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TIME: Almanac 1990
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1990 Time Magazine Compact Almanac, The (1991)(Time).iso
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010989
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01098900.017
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1990-09-17
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WORLD, Page 38World NotesSUDAN
Drought. Floods. Famine. Disease. Civil war. How could the
situation in Sudan get worse? Last week it did, as workers staged
a general strike that closed the airport in Khartoum and shut down
most telephone and telex lines. Rumors of coup attempts swept the
capital as angry demonstrators took to the streets demanding the
head of Prime Minister Sadiq el Mahdi.
The strike was triggered by sharp government-ordered rises in
the prices of key commodities, including sugar and cigarettes. To
cushion the steep hikes, the government approved pay raises for
both public and private employees, supplementing incomes by as much
as 500%. But the ploy did not work.
By week's end, as police scattering crowds killed at least one
demonstrator, the government backed down and revoked the price
increases while leaving the pay hikes intact. The swift reversal
does not ensure a return to relative stability. The Democratic
Unionist Party withdrew from Sadiq's coalition government, and the
Prime Minister reportedly intends to form a new Cabinet with his
other partner, the Muslim fundamentalist National Islamic Front.