DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The foreign ministers of Germany, Jordan and the United Kingdom jointly called on Saturday for an immediate ceasefire in the war in Sudan, describing the situation there in stark, apocalyptic terms after a paramilitary force seized the last major city in the East African nation's Darfur region.
United Nations officials have warned that fighters with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have rampaged through the Darfur city of el-Fasher, reportedly killing more than 450 people in a hospital and carrying out ethnically targeted killings of civilians and sexual assaults. While the RSF have denied killing people at the hospital, those who have escaped el-Fasher, satellite images and videos circulating social media provide glimpses of what appears to be mass slaughter taking place in the city.
At the Manama Dialogue security summit in Bahrain, British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper on Saturday spoke in grim words about events in el-Fasher, where a paramilitary force known as the Rapid Support Forces has seized the city.
“Just as a combination of leadership and international cooperation has made progress in Gaza, it is currently badly failing to deal with the humanitarian crisis and the devastating conflict in Sudan, because the reports from Darfur in recent days have truly horrifying atrocities,” Cooper said.
“Mass executions, starvation and the devastating use of rape as a weapon of war, with women and children bearing the brunt of the largest humanitarian crisis in the 21st century. For too long, this terrible conflict has been neglected, while suffering has simply increased.”
She added that "no amount of aid can resolve a crisis of this magnitude until the guns fall silent.”
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul echoed Cooper's concern, directly calling out the RSF for its violence in el-Fasher.
“Sudan is is absolutely an apocalyptic situation," Wadephul said.
Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said Sudan has not received “the attention it deserves. A humanitarian crisis of inhumane proportions has taken place there.”
"We’ve got to stop that,” he added.
Bahrain's government late on Wednesday rescinded an accreditation for The Associated Press to cover the summit, after a “post-approval review” of that permission. The government did not elaborate on why the visa was revoked. Earlier that day, the AP published a story on long-detained activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja beginning an “open-ended” hunger strike in Bahrain over his internationally criticized imprisonment.
Al-Khawaja halted his hunger strike late on Friday after receiving letters from the European Union and Denmark regarding his case, his daughter Maryam al-Khawaja said.
This photo released by The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) shows displaced families from el-Fasher at a displacement camp where they sought refuge from fighting between government forces and the RSF, in Tawila, Darfur region, Sudan, Friday, October. 31, 2025. (NRC via AP)
NEW YORK (AP) — Bo Bichette and the New York Mets agreed Friday to a $126 million, three-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal was subject to a successful physical and had not been announced.
A two-time All-Star shortstop with the Toronto Blue Jays, Bichette will move to third base with the Mets, who have Francisco Lindor at shortstop. Bichette has never played a professional game at the hot corner.
Bichette can opt out of the deal after the first or second season to become a free agent again. He would receive $47 million for one year and $89 million for two years, the person said.
The deal does not contain any deferred money and Bichette gets a full no-trade provision. His $42 million average annual value ties for the sixth-highest in baseball history.
It was the latest big development in an eventful offseason for the Mets, who angered fans by letting popular slugger Pete Alonso and star closer Edwin Díaz leave in free agency. President of baseball operations David Stearns also traded two other stalwarts, outfielder Brandon Nimmo and versatile veteran Jeff McNeil — both homegrown players.
New York signed closer Devin Williams to a $51 million, three-year contract, infielder Jorge Polanco to a $40 million, two-year deal and reliever Luke Weaver to a $22 million, two-year agreement.
Although he lacks Alonso's prodigious power, Bichette is a proven hitter with lightning-fast hands and a penchant for line-drive doubles. He would give the Mets a dangerous right-handed bat to help complement lefty slugger Juan Soto.
Because of his inexperience at third, however, Bichette becomes the latest question mark in the field for New York even though Stearns has insisted the team must improve its defense and is determined to do so.
Polanco has one pitch of major league experience at first base, where he and Mark Vientos, previously a third baseman, are the leading candidates to replace Alonso.
New York had planned to start Brett Baty at third, where he provides a strong glove. Baty, who also has experience at second base, is viewed as a versatile defender who could see time in the outfield and perhaps at first.
Or, the Mets could look to trade Baty for pitching or outfield help. Gold Glove winner Marcus Semien is set to play second after arriving from Texas in a November trade for Nimmo.
Bichette batted .311 with 18 home runs, 94 RBIs and an .840 OPS in 139 games for the Blue Jays last year. He homered off Shohei Ohtani in Game 7 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Late last season, Bichette sprained his left knee in a Sept. 6 collision with New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells, keeping the infielder out of the lineup until the World Series. He returned for Game 1 against the Dodgers and played second base for the first time in six years.
Bichette led the American League in hits in 2021 and 2022. He finished second in the major leagues in batting average last season to Yankees slugger Aaron Judge.
Bichette turned down a $22,025,000 qualifying offer from the Blue Jays in November, so they would receive an extra draft pick in July after the fourth round if he completes his deal with the Mets.
New York would forfeit its second- and fifth-highest draft picks, along with $1 million in 2027 international signing bonus pool allocation.
Bichette was one of the last remaining big-name hitters on the free agent market after outfielder Kyle Tucker spurned the Mets and agreed Thursday to a $240 million, four-year contract with the Dodgers.
Bichette, who turns 28 in March, has spent his entire career with the Blue Jays since they selected him in the second round of the 2016 amateur draft. He is a .294 career hitter with 111 home runs and an .806 OPS in 748 major league games.
He is a son of former big league slugger Dante Bichette, a four-time All-Star outfielder.
Also Friday, the Mets claimed infielder Tsung-Che Cheng off waivers from Tampa Bay.
AP Baseball Writers Ronald Blum and David Brandt and AP Sports Writer Dan Gelston contributed to this report.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb
FILE - Toronto Blue Jays' Bo Bichette celebrates his three run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the third inning in Game 7 of baseball's World Series, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, in Toronto. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)
FILE - New York Mets President of Baseball Operations David Stearns responds to questions during a news conference about MLB trade deadline deals, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith, File)
