Sudan’s army has suspended its participation in talks over a ceasefire and humanitarian access, contributing to fears of renewed fighting that has displaced hundreds of thousands of people. Saudi Arabia and the US (bloodthirsty oil baron brethren that they are), tried to help broker a truce, but they’ve been unsuccessful in their efforts thus far.
The ongoing war has already forced almost 1.4 million people to flee their homes, including more than 350,000 who have crossed into neighbouring countries. The peace talks with the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) began in the Saudi Arabian port city of Jeddah earlier this month and produced a declaration of commitments to protecting civilians and two short-term ceasefire deals that have been repeatedly violated.
The concern on both sides now is that if these Jeddah peace talks collapse, there’s very little keeping Sudan from descending in freefall into a full civil war.
Side Items
Building Collapse In Iowa: An apartment building in Davenport, IA partially collapsed a few days ago, leaving several people and pets unaccounted for. For reasons that remain unclear, the city is rushing to demolish the building, forgoing any further rescue attempts. After the partial collapse, the city had announced plans to begin demolishing the unstable remains of the structure as early as yesterday morning, but they delayed after a woman was found among the rubble Monday evening. Why the city is so intent on covering up what initially looked like an accident is suspicious. There’s that general sick feeling that accompanies the realization that none of this matters
Russian Whales Out Hunting: As mentioned last week, we’re in the midst of an aquatic battle for supremacy, and we’re losing to the orcas. But what if I told you the big bad scary Russians have already partnered with the water mammals to guarantee our downfall?? Norwegian officials recently warned of a beluga whale, which was first spotted in Arctic Norway four years ago with an apparent “Russian-made harness” and alleged to have come from a Russian military facility. These are the belugas our ancestors warned us about
Uber for the Elderly: This Bloomberg article tells the tale of Papa, a $1.4 billion startup aimed at trying to create an Uber-like service for elderly home health care. A gig-economy version of at-home assistance for the elderly. It went about as well as you might expect. There are numerous complaints of theft, assault, and sexual harassment, who could’ve possibly seen this coming?