agrees

Paramilitary says it will accept a ceasefire proposed by the Quad mediators – the US, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE.

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) says it has agreed to a proposal by the United States for a ceasefire in Sudan after more than two years of fighting with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).

The paramilitary group said in a statement on Thursday that it would accept a “humanitarian ceasefire” proposed by the US-led “quad” mediator group, which includes Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, “to address the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of the war and to enhance the protection of civilians”.

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There was no immediate comment from Sudan’s military.

Earlier this week, the US senior adviser for Arab and African affairs, Massad Boulos, said efforts were under way to reach a truce and that the warring sides had “agreed in principle”.

“We have not recorded any initial objection from either side. We are now focusing on the fine details,” Boulos said on Monday in a statement carried by the Sudan Tribune news outlet.

Reporting from Khartoum, Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan said the plan would begin with a three-month humanitarian truce that could pave the way for a lasting political solution, which would include a new civilian government.

The RSF “said that they’re eager to find some kind of end to this two-year conflict”, Morgan said of the group’s agreement to the truce.

SAF has repeatedly said it wants to continue fighting, Morgan reported, adding that army officials do not believe members of the RSF can be reintegrated into Sudanese society.

SAF has previously said it does not want the UAE’s involvement in truce discussions and that it will demand the RSF withdraw from any city it occupies, among other stipulations, she said.

“This humanitarian access the ceasefire would bring about is desperately needed, but the Sudanese army is yet to agree to it. They have conditions,” Morgan reported. “It doesn’t look like the RSF will meet them.”

Earlier on Thursday, army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan had said his forces were “striving for the defeat of the enemy”.

“Soon, we will avenge those who have been killed and abused … in all the regions attacked by the rebels,” he said in a televised address.

The announcement comes as the RSF faces accusations of committing mass killings since it seized the city of el-Fasher in North Darfur state on October 26, following an 18-month siege.

The RSF now dominates the vast western Darfur region and parts of the country’s south, while the army holds the north, east and central regions along the Nile and the Red Sea.

More than 70,000 people have fled el-Fasher and surrounding areas since the RSF’s takeover, according to the United Nations, with witnesses and human rights groups reporting cases of “summary executions”, sexual violence and mass killings of civilians.

The World Health Organization had reported the “tragic killing of more than 460 patients and medical staff” at a former children’s hospital during the city’s takeover.

‘Mass graves’

Researchers at Yale University said in a report on Thursday that new satellite imagery has detected activity “consistent with mass graves” in the city.

The US university’s Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) report said it found evidence consistent with “body disposal activities”.

The report identified “at least two earth disturbances consistent with mass graves at a mosque and the former Children’s Hospital”.

It also noted the appearance of metres-long trenches, as well as the disappearance of clusters of objects consistent with bodies near the hospital, the mosque and other parts of the city – indicating that bodies deposited around those areas were later moved.

“Body disposal or removal was also observed at Al-Saudi Hospital in satellite imagery,” the report said.

The war in Sudan, which erupted in April 2023, has pitted the army against the group led by al-Burhan’s former deputy, RSF commander Mohammed Hamdan Daglo, also known as Hemedti.

Both the warring sides have been accused of war crimes. In a September report, the UN Human Rights Council accused both sides of extrajudicial killing, large-scale attacks against civilians and torture. It also reported an “overwhelming volume” of evidence on sexual violence primarily perpetrated by RSF and SAF members.

Nov. 3 (UPI) — The Texas-based Kimberly-Clark Corporation announced Monday it reached a deal to purchase Kenvue — the maker of Band-Aid and Tylenol products — for $48.7 billion.

The combination cash and stock transaction will see Kimberly-Clark acquire all outstanding shares of Kenvue common stock. A news release from Kimberly-Clark said the sale will put 10 billion-dollar brands together under the same company.

Kimberly-Clark’s brands include Kleenex, Cottonelle, Huggies, Poise, Pull-Ups, Scott, Viva and Kotex.

“We are excited to bring together two iconic companies to create a global health and wellness leader,” CEO Mike Hsu said.

“With a shared commitment to developing science and technology to provide extraordinary care, we will serve billions of consumers across every stage of life.”

Kimberly-Clark said the sale is expected to close in the second half of 2026 upon approval by shareholders of both companies. Upon completion, Hsu will serve as chairman of the board and CEO of the combined company. Meanwhile, three board members from Kenue will join Kimberly-Clark’s board.

In the wake of the news, Kenvue’s shares increased 20% in premarket trading, and Kimberly-Clark’s decreased by 14% Monday, CNBC reported.

Less than a week before the announcement, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced he was suing Kenvue and its parent company, Johnson & Johnson, for “deceptively marketing” Tylenol as a safe pain reliever.

The Trump administration announced in September that there was a link between Tylenol and an increased risk of autism, though, on Thursday, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy said there wasn’t sufficient evidence to explicitly claim that Tylenol causes autism.

President Donald Trump, right, asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to immediately stop bombing Gaza to enable the immediate release of all living hostages after Hamas on Friday agreed to release all hostages, living and dead, and negotiate a lasting peace. Photo by Jim Lo Scalzo/UPI | License Photo

Oct. 3 (UPI) — Hamas leaders say they will release all hostages, living and dead, but need more than three days to do so, which prompted President Donald Trump to urge Israel to stop bombing Gaza.

Hamas said it wants to enter into negotiations to end the war in Gaza that started when Hamas and its allies attacked, killed and kidnapped Israeli civilians on Oct. 7, 2023, The Jerusalem Post reported.

Hamas leaders in a Friday night statement said they agreed to “release all Israeli prisoners, both living and dead, according to the exchange formula contained in President Trump’s proposal,” according to the BBC.

Its leaders said they will need more than 72 hours to arrange the release of an estimated 48 hostages, of which only 20 are thought to be living.

Hamas did not say it accepts the peace plan proposed by Trump and others, though.

The president set a deadline for Hamas to agree to the peace plan that was negotiated with Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu or face “all hell, like no one has ever seen before,” Trump said on Truth Social.

The 20-point peace plan was written by Trump’s son-in-law and former adviser Jared Kushner, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.

The plan calls for an immediate end to fighting, the release within 72 hours of the 20 living hostages and the return of remains of those believed to be dead.

Hamas leaders said they are willing to “hand over the administration of the Gaza Strip to a Palestinian body of independents (technocrats), based on Palestinian national consensus and Arab and Islamic support,” as reported by NBC News.

After reviewing Hamas’ response, Trump said he believes the designated foreign terrorist organization is “ready for lasting peace,” The Times of Israel reported.

He also said it’s important for Israel to stop attacking Gaza to support the peace effort.

“Israel must immediately stop the bombing of Gaza, so that we can get the hostages out safely and quickly!” the president said in a Truth Social post on Friday evening.

“Right now, it’s far too dangerous to do that,” he added. “We are already in discussions on details to be worked out.”

Trump said ending the war is about more than Gaza and is aimed at bringing peace to the entire Middle East.

YouTube has agreed to pay $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump for suspending his channel in 2021, following the Jan. 6 riots. This is the third tech platform, after Meta’s Facebook and X, to settle with the president. File Photo by Pixelkult/Pixabay

Sept. 29 (UPI) — YouTube has agreed to pay $24.5 million, toward the construction of a new White House ballroom, to settle a lawsuit by President Donald Trump for suspending his channel in 2021 following the Jan. 6, riots.

The online video platform, owned by Alphabet, will pay $22 million from the settlement to the nonprofit Trust for the National Mall, which is “dedicated to restoring, preserving and elevating the National Mall, to support the construction of the White House State Ballroom,” according to court documents. The ballroom is estimated to cost $200 million, according to the White House.

The other $2.5 million from YouTube’s settlement will go to other plaintiffs, including the nonprofit American Conservative Union.

YouTube is the third tech platform to settle with Trump, who also settled with Meta and Twitter for banning his accounts in 2021. Trump settled with Meta for $25 million and with Twitter, renamed X, for $10 million.

All three platforms claimed Trump’s posts after the U.S. Capitol riots risked inciting further violence. Trump said the suspensions amounted to censorship. All of his accounts were reinstated after tech leaders took a more supportive stance, with Elon Musk of X, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Alphabet chief executive officer Sundar Pichai attending Trump’s inauguration in January.

Trump also has received settlements from media outlets, including CBS and ABC News. ABC and Disney settled with the president for $15 million toward his future presidential library after he accused the network and anchor George Stephanopoulous of defamation. And Paramount Global paid out $16 million for CBS’ editing of a Kamala Harris interview on “60 Minutes.”

Last week, YouTube said it would reinstate a number of banned accounts, which had violated the channel’s now defunct rules about posting misinformation about COVID-19 and the 2020 election.

YouTube “values conservative voices on its platform and recognizes that these creators have extensive reach and play an important role in civic discourse,” the platform said.

DONALD Trump has signed an executive order laying the groundwork for China to hand over TikTok to US owners following “very good talks” with Xi Jinping.

Dealmaster Don said he had come to an agreement with the Chinese leader following years of speculation surrounding the fate of the beloved $14billion social media giant.

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In a major U-turn by Beijing – who once slammed the idea of giving TikTok to Washington as “robbery” – Chinese officials have now agreed to hand over the prized platform.

The landmark deal will separate the popular video-sharing hub from its Chinese parent company ByteDance – in a key step allowing TikTok to keep operating in America.

Trump said the agreement would comply with a bipartisan law that would have forced the app’s shutdown if it was not divested and sold to a US owner.

The US President said: “I spoke with President Xi and he said: ‘Go ahead with it.’

“This is going to be American-operated all the way.”

The groundbreaking plan will see US investors oversee the vast majority of TikTok‘s operations.

A coalition of American owners are expected to take charge of 80 per cent of the app – while Chinese investors will have a 20 per cent stake.

They will also gain a licensed copy of the cutting-edge recommendation algorithm retrained solely with US data.

The controversial digital recipe which shows users content based on their preferences previously stirred alarming concern among US officials.

China hawks warned the ByteDance-crafted algorithm could be weaponised by the CCP to influence content seen by hundreds of millions of Americans every day.

But US officials have failed to present any evidence proving China has ever attempted to do so.

The new US version of the spun off firm will be valued at $14billion, US Vice President JD Vance said.

But the new figure doesn’t compare to ByteDance’s overall valuation, which is estimated to stand at a staggering $330billion.

TikTok’s social media arch nemesis Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, is valued at $1.8trillion.

The new investing team will be spearheaded by US software giant Oracle.

The firm will oversee US operations for TikTok, provide cloud service for user data storage and obtain the elusive algorithm license.

The alliance of investors is set to include Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, News Corp owner Rupert Murdoch and Dell CEO Michael Dell.

Trump said of the potential new owners: “Great investors. The biggest. They don’t get bigger.”

Vance said more details about who is involved in the huge deal will be announced over the coming days.

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The deal seemingly puts to bed months of legal limbo for the massively popular app, which is said to host some 180 million US users.

Trump has even credited TikTok with helping him win the 2024 presidential election – as part of his gamechanging social media campaign.

ByteDance and TikTok once faced widespread concerns from US lawmakers over national security and data privacy.

US officials alleged China could use the app to shape messaging and ultimately spread propaganda in an effort to undermine US democracy.

TikTok denied the claims, but Congress collectively agreed to force ByteDance to find a US buyer after a historic vote last year.

The supreme court unanimously upheld the ban in January – before Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office to postpone its removal from the US.

The US President also hinted at TikTok’s secure future last week, writing on Truth Social: “A deal was also reached on a ‘certain’ company that young people in our Country very much want to save.

“They will be very happy!”

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