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Sudan

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Tense Sudan, South Sudan Talks Enter 2nd Day|

Sudan backs away from Foreign Min Ali Ahmed Karti's assertion that it held talked with South Sudan about creating joint force to protect threatened southern oil fields; suggestion of sending Sudanese troops to help government of South Sudan while it is descending into civil war was met with criticism.|

The allegations, if true, would mean that Khartoum has, in recent days, stolen in upwards of $350 million in oil from one of the world’s least developed nations. Khartoum contends that the oil was taken to compensate it for fees it claims the South owes for use of the pipelines and port that takes South Sudan’s oil through Sudan to international markets.|

Residents of disputed Abyei region on border of Sudan and South Sudan begin voting in referendum on which country to be part of; voting is largely symbolic but could have real consequences if it raises tensions and prompts further conflict in area plagued with violence.|

Khartoum Journal; city of Khartoum in Sudan has long been famous as a big market for Arabic writers; books and reading are embedded profoundly in Khartoum’s self-image and the country’s history, and there is growing worry that the collapse of book culture is a direct mirror of the country’s overall decline.|

Talks between Sudanese government and Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North adjourn in Ethiopia, to be reconvened at date yet to be determined; it is seventh round of negotiations between government and rebel group, and former South African Pres Thabo Mbeki, African Union's chief mediator, says there has been progress.|

About 200 asylum seekers from Sudan and Eritrea stage demonstration in Israel to protest their treatment by authorities and Parliament's approval of law allowing for detention of immigrants who enter country illegally for up to year without trial.|

Association football is also becoming popular in South Sudan, and there are many initiatives by the Government of South Sudan and other partners to promote the sport and improve the level of play. One of these initiatives is South Sudan Youth Sports Association (SSYSA). SSYSA is already holding football clinics in Konyokonyo and Muniki areas of Juba in which young boys are coached. In recognition of these efforts with youth football, the country recently hosted the youth football competitions. Barely a month earlier, it had also hosted the larger East African Schools Sports tournaments.|

Sudan backs away from Foreign Min Ali Ahmed Karti's assertion that it held talked with South Sudan about creating joint force to protect threatened southern oil fields; suggestion of sending Sudanese troops to help government of South Sudan while it is descending into civil war was met with criticism.|

The , a small region of Sudan bordering on the South Sudanese states of Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Warrap, and Unity, currently has a special administrative status in Sudan and is governed by an . It was due to hold a in 2011 on whether to join South Sudan or remain part of the Republic of Sudan, but in May the Sudanese military seized Abyei, and it is not clear if the referendum will be held.|

Khartoum Journal; experts say Sudan’s archaeological record is pivotal to understanding history of Africa itself, and wave of new discoveries may be adding crucial new information; country's historical importance has long been overshadowed by Egypt, but Sudan has more pyramids, though they are smaller and not as old.|

The giant French bank admitted to transferring billions of dollars on behalf of Sudan and other countries the United States has blacklisted.|

Republic of Sudan Khartoum () Government of National Unity (GNU), the National Congress Party (NCP) and Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) formed a power-sharing government under the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement. 39.38 million 967,500 square miles; almost the size of continental U.S. east of the Mississippi River Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, English Total Population: [61%] Male: [71%]; Female: [52%] 1956|

Children in South Sudan face another Christmas far from home.|

Republic of Sudan Khartoum () Government of National Unity (GNU), the National Congress Party (NCP) and Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) formed a power-sharing government under the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement. 39.38 million 967,500 square miles; almost the size of continental U.S. east of the Mississippi River Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, English Total Population: [61%] Male: [71%]; Female: [52%] 1956|

A list of resources from around the Web about Sudan as selected by researchers and editors of The New York Times.|

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