Sudan PM Asks FDFC to Name Candidates for Government

Sudanese demonstrators chant slogans in front of security forces during a protest in Khartoum, Sudan. (Reuters)
Sudanese demonstrators chant slogans in front of security forces during a protest in Khartoum, Sudan. (Reuters)
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Sudan PM Asks FDFC to Name Candidates for Government

Sudanese demonstrators chant slogans in front of security forces during a protest in Khartoum, Sudan. (Reuters)
Sudanese demonstrators chant slogans in front of security forces during a protest in Khartoum, Sudan. (Reuters)

Sudan's new Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok asked the Forces of Declaration of Freedom and Change (FDFC) to speed up the nomination of their candidates for the government.

The FDFC is expected to hand its list of candidates to Hamdok Tuesday, who will select one of three for each ministry, and announce the government on Wednesday in accordance with the timetable agreed upon in the constitutional document.

A meeting held at the Umma Party headquarters in Omdurman will continue until all parties have reached consensus on the candidates for 14 ministries and four specialized councils.

Asharq Al-Awsat learned that the PM pressured the FDFC to complete its nomination, asserting that he will respect the set deadline.

A top commander in the Forces, who asked not to be named, said the FDFC selected five candidates for the cabinet.

The source told Asharq Al-Awsat that FDFC are committed to delivering the names of their candidates to the prime minister on time, ahead of the official announcement of the government.

Asharq Al-Awsat obtained the names of candidates for all the ministries in the transitional government with candidates of the Foreign Ministry including: Omar Mohammed Kamareddine, Omar Bashir Munis and Mohammed Ahmed Siddiq.

The most prominent candidates for the Ministry of Finance are: Ibrahim al-Badawi, Hassan Bashir and Mohammed Sheikhoun. As for the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Bakri Ali Ahmed, Kawther Ismail Mahmoud, Kamaluddin Tayeb and Issa Shater were nominated.

Four candidates are competing for the Ministry of Energy and Mining: Saleh Mirghani, Fadl Ahmed Abu Shouk, Awad Jar al-Khair, Adel Ibrahim and Abdel Haj Suleiman.

Candidates for the Ministry of Justice are: member of the Legal Committee of the FDFC Ibtisam al-Sanhouri, Othman Mohammed al-Hasan, Nasereddine Abd al-Bari and Hanoud Abia Kedouf.

Among the most prominent candidates for government affairs: Madani Abbas Madani, Yasser Mirghani Abdel Rahman, Abu Bakr Basha and Ismail Wadi.

Several candidates were named for the Ministry of Education, including: Mohamed el-Amin el-Tom, Mohamed Ibrahim, Taher Abdullah Kamar and Amna al-Sadiq Badri.

Ministry of Health nominees include Akram el-Tom, El-Tayeb Gadin, Samia Abdel Azim and Abdel Rahim Mohamed Ali.

FDFC also chose a list of candidates for the Higher Education Council, most notably philosophy professor at the Sudanese universities, Hisham Omar al-Nur, Ahmed Hassan al-Jack, Sami Sharif and Suleiman Dablo.

Four candidates are nominated for the position of Minister of Animal Resources, namely Amal Omar Bakheet, Shadia al-Llazem, Hanan Abdel Mawla and Mohammed Fadl Ahmed.

The FDFC named Mohammed Jafar Quraish, Majid Talaat Farid, Mahjoub Said and Walaa Issam al-Boushi for the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

A large number of candidates of political parties withdrew their candidacies after officials pressured them to adhere to the agreement to form an independent government of non-partisan figures, confirmed sources.



Israeli Reservist Rams Vehicle into Palestinian Man Praying in West Bank

Israeli security forces secure a street as they leave the Palestinian village of Bizariya, in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli authorities demolished the house of a Palestinian man killed in July after he and another man reportedly killed an Israeli settler on the same day, on December 24, 2025. (AFP)
Israeli security forces secure a street as they leave the Palestinian village of Bizariya, in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli authorities demolished the house of a Palestinian man killed in July after he and another man reportedly killed an Israeli settler on the same day, on December 24, 2025. (AFP)
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Israeli Reservist Rams Vehicle into Palestinian Man Praying in West Bank

Israeli security forces secure a street as they leave the Palestinian village of Bizariya, in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli authorities demolished the house of a Palestinian man killed in July after he and another man reportedly killed an Israeli settler on the same day, on December 24, 2025. (AFP)
Israeli security forces secure a street as they leave the Palestinian village of Bizariya, in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli authorities demolished the house of a Palestinian man killed in July after he and another man reportedly killed an Israeli settler on the same day, on December 24, 2025. (AFP)

An Israeli reservist soldier rammed his vehicle into a Palestinian man as he prayed on a roadside in ​the occupied West Bank on Thursday, after earlier firing shots in the area, the Israeli military said.

"Footage was received of an armed individual running over a Palestinian individual," it said in a statement, adding the individual was a reservist ‌and his ‌military service had ‌been terminated.

The ⁠reservist ​acted "in severe ‌violation of his authority" and his weapon had been confiscated, the military said.

Israeli media reported that he was being held under house arrest.

The Israeli police did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The ⁠Palestinian man went to hospital for checks after ‌the attack, but was unhurt ‍and is now ‍at home.

Video which aired on Palestinian ‍TV shows a man in civilian clothing with a gun slung over his shoulder driving an off-road vehicle into a man praying on ​the side of the road.

This year ​was one of the most violent on ⁠record for Israeli civilian attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank, according to United Nations data that shows more than 750 injuries.

More than a thousand Palestinians were killed in the West Bank between October 7, 2023 and October 17, 2025, mostly in operations by security forces and some by settler violence, according to the UN In ‌the same period, 57 Israelis were killed in Palestinian attacks.


Deadly Blast Hits Mosque in Syria’s Homs, Saraya Ansar al-Sunna Claims Responsibility

Syrian security forces stand inside a damaged mosque after several people were killed in an explosion at a mosque as the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said, in Homs, Syria December 26, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Ahmed al-Najjar
Syrian security forces stand inside a damaged mosque after several people were killed in an explosion at a mosque as the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said, in Homs, Syria December 26, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Ahmed al-Najjar
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Deadly Blast Hits Mosque in Syria’s Homs, Saraya Ansar al-Sunna Claims Responsibility

Syrian security forces stand inside a damaged mosque after several people were killed in an explosion at a mosque as the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said, in Homs, Syria December 26, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Ahmed al-Najjar
Syrian security forces stand inside a damaged mosque after several people were killed in an explosion at a mosque as the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said, in Homs, Syria December 26, 2025. REUTERS/Ali Ahmed al-Najjar

A bombing at a mosque in Syria during Friday prayers killed at least eight people and wounded 18 others, authorities said.

Images released by Syria’s state-run Arab News Agency showed blood on the mosque’s carpets, holes in the walls, shattered windows and fire damage. The Imam Ali bin Abi Talib Mosque is located in Homs, Syria's third-largest city.

SANA, citing a security source, said that preliminary investigations indicate that explosive devices were planted inside the mosque. Authorities were searching for the perpetrators, who have not yet been identified, and a security cordon was placed around the building, Syria’s Interior Ministry said in a statement.

In a statement on Telegram, the Saraya Ansar al-Sunna said its fighters "detonated a number of explosive devices" in the mosque.

The same group had previously claimed a suicide attack in June in which a gunman opened fire and then detonated an explosive vest inside a Greek Orthodox church in Dweil’a, on the outskirts of Damascus, killing 25 people as worshippers prayed on a Sunday.

Several countries, including Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Lebanon, condemned the attack. 
 


Fuel Shortage Forces Gaza Hospital to Suspend Most Services

The sun sets behind a makeshift tent camp for displaced Palestinians set up in an area of al-Bureij camp, in the central Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP)
The sun sets behind a makeshift tent camp for displaced Palestinians set up in an area of al-Bureij camp, in the central Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP)
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Fuel Shortage Forces Gaza Hospital to Suspend Most Services

The sun sets behind a makeshift tent camp for displaced Palestinians set up in an area of al-Bureij camp, in the central Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP)
The sun sets behind a makeshift tent camp for displaced Palestinians set up in an area of al-Bureij camp, in the central Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP)

A major Gaza hospital has suspended several services because of a critical fuel shortage in the devastated Palestinian territory, which continues to face a severe humanitarian crisis, it said.

Devastated by more than two years of war, the Al-Awda Hospital in the central Gaza district of Nuseirat cares for around 60 in-patients and receives nearly 1,000 people seeking medical treatment each day.

"Most services have been temporarily stopped due to a shortage of the fuel needed for the generators," said Ahmed Mehanna, a senior official involved in managing the hospital.

"Only essential departments remain operational: the emergency unit, maternity ward and pediatrics."

To keep these services running, the hospital has been forced to rent a small generator, he added.

Under normal conditions, Al-Awda Hospital consumes between 1,000 and 1,200 liters of diesel per day. At present, however, it has only 800 liters available.

"We stress that this shutdown is temporary and linked to the availability of fuel," Mehanna said, warning that a prolonged fuel shortage "would pose a direct threat to the hospital's ability to deliver basic services".

He urged local and international organizations to intervene swiftly to ensure a steady supply of fuel.

Despite a fragile truce observed since October 10, the Gaza Strip remains engulfed in a severe humanitarian crisis.

While the ceasefire agreement stipulated the entry of 600 aid trucks per day into Gaza, only 100 to 300 carrying humanitarian assistance can currently enter, according to the United Nations and non-governmental organizations.

The remaining convoys largely transport commercial goods that remain inaccessible to most of Gaza's 2.2 million people.

- Health hard hit -

On a daily basis, the vast majority of Gaza's residents rely on aid from UN agencies and international NGOs for survival.

Gaza's health sector has been among the hardest hit by the war.

During the fighting, the Israeli miliary repeatedly struck hospitals and medical centers across Gaza, accusing Hamas of operating command centers there, an allegation the group denied.

International medical charity Doctors Without Borders now manages roughly one-third of Gaza's 2,300 hospital beds, while all five stabilization centers for children suffering from severe malnutrition are supported by international NGOs.

The war in Gaza was sparked on October 7, 2023, following an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

In Israel's ensuing military campaign in Gaza, at least 70,942 people - also mostly civilians - have been killed, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.