Police beat protesters and fired tear gas and water cannons at thousands who rallied in Tehran today in open defiance of Iran’s clerical government, sharply escalating the most serious internal conflict since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iran’s opposition leader received another stern warning today not to encourage his supporters to take to the streets.

PW Botha, the apartheid-era president who led South Africa through its worst racial violence and deepest international isolation, died peacefully in his sleep. He was 90.

Ukraine president Viktor Yushchenko’s party today increased the pressure on its leader to reunite the estranged Orange Team, passing a resolution that put potential deal-breaking restrictions on the pro-Moscow opposition leader.