USAID chief visits Sudan:

US President Donald Trump’s new aid chief, Mark Green, kicked off an African tour in Sudan on Sunday, where he will assess whether Khartoum has done enough to get help into conflict areas to deserve eased sanctions.

It is Green’s first trip as administrator for the US Agency for International Development, a job he began two weeks ago amid talk of budget cuts and a widereaching reorganization of the agency by the Trump administration. He is due to visit aid projects in drought-hit zones including neighbouring Ethiopia, at a time when Washington is considering an estimated 30-percent cut in the budget of the State Department and USAID.

But his priorities will also include weighing whether Washington should reform one of its main diplomatic fronts in the region — a raft of sanctions imposed first over Khartoum’s perceived support of global terrorism, later its violent suppression of rebels in Darfur.

US officials have said existing limited steps to ease sanctions are meant to recognise progress in Sudan, particularly moves to reduce internal conflict and increase cooperation with Washington in the war against terrorism.

Just before leaving office, former US President Barack Obama temporarily eased penalties against Sudan, suspending a trade embargo, unfreezing assets and removing financial sanctions.

In July, the Trump administration postponed for three months a decision on whether to remove the restrictions fulltime — giving it an Oct. 12 deadline to make up its mind. (RTRS)