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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...

Death toll from Gaza war surpasses 70,000: health ministry

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza on Saturday said more than 70,000 people have been killed since the war between Israel and Hamas erupted more than two years ago. The milestone comes as a fragile US-brokered ceasefire largely holds, but with both sides accusing the other of violating the terms of the deal. In a statement, Gaza’s health ministry said the death toll from the war had risen to 70,100. Also Read: Hezbollah open to new war with Israel The ministry said that since the ceasefire came into effect on October 10, 354 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli fire. Two bodies arrived at hospitals in the Gaza Strip in the past 48 hours, the ministry said, one of which had been recovered from beneath the rubble. Amnesty says Israel ‘still committing genocide’ in Gaza, despite truce It noted that the spike from the last death toll was due to the fact that the data relating to 299 bodies had been processed and approved by the authorities. Despite the ceasefire, the Palestinian territory remains in a deep humanitarian crisis. Read More: Dar dismisses reports Pakistan will join Gaza peacekeeping force to disarm Hamas At the start of the latest ceasefire, the group were holding 20 living hostages and 28 bodies of deceased captives. Hamas has since released all the living hostages and returned the remains of 26 dead hostages. In exchange, Israel has released nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in its custody and returned the bodies of hundreds of dead Palestinians. Malnourished children  UNICEF warns that nearly 9,300 children under five in Gaza were diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition in October, as winter conditions worsen disease outbreaks and heighten the risk of death. The agency says significant stocks of winter supplies remain stuck at border crossings and urges safe, rapid, and unrestricted delivery of humanitarian aid. Many displaced families continue to live in makeshift shelters without warm clothing, sanitation, or protection from cold and flooding, while sewage-contaminated waters further threaten public health.  

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

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