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Record-breaking heat wave grips western United States

A record early heat wave striking the western United States on Friday is a one-in-500-year event and almost certainly the result of human-caused climate change, experts say. The heat has been toppling records this week and is set to continue into the weekend across western cities while expanding eastward. Four locations in the desert area near the California-Arizona border registered 44.4 degrees Celsius on Friday, a US national record for March. The readings were recorded near Yuma and Martinez Lake in Arizona, and around Winterhaven and Ogilby in California. Read: Intense heatwave grips US, triggering record-breaking temperatures Already, 65 cities have recorded new March highs, ranging from Arizona and California to Idaho, Weather.com reported. Death Valley reached 40°C on Thursday, while typically cool and foggy San Francisco tied its historic March record at 29°C. In Colorado, skiers were seen hitting the slopes shirtless. The National Weather Service issued extreme heat warni...
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Turkey moving swiftly toward final step on Sweden's NATO bid

Turkey is expected to send the final instrument of ratification for Sweden's NATO membership to Washington within days, now that President Tayyip Erdogan signed it off, in a move Ankara hopes will clear the way to its purchase of US F-16 fighter jets. A source familiar with the issue said the document could be deposited as early as Friday, marking the last step in a process that began in 2022. After 20 months of delay, Turkey moved rapidly this week to ratify the Swedish bid, with parliamentary ratification coming on Tuesday and President Tayyip Erdogan signing off on the approval on Thursday. As per formal NATO rules, the final document in the process - the instrument of ratification - needs to be deposited in the U.S. State Department archives in Washington. Read Turkey approves Sweden's NATO membership bid after 20-month delay Turkey's backing, long seen as the main obstacle in securing Sweden's accession into the western military alliance, leaves Hungary as the only ally in the military alliance yet to ratify the Swedish bid. Both Erdogan and members of the US Congress had previously linked Ankara's final approval of Sweden to the $20 billion sale of Lockheed Martin (LMT.N), opens new tab F-16s and modernization kits to Turkey. Shortly after the Turkish parliament's vote, US President Joe Biden sent a letter to leaders of key Capitol Hill committees to inform them of his intention to begin the formal notification process for the F-16 sale once Ankara completes Sweden's NATO accession process. The US Ambassador to Turkey told Reuters on Thursday that he expected Washington to take rapid steps toward US Congress endorsment of the sale, with the State Department sending the formal notification to Congress immediately.  

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At least 32 miners dead after bridge fails at cobalt site in southeast DR Congo

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