ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Former civil war foes Sudan and South Sudan appear to have made progress this week toward a deal that would allow the resumption of oil exports vital to the economies of both African countries, diplomats and sources familiar with the talks said.

Much could still go wrong given profound mutual mistrust and failure to fully implement previous deals, they said, but the mood at the African Union (AU)-brokered talks appeared to be brighter than in previous rounds.

KHARTOUM/TUNIS (Reuters) – Fury about a film that insults the Prophet Mohammad tore across the Middle East after weekly prayers on Friday with protesters attacking U.S. embassies and burning American flags as the Pentagon rushed to bolster security at its missions.

At least seven people were killed as local police struggled to repel assaults after weekly Muslim prayers in Tunisia and Sudan, while there was new violence in Egypt and Yemen and across the Muslim world, driven by emotions ranging from piety to anger at Western power to frustrations with local leaders and poverty.

KHARTOUM (Reuters) – Over a cup of tea, Sudanese broker Hamid is explaining to a Yemeni bourse investor that he won’t be able to get his hands on the returns he is owed after many years of investing in the African country’s Islamic bonds.

Hamid offers just one legal route for foreigners who want to get out of the Khartoum bourse and reduce their exposure to the country’s economic chaos: reinvest the dividends paid out in local currency, into real estate for example, and wait for better times to take your money home.

KHARTOUM (Reuters) – A Sudanese woman accused of adultery has been sentenced to death by stoning and is being held shackled with her six-month-old baby in jail, activists said on Wednesday, in the second such sentence in the past few months in the country.

President Omar Hassan al-Bashir said last month that Sudan would adopt a “100 percent” Islamic constitution, prompting concerns the country would apply Islamic law more strictly after the secession of mostly non-Muslim South Sudan a year ago.

KHARTOUM (Reuters) – Eight people were killed during a protest against rising prices in Sudan’s western Darfur region on Tuesday, the worst violence since tough austerity measures were imposed last month, police said.

Activists accused the police of using live ammunition to control the biggest anti-government protest since President Omar Hassan al-Bashir announced a cut in fuel subsidies and other austerity measures.

KHARTOUM (Reuters) – Six people were killed during a protest against rising prices in Sudan’s western Darfur region on Tuesday, the worst violence since tough austerity measures were imposed last month, an official said.

Activists accused the police of firing live ammunition at the biggest anti-government protest since President Omar Hassan al-Bashir announced a cut in fuel subsidies and other austerity measures.

KHARTOUM (Reuters) – Sudan wants to settle all its differences with South Sudan through talks, but sees little hope of a swift resolution while it believes Juba is backing rebels that threaten its territorial integrity, a senior ruling party official said on Sunday.

The African neighbors came close to a war when border fighting escalated in April, the worst violence since South Sudan split off and declared its independence a year ago under a 2005 agreement that ended decades of civil war.

KHARTOUM (Reuters) – Sudan will not fully remove fuel subsidies until the end of 2013 since austerity measures worth 7 billion Sudanese pounds ($1.5 billion) are sufficient to turn around the ailing economy, a senior ruling party official said on Sunday.

The Arab African country is struggling with a worsening economic crisis after losing much of its oil wealth – the main source for revenues and dollars needed for imports – when South Sudan became independent last year.

KHARTOUM (Reuters) – Sudan’s currency fell close to its historical low against the dollar as demand for imported food surged before the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, driving up prices and fuelling anger over a severe economic crisis.

President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, in power since 1989, has avoided an “Arab spring” but an austerity programme that included scaling back fuel subsidies sparked small-scale protests four weeks ago.

KHARTOUM, July 18 (Reuters) – In his office in Khartoum’s
gold market, central bank sales agent Mohamed Adam sips tea and
watches while his staff load bundles of cash worth tens of
thousands of dollars from the safe into four boxes.

The government will use these piles of Sudanese pounds to
purchase gold, which it plans to sell for the dollars needed to
pay for imports of food and other essentials.