Tens of thousands of people took to the streets across Turkey to protest against the arrest of Ekrem Imamoglu, the main rival to the president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Mr Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul, was detained on corruption charges, which he denies. “I will never bow,” he wrote on X. According to AFP, rallies took place in at least 55 of Turkey’s 81 provinces.
South Korea’s constitutional court reinstated Han Duck-soo, the prime minister, as acting president. Mr Han had replaced Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached in December after briefly imposing martial law. Mr Han was suspended two weeks later for his alleged role in the coup attempt and for failing to fill three vacancies in the constitutional court. The court is expected to rule on Mr Yoon’s impeachment in the coming days.
Thailand’s prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, is to face a confidence vote in parliament. The main opposition party has claimed that Ms Shinawatra’s father wields too much influence over her government. Thaksin Shinawatra, who was a divisive populist PM in 2001-06, and who spent years in exile, has trailed policies later adopted by the ruling Pheu Thai party, including legalising gambling and stimulus cheques.
Israel’s cabinet approved a motion of no confidence in the attorney-general, Gali Baharav-Miara, days after it sacked the security chief. It is a first step towards dismissing her. In response, Ms Baharav-Miara accused the government of seeking to operate “above the law”. Meanwhile, families of hostages protested against the government’s decision to resume the bombing of Gaza. Palestinian officials said that more than 50,000 people have been killed there in the past 18 months.
Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, triggered a snap election by moving to dissolve Parliament. The governing Liberals are currently favourites to win the vote on April 28th. The party has surged in polls since its unpopular leader, Justin Trudeau, said he would resign as prime minister in January. Donald Trump’s tariffs and taunts have also given the Liberals a boost.
James Hardie Industries, an Australian building-materials company, said it plans to buy Azek, an American home-decking firm, in a deal worth nearly $9bn. The announcement, which comes amid concerns about an American economic slowdown, triggered a sell-off in shares in James Hardie. The firm’s boss insisted that the sector’s long-term prospects were “very, very strong” as mortgage rates are expected to fall.
A delegation of American officials, including Mike Waltz, the national security adviser, will travel to Greenland later this week. Donald Trump has repeatedly said that America should acquire the autonomous Danish territory. The White House insisted that the group was only travelling to learn about Greenland’s “history” and attend “a dogsled race”. Jens-Frederik Nielsen, Greenland’s incoming prime minister, said the trip showed “a lack of respect”.
Figure of the day: 30. At least that many countries have outlawed all vaping products. Read the full story.
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