volunteer stirring food to be distributed to people in Omdurman, Sudan, September 3, 2023.

REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig/File Photo

Hard Numbers: Crisis deepens in Sudan, Infernos rage in Chile, Moon is shrinking, Japan welcomes digital nomads, NJ scores World Cup final, Swift's lucky numbers

8,000,000: The United Nations reported this week that 10 months of violent conflict in Sudan have displaced nearly 8 million people and caused at least 12,000 deaths. The war between the rebel Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Army has left nearly half of Sudan's population in need of aid and the International Criminal Court investigating allegations of war crimes.

112: At least 112 people are dead and 190 missing in wildfires consuming the central regions of Chile, including the historic port city of Valparaiso. Arson is suspected to have ignited the blaze that burned over 106,255 acres during the intense heatwave sweeping South America.

150: Over millions of years, the moon has shrunk by 150 feet in diameter – and now, scientists are growing concerned. The shrinking, caused by the cooling of the moon's molten core, has led to the formation of thrust faults and “moonquakes” that could pose risks to future lunar missions, notably at its south pole.

10,000,000: If you’ve got a yen to work in Japan, this is your lucky day. To boost tourism, the country will be offering a “specified activities” visa to digital nomads from 49 countries and territories, including the self-employed. This will allow them to work remotely and stay for up to six months as long as they earn an annual income of 10 million yen, or $68,300. The program is expected to start in late March.

39: FIFA World Cup released the schedule and locations of games for the 2026 tournament, which will be played in Mexico, the US, and Canada. At 39 days, it will be the longest World Cup in history, culminating with a final to be played in “New York/New Jersey” (which means MetLife stadium in … New Jersey). Among other curiosities, close observers noted that there’s a chance of a knockout round match between the US and England on July 4 in Philadelphia. Get your 1776 on …

4: Last night, Taylor Swift became the first artist to win four Grammy awards for album of the year with "Midnights." The pop star, who now has 14 statues on the mantle, thanked her fans by announcing that her new album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” will drop on April 19. And for those wondering where she will be on Feb. 11, the Embassy of Japan in Washington, DC, tweeted on Friday that the singing superstar can “comfortably” get from her concert in Tokyo on Saturday to Las Vegas on Sunday in time to see her “guy on the Chiefs” play in the Super Bowl.

Sudan's General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan listens to the national anthem after landing in the military airport in the city of Port Sudan, Sudan, August 27, 2023.

REUTERS/Ibrahim Mohammed Ishak

Iran tiptoes into the war in Sudan

Is Iran looking to tip the scales in Sudan’s bloody civil war in the government’s favor? Tehran sent shipments of the Mohajer-6, an unmanned aerial vehicle armed with precision-guided missiles, to the Sudanese army, senior Western officials told Bloomberg.

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People hold pots as volunteers distribute food in Omdurman, Sudan, September 3, 2023

REUTERS

Sudan descends into disaster

A United Nations report delivered to the UN Security Council Friday has found that between 10,000 and 15,000 people were killed last year in the city of El Geneina in the West Darfur region of Sudan. This exceeds the UN’s original estimate of 12,000 deaths following six months of ethnic violence committed by the country’s Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and allied Arab militia against its Masalit minority.

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Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo in Juba, South Sudan on October 21, 2019.

REUTERS/Samir Bol

RSF calls for a cease-fire in Sudan: peace effort or publicity stunt?

The Rapid Support Forces, the dominant paramilitary group fighting in Sudan, has announced it is open to an immediate, unconditional cease-fire. Sudan’s civil war has displaced nearly 6 million people and killed more than 10,000 since it began in April 2023.

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A general view of the UN Security Council.

Reuters

UN’s footprint in Africa shrinks again, courtesy of Sudan

With Russia abstaining, the UN Security Council voted unanimously on Friday to wind down its 245-person Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan, aka UNITAMS, starting Dec. 4. Over the next three months, tasks will transfer to other UN agencies “where feasible,” and financial arrangements will be made with the UN Country Team remaining on the ground.

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