Rebel spokesperson claims Uvira ‘fully liberated’ as offensive continues despite Trump-brokered peace deal

Rwanda-backed M23 rebels claimed to have captured a key eastern city in Democratic Republic of the Congo as they continued their march to control more of Africa’s second largest country.

In statements in English and French on Wednesday evening, a rebel spokesperson, Lawrence Kanyuka, claimed the city of Uvira had been “fully liberated, secured and under the control of the liberation forces”.

British government also rejects president’s claims on sovereignty over Falkland Islands as he suggests wanting to make Argentina a ‘world military power’

The British government has denied it is engaged in negotiations to lift a ban on selling arms to Argentina that has been in place since the Falklands war.

Javier Milei, the president of Argentina, told the Daily Telegraph his government had begun speaking to the UK about the restrictions.

Space agency is investigating after Maven abruptly stopped communicating to ground stations over the weekend

Nasa has lost contact with a spacecraft that has orbited Mars for more than a decade, though the US space agency said it was trying to re-establish a communications link.

Maven abruptly stopped communicating to ground stations over the weekend. Nasa said this week that the spacecraft had been working fine before it went behind the red planet. When it reappeared, there was only silence. “Telemetry showed all subsystems working normally before it orbited behind [Mars],” Nasa said in a statement.

• Egypt’s football body says Pride event would clash with values

• Iran raises objections to plans organised by local Seattle group

Egypt and Iran are calling on football’s governing body to intervene in the LGBTQ+ Pride celebration planned to coincide with their group stage match in Seattle at the 2026 World Cup.

Egypt’s Football Association (EFA) said on Tuesday it had sent a letter to Fifa urging them to prevent any LGBTQ+ Pride-related activities during the national team’s match against Iran next June.

After a ceasefire deal he brokered collapsed, Trump told a rally in Pennsylvania that he would ‘make a call’ to ‘stop a war’ between Thailand and Cambodia

US president Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he will make a call regarding reignited hostilities on the Thai-Cambodia border, where fighting has resumed less than two months after a ceasefire he brokered between the two nations collapsed.

Speaking at a rally in Pennsylvania, the US president reiterated his global peacemaking skills, proclaiming that “in ten months I ended eight wars”, before listing hostilities between Kosovo and Serbia, Pakistan and India, and Israel and Iran.

The 71-year-old performer’s son Micah has been arrested on suspicion of murder, Santa Monica police said

Jubilant Sykes, the Grammy-nominated opera and gospel singer, has died aged 71 after being stabbed to death at his home in California.

His 31-year-old son, Micah Sykes, was arrested on suspicion of murder, authorities said on Tuesday.

• Frederick Green allegedly shot NFL player in abdomen

• Boyd was on night out with Jets teammates

A Bronx man has been charged with attempted murder in the shooting of New York Jets player Kris Boyd, police announced Tuesday.

The New York police department said Frederick Green, 20, was charged late Monday night. Police had revealed Monday that a “person of interest” was in custody but didn’t name them. It was not immediately clear if Green has an attorney. He also faces additional charges of assault and criminal possession of a weapon, police said.

Boyd was shot in the abdomen just after 2am on 16 November in midtown Manhattan. Boyd, his friend and two other Jets’ players, Irvin Charles and Jamien Sherwood, had left a club and were approached by a group of men who made fun of their clothing, police told reporters at a news briefing.

French first lady was filmed calling women who had disrupted Paris theatre show by Ary Abittan ‘sales connes’

French celebrities and politicians on the left have expressed outrage after Brigitte Macron was filmed using a derogatory and sexist slur to describe feminist protesters at a theatre show in Paris.

A video filmed on Sunday showed France’s first lady in discussion backstage at the Folies Bergère theatre in Paris with Ary Abittan, a French actor and comedian previously accused of rape, before a performance he was about to give. The previous night, feminist campaigners had disrupted his show with shouts of: “Abittan, rapist!”

Case gives court opportunity to overturn 1935 precedent that shielded heads of independent agencies from removal

• US politics live – latest updates

The US supreme court on Monday appeared poised to back the Trump administration’s argument that the president should be able to fire independent board members that for almost a century have been protected from presidential interference.

The court heard arguments concerning the legality of Donald Trump’s firing of a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) member and appeared to be split down partisan lines in favor of a historic expansion of executive power, with the conservatives – including the sometimes swing vote of Justice Amy Coney Barrett – seeming to side with the administration.

• Every game will pause 22 minutes into each half

• Breaks will essentially split games into four “quarters”

• Fifa said the change is in the interest of player safety

Fifa says it will include three-minute hydration breaks in each half of every game at next year’s World Cup, not just those played in hot weather.

The referee will stop the game 22 minutes into each half for players to take drinks, regardless of the temperature, the host country – the United States, Canada or Mexico – or whether the stadium has a roof and air conditioning.

90,000 people advised to take shelter after 7.5-magnitude quake, with 20 injuries reported

A powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake has shaken north-eastern Japan, injuring more than 20 people and triggering a tsunami of up to 70cm in Pacific coast communities.

The earthquake and tsunami warnings prompted orders for about 90,000 residents to evacuate their homes, although the warnings were later downgraded to advisories.

• Texan billionaire also owned NHL’s Dallas Stars

• Hicks was unpopular co-owner of Liverpool

Texas billionaire Tom Hicks, who owned an Premier League football club and two Dallas-based professional sports teams, has died aged 79, his company said.

Hicks died surrounded by family in Dallas on Saturday, according to a statement released by Hicks Holdings LLC.

Escalation follows killing of Thai soldier and four Cambodian civilians weeks after Trump-brokered ceasefire

Thailand has launched airstrikes along its disputed border with Cambodia after both countries accused each other of breaching a ceasefire deal brokered by Donald Trump.

Four Cambodian civilians and at least one Thai soldier have been killed in the renewed clashes, which have forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes.

China’s ambassador summoned over alleged weekend incident that saw Chinese J-15 fighter aircraft twice train their radar on Japanese F-15s

The diplomatic dispute between Japan and China appeared to deepen over the weekend after Chinese military planes were accused of locking their radar on to Japanese fighter jets near the Okinawa islands.

Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, vowed to “respond calmly and resolutely” to the alleged incident, saying her country would take all possible measures to strengthen maritime and airspace surveillance and closely monitor Chinese military activities. The country’s foreign ministry also summoned China’s ambassador on Sunday. China’s government has roundly rejected Japan’s accusations, instead lodging its own counterprotests.

• Buffalo score three touchdowns in final five minutes

• Patrick Mahomes intercepted three times in defeat

• Indianapolis lose QB Daniel Jones to torn achilles

The Buffalo Bills (9-4) rallied from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Cincinnati Bengals (4-9). Josh Allen threw for three touchdowns and ran for one, and Christian Benford scored the go-ahead TD on a 63-yard interception return. Allen’s 40-yard TD rush broke his record for the longest by a Bills quarterback. Buffalo flipped the game with big plays on defense on a snowy afternoon. Benford and defensive end AJ Epenesa intercepted Joe Burrow on consecutive plays from scrimmage, leading to the Bills scoring three touchdowns in a span of 4:20 in the fourth quarter.

West African Ecowas forces sent to country after group of soldiers announced dissolution of government on state TV

West African troops were deployed to Benin on Sunday after what the country’s president described as an unsuccessful coup attempt.

Benin’s president, Patrice Talon, said on Sunday that the situation was “totally under control” after security forces acted to end a coup attempt by a group of soldiers who attacked state institutions.