KHARTOUM: Sudanese journalists have formed the country’s first independent professional union for decades, in what campaigners said was an important step toward re-establishing freedoms after a military coup.
“The victory is to regain our syndicate after more than 30 years in order to defend the freedom and professionalism of the press,” said one journalist Waleed Alnour, who waited hours in the sun to cast his vote in an election for the union’s leadership on Sunday.
The union has an 1,164 members, 659 of whom took part in Sunday’s vote.
Shadow unions that sprang up in opposition to autocrat Omar Al-Bashir, who packed unions with regime-friendly members, were instrumental in an uprising that toppled him in 2019.
A military coup last October ended a power-sharing arrangement with civilians that followed the uprising.
The coup also led to the suspension of a radio station, and some TV journalists were subject to attacks, raids or arrests that they blamed on security forces and loyalists of the former regime.
Journalists aligned with Bashir had attempted to prevent Sunday’s vote going ahead by raising an ongoing legal complaint, saying the syndicate could not replace the pre-existing Bashir-era union.
However, election committee head Faisal Mohamed Salih, who served as information minister in a civilian-led government between the uprising and the coup, said the vote “was executed in a completely democratic way... smoothly and with a high turnout and excitement among the journalists.”
Civil society observers, including some from opposition lawyers’ groups, attended the election.
Abdelmoniem Abu Idrees, a journalist working for international news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP), was voted head of the syndicate. Votes were being counted for the rest of the union’s 40-person leadership.
The Bahri resistance committees, one of the groups leading ongoing protests against military rule, said in a statement the election was an important step.
“We can only support it, as it lays the groundwork for one of our uprising’s core demands, and that is democracy.”
Sudanese journalists form independent union to defend freedoms
https://arab.news/25bg9
Sudanese journalists form independent union to defend freedoms
- The syndicate is the first independent professional union for decades and represents and important step toward press freedom in the country
Tucker Carlson claims he was detained at Israeli airport
DUBAI: Earlier this week, Tucker Carlson flew to Israel to interview US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, according to media reports.
Carlson, who reportedly refused to leave Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport complex, conducted the interview at the airport, after which he said he and his staff were detained and their passports were seized.
“Men who identified themselves as airport security took our passports, hauled our executive producer into a side room and then demanded to know what we spoke to Ambassador Huckabee about,” Carlson said in a statement to The New York Post.
However, Carlson’s claims have been contradicted by Huckabee and Israeli authorities.
Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor and Fox News host, said on social media platform X that “EVERYONE who comes in/out of Israel (every country for that matter) has passports checked & routinely asked security questions,” including himself, despite holding a diplomatic passport and visa.
Thanks @EFischberger for a more accurate report. EVERYONE who comes in/out of Israel (every country for that matter) has passports checked & routinely asked security questions. Even ME going in/out with Diplomatic Passport & Diplomatic Visa. https://t.co/UbblLiznMO
— Ambassador Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) February 18, 2026
The US Embassy in Israel also described the interaction as routine passport control procedures.
The Israel Airports Authority said in a statement that Carlson and his staff “were not detained, delayed, or interrogated.”
They were asked “a few routine questions, in accordance with standard procedures applied to many travelers,” and this conversation took place in a separate room within the VIP lounge to protect their privacy, the statement added.
“No unusual incident occurred, and the Israel Airports Authority firmly rejects any other claims.”
Israeli Airports Authority:
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) February 18, 2026
Contrary to the reports, Tucker Carlson and his entourage were not detained, delayed, or interrogated.
Mr. Carlson and his party were politely asked a few routine questions, in accordance with standard procedures applied to many travelers.
The…
Carlson has faced criticism in recent years over his commentary on Israel, with critics accusing him of amplifying narratives that are hostile to Israel and, at times, antisemitic. He has also questioned Israel’s treatment of Christian communities in the region.
After Fox News canceled his show in April 2023, he launched his own program, “The Tucker Carlson Show” in 2024.
The show has featured controversial figures, including Darryl Cooper, who has made statements widely condemned as Holocaust denial, and white nationalist commentator Nick Fuentes.
In his interview with Fuentes, Carlson labeled Huckabee a “Christian Zionist.”
Carlson has also criticized Huckabee for not doing enough to protect Christian interests in the region. In one video, he said: “Why not go ahead and talk to Christians and find out their side of the story? Why aren’t American Christian leaders like Mike Huckabee or Ted Cruz, people who invoke the Christian Bible to justify what they’re doing, why haven’t they done this?”
Huckabee responded to the video on X, writing: “Instead of talking ABOUT me, why don’t you come talk TO me? You seem to be generating a lot of heat about the Middle East. Why be afraid of the light?”
Carlson accepted the invitation, and their teams coordinated the interview, leading to his brief visit to Israel.
