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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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In pictures: Christmas celebrated around the world

Christmas is marked across the world with a rich blend of faith, tradition and local culture. From midnight Mass and candlelit prayers to vibrant parades, decorations and family gatherings, the holiday reflects both its Christian roots and the unique customs of the societies that celebrate it. These images capture how Christmas unfolds in different countries, shaped by history, culture and community spirit. West Bank Christian scouts march during Christmas Eve celebrations at the Manger Square outside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. PHOTO: AFP Scouts marched in Bethlehem on Wednesday, as the historic West Bank city emerged from the shadow of the Gaza genocide to celebrate its first festive Christmas in more than two years. Throughout the genocide that intensified in October 2023, a sombre tone had marked Christmases in the biblical birthplace of Jesus Christ. United States Nativity scene set in Dedham, Massachusetts, with baby Jesus missing from it, a placquered saying "ICE was here". PHOTO: AFP A nativity scene traditionally depicts the birth of Christ in Bethlehem, but this one in Dedham, a small town in Massachusetts, doesn't show the baby. Instead, a board referring to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency's presence here highlights a critique of mass deportations under the Trump administration, pointing to the irony of the revered figure of Christ being rejected from the United States on account of being an immigrant. Vatican City PHOTO: AFP Pope Leo said in a Christmas Eve sermon on Wednesday that the story of Jesus being born in a stable because there was no room at an inn should remind Christians that refusing to help the poor and strangers today is tantamount to rejecting God himself. Pope Leo XIV arrives to celebrate Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, December 24, 2025. PHOTO: REUTERS India Santa brings joy to the onlookers at Chennai's VGP Marine Kingdom, a walk-through underwater aquarium. PHOTO: AFP Santa on a motorcycle at a Christmas rally for children with disabilities in Bengaluru, India's fourth-largest city. PHOTO: AFP Syria Security has tightened in Damascus during the festivities. A soldier can be seen patrolling a Christian neighbourhood here. PHOTO: AFP Brazil Santa brings Christmas closer to the remote communities in the Amazon rainforest, carrying gifts for the children in one of the communities, Careiro da Varzea. PHOTO: AFP Gautemala This Santa is a firefighter by day in the Guatemalan capital, but today he is going to great lengths to deliver gifts to children. PHOTO: AFP Cuba Unlike most Christmas scenes depicting winter, Christmas in Havana is filled with sunlight reflecting off of inflatable snowmen and reindeer. PHOTO: AFP South Africa Not only do people decorate trees in Johannesburg, but their cars as well, as a form of aesthetic irony, but also an expression of joy materialising in non-traditional ways. PHOTO: AFP Finland Christmas in Rovaniemi, a Finnish city of 65,000 inhabitants, only a few kilometres south of the Arctic Circle, depicts a classic Christmas scene with the snow, the reindeer, and the warmth of festivities. PHOTO: AFP

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