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A fire and explosion at a military explosives facility near the Iranian capital Tehran has left at least two people dead, reports say.

The semi-official Iranian Students News Agency (Isna) said the fire was in an «explosive materials production unit».

A pro-opposition website reported a huge blast near the Parchin military site, south-east of the capital, but this was not confirmed.

Parchin has been linked to Iran’s controversial nuclear programme.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has not been given access to the complex since 2005.

Analysts say the IAEA suspects Iran of experimenting with explosives capable of triggering a nuclear weapon at Parchin.

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Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej is improving following an operation at a Bangkok hospital to remove his gallbladder, said palace officials.

The 86-year-old king is revered as a near-deity in Thailand and news of his latest illness has sparked concern across the country.

He is often seen as a unifying force in Thailand which has seen political deadlock in recent years.

A stand-off between the government and royalists ended in May with a coup.

Since then, coup leader General Prayuth Chan-ocha has been appointed prime minister, a move which was endorsed by the king.

Mr Prayuth visited the Siriraj Hospital on Monday to sign a book of support for the monarch, said AFP news agency.

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The next phase of the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has begun in the southern Indian Ocean.

A ship equipped with specialised sonar technology has arrived in a remote stretch of ocean where the plane is believed to have ended its flight.

The Boeing 777, with 239 people on board, went missing after it veered radically off course on 8 March.

Its whereabouts are still unknown despite a massive international air-and-sea search operation.

Australian officials believe the plane was flying on autopilot when it crashed.

Using satellite data, officials have concluded that the airliner ended its journey in the Indian Ocean, north-west of the Australian city of Perth.

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Hundreds of pro-democracy campaigners remain camped out on the streets of Hong Kong as a government deadline for them to leave passed without incident.

But their numbers have dwindled and civil servants have returned to work in the government’s headquarters.

The protesters are angry at China’s plans to vet candidates when Hong Kong holds elections in 2017.

They are demanding that the central government in Beijing allow a fully free vote for the territory’s leader.

On Monday evening, more than 1,000 protesters remained in three key locations – a far smaller crowd than over the weekend.

The BBC’s Juliana Liu in Hong Kong says protesters appear to have decided to beat a strategic, possibly temporary, retreat – partly out of sheer exhaustion, as the demonstrations entered their second week.

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US Vice-President Joe Biden has apologised to the United Arab Emirates after suggesting it had fuelled the rise of extremist groups in Syria.

The White House confirmed the call to the UAE, a day after Mr Biden offered a similar apology to Turkey.

The authorities in the UAE had earlier condemned his remarks to students at Harvard University last week.

The UAE is among several Arab states that have joined the US-led alliance against jihadists in Syria and Iraq.

The coalition has been bombing the extremist Islamic State (IS) group, which controls a broad swathe of territory in Iraq and Syria, in recent weeks.

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