Physically the Sudan can be divided roughly into three main regions: •The Desert belt. •The Semi Desert belt. •The Clay plain. The climate is hot and dry from April to October, and pleasantly warm from November to March. The rainy season, in Khartoum is July and August. Haboobs (sand-storms) occur frequently from April to September. The Nile with a total length of some what more than 4000 miles, the longest river in the world; runs through the country from south to north. The capital, Khartoum is connected by air to practically every part of the world and all the most important airlines operate there as well as Sudan Airways. A flight of about five hours links Khartoum to Europe. It takes only two hours to reach most important points in the Middle East. The connections within the country are provided by air, rail, and road services ; beside there is the Nile.