Two judges were killed in a shooting attack on Saturday at the Supreme Court building in Tehran, state media reported.

“This morning, a gunman infiltrated the Supreme Court in a planned act of assassination of two brave and experienced judges. The two judges were martyred in the act,” the judiciary’s Mizan Online website reported.

Mizan said the assailant “killed himself” after the shootings.

State news agency IRNA also reported that one other person was injured in the attack.

Mizan identified the two slain judges as Ali Razini and Mohammad Moghisseh, adding that they worked on cases “fighting crimes against national security, espionage and terrorism”.

Judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir said on state television later on Saturday that “a person armed with a handgun entered the room” of the two judges and shot them.

The motive behind their killing were not immediately clear, but Mizan said the assailant was not involved in any cases before the Supreme Court, without providing further details on the attacker’s identity.

Authorities said an investigation into the incident was launched, Mizan added.

Veteran judge Moghisseh, 68, was sanctioned in 2019 by the United States for having “overseen countless unfair trails, during which charges went unsubstantiated and evidence was disregarded”, according to the US Department of the Treasury.

Razini, 71, held several important positions in Iran’s judiciary and was previously targeted in a 1998 assassination attempt by assailants “who planted a magnetic bomb in his vehicle”, according to Mizan.

Though attacks targeting judges are rare, Iran has seen a number of shootings targeting high-profile figures over the past years.

In October, a Shiite Muslim preacher was shot dead in the southern city of Kazeroun after leading Friday prayers.

In April 2023, a powerful cleric identified as Abbas Ali Soleimani was also shot dead at a bank in the northern province of Mazandaran.

And in August 2005, renowned Iranian judge Hassan Moghaddas was murdered by two gunmen who climbed into his car in the middle of a busy business district in Tehran.

Two men convicted over his killing were publicly executed by hanging two years later.

Under growing pressure from his own party, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced he will step down and end his nine-year stretch as leader.

Trudeau said he would stay on in office until his Liberal Party can choose a new leader, and that parliament would be prorogued – or suspended – until 24 March.

“This country deserves a real choice in the next election and it has become clear to me that if I’m having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election,” he said during a press conference Monday.

Trudeau’s personal unpopularity with Canadians had become an increasing drag on his party’s fortunes in advance of federal elections later this year.

The 53-year-old prime minister faced growing calls to quit from inside his Liberal Party, which ramped up in December when deputy prime minister and long-time ally Chrystia Freeland abruptly resigned, citing Trudeau’s perceived failure to not take US President-elect Donald Trump’s threats of tariffs on imported Canadian goods seriously.

In a public resignation letter, she accused Trudeau of not doing enough to address the “grave challenge” posed by Trump’s proposals.

Trump has promised to impose a tax of 25% on imported Canadian goods – which economists have warned would significantly hurt Canada’s economy – unless the country takes steps to increase security on its shared border.

Trudeau said at the time he had hoped Freeland would have continued in her post, “but she chose otherwise.”

Under Trudeau, the Liberal Party has governed as a minority party with the support of several smaller parties, but the prime minister has struggled to keep the coalition together while trying to fight high inflation and housing prices.

Following Freeland’s resignation, Trudeau lost the support of parties that had previously helped keep the Liberals in power – the Quebec nationalist party, Bloc Quebecois, and the left-leaning New Democrats.

The largest opposition party, the Conservatives, have maintained a significant two-digit lead over the Liberals in polls for months – suggesting that if a general election were held today, the Liberals could be in for a significant defeat.

The Liberals have also lost a series of special elections in recent months, including in former party strongholds in Toronto and Montreal, underscoring the party’s political troubles.

Trudeau announced his intention to quit before his party’s national caucus meets on Wednesday.

Liberals will now choose a new leader to take the party into the next election. (BBC)

The United Kingdom is grappling with an intense flu outbreak that has seen over 5,000 patients hospitalised by the end of December.

The National Health Service on Friday reported an average of 4,469 flu-related hospitalisations daily in the week leading up to December 29, a nearly 3.5-fold increase compared to the same period in 2023.

On Christmas Day, 4,102 patients were in hospital with flu, rising sharply to 5,074 by December 29.

This marks a dramatic quadrupling of cases since November 29, when hospitalisations stood at 1,190.

Adding to the strain, hospitals are also dealing with high numbers of norovirus and Respiratory Syncytial Virus cases.

Critical care units reported an average of 211 flu patients per day, while norovirus and RSV cases remain significantly higher than last year.

The NHS has implemented measures to manage the surge, including adding 1,300 extra beds and improving coordination centres.

A record 15,094 patients were discharged on Christmas Eve, representing a 40 per cent increase over the previous week’s average.

According to BBC, the National Clinical Director for urgent and emergency care, Julian Redhead, highlighted the continued pressure from flu, COVID-19, RSV, and other viruses.

He urged people to take precautions and use NHS resources wisely, particularly as temperatures are expected to drop below freezing.

He said the figures show “the pressure from flu was nowhere near letting up before we headed into the new year, skyrocketing to over 5,000 cases a day in hospital as of the end of last week and rising at a very concerning rate”.

“With what looks like an extreme cold snap expected right across England ahead of the weekend, we know the low temperatures can be dangerous for those who are vulnerable or have respiratory conditions,” he added.