DRC army says it stopped attempted coup involving three US citizens

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Coup leader killed and 50 people, including Americans, arrested after men reportedly attacked presidency in capital Kinshasa

The leader of an attempted coup on Sunday in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been killed and some 50 people including three American citizens arrested, a spokesperson for the Central African country’s army told Reuters.

Gunfire rang out around 4am in the capital Kinshasa, a Reuters reporter said. Armed men attacked the presidency in the city centre, according to spokesperson Sylvain Ekenge.

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Americans arrested in Congo amid accusations of coup attempt – The Washington Post

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  1. Americans arrested in Congo amid accusations of coup attempt  The Washington Post
  2. American Citizens Arrested for Alleged Congo Coup Attempt, Ambassador Says  The Daily Beast
  3. Congolese Army Says It Foiled a Coup Involving Americans  The New York Times
  4. DRC army says it stopped attempted coup involving US citizens  Reuters
  5. Three reported killed as DR Congo military averts ‘attempted coup’  Al Jazeera English
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Marco Rubio says he would not accept 2024 election results ‘if it’s unfair’

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Republican senator’s comments come as he is considered among Trump’s top candidates for vice-president

The Republican Florida senator Marco Rubio said on Sunday he would not commit to accepting the 2024 presidential election results, insisting that “if it’s unfair” his party will “go to court and point out the fact that states are not following their own election laws”.

Rubio’s statements on Meet the Press come as he is considered among former president Donald Trump’s top candidates for vice-president. Trump has continuously said falsely that the 2020 election was stolen.

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Helicopter crash comes as Iran already faces huge challenges

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A country already in political transition could soon be forced to replace more than one leader

The Iranian helicopter crash comes at a time when the country, faced by unprecedented external challenges, was already bracing itself for a change in regime with the expected demise in the next few years of its 85-year-old supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

In the country’s hydra-headed leadership where power is spread in often opaque ways between clerics, politicians and army, it is the supreme leader, and not the president, that is ultimately decisive.

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Islamic State claims responsibility for deadly tourist attack in Afghanistan

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Taliban says four arrested over attack at Bamiyan heritage site that killed three Spanish visitors and an Afghan

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for an attack by gunmen in Afghanistan’s central Bamiyan province that killed three Spanish tourists on Friday.

The Taliban’s interior ministry spokesperson, Abdul Mateen Qani, said on Sunday that four people had been arrested over the attack. One Afghan citizen was also killed and four foreigners and three Afghans were injured in the attack, he added.

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Next government must make hard university funding decisions, fast

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Labour sees no electoral gain in flagging sector’s funding crisis – but losses cannot be sustained much longer

Why are universities in such financial dire straits? According to one sector leader, it’s because they are losing money on two of their three income streams, while their third source is under attack by the government.

“We are already in a state where teaching home students operates at a loss, doing research operates at a loss, and the international student market has been diminished by the government’s rhetoric and policy. And those are the three areas where universities get their income,” said Rachel Hewitt, chief executive of the MillionPlus association of modern universities that includes Bath Spa, Wolverhampton and Sunderland.

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New rules for NSW polluters to require ‘credible’ plan for mitigating climate impact

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Exclusive: EPA chief executive says ‘foundational’ rule changes put climate impacts ‘front and centre' of planning process

New coalmines, gas fields and other big sources of greenhouse gases in New South Wales will need to provide more rigorous plans to minimise pollution and reduce carbon emissions before they are approved, under new rules imposed on Monday.

Revised assessment requirements and guidelines from the Environment Protection Authority mark a “foundational” tightening of rules for firms planning new projects or modifying existing ones that emit at least 25,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent a year, said Tony Chappel, the NSW EPA chief executive.

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UN humanitarian chief delivers ‘apocalyptic’ warning over Gaza aid – The Guardian

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  1. UN humanitarian chief delivers ‘apocalyptic’ warning over Gaza aid  The Guardian
  2. Israel launches strikes across Gaza as U.S. envoy meets Netanyahu  Reuters
  3. Satellite Images Show Widening Destruction Amid Israeli Push Toward Central Rafah  The New York Times
  4. IDF: Tank forces demolish 100 Hamas terror sites, finds 10 tunnel shafts in Rafah  The Times of Israel
  5. IDF Deploys Another Brigade in Rafah, Estimates 800,000 Palestinians Left the City - Israel News  Haaretz
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Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs admits he beat ex-girlfriend Cassie: ‘I take full responsibility’

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Music mogul says in video statement that he is ‘truly sorry’ after CNN released clip of him attacking Cassie in hotel hallway in 2016

The rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs admitted in a video apology that he punched and kicked his ex-girlfriend in 2016 in the hallway of a hotel after CNN released footage of the attack, saying he was “truly sorry” and his actions were “inexcusable”.

“I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I was disgusted then when I did it. I’m disgusted now,” he said in the video statement, posted Sunday on Instagram and Facebook.

In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit Women’s Aid. In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. Other international helplines may be found via www.befrienders.org

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Ex-ministers warn UK universities will go bust without higher fees or funding

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Exclusive: Vice-chancellors suggest fee rise of £2,000 to £3,500 a year, but others say that is ‘politically impossible’

Vice-chancellors and former ministers are warning that the cash crisis facing universities is so serious that the next government will have to urgently raise tuition fees or increase funding to avoid bankruptcies within two years.

They said the state of university finances was more dire than revealed in last week’s report by the Office for Students, which forecast 40% of England’s universities would end this year in the red.

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Starmer tries to curry favour with electorate through Sunday Brunch tandoori

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Labour leader’s appearance on chatshow reflects politicians’ more general move away from hard news outlets to cosier, more niche settings

When Keir Starmer appeared on Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch to cook his favourite tandoori salmon recipe, host Tim Lovejoy had a question: “What on earth are you doing here? You should be on the BBC with Laura Kuenssberg.”

“This is so much nicer!” replied the Labour leader.

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Dignity, joy, a raised fist: Biden renews pitch to Black voters at Morehouse commencement

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Gaza protesters wore keffiyehs as Biden tried to assure the crowd: ‘Your voices should be heard, I promise you I hear them’

It was, in the end, an artful compromise.

Joe Biden got to speak uninterrupted and renew his pitch to Black voters. Protesters got to make their point by wearing keffiyehs or raising a fist. Even the skies were merciful, hinting at but never quite unleashing rain.

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European far-right leaders gather ahead of EU elections

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Le Pen, Orbán and Meloni rail against socialism and ‘massive illegal migration’ at ‘great patriotic convention’ in Madrid

International far-right leaders, including France’s Marine Le Pen, Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and Argentina’s Javier Milei, came together in Madrid to rail against socialism and “massive illegal migration” three weeks before hard-right parties are expected to see a surge in support in June’s European elections.

Sunday’s “great patriotic convention”, which was organised by Spain’s far-right Vox party, offered conservatives and far-right populists a chance to congregate and take aim at a variety of familiar targets, from the welfare state to “wokeness” and the agendas of Brussels-based bureaucrats.

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First Black astronaut candidate, now 90, reaches space in Blue Origin flight

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Ex-air force captain Ed Dwight, passed over by Nasa in 1961, now oldest person to reach edge of space with Jeff Bezo’s space firm

Sixty-one years since he was selected but ultimately passed over to become the first Black astronaut, Ed Dwight finally reached space in a Blue Origin rocket – and set a different record.

At 10.37am on Sunday, Jeff Bezos’s space company launched its NS-25 mission from west Texas, marking Blue Origin’s first crewed spaceflight since 2022 when its New Shepard rocket was grounded due to a mid-flight failure.

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