For the first time in nine years, thousands of Sudanese Christians were able to celebrate Christmas as a public holiday, as prayers were held in churches across Khartoum and other cities. This is the first Christmas celebration since the secession of Christian-majority South Sudan in 2011. Former Islamist president Omar Al-Bashir, who ruled the country for 30 years, had canceled all Christmas celebrations. Al-Bashir was ousted last April by the ...