KHARTOUM: Sudan’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday condemned the killing of 18 Sudanese people during an attack by an armed group from Chad, state media reported.
The killings took place on Thursday when Sudanese herders from West Darfur state were ambushed while following the trails of camels looted by the Chadians the day before, according to Sudan’s ruling Sovereign Council.
On Saturday, Sudan’s acting Foreign Minister Ali Al-Sadiq conveyed his country’s “protest and condemnation of the incident,” in a meeting with Chad’s ambassador to Khartoum.

BEIRUT: A ship bringing corn to Lebanon’s northern port of Tripoli normally would not cause a stir. But it’s getting attention because of where it came from: Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa.
The Razoni, loaded with more than 26,000 tons of corn for chicken feed, is emerging from the edges of a Russian war that has threatened food supplies in countries like Lebanon, which has the world’s highest rate of food inflation — a staggering 122 percent — and depends on the Black Sea region for nearly all of its wheat.

LONDON: The EU on Saturday called for maximum restraint in the Gaza Strip’s worst escalation of violence since a war last year.
“The European Union follows with great concern the latest developments in and around Gaza,” a spokesman for EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement.
“The EU calls for maximum restraint on all sides in order to avoid a further escalation and further casualties,” he said.

BEIRUT: Lebanon has strongly condemned Friday’s attack on Gaza by Israel.
In a statement on Saturday, the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on the international community “to rapidly intervene to promptly stop these attacks, and call on Israel to abide by UN resolutions in order to preserve the safety of the Palestinian civilians who are badly suffering under Israel’s unjust blockade.”
The developments in Gaza were being closely followed by Palestinian refugees in Lebanese camps.

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s banking association ABL announced on Friday that banks would go on strike starting Monday over a build-up of “populist, harmful stances” taken against the sector, the group’s statement read.

Around 49 banks plan to strike, the statement added.

The group is taking action over the recent treatment of the sector, particularly the arrest of Creditbank Chairman Tarek Khalife this week.