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Footage of alleged moment Sycamore Gap tree was felled shown to jurors in trial of two men

Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, each deny two counts of criminal damage to the tree and to Hadrian's Wall.

A coalition deal in Germany has paved the way for conservative leader Friedrich Merz to become the country’s 10th chancellor since World War II. As part of the deal, outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s party, the Social Democrats (SPD), will join with Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
Both parties in the agreement have ruled out governing with the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD).
TRUMP CELEBRATES CONSERVATIVE PARTY WIN IN GERMANY
CDU, along with its Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU), won Germany’s elections in February after garnering 28.6% of the vote, according to Germany’s international broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW).
The AfD secured 20.8% of the vote. Meanwhile, Scholz’s SPD won just 16.4% of the vote, their worst result since World War II, according to the Associated Press (AP).
The coalition agreement was put to a vote among the SPD’s more than 358,000 members via an online ballot. More than half, 56%, of the party..

Gen Assimi Goïta, who has seized power twice, had previously promised to hold elections.

Serial paedophile Richard Burrows jailed for 46 years for child sexual abuse offences

The 81-year-old former boarding school housemaster and Scout leader obtained positions of authority and systematically abused boys from the 1960s to the mid-1990s.

Mastermind behind ‘eunuch maker’ extreme body modification ring Marius Gustavson loses sentence appeal

Norwegian Marius Gustavson made almost £300,000 through his website, where users paid to watch procedures including castrations.

Eyewitness
Eyewitness
Why many people in Vietnam now have a positive view of Americans 50 years after the war

Half a century after the end of America's attempt to stop South Vietnam falling to the communist regime in the north, there are celebrations of national pride and victory against the odds – but many in the country will be hoping its now good relationship with the US can endure.
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Vietnamese performers participate in a parade in Ho Chi Minh City. Pic: AP

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Celebrations in Ho Chi Minh City. Pic: AP

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Nguyen Ngoc Xuan Mai at the celebrations

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Vietnamese performers in Ho Chi Minh City participate in a parade celebrating the 50th anniversary of the end of the war. Pic: AP

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A US navy helicopter prepares to evacuate the last remaining staff at the US embassy in Saigon (now renamed Ho Chi Minh City) as America pulls out of South Vietnam on 30 April 1975. Pic: AP

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A US Air Force C-123 sprays defoliants on dense jungle in south Vi..

Ukraine’s military said Russia “increased the intensity” of its fighting during what Secretary of State Marco Rubio called “a very critical week” for peace talks.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that there have been 177 combat clashes over the past day, including 91 airstrikes “at the positions of Ukrainian units and settlements.” The fighting comes despite Russian President Vladimir Putin recently announcing a three-day ceasefire next month to mark the 80th anniversary of World War II Victory Day.
“Despite loud statements of ceasefire readiness for the May holidays, the occupiers have significantly increased the intensity of the fighting,” Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, the head of Ukraine’s military, said in a statement Wednesday.
During a Sunday morning appearance on NBC's “Meet the Press,” Rubio said a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia is “still not there,” but noted that “a very critical week” lies ahead in that effort.
RUBIO TAKES SOMBER TONE..

Ukraine’s military said Russia “increased the intensity” of its fighting during what Secretary of State Marco Rubio called “a very critical week” for peace talks.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that there have been 177 combat clashes over the past day, including 91 airstrikes “at the positions of Ukrainian units and settlements.” The fighting comes despite Russian President Vladimir Putin recently announcing a three-day ceasefire next month to mark the 80th anniversary of World War II Victory Day.
“Despite loud statements of ceasefire readiness for the May holidays, the occupiers have significantly increased the intensity of the fighting,” Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, the head of Ukraine’s military, said in a statement Wednesday.
During a Sunday morning appearance on NBC's “Meet the Press,” Rubio said a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia is “still not there,” but noted that “a very critical week” lies ahead in that effort.
RUBIO TAKES SOMBER TONE..

Taiwanese are warned against traveling to Somalia or Somaliland for their own safety before the ban is lifted.

It is unclear how they died – the police had referred to a possible kidnapping but now suggest an accident.