Protests, which included shopkeepers in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, were held on Sunday and Monday according to Iranian state media

International News via Reuters:

Iran’s government said on Tuesday it would seek dialogue with protest leaders after demonstrations in Tehran and other cities over a plunge in the currency’s value that has accelerated inflation, with the central bank chief resigning.

Protests, which included shopkeepers in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, were held on Sunday and Monday according to Iranian state media, the latest demonstrations in the Islamic Republic where bouts of unrest have repeatedly erupted in recent years.

President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a social media post late on Monday that he had asked the interior minister to listen to “legitimate demands” of protesters. Government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said a dialogue mechanism would be set up and include talks with protest leaders.

“We officially recognise the protests … We hear their voices and we know that this originates from natural pressure arising from the pressure on people’s livelihoods,” she said on Tuesday in comments carried by state media.

The Iranian rial has been falling as the economy has suffered from the impact of Western sanctions, sinking to a record low on Monday at around 1,390,000 to the U.S. dollar, according to websites monitoring open market rates.

“We have fundamental measures on the agenda to reform the monetary and banking system and maintain the purchasing power of the people,” Pezeshkian posted on X.

Iranian media have said the government’s recent economic liberalisation policies have put pressure on the open-rate rial market, where ordinary Iranians buy foreign currency.

In 2022, Iran was buffeted by protests across the country over price hikes, including for bread, a major staple.

Over the same period and into 2023, the country’s clerical rulers faced the boldest unrest in years touched off by the death of a young Iranian Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, in the custody of the morality police, who enforce strict dress codes.

Iranian security services suppressed previous rounds of protests with violent crackdowns and widespread arrests rather than dialogue.

Iran remains under intense international pressure, with U.S. President Donald Trump saying on Monday that he might back another round of Israeli airstrikes if Tehran resumed work on ballistic missiles or any nuclear weapons programme.

The U.S. and Israel carried out 12 days of airstrikes on Iran’s military and its nuclear installations in June aimed at stopping what they believe were efforts to develop the means to build an atomic weapon.

Iran says its nuclear energy programme is entirely peaceful and that it has not tried to build a nuclear bomb.

Reporting by Elwely Elwelly; writing by Angus McDowall; editing by Mark Heinrich

Khaleda, aged 80, had advanced cirrhosis of the liver, arthritis, diabetes, chest and heart problems, her doctors said

International News via Reuters:

Bangladesh’s first female prime minister, Khaleda Zia, died after a prolonged illness, her opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party said on Tuesday.

Khaleda, aged 80, had advanced cirrhosis of the liver, arthritis, diabetes, chest and heart problems, her doctors said.

Reporting by Ruma Paul and Shivani Tanna; Editing by YP Rajesh and Clarence Fernandez

The polls are being held in several phases amid an ongoing civil war that has ravaged parts of Myanmar and led to one of Asia’s worst humanitarian crises

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Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Tuesday that leaders from the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN will consider developments in Myanmar following the first phase of its election over the weekend.

The polls are being held in several phases amid an ongoing civil war that has ravaged parts of Myanmar and led to one of Asia’s worst humanitarian crises.

The election has been widely derided by the United Nations, Western governments and human rights groups as a sham and an attempt by the ruling junta to entrench military rule through political proxies.

The junta has denied the charge, saying the election was not being conducted through coercion or force and has public support.

Anwar, the current chair of the 11-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, said the bloc’s leaders will monitor the situation in Myanmar with care, including steps underway that relate to the political process.

“Any assessment will proceed in a sequenced manner, guided by the need to reduce violence, avoid actions that could deepen divisions or confer premature legitimacy, and preserve the possibility of an inclusive and credible pathway forward,” he said in a televised press conference.

Malaysia’s foreign minister has previously said that ASEAN wants the election to be fair and inclusive, and also urged the Myanmar junta to adhere to a peace agreement it agreed with the bloc in 2021.

The “Five-Point Consensus” peace plan has been largely seen as a failure, with Myanmar’s military rulers refusing to meet with opponents it deemed to be terrorists.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military overthrew a civilian democratic government in a 2021 coup, triggering an armed rebellion that has captured large swathes of territory across the country.

Reporting by Rozanna Latiff and Ashley Tang; Editing by John Mair

The Southeast Asian neighbours agreed on a ceasefire that took effect at noon (0500 GMT) on Saturday, halting 20 days of fighting that killed at least 101 people and displaced more than half a million on both sides

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A renewed ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia over border clashes passed the 72-hour mark on Tuesday, an initial goal the countries set to secure a more lasting peace, but Bangkok said it had delayed the release of 18 Cambodian soldiers due to alleged breaches of the deal.

The Southeast Asian neighbours agreed on a ceasefire that took effect at noon (0500 GMT) on Saturday, halting 20 days of fighting that killed at least 101 people and displaced more than half a million on both sides, and included fighter-jet sorties, exchanges of rocket fire and artillery barrages.

The border clashes reignited early this month, following the breakdown in a ceasefire deal that U.S. President Donald Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim helped broker to halt a previous round of conflict in July.

Under the agreement signed by the defence ministers of both countries on Saturday, Thailand said it would release the 18 Cambodian soldiers after the ceasefire held for 72 hours. 

On Tuesday, Thai Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nikorndej Balankura said the military had detected many drones from Cambodia on Sunday night, which it saw as a breach of the deal, and so had reconsidered the timing of the handover of the soldiers.

“The consideration of date and time of the release depends on the security side,” he said at a press conference, adding that the handover could “happen soon”.

Cambodian authorities have strongly rejected the accusation of using drones, and issued an order prohibiting the use of drones across the country late on Monday.

“There has been no reaction yet, it is being monitored,” said Pen Bona, a spokesperon for the Cambodian government, when asked about the delay to the soldiers’ release.

The Thai Foreign Ministry also sent a formal protest to Cambodia after a Thai soldier lost a limb on Monday in a landmine blast at a border area.  

Landmine incidents were a catalyst for the renewed clashes.

China’s Foreign Minister hosted two days of talks with his Thai and Cambodian counterparts, reaching an agreement on Monday that the two countries would work to rebuild mutual trust and gradually consolidate the ceasefire.

Earlier on Tuesday, Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said the ceasefire was fragile and needed both sides to ensure that it was sustained and that bilateral relations were gradually repaired.

“The ceasefire has only just been agreed so there is fragility,” Sihasak told reporters. “We should avoid instigation or things that could diminish the ceasefire,” he said.

Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um and Reuters staff; Editing by Kate Mayberry

Naveed Akram and his father Sajid Akram are alleged to have killed 15 people at a Hanukkah event on December 14, Australia’s worst mass shooting in almost three decades

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Two gunmen who allegedly opened fire on a Jewish celebration on Sydney’s Bondi Beach earlier this month acted alone and there was “no evidence” they were part of a militant cell, police said on Tuesday.

Naveed Akram and his father Sajid Akram are alleged to have killed 15 people at a Hanukkah event on December 14, Australia’s worst mass shooting in almost three decades that shocked the nation and led to immediate reforms of already strict gun laws.

Police have previously said the men were inspired by Islamic State, with home made flags of the militant group found in their car after the attack, and a month-long trip by the pair to a Philippines island previously plagued by militancy a major focus of investigation.

But on Tuesday, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said there was no indication the men had received formal training on the November trip to Mindanao in the Philippines.

“There is no evidence to suggest these alleged offenders were part of a broader terrorist cell, or were directed by others to carry out an attack,” Barrett told a news conference.

She added the findings were an initial assessment, and authorities in Australia and the Philippines were continuing their investigation.

“I am not suggesting that they were there for tourism,” she said, referring to the Philippines trip.

Sajid Akram was shot dead by police during the attack, while his son Naveed, who was also shot by police, was charged with 59 offences after waking from a days-long coma earlier this month. Naveed Akram faces charges ranging from 15 counts of murder to terror and explosives offences.

Reporting by Alasdair Pal in Sydney; Editing by Michael Perry

Brian Cole, 30, of Virginia admitted to planting the devices, neither of which exploded, outside the headquarters of the Democratic and Republican national committees following his arrest earlier this month

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The man accused of planting pipe bombs in Washington the night before the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack confessed to the FBI and told investigators he thought the 2020 election had been “tampered with,” according to a court filing from federal prosecutors.

Brian Cole, 30, of Virginia admitted to planting the devices, neither of which exploded, outside the headquarters of the Democratic and Republican national committees following his arrest earlier this month, according to the filing, which was made public on Sunday.

Cole told FBI agents “something just snapped” and that he wanted to do something “to the parties” because of their influence in U.S. politics, adding “I really don’t like either party at this point,” according to excerpts of his interview cited in the filing.

Prosecutors revealed new details about the investigation as they argued that Cole should be detained while awaiting a trial. A hearing is scheduled for Tuesday in Washington federal court.

Cole is facing two explosives-related charges. He has not yet entered a plea.

Cole’s arrest nearly five years after the incident came after top officials at the FBI ordered a fresh look at a case that had long vexed investigators and became fodder for right-wing theories tied to the Capitol riot.

Cole denied in the FBI interview that the placement of the bombs on January 5, 2021 was connected to the certification of the election in Congress on the following day.

The pipe bombs were not discovered until about 1 p.m. on January 6, diverting police resources just as a mob of supporters of President Donald Trump surged into the Capitol.

He initially denied planting the devices, telling the FBI that he had been in Washington to attend a protest to support Trump’s false claims that his defeat in the 2020 election was the result of rampant voter fraud.

Cole told the FBI that powerful people needed to speak out if “something as important as voting in the federal election is being tampered with.”

Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; editing by Andy Sullivan and Chizu Nomiyama

The president’s office did not provide details on the purpose of the visit or who Milei would meet with

International News via Reuters:

Argentine President Javier Milei will visit the United Kingdom in April or May, according to an official from the president’s office.

The confirmation of the visit follows a report published on Monday by British newspaper The Telegraph that said Milei planned to visit Britain.

The president’s office did not provide details on the purpose of the visit or who Milei would meet with.

The Telegraph said that Milei confirmed in an interview that talks had begun to lift a ban on weapons sales stemming from the conflict over the British-run Falkland Islands.

Milei has previously maintained that Argentina should try to take back the islands, known in Argentina as the Islas Malvinas, through diplomatic channels.

Argentina has long claimed sovereignty over the islands, which Britain and Argentina fought a war over in 1982. The islands are in the South Atlantic about 600 kilometers from the Argentine mainland.

Reporting by Leila Miller; Editing by Brendan O’Boyle and Nick Zieminski