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“It was my day. I could have thrown it at a greater distance,” says Olympic gold medalist As the country celebrates a historic Olympic win, Pakistani javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem attributes his achievement to his confidence, stating it was “my day” at the Paris Olympics 2024 Thursday night. Speaking in an exclusive interview with Geo News, the victorious javelin thrower said: “It was my day. I could have thrown it at a greater distance.” Sharing the reason behind his win, the 27-year-old athlete, said he was “in the rhythm” and “hopeful” to clinch the gold medal, given how far he had launched the javelin. Nadeem, the first-ever individual athlete to win a gold medal in Pakistan’s history, expressed his wish to celebrate August 14 with the medal. The javelin ace — who registered a new Olympic record after fetching a 92.97m of the throw in the second round, enough for him to win the competition as others remained behind — made history at the mega sporting event and also brought home the first Olympic gold after 40 long years in any discipline. Pakistan had earlier won gold medals only in hockey, the last being in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. His throw also set the Olympic record which was previously with Norway’s Andreas Thorkildsen who registered at the 2008 Beijing Games. Following Nadeem’s historic win, Pakistan won an Olympic medal after the gap of 32 years. The last time Pakistan won an medal was in 1992 when the national hockey team clinched bronze by defeating the Netherlands 4-3 at the Barcelona Olympics. Source: https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1218134-video-confident-arshad-nadeem-attributes-olympic-victory-to-rhythm

Russia’s Lipetsk region has been struck by a “massive” Ukrainian drone attack, according to its governor, as Ukraine’s cross-border assault into Russia shows no sign of easing. At least nine people were wounded in the attack, which damaged energy infrastructure and prompted the temporary evacuation of residents in several areas, Lipetsk governor Igor Artamonov wrote Friday on Telegram. The reported strike comes after Russia accused Ukrainian troops of crossing the border into its Kursk region on Wednesday, which marked the first incursion of its kind from Ukraine and put pressure on Moscow in an area largely untroubled by more than two years of war. On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged the offensive for the first time, saying Moscow must “feel” the consequences of its brutal invasion of Ukraine. “Russia brought the war to our land, and it should feel what it has done,” Zelensky said in his evening address, without directly referencing the assault. Zelensky speaks in front an an F-16 fighter jet on Ukrainian Air Forces Day at an undisclosed location, August 4, 2024. Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images A Ukrainian source with knowledge of Friday’s attack on Lipetsk – which lies even deeper into Russian territory than Kursk – said it struck an airfield in the region, destroying an ammunition depot with more than 700 guided bombs, in a joint operation involving its military, security service and special operation forces. The source said dozens of fighter jets and helicopters were on the airfield at the time, and that a powerful explosion had led to a huge fire breaking out. Lipetsk’s emergency ministry also reported a fire at a military airfield in the region. “The enemy is hitting civilians in Kursk and Belgorod,” Artamonov wrote on Telegram. “Today [it] massively attacked our region with drones. We will not be frightened, we will not give in, but we are not going to risk the lives of our people either.” Russia’s defense ministry said Friday it intercepted and destroyed 75 “aircraft-type” drones, including 19 over Lipetsk, 26 over Belgorod, seven over Kursk, and several others over the regions of Bryansk, Voronezh, and Orel. It said it also destroyed five over Crimea and eight over the waters of the Black Sea. The reports show that Ukraine’s assault on Russia is not letting up. Although pro-Ukrainian groups of Russian nationals have mounted fleeting cross-border assaults on Russia, and Ukraine has repeatedly targeted the border region of Belgorod with airstrikes, this week’s incursion marks the first time that regular Ukrainian and special operations units have strode into Russian territory. The intention, according to US and Ukrainian officials, is partly to divert Russian forces away from other parts of the eastern front – from which they have been able to bombard Ukraine’s Kharkiv region – and partly to disrupt and demoralize Russian forces. US officials do not believe Ukraine intends to hold Russian territory for the long term. On Thursday, Kursk residents wrote on Telegram that “huge, furious battles are underway,” and recorded a video address to Russian President Vladimir Putin asking for his help. Russia ‘a legitimate target’ for Ukraine Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Zelensky, praised the Western response to the Ukrainian assault, saying “most quietly approve” of it. Previous Ukrainian attacks on Russia have made some Western officials jittery, with some arguing that Kyiv should fight only a defensive war to avoid provoking a potential Russian escalation. Podolyak said Thursday that the West’s response had been “absolutely calm, balanced, objective, and based on an understanding of the spirit of international law and the principles of defensive warfare.” Unlike Zelensky, Podolyak directly referenced “events in the Kursk region.” “Now, a significant part of the global community considers [Russia] a legitimate target for any operations and types of weapons,” he added. The European Union foreign affairs spokesperson Peter Stanno said Wednesday that Ukraine “has the legal right to defend itself, including striking an aggressor on its territory.” US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller was slightly more tight-lipped, saying Ukraine has to decide its own tactics. Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/08/09/europe/russia-lipetsk-kursk-ukraine-zelensky-intl/index.html

Source:https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/8/9/israels-war-on-gaza-live-mediators-push-ceasefire-as-israel-bombs-schools

Heavy rain hinders rescue efforts after landslides struck the hilly Wayanad district while people were sleeping. Landslides triggered by relentless monsoon rains have struck tea plantations in the southern Kerala state and killed at least 63 people, with at least 250 others rescued from mud and debris, officials said. The landslides hit near Meppadi in the district of Wayanad at about 2am on Tuesday (20:30 GMT on Monday), cutting off at least four villages, and rescue efforts were hampered by blocked roads in the disaster area. State revenue minister K Rajan’s office confirmed the death toll to reporters. District official D R Meghasree said another 125 people were in hospital for treatment. Wayanad is famed for the tea estates crisscrossing its hilly countryside which rely on a large pool of casual labourers for planting and harvest. Local media reported that most of the victims were tea estate workers. Television footage showed rescue workers making their way through mud and uprooted trees to reach those who had been stranded. Vehicles swept off the roads were seen stuck in a swollen river. Authorities mobilised helicopters to help with rescue efforts and the Indian Army was roped in to build a temporary bridge after landslides destroyed a main bridge that linked the affected area. “We are trying every way to rescue our people,” state Health Minister Veena George said. Images published by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) showed rescue crews trudging through mud to search for survivors and carry bodies on stretchers out of the area. “My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones and prayers with those injured,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a post on social media platform X, adding that families of victims would be given a compensation payment of $2,400 (200,000 rupees). Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, who until recently represented Wayanad in parliament, told lawmakers that the scope of the devastation was “heartbreaking”. “Our country has witnessed an alarming rise in landslides in recent years,” he added. “The need of the hour is a comprehensive action plan to address the growing frequency of natural calamities.” India’s meteorological agency is predicting more rain in the coming hours. Monsoon rains across the region from June to September offer respite from the summer heat and are crucial to replenishing water supplies.They are vital for agriculture and therefore the livelihoods of millions of farmers and food security for South Asia’s nearly two billion people. But they also bring destruction in the form of landslides and floods. The number of fatal floods and landslides has increased in recent years, and experts say climate change is exacerbating the problem. Intense monsoon storms battered India earlier this month, flooding parts of the financial capital Mumbai, while lightning in the eastern state of Bihar killed at least 10 people. Nearly 500 people were killed around Kerala in 2018 during the worst flooding to hit the state in almost a century. India’s worst landslide in recent decades was in 1998, when rockfall triggered by heavy monsoon rains killed at least 220 people and completely buried the tiny village of Malpa in the Himalayas. Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/7/30/several-feared-dead-hundreds-trapped-after-landslides-hit-indias-kerala

NDMA warns that current monsoon conditions could result in urban flooding in various regions In a devastating incident, 11 people of the same family died after heavy showers resulted in water entering the basement of their house situated in Kohat’s Old Bazid Khel area. Among the deceased are six children, three women, and two men, all belonging to the same family, the rescue officials said in a statement. They further stated that the sudden flow of rainwater into the house led to the of family members sleeping in the basement. According to sources, 11 bodies have been recovered so far, and they were initially searching for a missing girl, who was later found. Moreover, Faisal Karim Kundi, Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, expressed sorrow over the tragic loss of lives. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) issued a flood alert, warning that the current monsoon conditions could lead to flash floods and urban flooding in various regions. The authority emphasised that even a small amount of moving water can be dangerous, advising people to avoid crossing bridges during floods and to seek shelter in secure locations. Source: https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1214903-kohat-basement-flooding-claims-11-lives-leaves-family-devastated

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/7/30/israels-war-on-gaza-live-ceasefire-needed-to-stop-polio-who

A fire engulfed a high-rise building on Sharea Faisal near the Metropole Hotel in Karachi on Friday, leaving at least six people including rescue personnel unconscious. The blaze affected parts of the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th floors of the 16-storey building. The fire has been completely doused in a rescue operation carried out with the help of a snorkel and 12 fire tenders, including ones from the Pakistan Navy and Rescue 1122. Out of the six unconscious people, two are women and have been shifted to a hospital and are being provided with medical assistance. Meanwhile, the track from Jinnah Hospital to Metropole has been reopened for traffic after it was closed off due to blaze. Earlier, traffic police officials said that the traffic is being diverted from FTC to Kala Pul. Providing details of the rescue operation, the fire department has said that the blaze has been prevented from spreading further and that all 50 people in the building were evacuated. No one else is reported to be in the building, the fire officials had said. Earlier, the police, while hinting at the possibility of people being trapped inside the building, had said that the rescue operation was halted due to heavy smoke. This is the third notable fire incident reported in the metropolis in the ongoing month as on July 15, a blaze erupted in Karachi University’s Mass Communication Department after an air conditioner caught fire in its audio-visual room. The incident happened while students were attending a class all of whom were evacuated immediately. Prior to that, trading at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) was left suspended for two hours due to a blaze on the building’s fourth floor on July 8. Five fire tenders, one snorkel, and a browser were used in the operation to tackle the blaze, which was caused by a short circuit. Source: https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1213597-part-of-sharae-faisal-closed-due-to-fire-at-building

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/7/26/israel-war-on-gaza-live-wave-of-air-strikes-hit-southern-northern-cities

Much of the Philippine capital remained underwater Thursday after deadly Typhoon Gaemi worsened torrential monsoon rains that lashed the country, trapping thousands of people in rising flood waters and causing widespread damage. Continuous heavy rains, massive flooding and landslides across the Philippines killed at least 13 people and displaced more than 600,000, and an oil tanker capsized off the country’s coast during strong winds and high waves, Philippine authorities said Thursday. Unlike in Taiwan, the typhoon – known locally as Carina – didn’t make landfall in the Philippines, but its powerful outer bands dumped more than 300 mm (12 inches) of rain in the Manila region and parts of the main island Luzon, prompting officials to declare a “state of calamity” in the capital on Wednesday and evacuate tens of thousands of people. Video and images from Manila show people wading through chest-deep water and some clinging precariously to overhead power lines as major roads turned into rivers. Families with children wrapped in towels or plastic ponchos huddled together on dinghies as disaster response teams rescued them from flooded houses. Some parts of Metro Manila – home to 13 million people – have reported floods as high as one-story buildings, with some residents spotted waiting for rescue on roofs, according to the official Philippine News Agency. In Rizal province’s Cainta, east of the capital, floodwaters were still around waist-level on Thursday, according to local councilor Ben Ramirez Narag. “No one is prepared for this, even though we anticipated the typhoon, we could not have predicted the scale of rainfall,” he said. His team was delivering supplies to evacuation centers and assessing damage to infrastructure, he added. The southwest monsoon, supercharged by the typhoon, is still causing misery and destruction in the Philippines even after Gaemi moved north and made landfall in Taiwan early Thursday as the equivalent of a Category 3 major hurricane in the Atlantic. Rescuers assist a child getting off a boat along a flooded road following heavy rains brought by Typhoon Gaemi, in Marikina City, Metro Manila, Philippines, on July 24, 2024. Lisa Marie David/Reuters A road is seen flooded caused by Typhoon Gaemi and monsoon rains on July 24, 2024 in Quezon City. Ezra Acayan/Getty Images Rescuers evacuate residents from their flooded homes on July 24, 2024 in Quezon City. Ezra Acayan/Getty Images Heavy rainfall, gusty winds and a dangerous storm surge killed at least two people and injured nearly 300 others in Taiwan’s northeast, according to the Central Emergency Operations Center. Taiwan remained largely shut down for a second day Thursday with flights canceled and financial markets, schools and offices closed as heavy rainfall continued to pummel the island. Some mountainous regions have reported up to 1,219 mm (48 inches) of rain. A cargo ship carrying nine crew sank off Taiwan’s coast in rough seas on Thursday, according to the island’s fire agency. The Tanzanian registered vessel sank around 20 miles off the coast of the southern port city of Kaohsiung and was not equipped with a lifeboat. All the crew members “fell into the sea and were floating there” wearing life jackets, Hsiao Huan-chang, the head of the fire agency, said in a news conference. The island is expected to endure several more hours of torrential rain even as the typhoon’s center moved into the Taiwan Strait Thursday and headed toward China. The storm is expected to make landfall in China’s southeast coastal Fujian province, bringing more strong winds and downpours to a country already hit hard by weeks of extreme rain and deadly flooding. Taiwan’s Xindian river rises in New Taipei City as Typhoon Gaemi barrels over Taiwan on July 25, 2024. Sam Yeh/AFP/Getty Images Oil tanker capsizes The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Thursday said it was responding to an incident involving a tanker carrying over one million liters of industrial fuel oil that capsized off the coast of Bataan, west of Manila. PCG spokesperson CG Rear Adm. Armando Balilo said 16 crew members of the MT Terra Nova had been rescued with the search ongoing for one missing sailor. Images show the coast guard launching a rescue operation and the ship almost fully submerged in rough seas. Coast Guard aerial assets have been deployed to monitor an oil spill with “an estimated coverage of two nautical miles (2.3 miles) carried by a strong current,” it said. On land, the flooding has caused widespread disruption that forced authorities to close schools, businesses and cancel more than 150 flights on Thursday. Carlito Pagaduan, a resident of northern Ilocos Sur province, told CNN that heavy rains descended early Thursday and although floodwaters had not entered his home he feared they may lose power in the hard-to-reach area. “We’re trying to save battery,” he told CNN. “Due to strong winds, we don’t know when we’ll lose electricity.” He said his family has prepared for evacuation but will stay in their home for now. A handout photo released by the Philippine Coast Guard shows the tip of MT Terra Nova protruding in Manila Bay, Philippines, July 25, 2024. Philippine Coast Guard/Reuters Rescue services said Thursday they are continuing to pull trapped residents out of flooded buildings. Some homes could be seen completely inundated and vehicles submerged on flooded streets. Quezon City, north of Manila, was hit hard by the floods. The city government said in a post on X that more than 55,000 people, including nearly 16,000 families, had been evacuated and were sheltering in evacuation centers. The Philippine Red Cross has launched an emergency appeal for donations to help the thousands of Filipinos affected by the typhoon-enhanced monsoon. “Families and children are without water, electricity and basic services, whole others are stranded in knee- and chest- deep floods,” it said in a post on X. Dramatic footage posted by Philippine media Wednesday showed several barges colliding with a bridge in Pasig City as the Marikina River – a major artery flowing through the capital – overflowed. Pasig mayor Vico Sotto told local media Wednesday night that a man was rescued from one of the barges and brought to a nearby hospital for treatment. At