Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir yesterday arrived in Juba calling for an end to three weeks of fighting in South Sudan as mediators struggled to get peace negotiations under way in Ethiopia.
There were reports of ongoing fierce clashes near the rebel-held town of Bor, 200km north of the capital, Juba, with South Sudan’s army pouring in reinforcements in a bid to recapture the area.
“There should be peace and security in South Sudan,” Bashir said as he visited Juba for talks with his counterpart, South Sudanese President Salva Kiir.
“We come so that we can bring peace to South Sudan, to our brothers and sisters in South Sudan. Our relationship is very important,” Bashir told reporters.
South Sudan won independence from Khartoum in 2011 after decades of war, but the north remains a key player — serving as the export route for the South’s oil.
Peace talks, brokered by the East African regional bloc IGAD and aimed at securing an elusive ceasefire, were set to start in Addis Ababa in yesterday afternoon, Ethiopian government spokesman Getachew Reda said.
Despite movement on the diplomatic front, the fighting continued.
Army spokesman Philip Aguer said on Sunday it was only a “matter of time” before Bor was retaken, and said government forces were also on the offensive in the oil-producing Unity and Upper Nile states in the north.
UN officials say they believe thousands of people have already been killed, and both sides are alleged to have committed atrocities.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source