Bashair II Port opened by President Al-Bashir for oil exports

On Wednesday, July 11, 2007, Sudanese politicians delivered speeches on the occasion of the opening of Bashair II Port. The port is at the end of the 1600 km oil pipeline from south Sudan, and provides bulk crude oil for export to India and China. It is about 25 km south of Port Sudan on the coast of the Red Sea.

The president of the country, Omar al-Bashir reviewed developments delivered by the Salvation Government over the past 18 years. He hailed the recent peace agreements signed with various sectarian groups in Sudan such as the Eastern Front. He added that the Salvation Government has come for the sake of the marginalized in all the regions of Sudan, illustrating that it has sought to avail health, medical treatment and other basic services. He further pledged to launch more development projects in the Red Sea State in the fields of water and services to liberate the citizens of the State from poverty and diseases.

The Minister of Energy and Mining, Dr. Awad Ahmed Al-Jaz praised the faithful diligence of the Sudanese youth, and the companies and investors who had executed the port building project.

Governor Mohammed Tahir Eila of the Red Sea State indicated that the claims of the people of eastern Sudan for development and construction have been met.

He hailed the Eastern Sudan Front and stressed that it will receive all cooperation from his government. Governor Eila said that the Red Sea State has a promising future because it was able to build large projects like road and ports, and it could launch oil and gas exploration and gold projects. He ended his speech by restating the pledge to seek the stability and security of the country. He let the people know that the Red Sea State would work hard and make the necessary sacrifices.


http://www.sudantv.net/eng/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2424

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Government roles assigned to Eastern Front officials

Progress is being made on the items negotiated in the October 2006 Peace Agreement between the Eastern Front and the central Sudanese Government.

In Mid-June, 10 parliamentarians of the governing party stepped down to allow room for eight Eastern Front representatives to sit in the parliament. These seats were made available after requests for seats from other parties were refused. It's not clear about the distribution of seats given to Beja representatives.

On May 21, protests took place in Port Sudan when results were made known of who would represent the Eastern Front in the Governement of National Unity parliament. Beja citizens were upset because they make up the majority of the population [80%] in the region, but only a few of nominated representatives were Beja heritage[18%]. They would not have a balanced share of power. Protestors presented a memo to government officials asking that it be passed on to the Presidency, urging that the nominations not be accepted.

Also, on May 16, the Eastern Front named officials to various government posts including the posts of assistant and advisor to Sudan's President Omar el-Bashir as well as a junior minister.

http://www.sudan.net/news/posted/14633.html
http://www.unmis.org/english/2007Docs/mmr-may17.pdf
http://www.unmis.org/english/2007Docs/mmr-may22.pdf

Egypt bans female circumcision after death of 12-year-old girl

A young girl died during an operation from an overdose of anesthetic at a private clinic in Minya province in upper Egypt. The government has now banned all medical professionals from perfroming a clitorodectomy, as of June 28, 2007.

Female circumcision was made illegal in Egypt in 1997. It was banned in 1996, but had some health exemptions. They have been eliminated. The practice has continued, especailly in the south despite educational efforts by human rights organizations. Suzanne Mubarak, the president's wife, has campained against clitorectomies.

The Egyptian government says about half of all teenage females have had their clitoris removed. In 2005, research by Unicef found that 96% of Egyptian women aged 15 to 49 who had ever been married reported they had been circumcised.

Muslims and Christians practice circumcision in Egypt and Sudan but it has no basis in either religion. In rural areas, barbers or midwives usually perform the operation.

Source.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/egypt/story/0,,2115290,00.html

Sudan to conduct census of citizens beginning in November 2007

Under questioning from a member of parliament, the Minister of Presidential affairs stated that a fifth census of the population will be conducted, beginning in November. The expected cost will be $100 Million (US?). The governement will pay $40.7, donors $33 M, and the EU will cover the rest.
http://www.unmis.org/english/2007Docs/mmr-may17.pdf

UPDATE: The census has been postponed until April 2008.
UPDATE: The census has been completed in early May 2008. Some areas were unreachable - not enough vehicles, etc., and fighting in Darfur made it necessary to make estimates of population in some areas.

Eastern Front fighters to demobilise in June 2007

Four months after announcing the move, and eight months after signing the peace agreement, Eastern Front soldiers will demobilize on June 1. This will remove a security threat to the work of the central Sudanese government in eastern Sudan.

An estimated 1,800 former rebel fighters -- currently in western Eritrea and rebel-held east Sudan -- are to decide whether to return to civilian life or join the Sudanese army or police.

The Eastern Front was formed in 2005 by the eastern Sudan's largest ethnic group, the Beja, and the Rashidiya Arabs. The group has similar aims to its better-known counterparts in Darfur -- greater autonomy and control of resources.

http://www.sudan.net/news/posted/14633.html

BBC reports on growth in Sudan

Khartoum to get new hotels, country grows economically

The BBC reports that Sudan expects to the Gross National Product to grow 11% this year. The skyline of Khartoum is changing as developments like Al-Mogran with its 10 hotels and 60,000 housing units, and a Lybian financed five star, sail shaped hotel are constructed. The one page article notes that growth takes place now, because the civil war with the south is over.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/africa/6573527.stm
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New programme greatly reduces deaths of abandoned babies in Khartoum

Reporting to a major newspaper in Toronto,Canada, John Goddard describes the abandoned babies situation in Khartoum. He explores why they get abandoned, and the cultural and institutional methods of caring for those found alive. Efforts in 2002-4 to effect change are explored, including international visits to Romania, the gathering of accurate statistics, training social workers and developing new models of family-based care. A sad story that seems to be changing for the better. Offers insight into Sudanese culture.

http://sudan.net/news/posted/14480.html

Eritrean legislation bans clitorectomy

The Eritrean Information Ministry described female circumcision as a dangerous process that threatens the health and lives of women. The practice also causes significant suffering and pain to women, it said.

Legislation was passed in March 2007 to punish anybody that requests, incites or promotes female genital mutilation (FGM).

Practitioners (including many Beja) say that the procedure prepares the women for adulthood, protects their virginity, as well as cleansing them when they reach the age of puberty. It is usually performed when the female is a young girl, by older women.

Though a number of African countries have outlawed the procedure, it is a widespread practice. Eritrean women activists said over 90 percent of Eritrean women have gone through the pains of female circumcision.

http://www.afrol.com/articles/24973

Russians provide tons of wheat to help Sudan

The United Nations received a $2 million delivery of 4,205 tons of wheat. The UN will help feed 284,500 school children and 6,000 adults, in the World Food Programme that operates in Red Sea State, Kassala State, and North Kordofan State.

Source: http://sudan.net/news/posted/14529.html

Chinese get $1 billion railway contract

March 4, 2007 (BEIJING) — Sudan and China signed 28 February a 1.15 bln USD contract to construct a railway line to link the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, with Port Sudan in the east of the country.
China Railway Engineering Group Co Ltd and China Railway Erju Co Ltd unit Transtech Engineering Corp have jointly won a 1.15 bln USD construction contract in Sudan, according to a statement on the Sichuan province Department of Commerce’s website.
China Railway Engineering Group indirectly controls China Railway Erju Co Ltd.
Inked after two years of negotiations, this contract is considered as the biggest construction contract in the field of the railways ever signed between China and Sudan. The total length of the railway line is 762 kilometres.
The implementation of this project will enhance the capacity of the railways net in Sudan. With a total of 4578 kilometres, the Sudanese railways are considered as the longest in Africa, but its equipments are not upgraded since long-time.

http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article20580
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Eritrea and Sudan agree to development along border

At the end of the first week of March, the presidents of Sudan and Eritrea agreed to economically develop areas along their common border. Aided in negotiations by Qatari officials, the plan could help to defuse the long-standing tensions between the two countries.

http://www.sudan.net/news/posted/14235.html

Locusts threaten crops along Red Sea coast

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization keeps records of locust populations, and has identified "a developing and potentially dangerous situation" arising from second-generation locust infestations in a region straddling the border between Sudan and Eritrea.

Late instar hopper bands and newly fledged adults are present in pearl millet crops in wadis - dry river beds - and in natural vegetation on the coastal plains. "Within a week, the majority of these populations will become adults and form small immature swarms," UN officials warn.

The hopper bands can transform into mature swarms that are capable of travelling hundreds of kilometers. They usually travel in directions where vegetation is growing, which could be in any direction, north to the plains by the Red Sea, or south and west into the Eritrean hills. Crops can easily be devastated by locusts.

Officials plan to implement ground and aerial control operations in both countries and were "to try to reduce the scale of the expected migration," according to FAO.

http://www.afrol.com/articles/24827

MORE RESOURCES
NASA image of breeding areas near the Red Sea
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17610

Learn about the locust - simple explanation
http://www.no-pest.com/Locust.htm

Learn about the locust - detailed, academic
http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/life/crowd/index.html

Every Sudanese child vaccinated for polio

Government health agencies and NGOs will be attempting to immunize every child in Sudan under 5 years with a vaccine against polio. Vaccinators will try to reach 8.7 million children over a 3 day period in late March. Funding and technical support come from United Nations and the World Health Organization, Rotary International as well as countries like Canada and the United States. The 3 day long National Immunization Days were successful in 2006 - no polio cases were reported. In 2004-2005, 155 cases were reported. Officials expect that some children in Darfur may not be reached because of insecure conditions.

Source: United Nations press release. Reference: nids_3_07.pdf