At least two attackers were killed and one was seriously injured in an extended gun battle between police and assailants directly outside the building housing the Israeli consulate in Istanbul on Tuesday, according to media reports and Reuters video.
Reuters video showed police officers pulling out guns and taking cover as shots rang out for at least 10 minutes. One person was covered in blood.
Other footage obtained by Reuters showed an apparent attacker moving among parked white police and security buses and firing over several minutes with an automatic rifle and handgun. Two bodies lay on nearby streets and grassy areas.
Media reported that two police officers had been injured in the incident, which occurred immediately outside a tower where the Israeli consulate is located in Istanbul’s financial district. Reuters
Saudi firms extend work from home ahead of US’s Iran ultimatum
Some Western and Saudi firms in Riyadh have extended work-from-home advisories this week, five people familiar with the matter said, amid concern over a looming US-imposed deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz or face “hell”.
In Gulf states, which have borne the brunt of Iran’s attacks since the war began on February 28, many fear a US escalation would see Iran further target critical and civilian infrastructure in the Gulf in response.
The advisories, sent out on Monday and Tuesday individually by companies via email or text, affect work in Riyadh’s King Abdullah Financial District, Faisaliah Tower, Business Gate and Laysen Valley, the people said. Reuters
European Commission sets carbon border levy price
The European Commission has set the price of its carbon border levy at €75.36 for the first quarter of this year, it said on its website on Tuesday.
The EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism ― the world’s first carbon border tariff ― imposes fees on the CO₂ emissions of imported goods including steel, aluminium and cement from early 2026.
The European Commission agreed in January to suspend the carbon border levy for imports of fertiliser. Reuters
South Sudan president fires speaker, deputy speaker
South Sudan President Salva Kiir has sacked the East African nation’s speaker and deputy speaker of parliament, according to a decree read out in the parliament on Tuesday.
Tulio Odongi Ayahu, chief whip of Kiir’s ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), announced the decree removing speaker Jemma Nunu Kumba and her deputy, Permena Awerial Aluong, from their posts in the Transitional National Legislative Assembly.
The move follows a petition last week by SPLM caucus members accusing Kumba of corruption linked to the alleged mismanagement of parliamentary funds and calling for her removal. Reuters
Russia postpones launch of three moon missions
Russia has pushed back the launch of three moon missions, the Interfax news agency said on Tuesday, a setback to its ambitious lunar exploration programme as longtime space rival, the US, celebrated an historic flight around the moon.
The launches of Russian spacecraft Luna-28, Luna-29 and Luna-30 have been postponed to 2032–36, Interfax quoted Russian Academy of Sciences vice-president Sergei Chernyshev as saying.
It did not say when they had originally been slated to lift off, but the unexplained delays follow postponements last year to other Russian lunar and space missions and the crash of its unmanned Luna-25 craft into the surface of the moon in 2023. Reuters
Britain to cap interest rates on student loans
Britain said on Tuesday it would cap interest rates on millions of student loans at 6% from September 2026, saying conflict in the Middle East risked pushing up inflation and sharply increasing borrowing costs for graduates.
The student loan system in England and Wales has drawn criticism and Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in February he would look at ways to make it fairer.
The government has been accused by some legislators, including in his own Labour Party, of ripping off graduates with inflated interest charges and unfavourable repayment conditions.
The department for education said on Tuesday the cap on so-called plan 2 and plan 3 student loans would apply for the 2026/27 academic year, overriding a formula that links interest rates to inflation and allows charges of up to the Retail Prices Index plus three percentage points. Reuters
