Day: March 2, 2022

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UN expert calls to investigate killing of protesters in Sudan

UN Expert on Human Rights in Sudan, Adama Dieng, voiced concern about the killing of two protesters on Monday and called on the authorities to hold the perpetrators accountable.

Dieng on Tuesday said “alarmed” by the use of excessive use of violence by the security forces to disperse peaceful anti-coup protests in Khartoum that led to the death of two people by bullets and attacks on hospitals.

“I remind the authorities of their commitments to me last week to respect human rights and urge the Sudanese police to stop the use of excessive force against protestors,” he said a tweet posted on Tuesday.

The UN expert further called on the government to “urgently investigate these incidents and hold those responsible accountable”.

During a five-day visit to Khartoum that ended on February 24, Dieng met with the attorney-general, the acting Ministers of Foreign Affairs and of Justice, the federal police chief and Rapid Support Forces, and a member of the Sovereign Council.

“I called on the authorities to put an end to the use of excessive force against protesters, lift the state of emergency, release all protestors and activists still held in detention and ensure prompt and impartial investigations into allegations of human rights violations,” he said in a statement at the end of his visit to the Sudanese capital.

The Human Rights Council is expected to discuss the situation of human rights in Sudan, on March 4.

Sudan’s Attorney General established judicial mechanisms to investigate the killing of protesters and rape cases by the security forces after the coup d’état.

However, no reports have been released about these incidents as the security forces continue to use live ammunition to disperse the anti-coup protests.

After the coup, al-Burhan extended powers of the security forces during the state of emergency and the temporary immunity from prosecution granted to these forces.

Source: Sudan Tribune

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Russia-Ukraine conflict: Oil tops $110, equities sink on rising Ukraine war fears

PARIS— Crude surged past $110 a barrel Wednesday and equities sank with investors growing increasingly fearful about the Ukraine war’s impact on global energy supplies and the economic recovery.

Vladimir Putin’s invasion of his neighbour has sent world markets into a spiral over the past week, further fraying nerves on trading floors caused by runaway inflation and tighter central bank monetary policies.

The crisis has seen numerous countries hammer Moscow with a series of wide-ranging sanctions that have isolated Russia and threaten to crash its economy.

The measures have injected a huge amount of uncertainty into markets with supplies of crucial commodities including metals and grains soaring. The price of global staple wheat is sitting at a 14-year high — having risen 30

percent in the past month.

But the main source of unease on trading floors is crude, which has rocketed since Russia began preparing to invade. On Wednesday Brent topped $110 for the first time since 2014, while WTI moved closer to that figure.

Incoming sanctions have fuelled worries that exports will be cut off from Russia, the world’s third-biggest producer of the commodity.

The conflict in eastern Europe comes with prices already elevated owing to tight supplies and a strong recovery in global demand as economies reopen from pandemic-induced lockdowns.

Traders will be keeping a close eye on a meeting of OPEC and other major producers, including Russia, later in the day where they will discuss whether to ramp up output to temper the price rises, which are helping fan inflation.

In his State of the Union address, President Joe Biden said the United States would join a 30-country deal to release 60 million barrels to help temper the surge in prices, though analysts have warned such moves would likely only have a limited impact.

The oil price surge has compounded fears about inflation as it sits at a 40-year high in the United States and hurts

Americans in the pocket even as the economy rebounds from the pandemic shock.

However, the Ukraine crisis has given the Fed another headache as it is forced to rethink its plans to hike interest rates to get consumer prices under control.

It had been widely expected to lift this month and then up to seven times more before the end of the year, but commentators say it will likely tone down its hawkishness for fear of damaging the recovery.

Fed boss Jerome Powell’s two days of congressional testimony will be closely watched this week for an idea about the bank’s thinking.

Wall Street and European markets tumbled Tuesday and the losses largely flowed through to Asia, which had enjoyed two days of relative calm though the selling was not as severe.

Tokyo led losses, falling 1.9 percent, while Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Taipei, Manila and Wellington also dropped. However, Sydney, Seoul, Jakarta and Bangkok eked out marginal gains.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK