KHARTOUM: Sudanese police shot live ammunition as mourners gathered outside the home of a 60-year-old protester who died early on Friday from a gunshot wound sustained during anti-government demonstrations, a Reuters witness said.
Two to three thousand mourners had gathered in Khartoum's Burri neighbourhood where the 60-year-old man, Moawia Othman, was shot on Thursday evening during demonstrations against the 30-year-old rule of President Omar al-Bashir.
Before police opened fire, some mourners had pelted police nearby with rocks and damaged a police car, a Reuters witness said. The mourners blocked a main street in Burri with stones and chanted "There is no God but God!" and "Martyr! Martyr!". Several were wailing and crying and some were carrying Sudanese flags.
There were no immediate reports of casualties.
The protests, now in a fifth week, were triggered by price rises, but have quickly developed into demonstrations against Bashir. Bashir has blamed the protests on foreign "agents" and said the unrest would not lead to a change in government, challenging his opponents to seek power through the ballot box.
In violent clashes in Burri on Thursday, a child and a doctor were shot dead, the Sudan Doctors' Committee, a group linked to the opposition, said. A live video posted on social media and verified by Reuters showed security forces pointing guns at protesters in Burri. A sound of gunfire could be heard.
After Friday's shooting outside Othman's home, thousands attended his funeral at a cemetery across from a police officers' club. Clashes with police had calmed by the time protesters transported the body to Burri Mosque.
Sudan police shoot live fire outside home of dead protester
Sudan police shoot live fire outside home of dead protester
- Around 2,000 mourners had gathered in the Burri neighborhood where the man, Moawia Othman, was shot on Thursday
- child and a doctor were also shot dead in Burri on Thursday, the Sudan Doctors’ Committee, a group linked to the opposition, said
Trump cuts India tariffs as Modi ‘agrees’ to stop buying Russian oil
- US will impose an 18 percent tariff on Indian goods, down from the earlier 50 percent punitive levy
- Withdrawal from Russian oil may affect India’s relations with BRICS, expert says
NEW DELHI: The US and India have announced reaching a trade agreement after months of friction, with President Donald Trump saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had “agreed” to halt purchases of Russian oil.
In August, Trump accused India, which imports most of its crude oil, of funding Moscow’s war in Ukraine and subjected it to a combined tariff rate of about 50 percent on most of the exports.
Following a call with Modi on Monday, Trump took to social media to say that he would cut with immediate effect US levies on Indian goods to 18 percent after Modi “agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela.”
At the same time, India, Trump wrote, would “reduce their Tariffs and Non Tariff Barriers against the United States, to ZERO,” committing to buy “over $500 BILLION DOLLARS of US Energy, Technology, Agricultural, Coal, and many other products.”
Modi confirmed the agreement on social media, saying: “Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18 percent,” without commenting on Russian oil or duty-free imports of American goods.
When the US announced its punitive tariffs last year, India quickly moved forward with free trade negotiations with other countries — signing a deal with Oman and finalizing negotiations with New Zealand and the EU.
While the agreements were expected to partially offset the loss of exports to the US, economists did not expect they would immediately mitigate it, as shifting supply chains takes time.
The newly announced agreement with the US will therefore offer short-term relief for Indian exporters — especially of textiles, gems, jewelry and marine products — who were facing the threat of a market exit.
“In that case, the trade deal with the US is a welcome step. It provides short-term relief, allowing India to continue exporting to the US without being forced to exit the US market and diversify with a huge transition cost,” said Anisree Suresh, geoeconomics researcher at the Takshashila Institution.
“However, one shouldn’t look at it as a comprehensive long-term trade deal like the one India signed with the EU. The unpredictability of the Trump administration remains a major concern, regardless of whether there is a trade deal with the US ... India cannot treat this deal the same as other FTAs, as it is limited in scope and subject to reversal.”
When the US imposed its punitive tariffs on India, about 66 percent of total Indian exports were subject to that rate. Overall, India recorded a negative margin of 19.5 percent, meaning its exports were taxed more heavily than those of its competitors.
“From that point of view, Indian goods will have a larger market over there. However, there’s a problem when we talk about a 0 percent tariff on the US,” said Prof. Arun Kumar, a development economist.
“The US will be able to export a lot more to India, and therefore it will affect our production within the economy. And that will be a setback, so while exports may rise, the internal economy may actually suffer because of this decrease in tariffs on American goods. And especially if it affects agriculture.”
The sudden withdrawal from India’s partnership with Russia may not have a serious economic impact but politically could affect New Delhi’s relations, also with other countries, especially those from BRICS — a grouping that besides India and Russia includes also Brazil and China, and is the most powerful geopolitical forum outside of the Western world.
“You can always substitute Russian oil with some other oil, but I think it’s more of a strategic question, because India and Russia have had long-standing relationships, and if we bend to US pressure and reduce purchases from Russia, then it will affect in future also our relationship with Russia, because we will not be seen as a stable ally,” Kumar said.
“BRICS nations will not trust India very much in the future ... and that’s what Trump wants. He wants to disrupt BRICS. That’s what he has been doing right since the beginning to divide nations and deal with them individually.”
