Depardieu is put on the sex offenders list and receives a suspended sentence for groping the women on a film set.
A French court has handed down an 18-month suspended sentence to actor Gerard Depardieu after finding him guilty of sexually assaulting two women on a film set in 2021.
The Paris court announced on Tuesday morning that Depardieu, the 76-year-old who did not attend court for the verdict, would be placed on the sex offenders list.
In one of the country’s highest-profile Me Too cases, Depardieu, a prominent figure of French cinema who has acted in more than 200 films and television series, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
The trial relates to charges of sexual assault during the filming in 2021 of Les Volets Verts (The Green Shutters) directed by Jean Becker.
One of the two plaintiffs, Amelie K, a 54-year-old set decorator, told the court that Depardieu had groped her as he trapped her between his legs and made explicit sexual comments.
“He touched everything, including my breasts,” she said, adding: “I was terrified, he was laughing.”
The second witness, a 34-year-old assistant director who was unnamed, said Depardieu initially assaulted her when she accompanied him from his dressing room to the set.
“It was nighttime … he put his hand on my buttocks,” she said, adding that the actor assaulted her on two other occasions.
Plaintiff Amelie K reacts as she speaks to members of the media at the court, after the conviction of French actor Gerard Depardieu of sexual assault of two women in Paris, France [Piroschka van de Wouw/Reuters]
Judge Thierry Donard said the actor’s explanation of the events had been unconvincing.
“I’m vulgar, rude, foul-mouthed, I’ll accept that,” Depardieu told the court, but added: “I don’t touch.”
“I adore women and femininity,” he also said, describing the Me Too movement as a “reign of terror”.
Depardieu also argued before the court that he did not consider placing a hand on a person’s bottom to be sexual assault and that some women were too easily shocked.
Amelie K’s lawyer described Tuesday’s ruling as a “beautiful decision” that gave recognition to Depardieu’s victims.
After the sentencing, Depardieu’s lawyer said they would appeal the court decision.
In recent years, the French actor has faced a growing number of sexual assault allegations, with about 20 women coming forward with accusations, but this case was the first to go to court.
The Me Too movement came to prominence in 2017 for people to share their experiences of sexual abuse and sexual harassment by influential figures.
May 13 (UPI) — Police in Britain early Tuesday arrested a 21-year-old man accused of setting fires to three north London residences this month, including a home owned by Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The most recent fire occurred at a residence in Kentish Town and was reported to the London Fire Brigade at about 1:35 a.m. local time Monday. Metropolitan Police did not identify the owner but said counter-terrorism officers were investigating due to the home’s connections “with a high-profile public figure.”
Local reports confirmed that the residence was owned by Starmer, who, as prime minister, was living at his official 10 Downing Street residence with his family and was renting out the north London home at the time of the incident. No injuries were reported.
The suspect, who was not identified, was arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life and remains in police custody.
Authorities said they are considering the man as a suspect in two other arson cases this month.
“All three fires are being treated as suspicious at this time, and enquiries remain ongoing,” Metropolitan Police said Tuesday.
Th police are investigating Monday’s fire as being potentially linked to a fire set Sunday in the entrance of a north London residence and a Thursday vehicle fire, also located in north London.
The prime minister, through a spokesperson on Monday, thanked emergency services for their work in responding to the incident.
In June, three activists were found guilty of public disturbance offenses for holding a pro-Palestine protest in front of Starmer’s home in April 2024.
Tennis great Novak Djokovic and his former on-court rival Andy Murray split days before the French Open after six-month coaching partnership.
Andy Murray will no longer be coaching former rival Novak Djokovic, ending their six-month partnership, the pair announced.
Djokovic stunned the tennis world in November when he said he had hired the retired Murray, who had no track record as a coach, to lead his off-court team.
But the two 37-year-old tennis greats have already parted company, with the former British player thanking Serbian star Djokovic for an “unbelievable opportunity”.
Their split comes after Djokovic, the winner of a record 24 men’s Grand Slam singles titles, endured a difficult start to the season, including losing his first match at his last two tournaments.
“Thanks to Novak for the unbelievable opportunity to work together and thanks to his team for all their hard work over the past six months,” Murray said in a statement released on Tuesday.
“I wish Novak all the best for the rest of the season,” added the Scot, who defeated Djokovic in the 2012 US Open and 2013 Wimbledon finals to win two of his three Grand Slam titles.
Their partnership started well, with Djokovic defeating Carlos Alcaraz at the Australian Open, only to retire through injury during his semifinal against Alexander Zverev.
But success has since proved elusive, with Djokovic saying on Tuesday: “Thank you, coach Andy, for all the hard work, fun and support over last six months on and off the court, really enjoyed deepening our friendship together.”
Murray, who retired after the 2024 Paris Olympics, is a three-time singles Grand Slam winner and former world number one.
The pair go their separate ways less than two weeks out from the 2025 French Open, which begins on May 25 at Roland Garros, Paris.
Novak Djokovic, right, and Andy Murray have decided to end their coaching partnership before the French Open [File: Leonardo Fernandez/Getty Images]
Kim Moon-soo (C), the conservative People Power Party presidential candidate, said Tuesday while campaigning that he would not expel impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol from the party. Kim signed autographs in the industrial southeastern city of Ulsan during a campaign stop. Pool Photo by Yonhap/EPA-EFE
SEOUL, May 13 (UPI) — Kim Moon-soo, the candidate from the conservative People Power Party in next month’s snap presidential election, said Tuesday that the party was not considering expelling impeached former President Yoon Suk Yeol.
“Whether former President Yoon decides to leave the party is entirely up to him,” Kim told reporters during a campaign stop in the southeastern city of Daegu.
“It’s not right for our party to tell a president to leave or not,” Kim said. “If we believe that Yoon did something wrong and demand that he leave, then the party shares responsibility too.”
Campaigning for the June 3 election opened Monday, with the PPP’s Kim set to face off against Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung, who leads by a sizable margin in opinion polls.
The race comes after months of turmoil following Yoon’s shocking martial law declaration and impeachment in December. He was finally removed from office last month by Seoul’s Constitutional Court, but the lengthy process deepened long-simmering political divisions in the country.
While some PPP primary candidates called for distancing the party from Yoon, Kim maintained his support for the president under whom he served as labor minister.
The 73-year-old was the sole cabinet member who refused to apologize for Yoon’s martial law attempt in a session at the National Assembly and won the strong backing of hardline loyalists who opposed impeachment.
On Monday, Kim offered his first public apology for the “suffering” caused by martial law.
“The public has had a difficult time since the martial law attempt,” Kim told broadcaster Channel A News. “The economy and domestic politics are difficult right now and so are exports and diplomacy.”
Calling it “one of the most extreme measures,” Kim said he did not attend the cabinet meeting where martial law was declared and would not have supported it at the time.
“If I become president in the future, I will not use martial law,” he said. “I will complete democracy through dialogue, persuasion and patience to resolve any issues between the ruling and opposition parties.”
Kim won the PPP nomination on May 3, but then faced a late push by party leadership to replace him with former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who some saw as a less polarizing figure with a better chance of defeating Lee. An all-member meeting on Saturday finally confirmed Kim as their candidate.
The Democratic Party’s Lee, who lost to Yoon in the 2022 presidential election by a razor-thin margin, has also faced barriers to his second bid for the presidency. He is facing a retrial on an election law violation charge that could have threatened his eligibility, but the Seoul High Court last week postponed a hearing until after the election.
Marks & Spencer has revealed that some personal customer data has been stolen in the recent cyber attack, which could include contact details and dates of birth.
The High Street giant said the personal information taken could also include online order histories, but added the data theft did not include useable payment or card details, or any account passwords.
M&S was hit by the cyber attack three weeks ago and is struggling to get services back to normal, with online orders still suspended.
The retailer said customers would be prompted to reset passwords for accounts “for extra peace of mind”.
M&S chief executive Stuart Machin said the company was writing to customers to inform them that “unfortunately, some personal customer information has been taken”.
“Importantly, there is no evidence that the information has been shared,” he added.
What has been taken?
M&S confirmed the contact information stolen could include:
name
date of birth
telephone number
home address
household information
email address
online order history
The retailer added any card information taken would not be useable as it does not hold full card payment details on its systems.
What should you do?
M&S operations director Jayne Wall told customers in an email: “You do not need to take any action, but you might receive emails, calls or texts claiming to be from M&S when they are not, so do be cautious.
“Remember that we will never contact you and ask you to provide us with personal account information, like usernames, and we will never ask you to give us your password.”
Mr Machin said M&S was “working around the clock to get things back to normal” as quickly as possible.
How did the hack happen?
Problems at M&S began over the Easter weekend when customers reported problems with Click & Collect and contactless payments in stores.
The company confirmed it was dealing with a “cyber incident” and while in-store services have resumed, its online orders on its website and app have been suspended since 25 April.
There is still no word on when online orders will resume.
M&S’ announcement that customer data had been stolen as part of the ongoing cyber attack was expected due to the nature of the attack.
The hackers behind it, who also recently targeted Co-op and Harrods, used the DragonForce cyber crime service to carry out the attacks.
DragonForce operates an affiliate cyber crime service on the darknet for anyone to use their malicious software and website to carry out attacks and extortions.
The group is known to use a double extortion method, which means they steal a copy of their victim’s data as well as scramble it to make it unusable.
They can then effectively ask for a ransom for both unscrambling the data and deleting their copy.
However, if the person or business hacked does not want to pay a ransom, criminals can in some cases start leaking the stolen data to other cyber criminals, who could look to carry out further attacks to gain more sensitive data.
At the moment, DragonForce’s darknet website does not have any entries about M&S.
Catherine Shuttleworth, retail analyst from Savvy Marketing, said the latest update was a “further blow for M&S”.
“So far M&S customers have been very supportive of the business in the light of the cyber attack but they will be very concerned that their data has been compromised and will need a good deal of reassurance from the business about what this means for them,” she said.
“M&S is one of the most trusted brands in the land and shoppers hold it to the highest standard.”
Russia must pay damages for the downing of a Malaysian airliner over Ukraine in 2014, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) says.
The United Nations aviation agency has said Russia was responsible for the downing of a Malaysian airliner over Ukraine in 2014 that killed all 298 passengers and crew.
With 38 Australian citizens and 196 Dutch citizens on board the aircraft when it was downed, the two governments called on Russia to take responsibility for the incident and pay damages. However, Russia has consistently denied any involvement in the downing of the plane.
Late on Monday, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) said Australia and the Netherlands’ claims over the shooting down of flight MH17 were “well-founded in fact and in law”.
“The Russian Federation failed to uphold its obligations under international air law in the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17,” the agency said in a statement.
According to international air law, a distinction must be made between military aircraft and commercial or other aircraft during warfare.
While the ICAO has no regulatory powers, it holds moral suasion and sets global aviation standards adopted by its 193-member states.
‘Important step’
Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said in a statement that the ICAO’s ruling in the case launched in 2022 was an “important step towards establishing the truth and achieving justice”.
“This decision also sends a clear message to the international community: States cannot violate international law with impunity,” he said.
Moreover, Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong said her government welcomed the decision and urged ICAO to swiftly determine reparations.
“We call upon Russia to finally face up to its responsibility for this horrific act of violence and make reparations for its egregious conduct, as required under international law,” Wong said in a statement.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha also welcomed the ruling and said the decision was another step towards “restoring justice for this crime”.
“No matter how much money and effort Russia put into lying to conceal its crimes, the truth wins out, and justice prevails,” Sybiha wrote on X.
On July 17, 2014, the Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777, travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was hit by a Russian-made BUK surface-to-air missile over eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, where pro-Russian separatists were fighting Ukrainian forces.
At the time, separatists in the area claimed the airliner was shot down by a Ukrainian military jet, with Russian President Vladimir Putin accusing Ukraine of bearing “responsibility” for the deaths of the passengers.
In 2022, a Dutch court sentenced three men to life sentences over the downing of the plane, including two Russians that Moscow refused to extradite.
New York Knicks take a 3-1 series lead after winning Game 4 against the reigning NBA champions Boston Celtics, who lost Jayson Tatum to injury.
Jalen Brunson scored 26 of his 39 points in the second half, and the New York Knicks became the first home team to win in the series by defeating the Boston Celtics 121-113 to take a 3-1 series lead in their Eastern Conference second-round matchup.
Karl-Anthony Towns added 23 points and 11 rebounds, and Mikal Bridges also scored 23 for the Knicks, who recovered from a 14-point third-quarter deficit on Monday night. OG Anunoby made some key plays late while contributing 20 points.
“They hit us early, and obviously we got into a hole,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “I love the way we fought back, and we showed a lot of toughness and more discipline in the second half and timely plays. Everybody worked together on both ends of the floor.”
Boston star Jayson Tatum sustained a possible serious right ankle injury late in the contest. Tatum had 42 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals. He knocked down seven 3-pointers for the second-seeded Celtics, who squandered 20-point leads while dropping the first two games in the series.
Tatum was helped off the floor with his right foot kept in the air and was later seen being pushed to the locker room while sitting in a rolling chair.
“I got back there, talked to the medical staff, and they told me it’s a lower-body injury for Jayson Tatum and we’ll get an MRI in the morning,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said.
Derrick White made six 3-pointers and scored 23 points, and Jaylen Brown added 20 points and seven rebounds for Boston. Payton Pritchard added 12 points off the bench.
The Knicks can clinch the best-of-seven series with a win in Game 5 at Boston on Wednesday night.
“It’s not like we planned to be in this situation,” White said. “But we are where we are. We have to find a way to win Game 5.”
New York Knicks’ guard Jalen Brunson (#11) scored 39 points and had 12 assists against the Boston Celtics in Game 4 on May 12, 2025 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, US [Brian Babineau/Getty Images via AFP]
Third-quarter explosion lifts Wolves over Warriors
In the other playoff game on Monday, Anthony Edwards poured 11 of his 30 points into a 17-0 third-quarter flurry as the Minnesota Timberwolves moved within one win of a second consecutive berth in the Western Conference finals with a 117-110 road win over the Golden State Warriors in Game 4 in San Francisco.
Julius Randle led the way with 31 points and Jaden McDaniels contributed 10 points and 13 rebounds for the sixth-seeded Timberwolves, who have rallied from a series-opening loss to win three straight from the Stephen Curry-less Warriors.
Minnesota could clinch the best-of-seven series in Game 5 on Wednesday in Minneapolis.
Jonathan Kuminga had a team-high 23 points for seventh-seeded Golden State, which lost Curry to a hamstring injury during its Game 1 win.
The Warriors previously announced that their standout point guard would be re-evaluated before Game 5, with the possibility of Curry returning at that point.
Golden State held a 60-58 halftime lead, and the game was tied 68-all in the fourth minute of the third period before Edwards turned a floater into a three-point play to ignite the decisive run.
Edwards also buried a pair of 3-pointers and a short jumper among his 11 points, while Mike Conley and Donte DiVincenzo drilled shots from deep as part of a burst that lasted more than four minutes.
Edwards finished 6-for-11 on 3-point attempts and Randle 4-for-8, helping the Timberwolves outscore the Warriors 48-24 from beyond the arc. Minnesota shot 16-for-34 (47.1 percent) from beyond the arc, while the Warriors were 8-for-27 (29.6 percent).
“The big third quarter was huge,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “I thought we came out at halftime with the type of focus and intensity and purpose on offence and attention to detail on defence is what we needed from the start. But for the most part, I thought we were lucky to be just down a bucket at halftime.
“[Edwards] was one of the guys that was most vocal at half time and realised what was going on out there and we needed to be better. It started with him, really, and setting the tone.”
Jimmy Butler III took just nine shots and totalled 14 points with a team-high-tying three assists for the Warriors. Draymond Green also had 14 points to go with seven rebounds, while Buddy Hield scored 13 and Brandin Podziemski had 11 to complement four steals.
“[The Timberwolves] played a great game and obviously took it to us, and we’ve got to bounce back,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “We’ve got a flight to Minneapolis tomorrow and a chance to extend the series, and that’s the plan.”
Minnesota Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards (#5) scored 30 points in a Game 4 win against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center on May 12, 2025 in San Francisco, California, US [Ezra Shaw/Getty Images via AFP]
On May 4, Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched a barrage of suicide drones at Port Sudan, the army’s de facto wartime capital on the Red Sea.
The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) accused foreign actors of supporting the RSF’s attacks and even threatened to sever ties with one of its biggest trading partners.
The RSF surprised many with the strikes. It had used drones before, but never hit targets as far away as Port Sudan, which used to be a haven, until last week.
“The strikes … led to a huge displacement from the city. Many people left Port Sudan,” Aza Aera, a local relief worker, told Al Jazeera. “If the aggression continues … I think I’ll leave like everyone else.”
A drone war
When a civil war erupted between the SAF and RSF in April 2023, the army had aerial supremacy due to its fleet of warplanes and drones.
Yet the RSF is closing the gap with an arsenal of suicide drones, which it used on Port Sudan for six consecutive days, hitting an army base, a civilian airport, several hotels, and a fuel depot, which caused a massive blast.
“Sudan had already entered the phase of drone warfare over the last … few months at least,” said Suliman Baldo, the founder of the Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker think tank.
The army largely relies on the relatively affordable Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drones, reportedly receiving $120m worth of them since late 2023.
Bayraktars can travel long distances with a large payload, and the army says they helped it regain swaths of territory from the RSF in eastern and central Sudan between September 2024 and March 2025, including the capital Khartoum.
Despite losing significant ground, the RSF then stepped up its aggression against the SAF with Chinese-made drones, according to a recent report by Amnesty International.
The human rights group, Sudan’s de facto military government and other monitors all accuse the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of purchasing these drones – and other weapons – and supplying them to the RSF.
“The UAE strongly rejects the suggestion that it is supplying weapons to any party involved in the ongoing conflict in Sudan,” said Salem Aljaberi, a spokesperson for the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement on X.
Regardless, the increasing use of drones by both sides marks an escalation and risks exacerbating an already catastrophic situation for civilians, according to experts and human rights monitors.
Bold announcement
On May 6, the army-backed authorities in Port Sudan announced the severing of all ties with the UAE after accusing it of being behind the attacks.
The army relies on relatively affordable Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones [Courtesy: Creative Commons]
That announcement was not well thought-out, according to Baldo.
Sudan’s army could lose tens of millions of dollars in gold revenue, as well as access to vital banking operations, he told Al Jazeera.
A UAE-backed company, Emiral Resources, owns a majority of shares in Sudan’s largest gold mine, the Kush mine.
Kush is administered by Sudan’s army, which likely sells tens of millions of dollars worth of gold to the UAE.
According to the Central Bank of Sudan, about 97 percent of gold exports from army-controlled areas went to the UAE in 2023.
Kush exported at least one tonne of gold in 2024, although it is unclear how much higher the number is for production.
Furthermore, UAE banks own a majority share in the Bank of Khartoum, whose digital platform, Bankak, facilitates money transfers for millions of displaced Sudanese and public institutions.
The UAE state also owns El Nilein Bank, which manages and approves international transactions on behalf of Port Sudan, according to a report that Baldo co-authored in March for the Chatham House think tank.
“This was a rushed decision [to cut ties with the UAE] that will have serious consequences … due to the UAE’s control over [Sudan’s] national economy,” Baldo told Al Jazeera.
Major escalation?
Sudan’s army has not clarified how and when it will sever ties with the UAE.
On May 6, SAF chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan vowed in a video to “defeat the militia (RSF) and those who help them”.
Al Jazeera sent written questions to army spokesperson Nabil Abdullah, asking if Port Sudan will implement the announced suspension.
No reply was received by time of publication.
For its part, the UAE’s Foreign Ministry told Al Jazeera in an email that it will not retaliate against Port Sudan.
“The statement issued by the so-called ‘Security and Defence Council’ will not affect the deep-rooted and enduring ties between the UAE and the Republic of the Sudan, and their peoples,” the emailed statement said.
Meanwhile, experts and observers believe the war in Sudan is trending towards a major escalation.
The army’s regional backers could respond to the RSF’s increased use of drones by doubling down on their support for the army, warned Alan Boswell, a Sudan expert for the International Crisis Group.
“The obvious risk [from the attacks on Port Sudan] is that it brings other [regional powers] into deeper involvement on the army’s side,” he told Al Jazeera.
“We could see an escalating war with greater and greater firepower, and nothing would be left of Sudan’s infrastructure by the end of it.”
Thousands of people have been pushed to informal campgrounds, like this one near Tawila in North Darfur, as the fighting rages on between the army and RSF. On February 11, 2025 [Unknown/AFP]
May 13 (UPI) — The Trump administration has launched an investigation into a California state-level program that provides aged, blind and disabled non-citizens with monthly cash benefits on accusations it was illegally distributing federal funding to those ineligible for Social Security.
The Department of Homeland Security announced the probe Monday in a statement saying it was requesting all records from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services, which administers California’s Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants, to determine whether federal funds were given to ineligible undocumented immigrants.
The probe will examine the program’s records going back to January 2021, the month the previous president, Joe Biden, took office.
“Radical left politicians in California prioritize illegal aliens over our own citizens, including by giving illegal aliens access to cash benefits,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in the statement.
“The Trump administration is working together to identify abuse and exploitation of public benefits and make sure those in this country illegally are not receiving federal benefits or other financial incentives to stay illegally.”
The DHS said it is specifically looking to see if undocumented immigrants were receiving Supplemental Security Income from the Social Security Administration.
California’s Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants dates back to the 1990s and was established to provide monthly cash benefits to specific immigrants ineligible for SSI due to their immigration status.
According to its website, the program is entirely state funded. To be eligible, applicants must be California residents ineligible for SSI and either be 65 years old or older, blind or disabled.
The investigation was met with swift condemnation from SEIU California union that accused the Trump administration of using “bullying” tactics to attack the state’s safety net.
“Donald Trump‘s campaign to instill fear in immigrant communities will meet resolute opposition here in California,” the union’s president, David Huerta, said in a statement.
Huerta said the federal government has no basis for its “legal bullying” and no right to tell California how to use its state funds to fight poverty.
“The sole purpose of this sham ‘investigation’ is clear: intimidation of people seeking safety and of all those who provide them with needed support,” Huerta said.
“We will not be intimidated, and we will not back down.”
SEIU California is a non-partisan union representing some 750,000 nurses, healthcare workers, janitors, social workers and security officers as well as city, county and state employees.
President Donald Trump ran on a platform to crack down on migration and to undertake the largest deportation in American history, while using controversial and derogatory rhetoric to spread misinformation and false claims about migrants and crime.
Since his January inauguration, he has used his executive powers to focus the federal government on targeting immigration.
A month ago, he signed an executive order directing Noem and other cabinet officials to ensure undocumented immigration do not receive funds from Social Security programs and to take civil and criminal action against governments that fail to prevent non-citizens from receiving the benefits.
United States President Donald Trump has started his Middle East tour, arriving in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, just after 10am, where he was greeted by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS).
During his three-day trip, he will also travel to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with a focus on securing economic agreements with three of the world’s wealthiest nations.
The trip will involve discussions on investment opportunities, and some experts say Trump may urge the Gulf countries to lower oil prices.
When will Trump be visiting each country?
Trump arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday just before 10am local time (07:00 GMT), where he was greeted by MBS. The same day, he is scheduled to attend a Saudi-US investment forum featuring leading companies such as BlackRock, Citigroup, Palantir, Qualcomm, and Alphabet.
On Wednesday, he is scheduled to take part in a Gulf summit in Riyadh, before travelling to Qatar later that day. He will conclude his trip in the UAE on Thursday, May 15.
Trump’s first visit as president was to Saudi Arabia
During his first term, 2017 to 2021, Trump became the first US president to make the Middle East his first international destination, breaking with the longstanding tradition of visiting neighbouring North American countries first.
His trip to Saudi Arabia from May 20 to 22, 2017 – during which he attended the Riyadh Summit – was a calculated move to bolster defence ties and secure substantial arms deals.
During that trip, Trump also visited Israel and Palestine.
While Trump did not go to Qatar or the UAE during his first term, he met Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi at the Riyadh Summit.
During the summit, Trump and Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud signed a $110bn arms deal, including missile defence systems, tanks, combat ships and cybersecurity technology, with the intent of buying $350bn worth of arms over 10 years.
A memorable moment from that 2017 trip to Saudi Arabia was during the inauguration of the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology in Riyadh. In a surreal photo op that quickly went viral, Trump stood alongside King Salman and President el-Sisi with their hands on a glowing orb.
Left to right, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Saudi King Salman, US First Lady Melania Trump and President Donald Trump, at the new Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology, in Riyadh on May 21, 2017 [Saudi Press Agency via AP]
What is the value of US-Gulf investments?
Sami al-Arian, director of the Center for Islam and Global Affairs at Istanbul Zaim University, told Al Jazeera that Trump has been very vocal about his objective in visiting the three Gulf states: investments.
Trump’s administration has reportedly discussed the possibility of expediting investments by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE before his trip to the region.
“He’s trying to get trillions of dollars out of these countries,” al-Arian told Al Jazeera.
“He’s already said that he’s hoping to get $1 trillion from Saudi Arabia in terms of arms sales and commercial deals,” he said.
US-Saudi investments
According to the latest data from the US Department of Commerce, the total stock of US foreign direct investment (FDI) in Saudi Arabia reached $11.3bn in 2023.
Conversely, Saudi Arabia’s FDI stock in the US stood at $9.6bn, mostly in transport, real estate, plastics, automotive, financial services and communications, according to the Commerce Department.
These figures are only FDI, not other investments, like portfolio investments or short-term financial flows.
US-Qatar investments
In 2023, the total stock of US FDI in Qatar was estimated at $2.5bn.
According to the US-Qatar Business Council, US companies that have facilitated FDIs in Qatar focused on the fields of energy, petrochemicals, construction, engineering, and communications technology.
Conversely, Qatari FDI stock in the US reached $3.3bn in 2023, with investments concentrated in financial services, energy and real estate.
US-UAE investments
In 2023, the total stock of US FDI in the UAE reached $16.1bn.
According to the Reuters news agency, in 2023, the main FDI drivers were manufacturing, finance and insurance, construction and wholesale and retail trade sectors.
Meanwhile, UAE FDI stock in the US totalled $35bn in 2023 – in financial services, transport, food and beverages, aerospace, and business services, according to the Commerce Department.
In March, UAE National Security Adviser Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan met Trump and committed $1.4 trillion in investments to the US over 10 years in sectors such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, energy and manufacturing.
Weapons trade between the nations
The US is the biggest exporter of arms globally and a top supplier to Gulf countries.
Qatar and Saudi Arabia each accounted for 6.8 percent of the world’s total arms imports for 2020-24, making them the third and fourth largest importers globally.
The UAE is the 11th largest importer of arms, accounting for 2.6 percent of global imports for the same period.
Saudi Arabia is the main recipient of US arms, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Between 2020 and 2024, Saudi Arabia received 12 percent of the US’s total arms exports.
About 74 percent of Saudi arms imports come from the US.
Trump is poised to offer Saudi Arabia an arms package worth more than $100bn during his trip, according to Reuters.
In the 2020-24 period, the US was the top supplier of arms to Qatar, accounting for 48 percent of its imports.
In March, the US Department of State approved a large weapons package to Qatar worth $2bn, which includes long-range maritime surveillance drones and hundreds of missiles and bombs.
In the same period, the US was also the top supplier of weapons to the UAE, accounting for 42 percent of the country’s arms imports.
May 13 (UPI) — More than two dozen West Baltimore residents were evacuated from their homes overnight as firefighters continued to battle a six-alarm blaze at a mattress warehouse that was sending plumes of smoke above the city.
The Baltimore City Fire Department confirmed in an early Tuesday statement on social media that at least 30 residents near the fire at Edmondson Avenue have been temporarily evacuated.
Officials were also working to restore Amtrak services by 2:30 a.m. EDT as overhead lines on tracks abutting the rear of the warehouse at Edmondson Avenue and Bantalou Street were de-energized due to the fire. Amtrak confirmed online that local municipal officials had placed “a hold on all tracks in West Baltimore.”
Firefighters were dispatched to the multi-story mattress warehouse shortly before 7 p.m. Monday to find what officials described as a “heavy fire,” which was upgraded to a four-alarm blaze 22 minutes later.
Some 200 firefighters were battling the blaze, officials said. No injures have been reported.
During a press conference on Monday night, Baltimore fire chief James Wallace said it had become a six-alarm blaze.
“This has become a bigger city operation now,” he said.
He said the building, which stands three stories above ground, also has two sub-level floors.
“It’s a large basement area. It’s the size of the building and we’re told it’s stacked full of mattresses,” he said.
He added that authorities are unsure of exactly what is fueling fire. While they’ve been told it’s mattresses, there were also informed at one point paint was also in the facility, concrete and brick.
“We’re fighting what we see,” he said.
In an earlier press conference, Wallace told reporters the challenge was they were fighting the blaze from the outside and they had yet to gain access to the large facility.
“Given the size of this building, the size of the fire, we’re having to be very cautious, very meticulous as we move in there,” he said.
The cause of the fire was under investigation, and the blaze was still uncontrolled early Tuesday.
Wallace said they are working to prevent it from spreading to other buildings.
Wind, he explained, which is usually a hindrance, was aiding firefighters by pushing the blaze toward the back of the facility where the train tracks were and away from nearby buildings.
“That’s what we’re trying to do, we’re trying to cut this off,” he said.
“Trump’s acceptance of Afrikaners as refugees into the United States is an assault across many fronts.”
Loren Landau, a professor at Oxford University, explains the message the US Trump administration is trying to send to the world by granting some white South Africans refugee status. The first group of 49 people is set to land in Texas on May 12.
May 12 (UPI) — The first set of 49 White South African “Afrikaners” granted refugee status by President Donald Trump arrived in the United States on Monday.
The group departed Johannesburg on Sunday night on a private flight paid for by the U.S. government.
They arrived Monday in Washington at Dulles airport before being expatriated to multiple states, including Texas, Minnesota, Nevada and Idaho, where they will be on a pathway to U.S. citizenship and eligible for government benefits.
Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau welcomed the first group of Afrikaners, the State Department said.
“This tremendous accomplishment, at the direction of Secretary Rubio, responds to President Trump’s call to prioritize U.S. refugee resettlement of this vulnerable group facing unjust racial discrimination,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement.
“No one should have to fear having their property seized without compensation or becoming the victim of violent attacks because of their ethnicity.”
Trump threatened in February to cut all U.S. funding to South Africa seemingly over its land expropriation law, which allows local, provincial and national authorities to confiscate land if it is in the public interest and in few specific cases without compensation.
The American president has claimed without evidence that South Africa is taking land from White Afrikaners, who Trump went on to claim were victims of “racial discrimination” and “large-scale killings.”
“Your case manager will pick you up from the airport and take you to housing that they have arranged for you,” read a document in part for the arriving South Africans. “This housing may be temporary (like a hotel) while a local organization helps you identify more long-term housing,” it added.
According to the South African government, it has not expropriated any land.
On Monday, South Africa Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola said “there is no persecution of White Afrikaner South Africans,” adding how police reports debunked Trump’s false assertion.
The law states property cannot be expropriated arbitrarily and can only be seized if an agreement with the owner cannot be reached, subject to “just and equitable compensation” being paid.
Meanwhile, South Africa’s government said the Afrikaners, who are largely descended from Dutch settlers from the Netherlands in western Europe, wouldn’t be stopped from going, “albeit under a false narrative.”
“You are expected to support yourself quickly in finding work,” U.S. immigration documents said. “Adults are expected to accept entry-level employment in fields like warehousing, manufacturing, and customer service. You can work toward higher-level employment over time,” they were informed.
Elon Musk, who was born in South Africa, has accused Ramaphosa’s government of “openly pushing for genocide of white people” despite any evidence.
In March, Secretary of State Marco Rubio expelled South Africa’s ambassador to the U.S. Ebrahim Rasool for “race-baiting” following remarks accusing the United States of engaging in “supremacist” policies domestically and globally as South Africa has joined other nations in accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of committing acts of genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.
“There’s no legal or any factual basis for the executive order sanctioning this action,” Vincent Magwenya, a spokesman for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, told NPR after learning of the granting of refugee status.
“None of the provisions of international law on the definition of refugees are applicable in this case,” he said, adding that South Africa’s sovereignty as a country was being “grossly undermined and violated” by the U.S. in a way that was “disturbing.”
According to the World Bank, inequality is among the world’s highest in South Africa, which had segregationist policies via “apartheid” that only began to fully unravel in the early 1990s.
A 2017 land audit report found that White South Africans own 72% of all farm and agricultural land, while Black South Africans owned 15%.
As of 2022, White South Africans account for less than 8% of its population of more than 63 million.
Scores of South African civilians, meanwhile, took to social media to post comedic memes and videos expressing doubt over the plight of the Afrikaners, joking how they will miss “privileged lives, domestic workers and beach holidays.”
Max du Preez, a white Afrikaner author, told BBC that the claims of persecution of white South Africans were a “total absurdity” and “based on nothing.”
A U.S. government employee, while not authorized to speak to reporters, told NPR what they considered this was “immigration fraud” after the Trump administration effectively suspended America’s refugee admission program.
That “little bit” of progress was the start of a long journey.
Suppiah, with help from the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA), a team of experts and his girlfriend and her family, realised something had to change.
“You do know that you have to eat and you have to get better, otherwise your organs will fail you,” said Suppiah, who was born in Malaysia and came to England to further his cricket and attend Millfield School.
Slow and steady was the key. He would eat eight small meals a day with the aim of returning to a healthy weight, but the journey to recovery was not a straight line.
“In the first instance I was recovering for the wrong reasons,” he said. “I was recovering because I didn’t want to let anyone down or I was doing it because I had no choice.
“My recovery was very up and down. I would sometimes put on weight, then I’d lose weight and vice-versa.
“Then I realised that actually, I’m just kidding myself and what I had to find out was the recovery was for my own good and for my own purpose. That’s when I started to believe in and trust the process.”
For Suppiah, that process included reading online case studies, discovering real-life stories and attending local support groups in the community. “I needed to connect with somebody else who was going through the same,” he said.
Three rock climbers were killed over the weekend in a climbing accident in the North Cascade mountains in Washington state, as investigators look into equipment failure. “The presumed cause of the accident is anchor failure while rappelling,” according to sheriff’s deputies. Photo courtesy of Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office
May 12 (UPI) — Three rock climbers were killed over the weekend in a climbing accident in the North Cascade mountains in Washington state, as investigators look into equipment failure.
“A party of four climbers from Renton, Wash., were involved in a fall while descending a steep gully, ” according to a statement Monday from the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office.
“The presumed cause of the accident is anchor failure while rappelling, with more investigation still ongoing,” the sheriff’s office added.
The four men, who have not been identified, fell nearly 200 feet at around 11:30 a.m. PDT, on Sunday, in the area of North Early Winters Spire off of State Route 20 in the North Cascades.
Three of the climbers, ages 36, 47 and 63, were pronounced dead at the site of the fall. The fourth member of the group survived and hiked back to a car, before driving 60 miles to find a pay phone and call for help.
“There was a long time delay before he got to Newhalem,” said Undersheriff David Yarnell of the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office.
The climber was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where his condition is unknown. According to Yarnell, he walked out not knowing “he had as significant of internal injuries as he did.”
Yarnell blamed equipment failure for the fall, saying that all four climbers were tied to the same anchor point, which is “not preferred.”
“Investigators will try to determine whether the climbers were using a pre-existing anchor point, or their own gear … All we know is that the anchor point that they were all tied off to failed,” he said.
The Snohomish County Helicopter Rescue Team was able to retrieve the remains of the three climbers killed in the “technical, mountainous terrain.”
“Our thoughts are with the family members and friends of those involved.”
These are the key events on day 1,174 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Here is where things stand on Tuesday, May 13:
Ceasefire
Moscow has yet to say whether Russian leader Vladimir Putin will attend direct talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy slated for Thursday in Istanbul and proposed by Kyiv over the weekend. The leaders have not met since December 2019.
United States President Donald Trump said he is “thinking about flying over” to Istanbul to join the potential Putin-Zelenskyy talks.
“I don’t know where I’m going to be on Thursday – I’ve got so many meetings – but I was thinking about actually flying over there. There’s a possibility of it, I guess, if I think things can happen,” Trump said. “Don’t underestimate Thursday in Turkey.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he held a joint call with Ukrainian and European officials to discuss a “way forward for a ceasefire” on Monday.
Europe will reportedly push the White House for new sanctions on Moscow if Putin either fails to attend the Istanbul meeting, or fails to agree to an “immediate and unconditional ceasefire”, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Germany said it is also preparing sanctions against Moscow if the talks stall.
Fighting
Ukraine says that Russia is “completely ignoring” calls for a 30-day ceasefire made over the weekend by the US and Europe. It was due to begin on Monday.
“Russian shelling and assaults continue,” Zelenskyy said in a nightly address. “Moscow has remained silent all day regarding the proposal for a direct meeting. A very strange silence.”
Ukraine’s military said that there had been 133 clashes with Russian forces along the front lines up to Monday night.
The heaviest fighting continues in the Donetsk region on Ukraine’s eastern front and Russia’s western Kursk region. Ukraine’s military said the intensity remains unchanged since the ceasefire was supposed to begin.
Moscow called the 30-day ceasefire an excuse by Europe to “provide a breather for Kyiv to restore its military potential and continue its confrontation with Russia”.
The Internal Revenue Service Headquarters is seen in Washington, D.C. On Monday, a federal judge ruled the IRS can share taxpayer data with immigration authorities to locate undocumented immigrants for deportation. District Judge Dabney Friedrich ruled data-sharing is allowed “for criminal investigations.” File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
May 12 (UPI) — A federal judge ruled Monday that the Internal Revenue Service can share taxpayer data with immigration authorities to locate undocumented immigrants for deportation.
District Judge Dabney Friedrich, an appointee from President Donald Trump‘s first term, denied a preliminary injunction filed by immigrant rights groups, who argued sharing information violated taxpayer confidentiality laws.
“Plaintiffs Centro de Trabajadores Unidos, Immigrant Solidarity DuPage, Somos Un Pueblo Unido and Inclusive Action for the City bring this action seeking declaratory and injunctive relief to prevent the Internal Revenue Service from sharing personal tax information with the Department of Homeland Security for immigration enforcement purposes,” Friedrich wrote, adding “the court will deny the motion.”
The ruling is a win for the Trump administration and the president’s immigration agenda.
Last month, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem agreed to allow U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to submit names of immigrants for cross-verification of tax records. Under the data-sharing deal, DHS can ask the IRS to confirm the addresses of suspected undocumented immigrants in the United States.
Friedrich said sharing information between federal agencies to enforce immigration laws does not violate confidentiality laws.
“At its core, this case presents a narrow legal issue: Does the Memorandum of Understanding between the IRS and DHS violate the Internal Revenue Code? It does not,” according to Friedrich’s order.
Last month, acting IRS Commissioner Melanie Kraus resigned over the data-sharing deal. Former acting IRS Commissioner Doug O’Donnell also refused to sign the agreement in February, before he retired.
While the IRS can share data to help in criminal investigations, the tax agency can not share data on civil issues or to help with deportations.
According to the Justice Department, the data-sharing agreement complies with the law because requests for IRS information will target only those under criminal investigation.
“Requesting and receiving information for civil enforcement purposes would constitute a cognizable injury, but none of the organizations have established that such an injury is imminent,” Friedrich wrote.
“The Memorandum only allows sharing information for criminal investigations … On this limited record, the court cannot assume that DHS intends to use the shared information to facilitate civil rather than criminal proceedings.”
Sussan Ley takes over from Peter Dutton after he led the party to a historic loss
Australia’s Liberal Party has for the first time chosen a woman as its leader, with Sussan Ley to take over from Peter Dutton after he led the party to a bruising election loss.
Ley, from the moderate faction of the party, beat Angus Taylor – who ran on a promise to restore conservative values – by four votes.
At the election on 3 May, the Liberal-National coalition, currently Australia’s main opposition party, suffered what many are calling the worst defeat in its history.
Pundits and MPs have blamed the result on polarising leaders, a messy campaign and “Trumpian” policies, which alienated women and young people in particular.
Ley’s appointment comes as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was sworn in at Government House on Tuesday, following his Labor Party’s landslide election win.
According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Labor has won at least 93 seats – increasing their majority by 16 – while the Coalition has 41 electorates, down from 58. Some seats are still too close to call.
Ley has held the massive regional New South Wales seat of Farrer since 2001 and has served as a senior minister in a variety of portfolios – making her one of the Liberal Party’s most experienced hands. She was also the party deputy under Dutton.
Both are expected to address the media later on Tuesday, but Ley has previously said she wanted to help the party rebuild its relationship with Australians.
“Many Australians, including women and younger Australians, feel neglected by the Liberal Party,” she said when announcing her desire to lead.
“We need to listen and we need to change. The Liberal Party must respect modern Australia, reflect modern Australia and represent modern Australia.”
Speaking after the party room vote, former minister Linda Reynolds said: “Australia spoke very clearly to the Liberal Party and we’ve listened and we’ve acted.”
The junior coalition partner, the Nationals, re-elected leader David Littleproud on Monday, after he too was challenged by a hardlineconservative colleague.
Albanese’s new cabinet was also sworn in on Tuesday.
The biggest changes include former Labor deputy Tanya Plibersek swapping from the environment portfolio to social services, and former communications minister Michelle Rowland becoming attorney general.
Former Attorney General Mark Dreyfus and Ed Husic – the first Muslim to become an Australian government minister – were both removed from the frontbench.
“I have got people who are, I think, in the best positions and that’s across the board,” Albanese said when announcing the positions on Monday.
A ‘wonderfully varied’ path to politics
Born in Nigeria to English parents, Ley grew up in the United Arab Emirates before moving to Australia at age 13.
“Travelling, and being at boarding school on my own, I think you either sink or swim,” Ley said in a previous interview. “Obviously, I was someone who decided very early on in life that I wasn’t going to sink.”
It was as a young woman that she changed her name from Susan to Sussan, inspired by numerology – an ancient belief that numbers have a mystical impact on people’s lives.
“I read about this numerology theory that if you add the numbers that match the letters in your name you can change your personality,” she told The Australian.
“I worked out that if you added an ‘s’ I would have an incredibly exciting, interesting life and nothing would ever be boring. It’s that simple.”
“And once I’d added the ‘s’ it was really hard to take it away.”
As an adult she has had a “wonderfully varied” career path, Ley says, obtaining degrees in economics and accounting while raising three young children, earning a commercial pilot licence, and working in the outback mustering livestock.
Ley apologised after using a taxpayer-funded trip to purchase an apartment on Queensland’s Gold Coast.
She re-joined the frontbench in 2019 after Scott Morrison’s “miracle” election win, as the Minister for Environment.
In that role, she was taken to court by a group who claimed she had a duty of care towards children to protect them from harm caused by climate change. Eight teenagers and an 87-year-old nun convinced a court that the government had a legal duty towards them when assessing fossil fuel projects, but the landmark decision was later overturned.
Ley has also drawn headlines for her comments about Palestinians. She was a co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Palestine, an informal cross-party group which aimed to raise the experiences of Palestinian people and has spoken in the chamber in support of Palestinian autonomy.
However, speaking after the vote on Tuesday, one of her colleagues Andrew Wallace said she has “seen the light on Israel in recent years”.
Democrats and good government advocates say it is unethical and likely unconstitutional for Trump to accept.
The United States is discussing an offer from the royal family of Qatar to supply a luxury jumbo jet for use as a presidential plane.
US President Donald Trump’s administration has signalled that it plans to accept the Boeing 747-8 airliner to serve as a temporary replacement for Air Force One. The news has provoked warnings from critics that accepting the plane would be unethical.
Qatar denied in a statement that the plane would be a gift, saying the transfer of the aircraft for “temporary use” was under discussion.
Spokesperson Ali Al-Ansari said the offer was still under consideration by Qatar’s Ministry of Defence and the US Department of Defense and “no decision has been made”.
However, in a post on his social media site Truth Social late on Sunday, Trump appeared to confirm that he intends to accept the plane as a gift.
At a cost of about $400m, it would be one of the most valuable gifts ever received by the US government.
“So the fact that the Defense Department is getting a GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE, of a 747 aircraft to replace the 40 year old Air Force One, temporarily, in a very public and transparent transaction, so bothers the Crooked Democrats that they insist we pay, TOP DOLLAR, for the plane,” the Republican president wrote.
Democrats and good government advocates said accepting the plane as a gift would be unethical and likely unconstitutional.
“Nothing says ‘America First’ like Air Force One, brought to you by Qatar,” Chuck Schumer, leader of the Democrats in the Senate, wrote on X.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt rejected such claims.
“Any gift given by a foreign government is always accepted in full compliance with all applicable laws. President Trump’s administration is committed to full transparency,” she said.
Trump toured the Qatari-owned 747-8 in February when it was parked at Palm Beach International Airport in Florida near his Mar-a-Lago resort.
At the time, the White House said the president did so to get a better understanding of how the updated Air Force One planes would be configured.
Al-Ansari said the proposed arrangement involves Qatar donating the luxury jet to the US government for use as Air Force One during Trump’s presidency.
The aircraft would then be transferred to the Donald J Trump Presidential Library upon his departure from office, according to reports in the US media.
Trump is to visit Qatar during a trip to the Gulf this week. The airplane will not be presented or accepted while Trump is in Qatar.
The latest attacks come as the African Union rejects any ‘interference’ in the civil war, which has killed more than 20,000 people.
The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have said the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) killed seven people in artillery shelling on el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state in western Sudan.
A statement from the military-aligned government said on Monday that the RSF shelling that began late on Sunday targeted residential neighbourhoods, killing seven people, including women and children, and wounding at least 15, who were taken to hospitals.
On Sunday, the army also said the RSF shelling in the city killed nine people.
El-Fasher has witnessed intense fighting between SAF and RSF since May 2024, despite international warnings about the risks of violence in a city that serves as a key humanitarian hub for the five Darfur states.
For more than a year, the RSF has sought to wrest control of it, located more than 800km (500 miles) southwest of the capital, Khartoum, from the Sudanese army, launching regular attacks on the city and two major famine-hit camps for displaced people on its outskirts.
The RSF and the SAF have been locked in a brutal power struggle since April 2023, resulting in thousands of deaths and pushing Sudan into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, according to the United Nations.
More than 20,000 people have been killed and 15 million displaced in the brutal civil war now in its third year, according to UN and local figures. However, some United States-based researchers estimate the actual death toll to be as high as 130,000.
Won’t accept ‘any interference’
Meanwhile, the African Union (AU) said on Monday it would not accept “any interference” in Sudan after the RSF was accused of receiving weapons from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Last week, the Sudanese government severed diplomatic relations with the UAE, accusing it of supplying weapons to the RSF.
Amnesty International has also accused the UAE of supplying weapons to the RSF, in violation of a UN arms embargo.
The UAE has rejected the claims as “baseless”.
“The Commission’s position is that member states are sovereign states, and the AU Commission will not accept any interference in the internal affairs of Sudan,” said AU Chairperson Mahamoud Ali Youssouf.
“We will not support any intervention, any interference in the crisis in Sudan,” he said.
However, Youssouf declined to comment on the UAE’s possible role in the conflict. “It is not the role of the AU. Sudan has accused the Emirates; it is up to Sudan to provide this evidence,” he said.
The foreign minister of Djibouti was elected head of the pan-African organisation in February, inheriting multiple conflicts and a record of ineffectual statements.
Among the top of his priorities coming into the post was the Sudan civil war, which has effectively cleaved the country in two.
Both sides have been accused of committing war crimes.
In recent days, drone attacks attributed by the army to the RSF have increased, marking a turning point in the two-year conflict.
Drone attacks have also notably targeted strategic sites in Port Sudan, the temporary seat of government and the logistical humanitarian epicentre.
In February, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged a halt to the “flow of arms” into Sudan.
