Reuters World News - Stranded in Sudan: a deadly struggle for power

Episode Date: April 17, 2023

Fighting on the streets of Sudan's capital Khartoum as rival military factions battle for control, raising the specter of civil war. We speak to an eyewitness on the ground. Hungary and Poland shut their doors to Ukrainian grain, raising the stakes for global consumers. And Fox’s defamation trial is delayed for last-minute settlement talks. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices.  You may also visit megaphone.fm/adchoices to opt-out of targeted advertising Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, Sudan descends into chaos as rival generals fight for power. Fox News defamation trial is delayed by a day as the media giant seeks a last-minute settlement. And why Poland and Hungary are turning their backs on grain from Ukraine. It's Monday, April 17th. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes. I'm Kim Vinal in London. First, the headlines from around the world and a weekend marred by gun violence. In Alabama, a sweet 16 birthday ended in bloodshed after a shooting killed at least four people.

It's the third high-profile mass shooting in as many weeks in the US South. Armed men stormed a holiday resort in central Mexico, killing a seven-year-old and six adults. It was not clear who was behind the shooting. In recent years, rival drug cartels have been waging brutal battles to control territory and trafficking routes through the state. The shocking moment a former lawmaker in India was shot dead live on air. A former politician who had been convicted of kidnapping was killed along with his brother, Ashraf, while being escorted to a medical checkup. Police said the assailants had been posing as journalists. The world's seven richest nations have set new collective targets for solar power and offshore

wind capacity, but they stopped short of endorsing a 2030 deadline for phasing out coal. At a meeting in Japan, the G7 also left the door open for continued investment in gas. Rupert Murdoch won't be heading to court, at least not today. The judge overseeing a $1.6 billion defamation case against Fox News has delayed its start until Tuesday. Judge Eric Davis didn't give a reason for the delay, but a source told Reuters the media giant was pursuing settlement talks with Dominion voting systems. The company accuses Fox of ruining its reputation by broadcasting false claims that its voting machines were used to rig the 2020 presidential election. A wait-and-see vibe is permeating financial markets.

Carmel Crimmons is here to tell us more. Stocks are trading cautiously. Investors are awaiting results from Wall Street heavyweights like Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs and big corporate names like Netflix and Johnson and Johnson. Investors, they want to see how big corporates and their customers are dealing with persistently high inflation. Tesla's also reporting, and its employees are going to be on the lookout to see what Elon Musk says about pay. Employees at the carmaker's Shanghai plant are actually taking to social media to complain about bonus cuts. Staying in Asia, we're expecting a raft of data out of China this week, and that's going to show us how the world's second biggest economy is doing. Investors are betting on good news after we saw, you know,

big climate house prices over the weekend. Gun battles and airstrikes pound Sudan's capital, Hatoum and other cities. A power struggle between two generals, army chief, Abd al-Burhāhāhā, and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Dagal, has spiraled into violence with scores killed and hundreds wounded. Sudan's army appeared to have gained the upper hand on Sunday. But with thousands of rival troops embedded in densely populated areas, there are fears of a prolonged conflict or even civil war. Well, I'm joined by Reuters' Sudan bureau chief, Aidan Lewis.

Aidan, what is going on in Sudan right now? So the main factions in this violence are on one side the army, the Sudanese army. And on the other side, a very powerful paramilitary force called the rapid support forces. And these two military forces have been the most powerful factions in the country in recent years. They have been together in a post-coo power-sharing arrangement. But recently, there have been a lot of tensions between them and this competition. erupted into this violence that we've seen in the past couple of days. Where are the international community in all of this?

Well, there have been calls for calm from the international community, among others, and efforts to mediate a return to dialogue. But it seems unlikely that that will have any immediate effect because there have been some very incendiary comments from leaders on both sides, And the fighting has so far continued despite calls by the UN, for example, for humanitarian pause in the fighting to allow casualties to be evacuated. Aidan Lewis, thanks. So what's it like right now?

I spoke to American tourists Lakshmi Pardt Satya, who is stranded in the capital Hatoum this morning. It's pretty chaotic. Right now, power is out. Here it went out last night and the water is also. shut off, so that's concerning. And there's a lot of people leaving. I can see, actually, I'm just seeing people like walking with their bags. Like, I think people that live, like, right near that, the area of fighting. But right here, you can just hear gunshots and shells, heavy artillery fire, jets in the air. Yeah, are you trying to leave or what's your

plan to get yourself out? There is no good plan at the moment right now to. Just, just, kind of sheltering in place and seeing what happens. I was hoping that, you know, things may de-escalate, but it doesn't seem like it's going to be that way. It's not like it's possible to like fly out of the country right now. And there is fighting in like all of the other major cities in the country as well. So there's not really a good escape route at the moment. How are your nerves doing? I mean, I can hear in the background there's still the sound of bombing. I mean, how are you doing listening to that all day or all night, I assume? Yeah, when I first heard it, I thought there was like a thunderstorm.

And then when I was sat on the roof and I was like, oh, wow, this is like, it looks like it's an all-out war happening literally right in the backyard. So it's scary. But so far, it's also dayed away from the residential area. I'm crossing, keeping my fingers crossed. right now that it stays that way. Okay, well, stay safe, Lakshmi, and thank you so much for speaking with us. Yeah, hoping for the best here. You can stay across Reuters.com for the latest on Sudan.

The EU has slammed members Poland and Hungary after they announced bans on grain from Ukraine. The two countries say it's to protect local farmers from being undercut by cheap prices after the EU lifted Ukraine's agricultural tariffs. Reuters' breaking news editor for Central and Eastern Europe is Alan Charlish. Alan, what's their issue with grain from Ukraine? This grain that was coming in to neighbouring countries was only supposed to transit through. So it was only supposed to go to, for example, Baltic ports and in Poland and be taken elsewhere. But due to some logistical bottlenecks, a lot of this grain has ended up state,

in the domestic markets and pushing prices down. Right now, most Ukrainian grain is exported by sea, right, in line with the deal that was broken in July. What happens if that Black Sea deal falls apart? I mean, if the Black Sea Green deal was to fall apart, I think the general consensus that that would mean higher food prices around the world. It would also potentially push more grain into neighboring states, exacerbating the problems that we've seen already.

So, I mean, given that Hungary and Poland have decided, at least temporarily, close the borders to Ukrainian grain and other food imports, it would create a major problem about how this grain and other food products would get out of Ukraine and cause higher food price inflation around the world. So what's the situation on the ground right now? According to the Polish authorities, the only trains that have come through with these problems, products are things that had been cleared by customs before the ban actually came into effect on Saturday evening and that now this is in effect and nothing more is coming through. All right, Alan Charlish, thank you so much.

And as we near the end of today's episode, in New York, the final curtain has fallen on Phantom of the Opera, the longest running show on Broadway. Producers say the show was forced to close after 35 years due to a sharp drop and post-pandemic ticket sales. Richard Poole, the longest running cast member with 25 years and 8,000 shows under his belt, said it's been an amazing experience. It's just been the most beautiful and incredible gift.

That's it for today on Reuters World News. We'll be back tomorrow. Remember, you can follow us on your favorite podcast platform or download the Reuters app. app.