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5/21/2025, 12:38:29 PM

🇺🇸 🇬🇧󠁧󠁢󠁮󠁩󠁲󠁿 American R&B singer Chris Brown has been released on bail in an assault case on condition he pay a £5 million guarantee to a UK court. ⚖️ Under the terms of his bail, the judge said Brown, 36, can continue his scheduled international tour which is due to start on 8 June in Amsterdam. If he fails to return to the UK, where he has a series of concerts from 15 June, the £5 million will be forfeited. 📸 Valerie MACON

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5/21/2025, 10:22:49 AM

3️⃣ *Eighteen football pitches every minute* of *every hour of every day:* that is the *record extent of tropical rainforest destroyed last year* due in large measure to *fires fuelled by climate change,* researchers reported. 🐒 🌳 🔥 Tally it up and the *world lost 67,000 square kilometres* of *precious primary tropical forest,* an area *double the size of Belgium or Taiwan.* The *loss was 80% higher than in 2023,* the *Global Forest Watch think tank said* on Wednesday. _*"This level of forest destruction is completely unprecedented* in more than 20 years of data,"_ its *co-director Elizabeth Goldman said. _"This is a global red alert."_* *Fires are responsible for nearly half of these losses,* surpassing for the first time agriculture as the *main driver of destruction.* *Loss of tree cover in 2024* generated *more than three billion tonnes of CO2 pollution,* exceeding *India's emissions from fossil fuel use* in the same period.

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5/22/2025, 10:24:11 AM

2️⃣ President *Donald Trump ambushed South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa* by playing him a *video that he claimed proved genocide is being committed* against white people, *driving farmers to flee to the United States.* 🇺🇸 🇿🇦 The *televised stunt* on Wednesday *turned the usually staid diplomatic setting* of the Oval Office into a *stage for Trump's contention* that *white South African farmers* are being *forced off their land and killed.* With *reporters present,* Trump had staff *put the four-minute video on a large screen,* saying it *showed black South African politicians calling for the persecution* of white people. _*"You do allow them to take land,* and then when they take the land, *they kill the white farmer,* and *when they kill the white farmer, nothing happens to them,"*_ Trump said. South Africa's president *disputed Trump's claims,* and after *initially appearing stunned* stayed *calm,* *avoiding the kind of row* Trump had with *Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky* in February. *Ramaphosa denied that his country confiscates land* from white farmers under a *land expropriation law* signed in January that *aims to redress the historical inequalities* of apartheid rule.

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5/22/2025, 10:16:23 AM

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5/21/2025, 10:04:22 AM

1️⃣ *European countries* have *ramped up pressure on Israel* to *abandon* its *intensified campaign in Gaza* and let *more aid into the war-ravaged territory*, where rescuers said *new attacks killed at least 19 people.* 🇮🇱 🇵🇸 🇪🇺 *Israel said 93 trucks entered Gaza from Israel* on Tuesday but the *United Nations said the aid had been held up.* The *UN said on Monday* that it had been *cleared to send in aid for the first time* since Israel imposed a *total blockade on March 2,* sparking severe *shortages of food and medicine.* The *humanitarian crisis has prompted international anger,* with the *European Union saying* it would *review its trade cooperation deal with Israel* over the blockade. *Britain has suspended free-trade negotiations* with Israel, *summoned the Israeli ambassador* and said it was *imposing sanctions* on *settlers in the occupied West Bank.* The *MSF aid group* said the *amount of aid Israel has started to allow into Gaza* is *_"ridiculously inadequate"_* and is *_"a smokescreen to pretend the siege is over."_*

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5/22/2025, 10:19:40 AM

1️⃣ *Two Israeli embassy staffers* were *shot dead* outside a *Jewish museum in Washington* by a *gunman who shouted _"free Palestine,"_* authorities said, with *US, Israeli and other world leaders expressing outrage* over the killings. 🇺🇸 🇮🇱 🇵🇸 President *Donald Trump condemned the attack* that took place *late on Wednesday* in the heart of the US capital, saying: *_"These horrible D.C. killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end, NOW!"_* *Shots rang out on the sidewalk* outside the *Capital Jewish Museum in Washington* as the venue held a *social event for young professionals* and diplomatic staff. The *victims were a young couple* who *planned to get married,* the Israeli ambassador said. *Israel's foreign ministry identified the victims* as *Yaron Lischinsky* and *Sarah Lynn Milgrim.* *Lischinsky was a research assistant* at the Israeli embassy, while *Milgrim worked for its public diplomacy department,* according to their LinkedIn profiles.

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5/23/2025, 10:14:58 AM

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5/22/2025, 10:29:13 AM

3️⃣ *Tottenham* ended a *17-year trophy drought* with a scrambled goal by *Brennan Johnson* securing a *1-0 win over Manchester United* in the *Europa League final* in Bilbao. ⚽ 🏆 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🇪🇸 *Spurs,* who had *not won European silverware* since 1984, *qualified for next season's Champions League with the victory,* while failing to qualify represents a *severe financial set-back for United.* *Despite their triumph* in northern Spain, manager *Ange Postecoglou's future is still in doubt* following a *shambolic domestic campaign,* with *Spurs sitting in 17th place* in the *lower reaches of the Premier League table,* one below United. *Postecoglou* had *furiously insisted* he was *_"not a clown"_* *on the eve of the final* and had the *last laugh* on a *nerve-racking night at the San Mames* stadium, making good on his claim to *always win a trophy in his second season* in charge of a club.

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5/21/2025, 10:15:01 AM

2️⃣ US President *Donald Trump has announced new details* and initial funding for his *_"Golden Dome"_ missile shield system,* with geopolitical rival *China accusing Washington of undermining global stability.* 🇺🇸 *Trump on Tuesday* announced *$25 billion earmarked for the project,* which he said *could eventually cost a total of around $175 billion* and would be *operational in about three years.* 🇨🇳 *Beijing hit back* on Wednesday, *denouncing the _"Golden Dome"_ as a threat to international security* and accusing the United States of *fuelling an arms race.* *_"In the campaign I promised the American people I would build a cutting-edge missile defense shield,"_* Trump said at the White House on Tuesday. _"Today I am pleased to announce *we have officially selected architecture for this state-of-the-art system."*_ He said *US Space Force General Michael Guetlein will lead the effort,* and that *Canada has expressed interest in being part of it* as _"they want to have protection also."_

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5/21/2025, 9:55:48 AM

👋 Hello! Here are three of our top stories today.