Sanctions removal talks
Iran’s lead negotiator in the upcoming P4+1 talks in Vienna has met with officials from the European signatories to the 2015 Nuclear Deal. Ali Bagheri Kani has described the meetings as positive while reiterating Tehran’s position that the talks will aim at the removal of all anti-Iran sanctions.
Palestinian prisoners plight
Palestinian prisoner Miqdad al-Qawasmeh ends his nearly four months of hunger strike after the Israeli regime decided to release him. The Palestinian Prisoners Information Office said the regime has agreed to free Qawasmeh in February next year. It said the agreement was reached after long negotiations between a group of Hamas prisoners and the Israeli Prison Service. Qawasmeh was on hunger strike for 113 days before being taken to the ICU due to his deteriorating conditions. Hamas has hailed his resistance, saying the decision to release him shows Israel’s failure to discourage Palestinians from fighting for freedom.
Sudan coup aftermath
Sudan’s army chief has named a new governing council following the coup last month that dissolved the transitional government. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has retained his position as the head of the body, dubbed the Sovereign Council. This is while the political coalition that was sharing power with the military before the coup is excluded from the new 14-member body. Soon after the announcement, protesters hit the streets in the capital Khartoum and several other major cities, slamming the move. The United Nations has expressed concern over the developments in Sudan.