BANGLADESH: Thousands of people led by students rallied in Bangladesh’s capital yesterday, calling for the prosecution of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and those allegedly responsible for hundreds of deaths in a mass uprising against her government in July.

The Anti-Discrimination Student Movement organised the March for Unity at the Central Shaheed Minar, a national monument in Dhaka. Protesters chanted slogans calling for Hasina’s trial and the banning of her Awami League party.

PUERTO RICO: A blackout hit nearly all of Puerto Rico early yesterday as the US colony prepared to celebrate New Year’s Eve.

More than 1.2 million out of 1.47 million clients were without power, according to Luma Energy, a private company that oversees electricity transmission and distribution on the island.

It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the widespread outage or when power would be restored. Luma officials did not immediately comment.

SOUTH KOREA: A team of US investigators including representatives from Boeing yesterday examined the site of a plane crash that killed 179 people as authorities conducted safety inspections on all Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by the country’s airlines.

All but two of the 181 people aboard the flight operated by South Korean budget airline Jeju Air died in Sunday’s crash. 

GUANTANAMO: The longest held detainee at the United States detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Ridah Bin Saleh al-Yazidi, has been repatriated to Tunisia, it was reported yesterday.

Mr Yazidi, who had been held for almost 23 years, was never reportedly charged with a crime. 

US authorities continued to detain Mr Yazidi despite having approved his transfer from the facility more than a decade ago.