Overwhelmed health workers rushed from patient to patient in makeshift tents in Sudan, trying to help even though they too had barely escaped the fall of El-Fasher to paramilitary forces.”We’re not in good shape,” said Ikhlas Abdallah, a general practitioner who arrived from the western Darfur city now in the hands of the Rapid Support …
Overwhelmed health workers rushed from patient to patient in makeshift tents in Sudan, trying to help even though they too had barely escaped the fall of El-Fasher to paramilitary forces.”We’re not in good shape,” said Ikhlas Abdallah, a general practitioner who arrived from the western Darfur city now in the hands of the Rapid Support Forces, which have been battling the Sudanese army since April 2023.”But we have to be okay to provide care to those who need it,” she told AFP.She spoke from Al-Dabbah camp, located in army-held territory about 770 kilometres (480 miles) northeast of El-Fasher, which endured an 18-month siege before falling to the RSF last month.”Psychologically, what can we do? Like all those displaced from El-Fasher, our feelings are indescribable.”At the camp, which is funded by a Sudanese businessman, hundreds of families sleep in nylon tents or on plastic mats laid across the sand. In one patch of blue canvas shelters, some 60 doctors, nurses and pharmacists have assembled what passes for a clinic: a makeshift pharmacy, a rudimentary laboratory and tents used as short-stay wards. Plastic chairs serve as examination tables. Ambulances borrowed from the nearby town of Al-Dabbah function as mobile clinics. Men carry buckets of water for the communal kitchens and improvised latrines while women stir massive pots over open flames. They serve the traditional Sudanese dish assida to families for free.”We all come from the same place,” said Elham Mohamed, a pharmacist who also fled El-Fasher.”We understand them and they understand us,” she told AFP.- ‘Death, captivity or ransom’ -Every day, dozens of people arrive with respiratory infections, diarrheal diseases, skin conditions and eye infections — ailments that spread quickly in crowded conditions with little clean water.”We are doing everything we can, but resources are scarce,” said Ahmed al-Tegani, a volunteer doctor with the International Organization for Migration.Some patients “require specialised care” that is not available in the camp, he told AFP.Abdallah fled the Saudi Maternity Hospital in El-Fasher after the RSF overran the army’s last stronghold in Darfur on October 26.She said she arrived safely in Al-Dabbah “only because they (the RSF) did not know we were doctors”. To the paramilitary group, she said, identifying as medical personnel meant “death, captivity or ransom”. While escaping, she and her colleagues treated the wounded secretly, often without bandages. “If the RSF discovered someone had received medical care, they beat them again,” she said. Throughout the two-year conflict, both warring sides have repeatedly and deliberately targeted doctors and hospitals.The World Health Organization has documented 285 attacks on healthcare since the war began. They have killed at least 1,204 health workers and patients and wounded more than 400.- ‘No one left to save’ -Before fleeing, Abdallah spent weeks working around the clock in the maternity hospital. It was the last functioning medical facility in El-Fasher and suffered repeated attacks during the siege.In October alone, the WHO reported four attacks on the hospital.Abdallah remembers one night in October when a drone struck the building. “I went home early that evening,” she recalled, “and later I heard the sound of a drone. It fell on the hospital. “When we rushed there, there was no one left to save.” “Bodies were unrecognisable. People were torn into pieces,” she said.”It didn’t feel real. Horror like in the movies.”Two days after El-Fasher fell, an attack on the hospital killed 460 patients and staff, according to the WHO.The city remains cut off from communications, with the RSF controlling access to Starlink satellite services.For Abdallah, the journey to Al-Dabbah — which involved checkpoints, arbitrary killings and rampant looting and sexual violence — was “worse than inside El-Fasher”.Most people “were beaten” and “more people died on the road than” in the city itself. Sudan’s conflict has already killed tens of thousands of people and displaced nearly 12 million, creating the world’s largest displacement and hunger crises.On a recent visit to displacement camps in Sudan, UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said the country faced enormous needs and highlighted the need to develop a stronger health system.
Global stock markets and the dollar mostly firmed Monday as fresh hopes for a US interest-rate cut provided calm after last week’s rollercoaster ride fuelled by worries of an AI tech bubble.”In a week that is stunted by the Thanksgiving celebrations, there is a degree of hope that perhaps the worst is behind us, and we can get into a more festive mood,” said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at traders Scope Markets.”The stage seem set for a continued rebound as another Fed member joins in calls for a December rate cut, while a call between the US and Chinese leaders also helped to bolster sentiment,” said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IGAfter a cautious start to a holiday-shortened week, a little over two hours into the session, Wall Street’s Dow index rose 0.7 percent while the tech-rich Nasdaq barrelled ahead 2.3 percent. The broad-based S&P 500 was up 0.7 percent.Major European markets were a little more cautious. Frankfurt closed 0.6 percent ahead after German business sentiment fell more than expected in November, the latest sign that industry is losing faith in the government’s plans to revive the economy.London ended just 0.1 percent in the green ahead of the UK government’s annual budget on Wednesday, while Paris closed down 0.3 percent.Earlier in Asia, Hong Kong closed up 2.0 percent and Tokyo was shut for a Japanese public holiday.The scramble to snap up artificial intelligence stakes has propelled equities skywards this year, pushing several companies to records — with chip titan Nvidia last month becoming the first company to top $5 trillion.Monday saw Nvidia shares up 1.7 percent mid session while Google parent company Alphabet added almost 5.0 percent as it continues to bask in its first ever $100 billion quarterly revenue and to surf the AI wave. Recent weeks have nonetheless seen investors grow increasingly fearful that the vast sums pumped into tech may have been overdone and could take time to see profits realised, leading to warnings of a possible market correction.That has been compounded in recent weeks by falling expectations the Federal Reserve will cut rates for a third successive time next month, as stubbornly high inflation overshadows weakness in the US labour market.However, risk appetite was given a shot in the arm Friday when New York Fed boss John Williams said he still sees “room for a further adjustment” at the bank’s December 9-10 policy meeting.His comments came a day after figures showed that while more jobs were created in September, the unemployment rate crept u to its highest level since 2021.Focus is now on the release this week of the US producer price index (PPI), one of the last major data points before officials gather, with other key reports postponed or missed because of the recent government shutdown.- Key figures at around 1645 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.7 percent at 46,548.11 pointsNew York – S&P 500: UP 1.4 percent at 6,695.21New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 2.3 percent at 22,794.95London – FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 9,553.21 (close)Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.2 percent at 7,959.57 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.6 percent at 23,239.18 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 2.0 percent at 25,716.50 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 3,836.77 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: Closed for a holidayEuro/dollar: UP at $1.1525 from $1.1519 on FridayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3093 from $1.3107Dollar/yen: UP at 156.80 yen from 156.39 yenEuro/pound: UP at 87.96 pence from 87.88 penceBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.5 percent at $62.97 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.5 percent at $58.40 per barrel
The abduction of hundreds of Nigerians, including almost 350 schoolchildren in just a matter of days, has reignited a pressing debate about the persistent security crisis gripping the country.A resurgence of mass kidnappings came after US President Donald Trump threatened military action in Nigeria to stop what he calls the killing of Christians by radical …
What’s behind Nigeria’s kidnapping crisis?Mon, 24 Nov 2025 17:00:45 GMT Read More »
Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups pleaded not guilty Monday to alleged involvement in Mafia-linked illegal gambling schemes that rocked the NBA, US media reported.Billups, a former Detroit Pistons star and NBA Hall of Famer, was arrested in connection with rigged illegal poker games tied to Mafia crime families.He was targeted along with Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier in an FBI-led investigation into the scam that allegedly saw players cheated with the use of sophisticated methods including an X-ray table and barcoded card decks.Dozens of other suspects were arrested as part of the FBI probe.Rozier and Billups were placed on indefinite leave by the NBA after being arrested in the gambling investigation.Rozier and a former NBA player and assistant coach, Damon Jones, were among six people arrested in a separate sports betting case.Billups was indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, to which he pleaded not guilty Monday, CBS News and USA Today reported.Billups was released on bond after initially appearing in federal court in Portland, Oregon, and was represented by attorney Marc Mukasey at a brief hearing in a Brooklyn court on Monday.Prosecutors say Billups’s celebrity helped lure players to high-stakes games that used “high-tech cheating technology.”That tech included shuffling machines that could read cards, hidden cameras and barcoded decks.NBA commissioner Adam Silver said last month he was “deeply disturbed” by the far-ranging FBI probe into illegal gambling.”My initial reaction was I was deeply disturbed,” Silver said in an interview with Amazon Prime.”There’s nothing more important for the league and its fans than the integrity of the competition.”Silver expressed regret that the allegations had taken attention away from the start of the season.”I apologize to our fans that we are all dealing with, now, this situation,” Silver said.
“N’importe quoi”: Maylis Daubon, jugée depuis lundi pour avoir empoisonné ses deux filles, dont l’une est décédée en 2019, en les assommant de médicaments, a réfuté en bloc l’image de femme “mythomane” et “théâtrale” donnée par l’accusation.L’enquêteur de personnalité, qui l’a rencontrée en détention, a pointé devant la cour d’assises des Landes des émotions “surjouées” et un “manque de précisions” quant à son parcours professionnel, tout en évoquant la mère “dévouée” et “présente” dépeinte par l’entourage familial – à l’exception de son ex-mari.”Si je peux avoir un côté théâtral, c’est inconscient, je ne me vois pas le faire”, a répondu cette femme de 53 ans aux longs cheveux bruns, vêtue d’un chemisier et d’une veste grise.Dans le box des accusés, alors que les dépositions s’enchaînent, elle garde la tête baissée, regardant le sol.Interrogée sur les différents métiers – ingénieure nucléaire, professeure à la Sorbonne, diplomate ou casque bleu à Sarajevo – dont elle se serait vantée auprès de témoins variés, elle réfute toute mythomanie : “C’est tout simplement n’importe quoi, pourquoi me serais-je exposée à dire des âneries pareilles ? Ça n’a aucun sens”. Depuis sa mise en examen et son incarcération en janvier 2022, Maylis Daubon affirme que sa fille aînée, Enea, morte à l’âge de 18 ans, s’est suicidée.Le 13 novembre 2019 vers midi, la mère avait appelé les secours, alertée par la cadette – Luan – d’une crise de convulsions de sa sœur Enea, au domicile familial de Dax. Le Samu la découvrait dans son lit en état de mort respiratoire, la réanimait mais elle succombait six jours plus tard à l’hôpital.Les analyses du corps de la défunte ont révélé la présence de “l’équivalent de 50 à 75 cachets” de Propranolol, un traitement qui ralentit le cœur.Le rapport d’expertise a fait aussi apparaître 22 molécules différentes. Les mois précédents, Enea s’était vu prescrire quantité de neuroleptiques, anxiolytiques sédatifs, traitements contre les convulsions et antidépresseurs.À l’ouverture des débats, Maylis Daubon avait de nouveau clamé son innocence, se disant “terrorisée” d’être accusée “de faits horribles pour une mère et pour une femme”, que “rien au monde” n’aurait pu lui faire commettre. Elle comparaît aussi, jusqu’au 3 décembre, pour avoir voulu faire assassiner son ex-mari, père des deux filles, en soudoyant des codétenues à la maison d’arrêt de Pau.
Refus de la surtaxe sur les entreprises, remodelage de la taxe sur les holdings patrimoniales… La partie “recettes” du budget de l’État a été passée au filtre de la droite sénatoriale lundi en commission, avec le vote de plusieurs mesures d’économies.Les sénateurs de la Commission des finances ont parcouru dans la matinée l’ensemble de cette première partie du projet de loi de finances pour 2026. Ils repartaient du texte initial du gouvernement, conséquence du rejet du budget en première lecture à l’Assemblée nationale.Cette réunion était surtout synonyme de tour de chauffe avant l’examen du texte dans l’hémicycle, prévu à partir de jeudi et jusqu’au vote solennel du 15 décembre. A ce stade, seul le rapporteur général Jean-François Husson (Les Républicains) a pu proposer des amendements.”La cible de déficit à 4,7 % du PIB doit être tenue. Je m’y attacherai”, a-t-il expliqué lors d’une conférence de presse, promettant de donner “l’image d’une assemblée sérieuse, capable d’avoir des débats de fond et de trouver des points de convergence en évitant chamailleries et invectives”.Les commissaires aux Finances ont ainsi voté une restriction de la taxe sur les holdings familiales proposée par le gouvernement, pour que celle-ci ne se limite qu’aux “biens somptuaires”. Une version “proche” de celle votée à l’Assemblée nationale avant le rejet du texte, selon M. Husson.- Taxe augmentée sur les petits colis -La droite sénatoriale s’oppose par ailleurs à la surtaxe sur l’impôt sur les sociétés, dont le gouvernement espérait récupérer quatre milliards d’euros en 2026.”Les entreprises françaises ne doivent pas être les victimes des errements budgétaires de l’État”, a insisté M. Husson.A ce stade, le Sénat ne s’est pas opposé au gel du barème de l’impôt sur le revenu, proposé par le gouvernement, qui conduirait 200.000 foyers supplémentaires à payer cet impôt, pour une recette de deux milliards d’euros. Mais le groupe Les Républicains a déposé un amendement en vue de la séance publique pour indexer sur l’inflation de première tranche d’impôt sur le revenu.La commission des Finances n’a pas proposé non plus de revenir sur la contribution différentielle visant les plus hauts revenus.Elle a en revanche proposé la suppression d’une nouvelle taxe sur les plastiques, et entend faire passer de 2 euros à 5 euros le montant d’une taxe sur les petits colis, soit environ 900 millions d’euros de recettes en plus pour l’État.Sur l’abattement de 10% dont bénéficient les retraités sur leur pension, la commission propose d’en abaisser le plafond, de 4.399 euros à 2.500 euros, là où le gouvernement entendait remplacer le dispositif par un abattement forfaitaire de 2.000 euros. Soit, selon le Sénat, un rendement supplémentaire de 700 millions d’euros.Le rapporteur général LR s’oppose par ailleurs à la hausse de la fiscalité sur les biocarburants B100 et E85, mesures qui avaient provoqué une levée de boucliers de la FNSEA, premier syndicat agricole.Sur l’énergie, un autre amendement a été adopté pour rapprocher la fiscalité appliquée à l’électricité à celle du gaz, qui aurait pour conséquence une diminution des factures d’électricité et une augmentation en contrepartie des factures de gaz.Le Sénat entend également réduire le crédit d’impôt pour les services à domicile (Cisap) pour 700 millions d’euros espérés. Et il compte bien diminuer l’effort demandé aux collectivités locales pour le limiter à deux milliards d’euros.Toutes ces propositions devront de nouveau être mises au vote dans l’hémicycle à partir de jeudi.
The United States on Monday urged the European Union to rethink its approach to digital regulation if it wants a deal to lower painful US tariffs on the bloc’s steel exports.US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met the EU’s 27 trade ministers for the first high-level talks in Brussels since the transatlantic allies struck a tariff deal in July.Aimed at averting all-out trade war, the deal agreed on a 15-percent US levy for most EU exports — but both sides continue to push for more concessions.While the EU wants the US to lower its 50-percent duties on steel and aluminium, Washington is demanding Brussels rolls back green and digital rules it says harm US firms.Lutnick linked the two issues explicitly after the meeting, telling the EU to reconsider its approach on tech regulation in exchange for a deal to cut duties on Europe’s steel and aluminium exports.”Our suggestion is that the European Union and their trade ministers deeply consider trying to analyse their digital rules, try to come away with a balance,” he said alongside Greer and EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic.”If they can come up with that balanced approach, which I think they can, then we will together with them handle the steel and aluminium issues,” Lutnick said. He said such an approach would mean the EU could see “a trillion dollars of investment, and that would add a point and a half to European GDP”.- EU ‘not discriminatory’ -US President Donald Trump and his government have pushed back hard at the EU’s bolstered legal armoury against Big Tech.Trump in September threatened retaliatory tariffs in response to a massive 2.95-billion-euro ($3.4 billion) fine imposed on Google.Pushed afterwards on whether the EU’s digital rules are a red line, Sefcovic refused to comment.”We’ll be looking into the ways, how we can launch this process on the digital matters,” he told reporters.Sefcovic insisted the EU’s rules were “not discriminatory” or “aimed at American companies”.A spokesperson for the EU executive later stressed Europe’s “sovereign right to legislate”.”Our rules apply only within the EU. And they apply equally to all companies, regardless of their country of origin,” the European Commission spokesperson said.- EU steels itself -The top EU and US officials also discussed issues they are both facing including access to rare earths and chips — vital for the tech industry.”We didn’t only discuss bilateral issues, but also some of the challenges we are facing together: the overcapacity… China’s role in the global economy and other issues where we have to join forces,” said Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency.The EU in October moved to double tariffs on foreign steel to shield the industry from a flood of cheap Chinese exports.Brussels hoped the proposal would then see the EU team up with Washington to tackle Chinese overcapacity, and Sefcovic had been pushing his US counterparts agree on steel import quotas.The EU wants a broader “metals alliance” with Washington to ring-fence their respective economies from Chinese overcapacity.Industry data shows China was responsible for more than half of the world’s steel production last year.The steel sector employs around 300,000 people in Europe, and nearly 100,000 jobs have been lost in the past 15 years, the industry says.
