PORT SUDAN, SUDAN — Clashes between Sudanese paramilitaries and the regular army have killed at least 57 civilians in the besieged Darfur city of El-Fasher, a medical source and a volunteer aid group said Thursday.
The local resistance committee, a grassroots aid group, said the civilians were killed on Wednesday in clashes and shelling of the city by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, at war with the army since April 2023.
The violence came just days after the RSF killed more than 400 people in attacks on North Darfur's capital of El-Fasher and nearby displacement camps, according to the United Nations.
El-Fasher, which the RSF has besieged for nearly a year, is the last major urban stronghold in Darfur still under army control.
It is a strategic target for the paramilitary group, which has sought to consolidate its hold on Darfur following the army's recapture of the capital Khartoum last month.
In an earlier statement, the army put Wednesday's death toll at 62, including 15 children ages three to 10, and dozens more wounded.
It said it had repelled the "fierce" assault on the city's east in a coordinated response with "allied armed movements, intelligence services, the police" and volunteer fighters.
El-Fasher has been defended in large part by a coalition of army-allied groups known as the Joint Forces.
Hundreds of thousands flee
The war, which entered its third year on Tuesday, has killed tens of thousands, uprooted 13 million and created what the UN describes as the world's largest hunger and displacement crises.
It has also fractured the country essentially in two, with the army holding the centre, north and east while the RSF controls nearly all of Darfur and, along with its allies, parts of the south.
After Friday's major offensive in Darfur, the RSF announced that it had taken full control of Zamzam refugee camp, which is one of Sudan's largest.
Zamzam, home to about one million displaced people according to aid sources, was the first area of Sudan where famine was declared in August last year.
By December, famine spread to two nearby displacement camps in Darfur as well as parts of the south, according to a UN-backed assessment.
About 400,000 people were displaced from Zamzam after the RSF seized the camp, the UN's migration agency said on Monday.
In the past two weeks, an estimated 450,000 people have arrived in Tawila alone, a town about 60 kilometres west of Zamzam, according to the local Emergency Response Room, one of hundreds across Sudan coordinating frontline aid.
The newly displaced, they added, are suffering from acute shortages of food, clean drinking water and shelter materials, with barely any humanitarian aid available in the area.
BRUSSELS — The spectre of a transatlantic trade war is also fuelling hopes of a silver lining in Europe: that a commerce deal with four South American countries could get a final green light despite longstanding French opposition.
Forced to come to terms with the growing cracks in its biggest trading relationship, worth 1.6 trillion euros, the EU believes it's time to chase opportunities elsewhere.
"The global balance is shifting, and we Europeans need [new trading partners] very quickly," incoming German chancellor Friedrich Merz said last weekend.
Such is Merz's determination; he suggested French President Emmanuel Macron could be swayed into a U-turn to back the EU accord with Mercosur bloc members Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, despite strident opposition from France's farmers.
Twenty-five years in the making, the deal to create a 700-million-customer free-trade area was clinched last December by the European Commission, but still needs to be signed by member states and the EU parliament.
Macron would "now tend" to look more favourably on the Mercosur accord, Merz asserted.
Paris has so far slapped down such suggestions. "The draft deal hasn't changed and therefore is unacceptable as it stands," a French diplomatic source said.
But EU officials believe they can convince countries opposed to the Mercosur deal through offers of financial support, for example, for farmers affected by rising imports.
With or without France?
Faced with an unpredictable US partner, the EU has ramped up efforts to cut more trade deals -- deciding last week to launch talks on an agreement with the United Arab Emirates, for example.
"In an unstable world, partnerships with trusted allies around the world with clearly defined rules for mutual gain are more valuable than ever," an EU spokesman has said.
There is a growing sense in Brussels that in the current climate French opposition, even if it holds, may not be insurmountable.
To be approved, the Mercosur deal must receive the backing of at least 15 of 27 EU states, representing a minimum of 65 per cent of the population.
France had hoped to form a blocking minority but "given the context, it probably won't", a European Commission official said.
'Cushion' tariff shocks
While Poland still opposes the Mercosur deal, there appears to be a change of heart among some in Vienna, another high-profile opponent, after Trump imposed sweeping tariffs.
Austrian Economy Minister Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer now supports the agreement. "We need it now," he said, even though the country's three-way coalition government remains officially against.
Pushed on the matter, French Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard admitted this week it was a source of unease between France and Germany.
But she vowed it was out of the question to "sacrifice French agriculture on the altar of an agreement at any cost".
French resistance is also being tested at home: the country's central bank governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau briefed Macron last week that such agreements "could further cushion tariff shocks linked to US trade policy".
In the case of the Mercosur deal, it would make it easier for the EU to export cars, machinery, pharmaceutical products and alcoholic beverages.
In exchange, the South American nations would be able to export meat, sugar, rice and soybeans, which worries European farmers concerned about cheaper goods pricing them out.
Farmers are crying foul over supposedly less stringent regulations on the sector and have staged protests across Europe.
Macron under pressure
Brussels has promised to reassure all member states and wants to present a text before the end of summer for final approval to parliament, where its fate is also uncertain.
"We don't know which way it will go" in the event of a vote, French centrist lawmaker Marie-Pierre Vedrenne told AFP.
Vedrenne said continued opposition "wouldn't be very serious or responsible".
But she believes Macron's position hasn't changed, explaining that opposition to Mercosur has "become a matter of national unity".
One EU official went further.
"The French government would fall" if it supported the deal, the official said, after snap elections last year produced a hung parliament with Macron's centrists in the minority.
Poland currently holds the rotating EU presidency and as one of the countries most opposed, it is not expected to push for a Mercosur vote.
But when Denmark takes the reins in July, expect the inflammatory issue to return to the agenda.
KHAN YUNIS, PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES — More than three weeks after an Israeli military ambush killed 15 of her husband's fellow medics, Nafiza al-Nsasrah says she still has no idea where he is being held.
"We have no information, no idea which prison he's in or where he is being held, or what his health condition is," Nsasrah told AFP, showing a photograph of her husband Asaad in his medic's uniform at the wheel of an ambulance.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said Sunday that Nsasrah was in Israeli custody after being "forcibly abducted" when Israeli soldiers opened fire on a convoy of ambulances on March 23.
In the early hours of that day, Israeli soldiers ambushed a convoy of ambulances and a firetruck near the southern city of Rafah as the crew responded to emergency calls.
Eight staff members from the Red Crescent, six from the Gaza civil defence agency and one employee of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees were killed in the attack, according to the UN humanitarian office OCHA.
Their bodies were found buried in the sand near the site of the shooting in the Tal al-Sultan neighbourhood of Rafah, in what OCHA described as a mass grave.
One member of the crew survived the attack. He was initially detained by troops but subsequently released.
The Palestinian Red Crescent was able to recover footage of part of the attack filmed by one of the medics on his mobile phone before he was gunned down.
An Israeli military official told journalists that the soldiers who fired at the ambulances "thought they had an encounter with terrorists".
The video footage contradicts that account as the ambulances had their lights blinking when they came under attack.
'Intent to kill'
"At the time of the incident, we had no idea what had happened," Nsasrah said in the plastic-sheet shelter in the southern city of Khan Yunis which she and her family have called home for nearly a year.
Her husband's body was not among those found in the mass grave near Rafah.
"We heard some ambulances had been surrounded (by the Israeli army), so we called (the Red Crescent) because (my husband) was late to return from his shift," the 43-year-old said.
"They told us that he was surrounded but didn't know what had happened exactly."
Afterwards, the Red Crescent told her that he had been detained by Israeli forces.
"We felt a little relieved but not completely because detainees often face torture. So we are still afraid," Nsasrah said, her voice drowned out by the persistent buzz of an Israeli surveillance drone overhead.
When the Red Crescent announced he had been detained, AFP reached out to the Israeli military for confirmation.
The military responded by referring AFP to an earlier statement noting that armed forces chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir had ordered a thorough investigation into the attack.
The March 23 killings occurred days into a renewed Israeli offensive in the Hamas-ruled territory and drew international condemnation.
The Palestinian Red Crescent has charged that Israeli soldiers shot the medics in their upper body with "intent to kill".
Nsasrah, her husband and their six children have been living under canvas in Khan Yunis since May last year.
Despite the hardship, she remains determined to get her husband back.
"I call on the international community to help us get any information on Asaad Al-Nsasrah," she said.
"I ask to obtain information about his health condition and to allow us to visit him or to help us get him released."
AMMAN — President of the Jordan Chamber of Commerce (JCC) Khalil Hajj Tawfiq and Chairman of the Federation of Saudi Chambers Hassan Hwaizi on Thursday in Riyadh explored mechanisms for enhancing economic cooperation between Jordan and Saudi Arabia and advancing bilateral trade and investment ties.
Hajj Tawfiq emphasised the “strong and strategic” relations between the two countries, highlighting the importance of intensifying private sector efforts to boost trade exchange and develop strategic partnerships, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
He underscored the role of chambers of commerce in boosting economic cooperation, especially in light of global challenges and shifting economic blocs.
As head of the Jordanian side of the Saudi-Jordanian Joint Business Council, Hajj Tawfiq called for activating the council’s role and implementing the recommendations made during its recent meeting in Amman.
Hwaizi expressed the Saudi private sector’s interest in expanding investments in Jordan, citing the Kingdom’s strategic and logistical advantages.
He announced plans to lead a “large” delegation of Saudi businessmen to Jordan next month, with intentions to establish major warehouse facilities in Jordanian free zones to serve as export hubs for Saudi products to neighbouring markets.
He also stressed the importance of holding the joint business council meetings at least twice a year to foster continuous dialogue, business collaboration, and cross-sector partnerships.
Jordan’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Haitham Abul Foul reaffirmed the embassy’s commitment to facilitating Saudi investment in Jordan and praised the “productive” ties with the Federation of Saudi Chambers.
Meanwhile, Hajj Tawfiq met with President of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce Abdullah Obeikan to discuss means to enhance relations between the Amman and Riyadh chambers.
During the meeting, he reviewed Jordan’s Economic Modernisation Vision, a nationally endorsed roadmap aimed at driving growth, attracting investment and generating one million jobs over the coming years.
Obeikan noted the progress of the Saudi business environment under the Saudi Vision 2030, citing notable growth, major projects and enhanced prosperity.
The two sides agreed to sign a twinning agreement between the Amman and Riyadh chambers to boost cooperation, promote digital transformation and foster collaboration between their respective general assemblies.
Hajj Tawfiq also extended an invitation to Obeikan and the Riyadh Chamber board to visit Jordan and explore investment opportunities.
AMMAN — President of the Irbid Chamber of Industry (ICI) Hani Abu Hassan on Thursday briefed an economic delegation from several Kyrgyz knitwear factories on Irbid's industrial development, mainly in the garment and textile industry.
The visit comes as part of the "Industrial Tourism" programme implemented by the Kyrgyz private sector, which aims to strengthen bilateral economic and trade relations and open "new" horizons for cooperation in the industrial sector, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
Abu Hassan referred to "significant" opportunities to develop "brotherly" relations, praising this visit, which reflects the "shared" desire to develop economic partnerships.
Noting the Kingdom's advantages, he referred to Jordan’s "strategic" geographical location, political and economic stability, and its "attractive" investment environment supported by a network of free trade agreements connecting Jordan to numerous global markets.
Abu Hassan also noted diversity of industries in Irbid, mainly pharmaceutical, food, plastics, chemical, and textile industries, which constitute a "cornerstone" of the national economy and contribute "significantly" to Jordanian exports.
The delegates expressed “admiration” for the scale of Irbid's industrial development and the chamber's role in serving the industrial sector and facilitating the business environment.
The delegates also hoped to transfer Jordan's expertise in supporting industry to Kyrgyzstan and build "cooperative" relations and partnerships with the Jordanian industrial sector.
Talks during the meeting went over opportunities for cooperation for the two countries' industrialists, underlining importance of exchanging trade delegations, facilitating trade exchanges and transferring expertise in training and industrial development fields.
The two sides agreed to continue coordination to develop "feasible" initiatives that would support bilateral relations and enhance cooperation in various economic and industrial fields, achieve common interests and contribute to the two countries' "sustainable" growth.
AMMAN — Jordan's tourism revenues reached $1.717 billion in the first quarter of 2025, marking an increase of 8.9 per cent compared to the same period in 2024, according to data released by the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) on Thursday.
The growth was driven by a surge in tourist spending by Asian nationals, who increased their spending by 27.9 per cent, followed by Americans at 13.6 per cent, Jordanian expatriates at 7.4 per cent, and non-Jordanian Arab visitors at 6.3 per cent, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
Receipts from European tourists declined by 0.6 per cent, the CBJ data showed.
Despite the overall growth, tourism revenues fell by 8.4 per cent in March, totaling $433.3 million for the month.
Jordanians' spending on outbound tourism also increased during the first quarter of 2025, reaching $490.6 million, showing a 15 per cent increase from $426.5 million in the same period last year.
In 2024, the Kingdom’s tourism revenue amounted to JD7.239 billion, marking a 2.3 per cent decline compared to 2023, according to CBJ data announced in January.
According to the January data, this decrease was attributed to a 3.9 per cent drop in the number of tourists.
An International Monetary Fund report said in June 2024 that the impact of the war on Gaza, which started on October 7, 2023, was concentrated on the tourism sector as a result of the cancellations by tourists from advanced economies, which account for a third of tourism revenues.
Meanwhile, remittances from Jordanian expatriates reached $605.8 million during the first two months of 2025, marking a 2 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2024, according to data released by the CBJ on Thursday.
The figure reflects “growing” financial contributions from Jordanians abroad, up from $593.8 million in the January–February period of last year, Petra added.
AMMAN — Scholars have no evidence of a pottery workshop at the Nabataean settlement of Mudayna Thamad, although they found many pottery pieces at the site.
The easy access to clay resources in the Wadi ath-Thamad for local pottery making at Mudayna Thamad prompted a multidisciplinary study to investigate attributes of the wadi clay and its suitability for manufacturing small bowls.
"We began with an experimental archaeology project where a professional potter easily threw several small bowls from a hump of wadi clay, which fired successfully," said Maria-Louise Sidoroff, an independent scholar.
Sidoroff added that based on the experimental results, an investigation of resources in the Wadi ath-Thamad collected by Braun and her was undertaken.
This included plasticity tests and firings conducted on two sets of samples from the wadi for information about the clay attributes.
Three of the Braun samples were taken from recent naturally levigated alluvial deposits and all Sidoroff samples were taken from recent alluvial deposits based on evidence from successful replication experiments with naturally levigated clay and the earlier experiments with wadi clay.
"A preliminary test in the field with a moistened claycoil twisted into a ring was used as a guide to sample choice. The size of particles of clay grains gives an indication of the property of plasticity in are source because the smallest sizes give the greatest plasticity, which is important especially for wheel throwing,” the scholar said.
“In a small clear container with a tight lid, 40 ml water was added and 10 ml clay. The container was shaken until the clay particles were in complete suspension, then it was left unmoved while observations were recorded every ten minutes for 2 hours," Sidoroff elaborated.
According to geochemist Velde, the lightest and smallest clay grains settle more slowly. As clays are the smallest materials with regard to grain size they tend to stay afloat longer and can be separated from the larger grains. If the water still remains cloudy after 2 hours this indicates good potting clay. Several clay samples remained in suspension for 2 hours.
The test results indicated there are deposits of alluvial clays in the Wadi ath-Thamad with sufficient plasticity.
"Tests of the Braun samples were formed into eight round clay tokens [3 cm diameter, 5 mm thickness] that were fired to cone 06 [1028°C] in the electric kiln of an art pottery studio. The second group of Sidoroff clay samples were formed into twelve rectangular shaped tiles [5 cm x 83 cm x 6 mm thickness]," Sidoroff noted.
She added that due to and fired by Dr. Ann Cordell the abundance of calcium carbonate in Wadi ath-Thamad clay and fired colour of some bowls as mentioned above, it was hypothesised that some Nabataean unpainted bowls may have been fired at a low temperature in antiquity since there was rare evidence of calcium carbonate spalling on Nabataean ware from the Mudayna Thamad settlement.
There is an ongoing dialogue regarding firing temperatures for calcareous clays before the calcium decomposes and forms lime. When calcareous clays are fired between 650°C and 900°C lime is formed, which leads to cracks in vessel walls, called spalling, as the lime absorbs atmospheric moisture after firing.
Firing test tiles at the lowest temperature would avoid this effect and would more closely replicate heat in open pit firings using fuel such as brush or dung, and leave few traces of this activity.
Based on this information, a different firing regime was conducted for the Sidoroff clay test tiles.
Dr. Cordell began the controlled firing sequence at 3:55 pm when the electric kiln was and then maintained at 275°C for ten minutes (with the door cracked), then the door was shut completely and the temperature was raised to 650°C over a period of twenty minutes.
The 650°C temperature was maintained for thirty minutes. The kiln was turned off at 5:10 pm and opened slightly to begin cooling. The entire firing process (when the furnace was on) took 75 minutes, Sidoroff explained.
Based on this firing, the results indicated that the Wadi ath-Thamad clay samples can achieve hardness at low temperatures resulting in more subdued colours than the fired colours of Nabataean ware from Petra.
"Nevertheless, the experiments showed that plastic clays were available near Mudayna Thamad that could be used to produce fine ware bowls with reddish yellow colours," Sidoroff concluded.
AMMAN — Beneath a "vibrant sea of red, white, and black," Jordan’s Flag Day on April 16 brought a surprising surge in commercial activity across Amman’s busiest shopping areas.
Storefronts draped in national colours welcomed crowds drawn not only by patriotic spirit, but also by Flag Day promotions. Cafés and restaurants reported near-capacity reservations, turning a symbolic national celebration into a welcome economic boost for many businesses still recovering from a slow first quarter.
“We saw around a 30 per cent increase in visitors compared with an average weekend,” said Anas Ajarma, owner of a souvenir shop in downtown Amman. “Most people came for flags and the shmagh, but they stayed to explore other products too.”
Restaurants also benefited from the Flag Day enthusiasm. “Even our delivery orders saw a noticeable uptick,” said Omar Awwad, president of the Jordan Restaurants Association. Some eateries introduced themed offerings, including Flag Day meal kits complete with miniature flags and patriotic packaging.
The gains were not evenly distributed. While established businesses enjoyed a significant boost, smaller vendors reported more modest returns, underscoring persistent disparities in consumer spending power.
Street vendors and stall owners selling flags, pins, and other patriotic merchandise described it as their most profitable weekend of the quarter. “The festive mood and crowds really helped,” said one vendor. “It felt like Eid.”
Despite the uneven impact, most business owners and vendors agreed that the atmosphere surrounding Flag Day translated into more than just national pride; it brought people out and opened wallets, injecting energy into local commerce.
NEW YORK — Disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein's retrial on rape and sex assault charges started Tuesday, forcing survivors who helped fire up the "#MeToo" movement to prepare to testify against him once more.
Weinstein's 2020 conviction by a jury was overturned seven years later by an appeals court that ruled the way witnesses were handled in the original New York trial was unlawful.
The voiding of the jury's verdict by the New York Court of Appeals was a setback to survivors of the #MeToo movement against sexual violence and the promotion of justice for survivors.
Weinstein was wheeled in to court, and wore a dark blue suit and adjusted his tie as he took his seat at the defense table while the trial lawyers spoke to the judge.
The onetime Miramax studio boss was charged with the sexual assault of former production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006, the rape of aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013, and a new count for an alleged sexual assault in 2006 at a hotel in Manhattan.
Haleyi and Mann testified in the earlier trial, sharing graphic testimony of their interactions with Weinstein.
Lindsay Goldbrum, a lawyer for the unnamed woman who brought the new complaint, told reporters outside court that "she had the honour of representing an incredible woman".
"They are going to ensure Weinstein is held accountable for his heinous crimes against women," she said.
"The fact they are going to testify again is testimony to their bravery."
Jury selection in the new trial, which overall is expected to last up to six weeks in a Manhattan criminal court, began on Tuesday and could take until next week.
Weinstein, 73, said he hopes the case will be judged with "fresh eyes", more than seven years after investigations by The New York Times and the New Yorker led to his spectacular downfall and a global backlash against predatory abusers.
Weinstein is serving a 16-year prison sentence after being convicted on separate charges in California in 2023 for raping and assaulting a European actor a decade prior.
'Fry Harvey'?
The producer of a string of box office hits like "Sex, Lies and Videotape", "Pulp Fiction" and "Shakespeare in Love", Weinstein has appeared frail and gaunt at recent courtroom hearings ahead of the trial.
"It'll be very, very different because of the attitude of New York City, New York state and, I think, the overall country," said his lawyer Arthur Aidala.
"Five years ago, when you guys were here, there were protests. There were people chanting: 'Fry Harvey, he's a rapist'... I think that, overall, has died down," he said, adding that he hoped jurors would try the case on its merits.
Aidala separately told Fox 5 Monday that Weinstein had several ailments, including a "horrible infection in his mouth, his throat -- and he's struggling to speak, and when you're about to go on trial you need to communicate with your lawyer".
Weinstein has never acknowledged any wrongdoing and has always maintained that the encounters were consensual.
Accusers describe the movie mogul as a predator who used his perch atop the cinema industry to pressure talent and assistants for sexual favors, often in hotel rooms.
Since his downfall, Weinstein has been accused of harassment, sexual assault or rape by more than 80 women, including actors Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, Lupita Nyong'o and Ashley Judd.
In 2020, a jury of New Yorkers found Weinstein guilty of two out of five charges -- the sexual assault of Haleyi and the rape of Mann.
But the conviction and the 23-year prison sentence were overturned in April 2024.
In a hotly debated four-to-three decision, New York's appeals court ruled that jurors should not have heard testimonies of victims about sexual assaults for which Harvey Weinstein was not indicted.
The three survivors of Weinstein's alleged crimes are expected to testify once again.
"I'm going on jury duty -- I hope I don't get that [trial]," said a woman smoking a cigarette outside the courthouse.
AMMAN — Holders Hussein face veterans Wihdat on Friday with both clubs eyeing the title in the penultimate week of the CFI Jordan Professional Football kicking off on the weekend.
Following Wihdat’s slump in the early stages of the Leg 1, their recent connectives wins since their new Tunisian coach Qais Yacoubi took over has given them a boost as they slashed Hussein’s lead to four points to maintain their title chances.
With two more weeks to go, Wihdat, who last won the league in 2020, need to win their remaining matches while hoping Hussein stumble to decide the title in the final week of the competition. On the other hand, Wihdat’s defeat might likely mean Hussein will retain their title.
In other matches, Week 20 will also see Shabab Urdun play Aqaba Thursday while it’s Faisali vs Ramtha and Ma’an vs Mughayer Sarhan Friday and Salt vs Sarih and Ahli vs Jazira on Saturday. Two postponed matches will also be played on April 22 with Wihdat vs Mughayer Sarhan and Hussein vs Ramtha.
Ahli who have failed to score a single win in Leg 2 need to win in the last two matches to secure their league spot as Sarih, Aqaba and Ma’an also scramble to move away from the last four spots who will drop to Division 1, instead of the usual last two.
During the past week, Shabab Urdun scored a big 5-1 win over Mughayer Sarhan, Salt upset Ramtha 1-o, Wihdat beat Aqaba 4-0, Faisali beat Jazira 1-0 to move up to third, and Sarih scored a vital 2-0 win over Ma’an as they try to keep their league spot.
Wihdat’s Mohannad Simreen is still the top scorer with 13 goals with Sarih’s Mohannad Akash second with 12, Salt’s Mohammad Abdul Mutalleb 9 and Wihdat’s Ibrahim Sabra 8.