Sudan downplays US sanctions exemption for computers

Khartoum downplayed the decision by U.S. President Barack Obama to lift the ban on the export of computers to the Sudan. The newspaper Al Hayat cited an official at the Sudanese presidency as saying that Obama’s decision does not make sense, especially since Sudan has no shortage of computers. In a presidential memorandum Friday, Obama waived part of the US sanctions regime, saying the move was “in the U.S. national security interest.” He said the waiver would permit export of “equipment that enables the United Nations to facilitate the referendum in Southern Sudan.”