One move in the wrong direction and Kiarash would have been dead, he said, as a shooter opened fire on him and other protesters in the Iranian capital during a wave of demonstrations met by a deadly crackdown.

Blood stained the street after a person dressed in a full chador covering shot at a large crowd that had gathered in the north of Tehran on January 10, during anti-government protests sparked by economic strain that exploded in size and intensity on January 8.

CAIRO, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said he valued an offer by U.S. President Donald Trump to mediate a dispute over Nile River waters between Egypt and Ethiopia.

In a post on X, Sisi said on Saturday that he addressed Trump's letter by affirming Egypt's position and concerns about the country's water security in regards to Ethiopia's Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

(Reporting by Menna Alaa El-Din and Muhammad Al Gebaly; Editing by Toby Chopra)

Argentina's Luciano Benavides won the Dakar Rally bike title by a mere two seconds in Saudi Arabia on Saturday.

Second in the 13th and closing stage was enough for the 30-year-old KTM rider to deny Honda's American two-time champion Ricky Brabec and secure his debut Dakar crown.

"I've dreamed of this moment my whole life," said the winner.

Brabec, winner in 2020 and 2024, was on target for a third title but lost time when going the wrong way close to the finish of the 105km ride around Yanbu.

DUBAI, Jan 17 (Reuters) - More than 3,000 people have died in Iran's nationwide protests, rights activists said on Saturday, while a "very slight rise" in internet activity was reported in the country after an eight-day blackout.

The U.S.-based HRANA group said it had verified 3,090 deaths, including 2,885 protesters, after residents said the crackdown appeared to have broadly quelled protests for now and state media reported more arrests.

US President Donald Trump on Friday gave a key role in post-war Gaza to former British prime minister Tony Blair and appointed a US officer to lead a nascent security force.

Trump named members of a board to help supervise Gaza that was dominated by Americans, as he promotes a controversial vision of economic development in a territory that lies in rubble after two-plus years of relentless Israeli bombardment.

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON, Jan 16 (Reuters) - The White House on Friday announcednames of the so-called "Board of Peace" that will, under President Donald Trump's plan, supervise the temporary governance of Gaza, which continues to see deadly violence despite a fragile ceasefire that went into effect in October.

Jan 16 (Reuters) - Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued a decree affirming the rights of the Kurdish Syrians, formally recognising their language and restoring citizenship to all Kurdish Syrians, state news agency SANA reported on Friday.

Sharaa's decree came after fierce clashes that broke out last week in the northern city of Aleppo, leaving at least 23 people dead, according to Syria's health ministry, and forced more than 150,000 to flee the two Kurdish-run pockets of the city.

The clashes ended after Kurdish fighters withdrew.

Jan 16 (Reuters) - The United States is ready to restart mediation between Egypt and Ethiopia to help resolve the issue of Nile River water sharing, President Donald Trump said in a letter to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Friday.

"I am ready to restart U.S. mediation between Egypt and Ethiopia to responsibly resolve the question of 'The Nile Water Sharing' once and for all," Trump wrote in the letter, which he posted to his Truth Social account.

(Reporting by Ryan Patrick Jones in Toronto, Editing by Bhargav Acharya)

From his tent in Gaza City, Mahmoud Abdel Aal said residents were frustrated and worried because nothing had changed in the Palestinian territory since the start of the US-brokered ceasefire's second phase.

In a post-apocalyptic landscape of bombed-out buildings and makeshift camps devastated by recent winter rains, Palestinians who spoke to AFP mostly expressed bitterness.

Though Israeli strikes have been less intense since the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel began in October 2025, bombs still fall every day.

French publisher Hachette on Friday said it had recalled a dictionary that described the Israeli victims of the October 7, 2023 attacks as "Jewish settlers" and promised to review all its textbooks and educational materials.

The Larousse dictionary for 11- to 15-year-old students contained the same phrase as that discovered by an anti-racism body in three revision books, the company told AFP.