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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...

At least three dead as Indonesian parliament building torched amid protests

At least three people were killed and five others were injured in Indonesia after protesters set fire to a regional parliament building, authorities said on Saturday, marking the first major test for President Prabowo Subianto’s new government. The country’s disaster management agency said in a statement that the cause of the fatalities remained unclear following the blaze on Friday evening in Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi province. Acording to the Antara news agency, the dead victims allegedly had been trapped in the burning building. The disaster agency said two of the injuries resulted from people jumping out of the building. Protests erupted in Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, this week over lawmakers’ salaries and escalated on Friday after a police armored vehicle fatally struck Affan Kurniawan, a ride-hailing driver. Protestors marched to the headquarters of the police mobile brigade in central Jakarta early Friday and some sought to storm the compound. Read: Indonesia's Tjen downs 24th seed Kudermetova in early upset  Prabowo, who took office in October last year, visited the home of the driver late on Friday, offering condolences to the victims parents and committing to oversee the investigation into his death. The capital's police chief, Asep Edi Suheri, confirmed that during the clashes on Thursday an armoured police vehicle hit and killed Kurniawan, who worked for ride-shring services Gojek and Grab. The police chief went on to apologise to the victims family. The protests on Friday led to the military being deployed in some areas, as people from all walks of life descended on the country's parliament and police headquarters in Jakarta on Friday. Protestors were reported throwing rocks at the gates while chanting "Killer! Killer!" As demonstrations continued in major cities of Bandung and Yogyakarta, local media reported isolated looting in Jakarta and damage to several transportation facilities on Friday.  

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

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