News in Brief (2023-05-08)

Sudan generals blame each other

for the violence in talks

KHARTOUM, May 07: Gun battles and air strikes on Sunday again flared in Sudan's capital, which has been rocked by four weeks of fighting despite the latest ceasefire efforts backed by Saudi Arabia and the United States. The generals leading the warring parties have blamed each other for the violence, but have said little about the talks being held in Jeddah since Saturday. Army spokesman Brigadier General Nabil Abdalla said the talks were on how a truce "can be correctly implemented to serve the humanitarian side", while Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who heads the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), only said on Twitter that he welcomed the technical discussions. — AFP

Protests against Israeli judicial overhaul

TEL AVIV, May 07: Tens of thousands of Israelis joined protests across the country on Saturday against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bitterly disputed plans to tighten controls on the Supreme Court. The planned overhaul, which would give the government control over naming judges to the Supreme Court and let parliament override many rulings, was paused after opponents organised some of the biggest street protests ever seen in Israel, now in their 18th consecutive week. — Reuters

Arab League re-admits Syrian govt

CAIRO, May 07: The Arab League on Sunday welcomed back Syria's government, which had been shunned since 2011 over President Bashar al-Assad's crackdown on pro-democracy protests that started the civil war. "Government delegations from the Syrian Arab Republic will resume their participation in Arab League meetings," said a unanimous decision by the group's foreign ministers. — AFP