A centuries-old tree that served as an historic symbol of Sierra Leone has fallen during a storm in the capital, Freetown. The government says the loss of the 70-metre Cotton Tree is comparable to the fire that damaged Paris's Notre Dame cathedral in 2019.

Freetown

Sierra Leone’s ‘national symbol’ destroyed

Sierra Leone's national symbol, now nothing more than a stump. After 400 years, Freetown's cotton tree was finally felled by a storm on Wednesday. It's a loss that the country's president has described as leaving a gap in people's hearts. According to legend, slaves who won their freedom fighting on the British side of the American War of Independence, prayed under the tree when they arrived in West Africa and founded Freetown. It's since adorned banknotes and stamps, and has become a place of prayer for the residents of Sierra Leone's capital. In recent decades, it's towered over a busy roundabout near the National Museum, the Central Post Office and the country's highest court. The remains of the 70-metre kapok tree will now be taken to Sierra Leone's National Museum to be preserved and remembered. Alex Beard, Al Jazeera.

Dozens of prospective jurors were dismissed promptly on the first day of Donald Trump's hush money trial. Lawyers have begun the difficult process of selecting 12 jurors and six alternates who can be fair and impartial in this historic case.

New York

Trump hush money trial picks zero jurors on first day

A former volunteer firefighter who deliberately lit several bushfires in the Adelaide Hills has been sentenced to more than a decade in jail. 64-year-old Gregory John McGannon lit fires on a day of "extreme heat" three years ago destroying multiple homes.

Volunteer firefighter sentenced to prison for lighting fires

Israel faced pressure from allies on Monday to show restraint and avoid an escalation of conflict in the Middle East as it considered how to respond to Iran's weekend missile and drone attack.

Tel Aviv-Yafo

Israel-Gaza War

Allies urge Israel to show restraint after Iranian attack

More than 2 million of the 8.6 million displaced people in Sudan have crossed to neighboring countries since fighting started a year ago. Following the influx of Sudanese, the U.N. Refugee Agency has sounded the alarm, calling for more humanitarian assistance to address the needs of people fleeing the war.

Khartoum

U.N. sounds alarm over exodus of Sudan refugees

Two of Tesla Inc.'s top executives have left the carmaker in the midst of its latest round of job cuts, according to people familiar with the matter. Tesla will cut over 10% of its workforce, translating to about 14,000 staff globally.

Austin

Musk's Tesla to cut workforce as two key executives leave

After multiple delays, former U.S. President Donald Trump's first criminal trial is underway with jury selection as he faces 34 felony counts in a New York court for falsifying business records. The hush money case will be the first of four potential criminal trials for Trump.

Manhattan

U.S. Presidential Election

Trump's N.Y. criminal trial begins in historic first for ex-president

The director of Beijing's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, Xia Baolong, said Hong Kong should "tightly hold" onto the bottom line of national security to safeguard development, in a speech coming weeks after the enactment of sweeping new security laws.

Hong Kong Island

China says Hong Kong must hold national security line

The UN Security Council has held an emergency meeting following Iran’s retaliatory attack on Israel. Iran accuses Israel of violating international law by striking its diplomatic mission in Damascus two weeks ago. The UN Secretary-General has called for de-escalation ans said the World cannot afford another war in the Middle East.

U.N. chief urges restraint after Iran attacks Israel

Israel was quick to pledge retaliation against Iran’s unprecedented missile and drone attack over the weekend, but it didn’t say when or what the response would be. The threat had many Western nations saying it would not support Israel in a wider war.

Jerusalem

Israel vows retaliation after Iran attack

Six people were killed and 12 others injured in a mass stabbing at a mall in Sydney, Australia, before a police officer fatally shot the attacker. The officer, a security guard and other shoppers are being hailed as heroes for stopping the rampage.

Council of the City of Sydney

Police identify man who fatally stabbed six in Sydney mall

All six people who died in Saturday's attack in Bondi, NSW were much-loved members of the community. Among them were a young mother, a security guard working his first shift, and a local surf lifesaver.

Bondi

Victims of Bondi stabbing attack remembered

Joe Biden has reaffirmed what he calls America's 'ironclad' commitment to Israel's security. Iran is warning that any American threat that harms its interests will be met with a reciprocal response.

Washington

Ukraine Invasion

'We do not seek war with Iran' says U.S

Israel’s war cabinet met to discuss possible responses to a massive overnight Iranian drone and missile attack, with US President Joe Biden urging restraint as the Middle East edged closer to full-blown regional war.

Israel weighs response to attack by Iran

Iranian officials have claimed 'successful hits' on Israeli military targets in an operation dubbed by Tehran as 'True Promise'. Iranians celebrated in the streets as images of the attack ran across state TV. It remains unclear whether Israel will return fire.

Tehran

Iranians celebrate in the streets after Israel attack

The United Nations Security Council is holding an emergency meeting on April 14, after Israel requested that the council condemn Iran’s attack on Israel and designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps as a “terrorist” organisation.

United Nations holds emergency meeting after Iran attacks

Iran has launched hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel in its first direct attack on Israeli territory, in a retaliatory strike that wounded a seven-year-old girl and caused minor damage at an Israeli military facility.

Iran launches direct attack on Israel in major escalation

Police have confirmed 40-year-old Joel Cauchi as the man behind a deadly stabbing spree at a Sydney shopping centre that claimed six lives and injured a dozen more. Authorities confirming the incident was mental health related.

Attacker identified in Bondi stabbing spree

NSW detectives are investigating the life, background and associates of a man who killed six people during a stabbing attack at a busy Sydney shopping centre. The 40-year-old was shot dead by a senior police officer inside Westfield Bondi Junction.

Police say Bondi stabbing spree 'not terrorism'

One person was killed and 10 others were injured in the southern Turkish province of Antalya after a cable car cabin collided with a broken pole, the interior ministry has confirmed.

Antalya

One dead, dozens stranded in Turkey cable car collision

Iran's Revolutionary Guards seized a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, after Tehran said it could close the crucial shipping route and warned it would retaliate for a suspected Israeli strike on its Syria consulate.

Iran threatens to close Strait of Hormuz, seizes vessel

Japanese baseball great Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter was released on bond after appearing in court on a bank fraud charge accusing him of stealing $16 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers star.

Los Angeles

Ohtani's ex-interpreter released on $25,000 bond

Stunning artworks have been uncovered in a new excavation at Pompeii, the ancient Roman city buried in an eruption in AD79. Experts say the frescos are among the finest to be found in the ruins of the ancient site.

Breathtaking new paintings uncovered in Pompeii

Six people have been killed and several are in a critical condition, including a baby, after stabbings at a shopping centre near Bondi Beach in Sydney. Police said the attacker, believed to be a 40-year-old man, acted alone and was shot dead by an officer who confronted him on her own.

At least six killed after Sydney stabbing spree

A new study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows there is no evidence to suggest COVID vaccines cause sudden cardiac death or other fatal heart problems in young people.

Study finds no link between COVID vaccines and heart issues

The U.S. believes major missile or drone strikes by Iran or its proxies against military and government targets in Israel are 'imminent' in what would mark a significant widening of the six-month-old conflict in Gaza.

U.S. warns of 'imminent' attack by Iran

As Russia has intensified its air campaign against Ukraine in the last month, hammering its energy infrastructure and urban areas, no major city has been harder hit than Kharkiv. But the drying up of Western military support in recent months has left the city dangerously unprotected.

Kharkiv

Kharkiv left exposed by 'catastrophic' air defense shortage

Scientists have found that coral bleaching is occurring in deeper waters, including in The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, despite its extensive protection.

San Francisco

Climate Crisis

Coral bleaching found in deeper water, scientist says

Addressing members of the House Appropriations Committee, F.B.I. director Christopher Wray put the agency's budget request in stark terms. Wray's warning comes in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, and the subsequent Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip. He said those overseas events could embolden small groups or a lone wolf targeting America.

F.B.I. director warns of potential terrorist attack against U.S.

US President Joe Biden made "ironclad" defence pledges to the Philippines and Japan as he hosted Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Washington. The tri-lateral summit came amid growing tensions with China, whose actions the three leaders described as "dangerous and aggressive".

Biden vows 'ironclad' defence of Philippines, Japan

Israel was on alert after its arch foe Iran threatened reprisals over a strike in Syria this month that killed two Iranian generals, and as the war against Hamas ground on in Gaza. Days after Israel strengthened its air defences and paused leave for combat units, the United States also warned of the risk of an attack by Iran or its allied groups at a time Middle East tensions have soared.