WASHINGTON, United States, Dec 20, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that the new year offered a chance for a humanitarian truce in war-ravaged Sudan as he urged outside countries to exert leverage. "Ninety-nine percent of our focus is this humanitarian truce and achieving that as soon as possible," Rubio told a news conference. Rubio said both sides have violated commitments as he voiced alarm at new reports of humanitarian convoys being struck. Rubio, who has repeatedly spoken to UAE officials about Sudan, declined to criticize countries by name but noted that Sudan's warring parties relied on outside weapons. The UAE is a close partner of the United States, which welcomes its relationship with Israel.

DAMASCUS, Dec 20, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Friday welcomed the permanent lifting by the United States of the so-called Caesar sanctions, paving the way for the return of investments to the war-ravaged nation. The US Congress on Wednesday permanently ended the sanctions imposed on Syria under Bashar al-Assad, who was ousted in December last year. The Caesar Act, named after an anonymous photographer who documented atrocities in Assad's prisons, severely restricted investment and cut off Syria from the international banking system. "Today is the first day that Syria is without sanctions, thanks to God Almighty, and then to your efforts and patience for 14 years," Sharaa said in a recorded video in the first post of his official X account. Trump had already twice suspended the implementation of sanctions against Syria in response to pleas from Saudi Arabia and Turkey, allies of the new government headed by Sharaa, a former jihadist.

US strikes over 70 IS targets in Syria after attack on troopsWASHINGTON, United States, Dec 20, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - US forces struck more than 70 Islamic State group targets in Syria on Friday in what President Donald Trump described as "very serious retaliation" for an attack that killed three Americans last weekend. In response, the United States "struck more than 70 targets at multiple locations across central Syria with fighter jets, attack helicopters, and artillery," US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement. The Americans killed in the Palmyra attack last weekend were Iowa National Guard sergeants William Howard and Edgar Torres Tovar, and Ayad Mansoor Sakat, a civilian from Michigan who worked as an interpreter. Trump, Hegseth and top military officer General Dan Caine were among the US officials who attended a somber ceremony marking the return of the dead to the United States on Wednesday. Trump has long been skeptical of Washington's presence in Syria, ordering the withdrawal of troops during his first term but ultimately leaving American forces in the country.

KYIV, Ukraine, Dec 20, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - A Russian ballistic missile strike killed seven and wounded 15 in Ukraine's Black Sea Odesa region, a local governor said Friday, adding that the attack targeted port infrastructure. Moscow has stepped up barrages on the important coastal region in recent weeks after President Vladimir Putin threatened retaliation for a slew of Ukrainian strikes on tankers carrying Russian oil. "The enemy struck the port infrastructure of Odesa region -- seven dead, fifteen wounded," Odesa regional governor Oleg Kiper said on social media. According to him, "the strike caused a fire in a parking lot of trucks." Kyiv also struck similar vessels in the Black Sea earlier this month.

DHAKA, Dec 19, 2025 (BSS)- Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) and Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) expressed deep shock and sorrow at the death of Inqilab Mancha spokesperson Sharif Osman Hadi. BFF posted a picture of Hadi on its social media Facebook page on Thursday last night and wrote: "We are deeply saddened. Inqilab Mancha spokesperson Sharif Osman Hadi breathed his last while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Singapore." The BFF also wrote: "BFF prays for the eternal peace of Hadi's departed soul and conveyed deep sympathy to the bereaved family." At the same time, in a statement last night, the BCB also expressed its shock and sorrow, posting with a picture of Hadi and said: "BCB expresses deep shock and sorrow on the death of Sharif Osman Hadi."

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Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Friday said the wave of violence, arson, and vandalism following the death of Inquilab Mancha spokesperson Sharif Osman Hadi is part of a planned conspiracy to push the country toward chaos and obstruct the democratic transition. He said the offices of Prothom Alo and the English daily The Daily Star in Dhaka were vandalized and set on fire. “These incidents prove that an old and identified quarter is deliberately trying to plunge the country into anarchy,” Fakhrul said. As a result, the image of both the government and the country is being damaged at home and abroad, he added. The BNP secretary general noted that political parties across the country have already protested the killing of Osman Hadi and were pressing the government to arrest the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

DHAKA, Dec 19, 2025 (BSS) - Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has announced a two-day programme following the demise of Inquilab Mancha spokesperson Sharif Osman Hadi. The decision was disclosed today in a press release signed by Mujibul Alam, senior publicity assistant of the party's central publicity department. As part of the programme, Jamaat-e-Islami's district and city units will organize doa mahfils on December 20, seeking eternal peace for the departed soul of Osman Hadi. In addition, the party's central unit will hold a doa mahfil at the Al-Falah Auditorium in Moghbazar at 10:00 am on December 21. The programmes were finalized following discussions on the country's overall political situation, as well as matters related to receiving the body of Inquilab Mancha spokesperson and July warrior Sharif Osman Hadi and his janaza.

“Where are the eggs and jam?” asked my husband this morning as he stood gaping at the wide-open refrigerator. But now in our fifth decade of marriage, I inhale deeply and (try to) chuckle. “No,” he insisted, “I never want that to haunt us.” He stood firm and insisted on getting his green card before we married. “We’ll go now.” Given the late hour, she tried to dissuade him, but he insisted, and off they went. She lives in Bethesda and is a 2019 graduate of the Johns Hopkins science writing master’s degree program.

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Next Friday's verdict on charges of abuse of power and money laundering worth hundreds of millions of dollars looms larger, however. He faces four counts of abuse of power to obtain some 2.28 billion ringgit ($554 million) from 1MDB funds, plus 21 counts of money laundering. But Najib's lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah -- who framed funds received by Najib as donations -- on Thursday told journalists his client "never got a fair trial". Najib has issued an apology for the 1MDB scandal happening during his tenure, but maintains he knew nothing about illegal transfers from the now-defunct state fund. The 1MDB scandal sparked investigations in the United States, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Singapore, where the funds were allegedly laundered and damaged Malaysia's image abroad.

today expressed deep shock and sorrow at the untimely death of Sharif Osman Hadi, a frontline fighter of the July Uprising and spokesperson of the 'Inqilab Mancha'. Describing Sharif Osman Hadi as a fearless fighter, courageous organizer and uncompromising voice against injustice, exploitation, torture and oppression, the adviser said Hadi's role in the July Uprising inspired millions of democracy-loving people. "The untimely demise of Sharif Osman Hadi is an irreparable loss for the country, which will not be easily filled," he said. He added that Hadi's words and ideals would continue to inspire the nation for generations. Sharif Osman Hadi passed away while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Singapore on Thursday at around 9:45 pm.