Giant Dust Storm- early July

The photo was taken by a NASA satellite, and captures a dust storm that may have started about 1000 kilometers to the west.

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Natural
Hazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14930

Peace Agreement in action - Education conference

A education conference is planned for June 23 and 24, 2008, in Port Sudan. Educators from the three eastern states [Red Sea, Kassala and Gedarif] will meet together. A meeting in Kassala was recently held to prepare for this June event.

One of the features of the Peace Agreement signed in 2006 with the Eastern Front was to explore ways of enhancing education for citizens in the east.

Read the whole article. [Assemble into one line first before copying.]

http://www.sudanvisiondaily.com//modules.php?name
=News&file=article&sid=35869

What are the best decisions?

Eastern Front threatens to hold its chairman accountable
(Al-Sahafa) Eastern Front’s Central Committee member and governor of Gedaref State Mr. Idris Nour Mohamed said an extraordinary meeting of all members would be held to bring the Eastern Front leader and Presidential Assistant Musa Mohamed Ahmed to accountability for marginalizing Front leaders and taking some decisions without consultation.

http://www.unmis.org/english/2008Docs/mmr-jun09.pdf

See comments below.

Eastern Peace Agreement forgotten?

In Tokyo, Japan, the president of Sudan made the keynote speech at a conference on African Development. He proclaimed the glories of democracy. He noted a desire among nations for stability, to overcome diseases and poverty, but acknowledged debt as a significant factor in preventing these good plans from being realized.
With debt being cancelled development could go ahead, as long as peace existed. Field Marshal Omer Al-Bashir then reminded the other governmental leaders that peace agreements had been signed with regional factions in Sudan. Though short, in this reveiew, The Eastern Sudan Peace Agreement was not mentioned. Bashir said:

Peace in the Sudan is our strategic goal. Thanks to the regional and international mediation and the support of partners across the world, we concluded, on 9 January 2005, the Comprehensive Peace Agreement which ended more than two decades of war in South Sudan. And with similar determination we signed, on 5 May 2006 the Darfur Peace Agreement. The government of Sudan and the parties have been working together to implement the two agreements. I thank the African Union and the United Nations, the regional organizations and international community for supporting the implementation of the agreements and I would like to assure them of our continued commitment to consolidate peace in Sudan and stability in the region. However, our efforts are being undermined by unjustifiable and unacceptable external violation of our sovereignty and the right of the Sudanese people to live in peace.

Bashir went on to complain about Chadian support for the attack on Kahrtoum in early May, 2008. He pointed out recent attempts to reconcile political parties, the hope being to "bring all the political forces in the country under the umbrella of an all -inclusive conference to address challenges and resolve outstanding national issues."

http://www.sudanvisiondaily.com//modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=35572

They met, and talked

DDR programmes in eastern Sudan discussed
Khartoum, May 27 (SUNA) - Assistant of the President of the Republic Musa Mohamed Ahmed discussed at his office at the Republican Palace Tuesday with the Chairman of North Sudan Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Commission, Sulaf-Eddin Salih, programs of the commission in eastern Sudan.

The meeting included members of the committee for implementation and following-up of the programmes of the commission in east Sudan which works to involve all sectors of the Sudanese people in the implementation of the programmes.

http://www.unmis.org/english/2008Docs/mmr-may28.pdf

Looking for nomad children to go to school

Kassala, May 26 (SUNA)- The state campaign for enrollment of pupils in nomadic schools, organized by the Ministry of Education in Kassala State in collaboration with UNICEF, was launched Monday in the localities of western rural areas of Kassala and Wad Al-Helaio. Addressing the occasion, Minister of Education in Kassala State Ahmed Abusin affirmed his ministry's concern with boosting the education process in the rural areas, especially for the nomads. He referred to the ministry's keenness to remove all obstacles affecting the education process, especially nomads and girls education in the state.

http://www.sudan.net/news/posted/16026.html


UPDATE - October 2009. A 19 page report analyzing the reasons why Beja children drop out of school was written in 1998. It's a pdf file.
http://bit.ly/ZXsCA

De-mining Tokar-Garora begins in mid May

(SMC) The National Mine Action Centre is undertaking preparations for start of work for de-mining of Kadugli-Koda road in southern Kordofan, 95 kilometers, and Tokar- Garora road in the Red Sea State. Director of the National Mine Action Centre Col. Al-Awad Al-Bashir announced this, pointing out that the de-mining operations over the two roads would start mid current May and are expected to be completed before the start of the rainy season. He referred to the importance of the two roads, which contribute to the return of the internally displaced persons and refugees to their areas.

Source
May 4 Daily report
http://www.unmis.org/english/m-monitoring.htm

Port Sudan - Atbara road officially opened

President Bashir attended a huge rally in Port Sudan at the end of April where he is on 2-day visit to the Red Sea State to open Atbara-Port Sudan highway.
The road was built with Chinese assistance to provide access to the construction of hydro-electric cables that will run from the large Merowe Dam project to the coast. Of course, it will reduce travel time from the coast to the Nile, and may change trucking patterns in the east. The only existing paved highway to Khartoum until now has been via Kassala.
From Port Sudan, to Khartoum, via Kassala: 630 miles [1000 km]
From Port Sudan, to Khartoum, via Atbara: 500 miles [800 km]

List of Lunar Eclipses

A list of lunar eclipses visible from the Red Sea area

Total Lunar Eclipse - September 16, 1997
http://www.earthview.com/timetable/1997Sep16.htm

Total Lunar Eclipse - January 9, 2001
http://www.hermit.org/Eclipse/2001-01-09/

Total Lunar Eclipse - November 9, 2003
http://www.hermit.org/Eclipse/2003-11-09/

Total Lunar Eclipse - May 4, 2004
http://www.hermit.org/Eclipse/2004-05-04/

Total Lunar Eclipse - March 3, 2007
http://www.hermit.org/Eclipse/2007-03-03/

Total Lunar Eclipse - February 21, 2008
http://www.hermit.org/Eclipse/2008-02-21/

Partial Lunar Eclipse - August 16, 2008
http://www.hermit.org/Eclipse/2008-08-16/

Total Lunar Eclipse - June 15, 2011
http://www.hermit.org/Eclipse/2011-06-15/

Partial Lunar Eclipse: August 7, 2017
http://www.hermit.org/Eclipse/2017-08-07/

Total Lunar Eclipse: July 27, 2018
http://www.hermit.org/Eclipse/2018-07-27/

Partial Lunar Eclipse: July 16, 2019
http://www.hermit.org/Eclipse/2019-07-16/

Oil spill halts fishing near Port Sudan

An oil leak from Bashir Two Port on the coast of the Red Sea south of Port Sudan has extended up to 9 km from its source, and local fishermen from the city have had to stop fishing.

As reported in Al-Sahafah newspaper on February 4, 2008, the head of the Port Sudan fishermen's association submitted a memo to the Governor of the Red Sea State. The governor had set up a committee to address the situation, but nothing had come of it. The fishermen are out of work because of this crisis.

Source:
http://tinyurl.com/4mff9k

Floods near Kassala - summer 2007

In July, 2007, heavy rains in east Africa caused extensive flooding. Thousands of people became homeless. Have a look at this one minute video that shows the breadth of the Gash River in flood, food distribution to Beja men, and the flooded landscape as filmed from the air.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ch0554Tplcg

Government control of nomadic routes

The Beja do not live in Darfur. But many are nomadic, and ideas and policies that are put in place in one part of the country can be started in another place too.

The government is planning to limit the range of travel of nomads in west Sudan. Does this kind of control have hidden dangers? What happens when there is not enough rain? Traditional behaviour among nomadic people would mean that their range of travel would be increased until pastures are located.
Here's the short report.

Nomads Must Observe Corridors Determined by Commission in South Darfur/ Nomads Commission (SMC)

Nomads' commission in south Darfur state has set a plan targeting nomads' settlements.

The move aims at preventing frictions between nomads and formers, said nomads' commissioner Issa Allyan. Besides settlement camps which should be provided with basic services such as school, health and water services, the commission is arranging for setting corridors and that nomads should observe the commission decisions.

From UNMIS Daily Media Monitoring Report - Jan 15, 2008

Eastern Front representatives frustrated

Peace agreement not working, Eastern rebels tell Eritrea
(The Citizen) The Eastern Front is in Eritrea to tell the former rebel backers that the
peace agreement is hanging by a thread.
The Eastern front delegation, headed by Musa Mohamed Ahmed, yesterday arrived to Asmara Airport. The delegation, which included the Dr. Amna Dirar and Secretary General Dr. Mubarak Mabrouk, was received by the Eritrean Front executive member, Abdallah Jabir.

The EF leader Dr. Mohamed Abu Amna attacked GoNU saying that it is not a government of national unity as the National Congress Party has the majority in the parliament. He added that the Front representatives are completely neglected and have no real missions or responsibilities to do.

“Asmara agreement has done nothing to marginalized people of the East, and our people there are still suffering from ignorance, diseases and poverty”, he lamented. Abu Amna concluded by saying that the policy is to ‘divide and rule” and this is actually what is being done in the East.

News - Eastern groups join SPLM

From the December 27 pdf media report published by the United Nations:
Three movements from eastern Sudan join SPLM (AlSahafa)

It has been agreed in principle that three eastern Sudan movements (Beja Congress for Reform and Development, the Eastern Front breakaway groups and the demobilized military personnel of the Beja Congress) will merge with the SPLM.

This agreement was reached after talks which continued for three weeks in Juba between the SPLM and representatives of the three movements.

The President of the Beja Congress for Reform and Development, Osman Musa Bawnin, told Miraya FM that they will establish the Beja Congress in the SPLM.

The United Nations monitors the media in Sudan, and compiles a daily pdf report, available here:
http://www.unmis.org/english/m-monitoring.htm