United Nations Security Council.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

People sit on a pickup truck as they prepare to travel about 250 km south to Adre, on the Chad-Sudan border, at a transport station in Tine, eastern Chad, November 25, 2025. The movement comes amid the ongoing conflict between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese army.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Juba, South Sudan:

A plane has crashed in the north of South Sudan killing at least 20 people, leaving only one confirmed survivor, Unity State’s minister for information said Wednesday. The aircraft came down near the oil fields in Unity State at around 10:30 am local time (0830 GMT) shortly after taking off for the capital Juba.

“The plane crashed 500 metres away from the airport,” Gatwech Bipal Both told AFP by phone.

“21 people were on board. As for now, there’s only one survivor.” 

The survivor, a South Sudanese engineer working at the oil field, has been rushed to Bentiu State hospital, the minister said.

He said the Ukrainian Passenger aircraft, chartered by the Greater Pioneer Operating Company (GPOC) and operated by Light Air Services Aviation Company, was on a routine mission to the area.

“The state government is in a deep sorrow by this accident”, he added, saying there would be an investigation.

“Although most people predicted that this might be a mechanical collision,” he added, without giving more details.

All of the passengers are employees of GPOC: 16 South Sudanese, two Chinese nationals and 1 Indian, according to the manifest seen by AFP, confirmed by local authorities.

Pictures shared on social media showed the crumpled aircraft upside down in a field, debris spread across the area.

In some of the images — which AFP has not been able to independently verify — a body could be seen spilling from the wrecked fuselage.

South Sudan broke away from its northern neighbour in 2011 and has faced severe economic and political instability ever since.

The young nation lacks a reliable transport infrastructure and air accidents are common, the crashes frequently blamed on overloading or poor weather.

In 2021 five people were killed after a cargo plane carrying fuel for the UN’s World Food Programme crashed near Juba.

Overloading of planes is common in South Sudan, and was believed to have contributed to the 2015 crash of an Antonov plane in Juba that killed 36 people.

In 2017, 37 people had a miraculous escape after their plane hit a fire truck on a runway in Wau before bursting into flames.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Salva Kiir Gregorio Borgia.
| Photo Credit: AP

South Sudan peace talks that almost reached completion faced a stumbling block with opposition groups demanding a newly passed Bill allowing the detention of people without an arrest warrant scratched out in order to sign a proposed agreement.

Kenya has been hosting high-level meetings since May between government representatives and rebel opposition groups who were not part of a 2018 agreement that ended a five-year civil war, leaving about 4,00,000 people dead and millions displaced.

Despite the agreement, violence often erupted in the country of 9 million.

Pagan Amum Okiech, negotiating on behalf of the South Sudan Opposition Movement Alliance, said on Tuesday night that it would be “meaningless to sign any agreement if the draconian National Security Act is signed into law by the President.”

Last week, parliament voted in favour of the 2015 Bill and President Salva Kiir will have to approve it within 30 days for it to become a law. This comes ahead of the country’s first-ever election on December 22.

“This law violates the fundamental rights and freedoms of South Sudanese citizens, it eliminates civic and political space,” Mr. Amum said. “There can be no peace or democracy under such a law.”

Human Rights Watch has also called on Mr. Kiir to reject the controversial Bill saying that it will further undermine human rights and strengthen national security agencies that have a history of longstanding rights abuses.

Some Western envoys also recommend delaying the poll “to guarantee a free and fair election”, but Mr. Kiir has been adamant about having the election in December.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has released a report highlighting the world’s poorest countries based on GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP). While GDP is a measure of a country’s total economic output, PPP takes into account the cost of living, providing a more accurate picture of living standards, according to The Forbes.

The report paints a stark picture, with South Sudan ranking as the poorest country globally, with a GDP per capita PPP of just $492.72. The world’s youngest nation, which gained independence in 2011, faces significant challenges due to political instability, ongoing conflicts, and limited infrastructure.

Country	GDP Per Capita
1: South Sudan	$492.72
2: Burundi	$936.42
3: Central African Republic (CAR)	$1,140.00
4: Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)	$1,570.00
5: Mozambique	$1,650.00
6: Malawi	$1,710.00
7: Niger	$1,730.00
8: Chad	$1,860.00
9: Liberia	$1,880.00
10: Madagascar	$1,990.00

Following South Sudan are Burundi ($936.42), the Central African Republic ($1,140.00), the Democratic Republic of the Congo ($1,570.00), and Mozambique ($1,650.00). These countries share common struggles, including political instability, internal conflicts, inadequate infrastructure, and dependence on rain-fed agriculture, making them vulnerable to climate shocks and food insecurity.

The report also explores the cases of Malawi ($1,710.00), Niger ($1,730.00), Chad ($1,860.00), Liberia ($1,880.00), and Madagascar ($1,990.00). These countries, primarily located in Sub-Saharan Africa, grapple with limited resources, rapid population growth, and heavy reliance on agriculture, leaving them susceptible to poverty.

The report serves as a call to action for the international community to address the root causes of poverty in these nations. Investing in infrastructure, promoting economic diversification, and fostering political stability are crucial steps towards a brighter future for these countries.

In 2024, Yemen emerges as the Asian nation grappling with the most severe economic challenges, exhibiting a GDP per capita estimated at $2,136. However, the accuracy of this figure remains elusive due to persistent conflicts disrupting precise economic assessments.

Conversely, Luxembourg claims the title of the world’s wealthiest nation in terms of GDP per capita, boasting a staggering $145,834 in GDP per capita PPP. Meanwhile, India registers a GDP per capita (PPP) of $9.89 thousand as of 2024, reflecting its position within the global economic landscape.