News

Bodies Pile Up Without Burials In Sudan’s Capital, Marooned By A Relentless Conflict

Published

1 year ago

2023-08-12

Kiara Grace

KHARTOUM, Sudan —In the capital of Sudan, Nobody could have predicted the funeral: Sadig Abbas’ dead body was hurriedly put into a small, unmarked grave in Khartoum.

According to Awad el-Zubeer, a neighbor of the deceased, even the few family members and neighbors who could attend were preoccupied, scanning the cemetery’s environs for signs of an approaching fire.

Thank goodness none did.

Funerals in Khartoum are impossible due to the nearly four months of bloody street fighting between the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Residents and local medical organizations claim that bodies are rotting in the city streets, marooned by a conflict showing no signs of abating.

“Given these circumstances, if you asked me exactly where his body was buried, I couldn’t tell you,” El-Zubeer stated.

Information about Sudan’s casualties is scarce. The violence has claimed more than 3,000 lives, according to the country’s health minister, Haitham Mohammed Ibrahim, but there hasn’t been any new information since. According to campaigners and local doctors, the number is probably much higher.

The number of unburied bodies has also not been estimated by a medical organization, despite mass graves and widespread ethnic massacres being discovered in the southern Darfur region of the country.

According to the country’s doctors association, most people from the capital have been killed in the crossfire as the formerly tranquil metropolis has become urban warfare. Some reportedly starved to death while being imprisoned by the gun battles that raged outside, while others perished because they could not receive basic medical care.

Their burials would have been elaborate affairs lasting days in times of peace. In Sudan, memorial services for the departed frequently draw large crowds. By Islamic practice in Sudan, bodies are typically cleansed and blessed before being buried in family-dug graves at cemeteries.

Nobody could have predicted the funeral in the Sudan capital: Sadig Abbas’ dead body was hurriedly put into a small, unmarked grave in Khartoum.

According to seven former and current inhabitants of the capital region, the conflict between the country’s two highest generals, army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan and RSF commander Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, has shattered this tradition. Three people spoke under the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.

Several people claimed that getting to the roughly twenty cemeteries in the capital was impossible when they tried to bury family members, friends, or people they were detained with.

When the crisis started on April 15, almost 100 university students were trapped inside Khartoum University. A fellow student reported that Khaled, a student, was struck in the chest by a stray bullet and passed away soon after.

He spoke anonymously out of concern for his safety since he didn’t want to be singled out. “We dragged his dead body to the lower levels (of a building) to stop it rotting,” he added.

After getting permission from Khaled’s family, he and others covered Khaled’s body in an improvised Islamic burial shroud and buried him on the university grounds beneath a tree.

A resident of Omdurman’s Beit al-Mal neighborhood, near the Nile River from Khartoum, Gasin Amin Oshi, claimed that RSF soldiers barred a neighboring family from interring a loved one in a local cemetery. Instead, they interred the woman on a school’s grounds after she passed away naturally.

Nobody could have predicted the funeral in the Sudan capital: Sadig Abbas’ dead body was hurriedly put into a small, unmarked grave in Khartoum.

Most locals claimed RSF troops, who govern substantial portions of the city, frequently create disruption. The army bombarded RSF camps in the capital during the early stages of the battle, forcing the RSF soldiers to flee and take over abandoned residences as bases. The army then used artillery and aircraft to attack civilian neighborhoods. U.N. statistics show that more than 2.15 million people have subsequently left Khartoum State.

El-Zubeer claimed that after RSF soldiers raided Abbas’ home and discovered that one of his brothers was an army officer and the other an intelligence officer, Abbas was shot and died. He claimed that once Abbas’ body was taken to a hospital, the RSF first forbade the burial without justifying but finally gave in to the family’s appeals.

However, according to el-Zubeer, most people either didn’t know about the funeral on June 30 or were too terrified to go. Since the start of the conflict, the nation has seen frequent power outages and internet shortages.

Mobile phones are just as beneficial for communication as a pack of cigarettes, according to el-Zubeer.

The RSF’s principal spokesperson, Youssef Izzat, told the AP that the leadership had not instructed to stop civilian burials. He said that the only reason any were stopped was because there was fierce combat nearby.

Nobody could have predicted the funeral in the Sudan capital: Sadig Abbas’ dead body was hurriedly put into a small, unmarked grave in Khartoum.

Contrarily, locals viewed the paramilitary as lawless and frequently driven by boredom and enjoyment. But occasionally, they claimed, there were good deeds.

One South Khartoum resident claimed that despite robbing individuals in his uncle’s neighborhood, a group of RSF militants unexpectedly offered to transport and bury the uncle after he passed away in July from natural causes.

Sudan’s Red Crescent has gathered and buried bodies throughout the capital since June. The group said it has discovered and buried at least 102 remains, most of whom are unidentified warriors from both sides, taking advantage of brief lulls in the battle.

A Red Crescent employee reported that after the bodies were gathered, they were photographed and given an identity number.

According to the international charity Save the Children, thousands of bodies may still be unburied in the city because many battle-torn areas are unreachable. A community organization from the Bahri neighborhood of the capital’s north requested last month that medical organizations pick up the bodies of roughly 500 RSF militants lying in wait on the streets. In recent weeks, an AP journalist in south Khartoum counted at least 26 bodies lying on the streets, mostly civilians and RSF fighters.

Nobody could have predicted the funeral in the Sudan capital: Sadig Abbas’ dead body was hurriedly put into a small, unmarked grave in Khartoum.

One victim had been lying in the open for so long in Khartoum’s al-Sahafa neighborhood, according to el-Zubeer, that the bones could be seen.

Unidentified bodies are typically transported to mortuaries. According to Dr. Atia Abdalla Atia, president of the Sudan Doctors Union, only five of the city’s roughly twenty hospitals are still in operation, and at least four have been abandoned due to fighting in the capital region.

International organizations and rights organizations worry that the rainy season in Sudan will result in more fatalities and infrastructural damage. Numerous people were killed by flooding last year.

Water supplies can become contaminated by decaying bodies.

According to el-Sadig el-Nour, the director of the Islamic Relief Worldwide for Sudan, many “people now drink from wells or the River Nile” out of desperation.

SOURCE – (AP)

News

Cases Of The US Flu Season Are Rising, While Vaccinations Are Behind Schedule.

Published

19 hours ago

2024-12-21

Salman Ahmad

(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

(VOR News) – The U.S. flu season has begun, according to health experts, who also noted a sharp rise in cases countrywide on Friday.

Significant increases were noted by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in a number of indicators, such as laboratory tests and ED visits. “For the past few weeks, it has been increasing steadily.” “Yes, we are in flu season right now,” CDC’s Alicia Budd said.

Last week, flu-like sickness was reported at elevated or very elevated levels in 13 states, roughly twice as many as the week before. Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University, says Tennessee is seeing a spike in sickness in the Nashville area.

Schaffner said, “Influenza cases have been increasing, but they have increased significantly in the last week.” He noted that up to 25% of patients in a nearby clinic, which is a gauge of illness trends, have flu-like symptoms.

An early focal point was Louisiana.

Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Centre, the largest private hospital in the state, in Baton Rouge, has infectious diseases specialist Dr. Catherine O’Neal, who said, “This week is a significant turning point as individuals are affected by the flu.” “Parents frequently say, ‘I have the flu and can’t go to work,’ and ‘Where can I get a flu test?'”

Fever, cough, sore throat, and other influenza-like symptoms are caused by a variety of viruses. COVID-19 is one of them. Another flu season common disease that causes cold-like symptoms but poses serious hazards to infants and the elderly is respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

Recent CDC numbers indicate a decline in COVID-19 hospitalisations since the summer. According to CDC wastewater data, COVID-19 activity is modest nationwide but elevated in the Midwest.

Although RSV hospitalisations are still marginally more common than flu admissions, they started to rise before flu season cases and currently show signs of perhaps stabilising. RSV activity is low nationwide, but wastewater data shows that it is high in the South.

Based on a number of indicators, such as laboratory results from hospitalised patients and outpatient clinics, as well as the percentage of ED visits that resulted in an influenza diagnosis at discharge, the CDC declared the start of the flu season.

According to Budd, it is too early in the season to determine the effectiveness of the influenza vaccine, and no type of virus seems to be more common.

The flu season last winter was classified as “moderate” overall, but it continued for 21 weeks, and the CDC estimates that 28,000 people died from the virus. With 205 paediatric deaths reported, the situation was particularly dangerous for kids. It was the largest number ever recorded for a conventional influenza season.

The prolonged flu season was probably one of the reasons, Budd added.

The lack of influenza vaccinations was one of the contributing factors. The CDC reports that 80% of children who passed away and had verified vaccination status and were of the right age for flu shots were not completely immunised.

Children’s immunisation rates are drastically lower this year. About 41% of people had a flu shot as of December 7, which is similar to the percentage at the same time last year. For youngsters, the figure is steady, although it is lower than in the previous year, when 44% received an influenza vaccination, according to CDC data.

About 21% of adults and 11% of children are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, which is still a poor vaccination rate.

Influenza experts advise everyone to get vaccinated, especially as people get ready for holiday gatherings where respiratory diseases could spread widely.

“This virus also has the potential to spread from person to person at all those happy, pleasant, and heartwarming events,” Schaffner said. “flu season Vaccination remains a viable option.”

However, Louisiana’s health department announced on Friday that it was rescinding its COVID-19 and flu vaccination recommendations. According to an official, the department’s current position is that people should speak with their doctors about whether the immunisations are suitable for their situation.

The department’s spokesperson, Emma Herrock, did not respond to follow-up questions regarding the policy. Dr. Ralph Abraham, the state’s surgeon general, has expressed concerns in the past regarding the COVID-19 vaccine’s effectiveness and safety.

SOURCE: AP

News

Social Security Change Approved By Senate Despite Fiscal Concerns

Published

23 hours ago

2024-12-21

Salman Ahmad

(VOR News) – On Saturday, the U.S. Congress passed a plan to increase Social Security retirement payouts for some retirees who receive public pensions, a move that critics say will further erode the program’s financial stability. Among these pensioners are former firefighters and police officers.

The Social Security Fairness Act was passed by the Senate on a bipartisan vote of 76-20 just after midnight. The act may lower payments for those receiving pensions and aims to repeal provisions that have existed for 20 years.

The House of Representatives passed the bill last month by a vote of 327-75, meaning that if the Senate also approves it, it would be delivered to Democratic President Joe Biden to become law.

The White House dodged enquiries regarding Social Security’s objectives.

In order to limit government benefits for certain higher-paid employees who are also getting pensions, the measure will reverse a long-standing change to the program. It has become increasingly common in recent years for municipal employees, such as postal workers and firefighters, to face pay limitations.

The vast majority of Americans do not take part in pension plans that provide a fixed return on investment, instead relying on their own savings and Social Security. According to data from the Department of Labour, only 10% of private sector employees in the US are covered by pension plans.

The new rules apply to about 3 percent of Social Security users, or more than 2.5 million people in the United States. Legislators are heavily influenced by the workers and retirees impacted by these rules, and the powerful advocacy organisations that speak for them have been using the legislative process to push for a legislative cure.

According to retirement experts, some retirees may be able to earn hundreds of dollars more in government benefits each month as a result of the move.

According to a Congressional Budget Office analysis, the bill is expected to cost approximately $196 billion over the next 10 years. As a result, federal budget experts are worried that the change could negatively affect the program’s already fragile financial status.

In an interview with the Bipartisan Policy Centre, Emerson Sprick, associate director of economic policy, said he was frustrated by “the overwhelming support in Congress for the contrary of what policy researchers concur on is quite frustrating.”

Instead of eliminating current formulas, we could improve them.

Among these changes is the Social Security Administration’s increased disclosure of the anticipated monetary benefits for these public sector workers.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan fiscal think tank, has voiced concerns that the additional cost will impact the program’s ability to continue.

Maya MacGuineas, the organization’s leader, made the declaration, saying, “We are hastening towards our own fiscal ruin.”

“It is noteworthy that lawmakers are in a position to shorten the timeframe by six months, as there are just nine years left before the trust fund for the biggest program in the country runs out.”

Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican, said on the Senate floor on Wednesday that the bill in its current form would “throw granny over the cliff.”

According to what he stated, “every senator who votes to impose a burden of $200 billion on the Social Security Trust Fund is opting to put the interests of senior citizens who have contributed to Social Security and earned those benefits in jeopardy.”

Those who favoured the legislation said that the question of what would happen to Social Security could be settled later.

“Those are significantly longer-term concerns that we must collaboratively address,” a supporter of the idea Senator Michael Bennett told Reuters when asked if the move would affect the government’s capacity to be viable.

SOURCE: BR

News

King Charles Could Millions Annually from Renting His Properties

Published

1 day ago

2024-12-21

Geoff Brown

Estimated Annual Rental Income of £1.4 Million

A recent analysis suggests that King Charles might earn over £1 million each year by renting out royal properties to holidaymakers.

The Royal Family’s historic houses and mansions are popular holiday rentals, contributing significantly to the Palace’s revenue.

Pikl Insurance estimates that the royals may earn up to £118,775.85 per month, or around £1,425,310.20 per year, from their holiday rental portfolio. Even after accounting for cancellations, the monarchy is anticipated to generate a net annual income of somewhat more over £1.4 million.

Estimated Annual Rental Income of £1.4 Million

The four primary royal properties accepting public bookings are Balmoral Castle, Castle of Mey’s Captain House, Restormel Manor, and Dumfries House, according to Express.co.uk. Cottages at Balmoral Castle in Scotland are expected to generate £36,798.30 per month after accounting for cancellations.

According to the numbers, the 500-year-old Restormel Manor in Cornwall is the most profitable of them all, earning a solid £47,082 every month. The resort, located in the Fowey Valley, has four booking spaces and six converted barns.

Dumfries House in Ayrshire, Scotland, adds an estimated £31,185.63 and offers 25 rooms for booking. The Castle of Mey’s Captain House in the Scottish Highlands is estimated to generate a more modest £3,709.92 per month, despite the fact that the entire property is available for booking.

The analysts stated, “While the Royal Family’s primary role is undoubtedly to serve the nation, it is clear that their properties are also a valuable asset.” These estimates highlight the royal estate’s considerable financial potential and provide an intriguing peek into the monarchy’s corporate operations.”

Royal Family received £86.3 million from the taxpayer-funded Sovereign Grant in the previous fiscal year, according to official numbers released in July.

All revenues from the Crown Estate, which includes royal households, forestry, agriculture, and offshore wind, are paid directly to the Treasury, with a portion of this money, now 12%, returned to the Royal Family to finance their tasks.

The records also cover a period of jubilation, including the coronation and festivities surrounding the King and Queen’s crowning in May of last year.