This is a cross post of [@cronos0/sudan-civil-war-evacuations-military-spendings-are-increasing-abbott-under-fire-twitter-blue-tick-chaos](/hive-110786/@cronos0/sudan-civil-war-evacuations-military-spendings-are-increasing-abbott-under-fire-twitter-blue-tick-chaos) by @cronos0.<br><br> 

Deep Dives


![image.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/cronos0/242DdHV6pjTsekTvk5C4AhXg989jVQDkwbwYYt7ZM5zgyxTzCxnZWnvcLdGoWr2Mvegdv.png)


### Sudan Civil War Evacuations

Last week there is a outbreak of violence in Sudan between the army and the powerful paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF. Since the situation has continued to deteriorate, with attempted ceasefires failing to hold, and at least 420 people killed as the country slides further into civil conflict. A large number of foreign governments, including the US and European nations, have carried out and are carrying out operations to evacuate their diplomats, staff and other citizens. On Sunday, US Special Forces took advantage of a slight lull in the violence to carry out a fast and clean operation. Three Chinook helicopters were on the ground in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, for less than an hour to evacuate embassy staff. More than 100 US troops were involved in the operation, which extracted fewer than 100 people to an undisclosed location in Ethiopia. Also on Sunday, two French flights carried hundreds of people of various nationalities from Khartoum to Djibouti. With more flights planned. Other European nations, including the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Spain and others, also coordinated to evacuate diplomats and nationals from their own and other countries. Uk Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said UK forces had completed a complex and rapid evacuation of British diplomats and their families. Citizens from countries including Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Tunisia, China, Japan and others have also been evacuated with more missions being prepared.

Flights out of the country are just one evacuation method being used. A UN convoy of more than 60 vehicles carrying around 700 UN NGO and embassy staff and their families made the long journey from Khartoum to the coastal city of Port Sudan on the Red Sea, from where ships could take them to Saudi Arabia. Many of the missions have been carried out in coordination and with assistance from nearby countries like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Ethiopia, Djibouti and others. But through all of this, Sudanese people are left to bear the brunt of the violence. And thousands have taken dangerous journeys north to cross into Egypt, west into Chad or east into Ethiopia. Hospitals are struggling, and in Khartoum, provisions of key goods like medicine, food and fuel are reportedly scarce. Internet and phone services are said to have collapsed across much of Sudan. Some Sudanese people have expressed anger and disappointment at the foreign exodus from the country while they are left to fend for themselves. There are also thousands of citizens and dual nationals from countries including the UK and US still stuck in Sudan who worry they've been abandoned. A British Foreign Office minister said they were exploring every single possible way of getting them out, but warned, I simply cannot give any assurances. Foreign governments continue to call for a ceasefire between the two warring generals. 

https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/AP23113722793326-1682296839.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80

### Military Spendings are Increasing
It's been reported today that the world military spending reached an all time high of $2.24 trillion in 2022. Unsurprisingly, this is on the back of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with countries stepping up their military spending on the back of an increased perceived Russian threat. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, or SIPRI, has confirmed today that there's been a 13% rise in military spending in Europe, which is the steepest rise in 30 years. It's worth noting that while military spending is up, defence spending is actually still lower than it was in 2013 as a share of GDP by about 0.1%. This is despite huge increases in spending in China, India and Israel. Additionally, since 2014, when Russia illegally annexed Crimea, countries have been increasing their military spending to try and meet the NATO 2% defence spending goal by 2024. 

https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f87671e0eb6f8a7ec3f5686d64e291281883761a/133_0_4189_2515/master/4189.jpg?width=620&quality=45&dpr=2&s=none

### Abbott Under Fire
Over the weekend, it was reported that Diane Abbott, who is a significant figure in Jeremy Corbyn's shadow cabinet, was suspended from the Parliamentary Labour Party. This was in response to a letter she wrote for The Observer, which has been criticised for suggesting that Jewish people do not face racism. The letter itself was an initial draft and was, according to Abbott, sent by mistake. Specifically, Abbott wrote that Jewish, Irish and traveller communities had experienced prejudice but added that this is similar to racism, and the two words are often used as if they are interchangeable. Abbott went on to say that it's true that many types of white people with points of difference, such as redheads, can experience this prejudice, but they're not all their lives subject to racism. The Labour Party responded with the following statement The Labour Party completely condemns these comments, which are deeply offensive and wrong. The Chief Whip has suspended the Labour whip from Diane Abbott pending an investigation. 


https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/1dce7faa066bfb3a9d72e3d9e55ca4384a2129b0/0_499_7482_4489/master/7482.jpg?width=620&quality=45&dpr=2&s=none


### Twitter Blue Tick Chaos
Those of you who use Twitter may have noticed some recent chaos on the platform involving the company's new verification system. Previously, a blue tick used to denote that an account actually belonged to the notable person or organisation that it claimed to be. Since Elon Musk's takeover, blue Ticks became a perk of being a paid Twitter blue subscriber, regardless of if you're verified or notable, leading to a confusing dual system. Musk recently purged the blue ticks from the original verified users, leaving only those who pay $8 per month with the tick. But things aren't going to plan. Musk revealed that he actually restated blue ticks to a number of celebrities that weren't actually paying subscribers. This resulted in something of a reverse influencer campaign where a huge number of celebrities and public figures came out and publicly said they were not paying for premium Twitter and never would. In effect, an UN endorsement. It may even breach false advertising rules as the blue ticks come with a note explicitly saying the user is a paying subscriber. Even more bizarrely is that Twitter has reinstated blue ticks and subscriber status to celebrities who have died, including Kobe Bryant, Anthony Bourdain and Barbara Walters, who presumably are not actually paying for premium from beyond the grave.





Sudan Civil War Evacuations, Military Spendings are Increasing, Abbott Under Fire, Twitter Blue Tick Chaos