World Report - December 30: Tuesday's top stories in 10 minutes

Episode Date: December 30, 2025

Tensions flare across Iran as protests over soaring prices and a collapsing currency spread, forcing Tehran to shut down schools, offices, and shops.Bangladesh's first female prime minister, Khaled Zia, dies at the age of 80 after a lengthy illness.Amid holiday chaos, the UK grapples with questions of citizenship and free speech after Alaa Abd El-Fattah's controversial past resurfaces.Hospital transfer service in Surrey, BC drops off elderly patient at wrong address.In Ottawa’s courts, therapy dogs are helping calm victims, witnesses, and defendants facing tough proceedings.Denmark delivers its last letter — ending 400 years of mail.

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This is a CBC podcast. This is World Report. Good morning. I'm Sam Sampson in Edmonton. Across Iran, students and citizens are pouring into the streets in protest against soaring prices and a collapsing currency. Markets are shutting down, security forces are on high alert, and the unrest is drawing international attention, including from the U.S. State Department. The CBC's Farzod Fatalazadeh has the latest. Students from multiple universities in Tehran have joined citizens in the streets chanting slogans like, student, student, be the voice of your people.

Parts of Tehran's markets remain closed as shopkeepers joined the demonstrations. Security forces have been deployed in several cities, including Esfahan, Kermansh Shah, Shiraz, as tensions rise and clashes occasionally break out. The Iranian government has acknowledged the protests and promised dialogue with leaders. These demonstrations echo earlier protests, including the 2022 nationwide unrest triggered by the death of Masa Amini in the custody of Iran's morality police. That was a moment that ignited widespread cause for social and political change. Human rights groups estimate that hundreds of people were killed in those protests, with some counts putting the death toll at around 476 or more during the nationwide crackdown.

The Iranian Riyadh has plunged to record lows under Western sanctions, driving inflation even higher. President Massoud Pesigyan has announced plans for monetary reforms aimed at stabilized in the economy and protecting purchasing power. Farzad Fatal-Azadzad, CBC News, Toronto. Bangladesh has declared three days of mourning for the death of its first female Prime Minister. Khaled Azia has died at age 80.

Her supporters describe her passing as a loss for the country and praise her role in moving Bangladesh from dictatorship to democracy. Ishaan Gurg has more on her political legacy. Mother Zia was like a political guide to us, says one supporter. Hundreds like her gathered outside the hospital in Bangladeshi capital Dhaka where Khaledha Zia passed away on Tuesday. Doctors say they had been treating her for advanced cirrhosis of the liver and kidney complications. World leaders are paying tribute to her, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who says her contributions to improving relations between their two countries.

will always be remembered. Prayers jiming through the streets of Bangladesh. As a nation moans the loss of a leader who many credit for ushering in democracy in the country. Zia's political rise started in the 1980s when she rallied against military dictatorship in Bangladesh. In 1991, she became the nation's first female prime minister and only the second in a Muslim majority country.

Her political rivalry with the now ousted PM, Sheikh Hasina defined Dhaka's political scene for decades. Her career was, however, marred by corruption charges which her Bangladesh Nationalist Party says were politically motivated. She was jailed in 2018

but released in 2024 after nationwide protests. Zia's supporters say her presence could have helped the Bangladesh Nationalist Party in the upcoming national elections in February. Observers say Khalida Zia's death represents the end of a generation

of leadership that transformed the nation from a dictatorship to a democracy. Ishaan Gerg for CBC News, New Delhi. A debate over immigration and what it means to be British has reignited in the UK. The controversy centers on a dual Egyptian British citizen whose past social media posts have sparked calls for his citizenship to be revoked. World Report co-host John Northcott reports from London. Ella Abdel-Fatah was imprisoned for years in Egypt and was granted UK citizens. ship in 2021. The day after Christmas this year, he was allowed to travel to the UK, where he was

embraced by his family who had long fought for his release. But almost immediately afterwards, tweets that he'd written more than a decade ago in which he appeared to attack supporters of Israel and saying he hated white people came to light. He has since apologized, but nonetheless, the damage appears to have been done. Reform UK's Nigel Farage is leading the charge, launching a petition calling for Allah Abdel Fattah to be deported and, stripped of his British citizenship. Although he became a citizen under a conservative government, current leader Kemi Badnock is also calling for Al-Fa-Tah to be deported. Chris Philip is shadow home secretary. People who express that kind of hatred, that kind of anti-white racism, that kind of

extremism, who seek to incite violence, have no place in the United Kingdom. Still, though, it begs the question, should, as a British citizen, Al-Fa-ta not have the same freedom of speech? as others? Labor MP, Emily Thornberry. I mean, he's going to get a chilly reception, and he can't possibly expect anything else, can he? But he's still a British citizen. Prime Minister Kier-Starmer has said initially that he welcomed Al-Fa-Tas' arrival in the UK.

His government now says it will review what they're calling information failures around the case. John Northcott, CBC News, London. Here in Canada, the company responsible for hospital transfers at Fraser Health in BC is launching a review after an elderly patient was dropped off at the wrong address. As Jessica Chung reports, seniors advocates say the mix-up points to a big problem in health care. They were quite shocked.

That was the reaction when Sunny Hundle's wife opened the door to a patient transfer truck outside their home in Surrey, B.C., expecting her 83-year-old father-in-law, but instead a stranger. We find out that they have brought somebody else by mistake. elderly person and he was having trouble speaking. Turns out two patients with the same surname and first name initial both requested transports from Surrey Memorial Hospital. Hospital transfers, the provider involved, says Cruz did confirm that information but didn't verify the full first name and health number.

Laura Tamplin Watts with the senior's advocacy organization Can Age says this speaks to a broader issue. We do understand that overcrowding and understanding. is an endemic issue. But we need to make sure that you're talking to the patient. You're asking where they are, where they're going, and who they are. The provider has launched two reviews into its patient verification process. Fraser Health says both patients were ultimately returned to their homes safely. Jessica Chung, CBC News, Vancouver. Justice can be a long and intimidating process, especially for victims, witnesses, and people trying to turn their lives around. But in

Ottawa, help is arriving on four legs. CBC's David Fraser reports. In drug court, we give progress reports every week. In Ottawa's drug treatment court, participants like Michael Judge, stand in front of a judge each week talking openly about addiction, relapse, and recovery. Usually, they aren't alone. When we're standing in front of the judge,

the dogs will literally come up and lay at your feet. Judge has struggled with addiction. He says the dogs and their handlers change a courtroom's atmosphere. It totally breaks down that feeling of like a heavy anxiety that the courtroom kind of creates. The dogs are part of Just Pause, a therapy dog service working in Ottawa's courthouse. Handlers like Susan Howell bring their dogs into court. They sit beside witnesses of crimes, people who often are reliving the worst moments of their lives. There's no judgment. There's no expectation. There's no nothing.

He's just there for them. For police and prosecutors, the benefits go beyond emotional support. Alistair Donaghy investigates human trafficking. In court, he sees how fear and trauma can impact testimony and how the dogs can help witnesses give evidence. I think that they can recognize at times those stressful situations and just kind of take their mind off it and being able to focus on the questions on the difficult topics.

Nancy Truss and her golden retriever crush move through courtrooms offering brief, moments of comfort. The dogs don't care what you look like, what you sound like, what you feel like, they just want you to pet them and love them, and they love you right back. David Fraser, CBC News, Ottawa. And finally, it's the end of an era in Denmark. The National Postal Service is delivering its final letter today, bringing a 400-year-old tradition to a close. Post Nord is marking the moment with a campaign video, highlighting the letter. letter's role in Danish history. But the company says the decision reflects modern realities.

Letter volumes have dropped 90% since 2000, largely because of electronic communication. Parcel delivery will continue. As for the country's iconic red post boxes, they're being auctioned off with many fetching more than $400 apiece. That's the latest national and international news from World Report. For news anytime, go to cbcnews.com. I'm Sam Sampson. Thanks for listening. This is CBC News.