Sudan protest movement rejects gov't plans to cut subsidies

Sudan’s protest leaders announced Thursday that they oppose the government’s economic reform plan to slash fuel subsidies and float the Sudanese currency, raising the specter of unrest as the country makes a fragile transition to democracy. The rejection came a day after Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, a former senior U.N. economist, announced the gradual lifting of energy subsidies, which eat up 36% of the government’s budget. It is part of an economic overhaul sought by the International Monetary Fund to lower Sudan's debt and prime the economy for growth.