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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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World toasts end of 2025 amid Trump tariffs, Gaza truce

People around the world toasted the end of 2025, bidding farewell to one of the hottest years on record, packed with Trump tariffs, a Gaza truce and vain hopes for peace in Ukraine. New Year celebrations took on a sombre tone in Sydney as revellers held a minute of silence for victims of the Bondi Beach shooting before fireworks lit up the harbour city at the stroke of midnight. Heavily armed police patrolled among hundreds of thousands of people lining the Sydney shore barely two weeks after a father and son allegedly opened fire on a Jewish festival at Bondi Beach, killing 15 people in Australia's deadliest mass shooting for almost 30 years. Dancers perform on stage as people celebrate the New Year 2026 at the Juyongguan Great Wall, Beijing, on January 1, 2026. Photo: AFP Parties paused for a minute of silence an hour before midnight Wednesday, with the famed Sydney Harbour Bridge bathed in white light to symbolise peace. "Right now, the joy that we usually feel at the start of a new year is tempered by the sadness of the old," Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a video message. At midnight, nine tonnes of fireworks were set off to welcome the New Year. Fireworks light up the midnight sky over the Chao Phraya River during 2026 New Year's Day celebrations in Bangkok on January 1, 2026. Photo: AFP "The fireworks have always been on my bucket list and I'm so happy to be here," said Susana Suisuikli, an English tourist. Pacific nations including Kiribati and New Zealand were the first to see in 2026, with Seoul and Tokyo following Sydney in celebrations that will stretch to glitzy New York and the Hogmanay festival on the chilly streets of Scotland. More than two million people are expected to pack Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana Beach for what authorities have called the world's biggest New Year's Eve party. In Hong Kong, a major New Year fireworks display planned for Victoria Harbour was cancelled to pay homage to 161 people killed in a fire in November that engulfed several apartment blocks. Truce and tariffs For many it has been a year of stress and excitement, even without the wars that have claimed tens of thousands of lives. Labubu dolls became a worldwide craze in 2025, thieves plundered the Louvre in a daring heist, and K-pop heartthrobs BTS made their long-awaited return. Laser lights illuminate the midnight sky over the Lotte World Tower, South Korea's tallest building in Seoul during New Year s Day celebrations on January 1, 2026. Photo: AFP The world lost pioneering zoologist Jane Goodall, the Vatican chose a new pope and the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk laid bare America's deep political divisions. Donald Trump returned as US president in January, launching a tariff blitz that sent global markets into meltdown. Trump used his Truth Social platform to lash out at his sliding approval ratings ahead of midterm elections to be held in November. https://ift.tt/ltyVxEc "Isn't it nice to have a strong border, No Inflation, a powerful military, and great economy??? Happy New Year!" he wrote. Many expect tough times to continue in 2026. "The economic situation is also very dire, and I'm afraid I'll be left without income," said Ines Rodriguez, 50, a merchant in Mexico City. After two years of war that left much of the Gaza Strip in ruins, US pressure helped land a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in October. No-one is sure how long the break in hostilities will hold, with each side accusing the other of flagrant violations. Children warm by the fire next to a sand sculpture by artist Yazed Abo Jarad of the coming year as Displaced Palestinians prepare to usher in the New Year in Deir El-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on December 30, 2025. Beginning in October, a fragile ceasefire has so far halted two years of war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip despite both sides trading accusations of truce violations. Photo: AFP "We bid farewell to 2025 with deep sorrow and grief," said Gaza City resident Shireen Al-Kayali. "We lost a lot of people and our possessions. We lived a difficult and harsh life, displaced from one city to another, under bombardment and in terror." World leaders including China's Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin exchanged New Year greetings. Fireworks light up the midnight sky during 2026 New Year's Day celebrations in Jakarta on January 1, 2026. Photo: AFP Xi said he was "ready to maintain close exchanges with Putin to jointly push for continuous new progress in bilateral ties", state news agency Xinhua said. The war in Ukraine -- sparked by Russia's invasion in February 2022 -- is grinding towards its fourth anniversary with no ceasefire in sight despite a renewed burst of diplomacy. Sports, space and AI The coming 12 months promise to be full of sports, space and questions over artificial intelligence. NASA's Artemis II mission, backed by tech titan Elon Musk, will launch a crewed spacecraft to circle the moon during a 10-day flight, more than 50 years since the last Apollo lunar mission. After years of unbridled enthusiasm, AI is facing scrutiny and nervous investors are questioning whether the boom might now resemble a market bubble. Athletes will gather in Italy in February for the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics. And for a few weeks in June and July, 48 nations will dispute the biggest football World Cup in history in the United States, Mexico and Canada. It could be a last chance to see the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi on the global stage.

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

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