29 h. ago Iran cleric demands death for protesters, threatens Trump amid unrest

A hardline cleric leading Friday prayers in Iran’s capital demanded the death penalty for protesters detained in a nationwide crackdown and directly threatened US President Donald Trump, showing the rage gripping authorities in the Islamic Republic over demonstrations that have challenged their authority. Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami’s sermon, carried by Iranian state radio, sparked chants from those gathered for prayers, including: “Armed hypocrites should be put to death!” Executions, as well as...

Events

39 h. ago South Korea’s Yoon sentenced to 5 years in prison over martial law charges

Impeached former South Korean president Yoon Seok-yeol was sentenced on Friday to five years in prison after being found guilty of resisting arrest and other offences linked to his botched martial law declaration in 2024. The ruling marks the first conviction among eight criminal trials Yoon is facing, including a case in which prosecutors demanded he be sentenced to death for his role as the “ringleader” of an insurrection in imposing the ill-fated decree that plunged the country into political...

Events

55 h. ago Minneapolis on edge as Trump threatens to use Insurrection Act and send in troops

US President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to invoke an 1807 law and deploy troops to quell persistent protests against the federal officers sent to Minneapolis to enforce his administration’s massive immigration crackdown. The threat comes a day after a man was shot and wounded by an immigration officer who had been attacked with a shovel and broom handle. That shooting further heightened the fear and anger that has radiated across the city since an Immigration and Customs Enforcement...

Politics

3 d. ago South Korea’s Yoon could become ‘martyr’ if given death penalty: observers

When prosecutors in South Korea demanded the death penalty for ex-president Yoon Suk-yeol, he shook his head in disbelief and let out a contemptuous laugh – a moment that encapsulated his defiant posture throughout nine months of hearings. Yoon stands accused of being the “ringleader” of an insurrection stemming from his failed martial law bid in 2024 that plunged the country into political chaos. The public gallery, packed with Yoon’s supporters, erupted into protests, forcing the presiding...

Events

5 d. ago As Trump threatens Iran strikes, China denounces use of force in Middle East

China has voiced opposition to the use of force in the Middle East as US President Donald Trump threatened to strike Iran over escalating protests there. Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning on Monday said Beijing hoped Iran’s government and its people would overcome “current difficulties” and uphold stability in the country. “We always oppose interference in other countries’ internal affairs,” she said at a press conference, responding to a question about Trump’s threats to attack...

Events

5 d. ago Trump says Iran wants to ‘negotiate’ amid reports of hundreds killed in unrest

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that Iran’s leadership had called him seeking “to negotiate” after he repeatedly threatened to intervene militarily if Tehran killed protesters. For two weeks, Iran has been rocked by a protest movement that has swelled in spite of a crackdown rights groups warn has become a “massacre”. Initially sparked by anger over the rising cost of living, the demonstrations have evolved into a serious challenge of the theocratic system in place since the 1979...

Politics

5 d. ago Trump says Iran wants to negotiate after reports of hundreds killed in unrest

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that Iran’s leadership had called him seeking “to negotiate” after he repeatedly threatened to intervene militarily if Tehran killed protesters. For two weeks, Iran has been rocked by a protest movement that has swelled in spite of a crackdown rights groups warn has become a “massacre”. Initially sparked by anger over the rising cost of living, the demonstrations have evolved into a serious challenge of the theocratic system in place since the 1979...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump and Iran official exchange threats after protests turn deadly in the Islamic Republic

US President Donald Trump threatened on Friday to come to the aid of protesters in Iran if security forces fire on them, days into unrest that has left several dead and posed the biggest internal threat to Iranian authorities in years. “We are locked and loaded and ready to go,” he said in a social media post. The United States struck Iranian nuclear facilities in June, joining an Israeli air campaign that targeted Tehran’s atomic programme and military leadership. Top Iranian official Ali...

Events

4 w. ago Violence erupts in Bangladesh after shot leader of youth protest dies in Singapore hospital

Violence broke out in Bangladesh’s capital early on Friday after a youth leader of the country’s 2024 pro-democracy uprising who was injured in an assassination attempt died in a hospital in Singapore. Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Dhaka after the death of Sharif Osman Hadi, 32, was announced, to demand that his killers be arrested. Several buildings in the capital, including those housing the country’s two leading newspapers, were set on fire, according to authorities, with...

Events