Military dictatorships

The European Commission president and the prime ministers of Greece, Italy and Belgium are going to Egypt on Sunday to provide serious economic assistance and a support framework for this difficult time, but they will also try to fortify the Union against the fallout from the region's troubles.

There is a high biohazard in the Sudanese capital Khartoum after one of the warring sides seized a laboratory that stored measles and cholera pathogens and other dangerous materials, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned today.

Sudan's warring parties have agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire from midnight. This was announced by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. It is at least the third ceasefire to be announced since violence erupted earlier this month. To date, none of them have been complied with.

International leaders are demanding an immediate end to days of bloody fighting between rival military groups in Sudan, which has left nearly 200 people dead and hundreds more injured, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.

At least 185 people have been killed and 1,800 injured in the fighting in Sudan, UN mediator Volker Perthes said via video conference in New York.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has spoken with the two heads of the fighting armed forces in Sudan and asked for an immediate ceasefire to permit the delivery of humanitarian assistance.

Defense chiefs from a dozen countries on March 28 jointly condemned the bloodbath in Myanmar a day earlier, when at least 90 people -including several children -were killed after security forces opened fire on anti-coup protesters.

Turkey on March 27 "strongly condemned" the most violent crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Myanmar when the ruling military regime put on a show of its strength on its annual Armed Forces Day.

The Pakistan government has found fault with a special court's death sentence for former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, apparently taking sides in a split between the military and the judiciary, and the general's lawyers said he plans to appeal.

"Pervez Musharraf was found guilty under Article 6 of violating the constitution of Pakistan", court officials said. Musharraf was tried for treason because he was alleged to have imposed a state of emergency in 2007, repealing the constitution with a view to remaining in power.
The measure prompted protests, and Musharraf resigned in 2008 to avoid dismissal.

Sudan's top general was sworn in on Aug. 21 as the leader of a joint military-civilian body created to rule Sudan during a three-year transition period toward democratic elections.