EGYPT: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, who has ruled with an iron grip for the past nine years, won re-election to a third, six-year term in office, election authorities announced today. 

He ran against three virtually unknown opponents.

Mr Sissi recorded a landslide victory, securing 89.6 per cent of the vote, the National Election Authority said. Turnout was 66.8 per cent of more than 67 million registered voters.

BANGLADESH: A court in Bangladesh’s capital today denied a bail request from top opposition leader Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, who was jailed, pending investigation, following an October anti-government protest that turned violent and is therefore unable to guide his party ahead of a general election next month.

The same court also denied a bail petition from another senior Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader, Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, a former commerce minister.

IRAN: Nearly 70 per cent of Iran’s gas stations went out of service today following a possible cyberattack, Iranian state TV reported.

The report said a “software problem” caused the irregularity in the gas stations. It urged people not to rush to the stations that were still operational.

Israeli media, including the Times of Israel, blamed the problem on an attack by a hacker group dubbed Gonjeshke Darande, or predatory sparrow.

INDONESIA: More than 200 people protested today against the continued arrival of Rohingya refugees by boat on an island in Indonesia.

Over 1,500 Rohingya, who fled violent attacks in Myanmar and now are leaving camps in neighbouring Bangladesh in search of better lives, have arrived in Aceh off the tip of Sumatra since November. They have faced some hostility from fellow Muslims in Aceh.