Montaha Omer Mustafa, 18, was among many people who managed to get out of el-Fasher before the city's seizure by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group, but only after paying for passage and going days on foot with little water, moving through villages and scrubland. As fighting closed in on the last big city held by the government-aligned Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in North Darfur state, tens of thousands of residents fled westwards, abandoning homes, possessions, and even family members.
Sudan's military says it has broken through a siege by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group of the South Kordofan capital of Kadugli, marking its second major advance in less than a week. General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the de facto leader of the country, visited Sudan's public television station in the city of Omdurman on Tuesday to assert that his forces had opened a supply route to the capital.
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground.
Since October's ceasefire, which meant Israel would allow some - but not nearly enough - aid trucks to enter our besieged Strip, people in Gaza have desperately been eating, whenever possible, what they had been deprived of previously. Yet, as a result, many have developed " refeeding syndrome," which is a serious medical condition. Refeeding syndrome occurs when food is suddenly reintroduced after a prolonged period of starvation - and Israel has subjected those of us in Gaza to such periods on multiple occasions.
President Daniel Chapo has canceled his trip to Davos because of severe flooding in Mozambique that has damaged infrastructure and affected hundreds of thousands of people. Chapo published a Facebook post late on Sunday saying that the country was going through "a tough time." "As President of the Republic, our place is with our people. We maintain our commitment to investment and international partners, but the absolute priority at this moment is to save lives," he wrote.
Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on Palestine, has accused Israel of treating Palestinian lives as expendable, linking the hellish impact of a deadly winter storm in Gaza directly to the deliberate destruction of the enclave's infrastructure. Speaking to Al Jazeera Arabic on Tuesday as a deep weather depression pummelled the Gaza Strip, killing at least seven children, Albanese said the weather disaster had exposed the depth of Israel's disregard for civilian survival.
Boasting considerable attacking firepower in Nicolas Jackson and Sadio Mane, Senegal stormed their way into the knockouts, affirming their place among the title favourites as the AFCON 2021 champions seek their second title. The 117th-ranked Sudan, on the other hand, needed a helping hand to qualify and will play in the knockout stages for the first time in 14 years.
Flooding has become the world's foremost climate hazard', according to experts. So what do we do about it? Devastating floods ravaged multiple regions of the world in 2025, from Southeast Asia to North America and the Middle East. We asked climate experts what is causing the devastation and what governments should be doing to prevent the situation from becoming even worse in the coming year.
We have 25 beds [in] isolation for measles, but every day the number of cases is increasing, Almohammed said in an interview from Amsterdam. The capacity of MSF to respond to all the needs of the people in Darfur is really limited. We cannot cover everything. Yes, we are trying to focus on the most lifesaving medical care, but still, our capacity is also limited, he said.
UN warns 17 million people in Afghanistan face acute food insecurity. Devastated by decades of war and instability, Afghanistan is facing a multitude of crises. Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, it's been subjected to international sanctions. Now, once again, Afghanistan is facing a severe humanitarian crisis. The World Food Programme says it's unable to provide assistance to millions of Afghans.