Bangladesh

Dhaka (AFP) – Bangladesh's three-time prime minister Khaleda Zia, who hoped to lead her nation one last time after elections next year, died on Tuesday aged 80.

Cheers broke out as this ousted world leader was sentenced to be hanged, after months of testimony detailed how she ordered mass killings.

After 15 years of leading Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina fled the country on Monday as protesters stormed her palace in Dhaka. Daughter of a murdered revolutionary who helped Bangladesh gain independence, Hasina was once hailed for rescuing the country from military rule. But her iron fist and intolerance to dissent, including the mass arrest of opponents, left a bitter taste in the mouths of the public.

Hundreds of troops are storming a cafe in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, where gunmen took at least 20 hostages on Friday, security officials say.

He said there were foreigners inside the restaurant and that police were preparing a plan to enter the premises.