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USA top medal table after winning thrilling last gold

Published

2 years ago

2024/08/12

Priyan

Team USA have finished top of the medal table at four Olympics in a row (BBC)

The United States snatched top spot in the 2024 Olympic medal table as their women’s basketball team earned a thrilling victory over hosts France to win the final gold on offer in Paris.

The fearsome US team were in danger of one of the all-time Olympic upsets but won 67-66 to take gold for a record-breaking eighth Games in a row, meaning the US moved level with China’s tally of 40 golds in the medal table.

But with the American team having won 44 silvers to China’s 27 – they have also won 126 medals overall to China’s 91 – they top the medal table for the fourth time in a row.

In a repeat match-up of Saturday’s men’s final that was won by the star-studded US at France’s expense, Team USA trailed 53-51 with five minutes to play.

The occasion provided one last taste of the atmosphere of wild home support in the French capital.

LeBron James, the NBA superstar and men’s gold medallist for the US, was courtside, while French President Emmanuel Macron was in the stands in support of the hosts.

The US edged back in front and in a dramatic finale, with the lead at 67-64, Gabby Williams sank a buzzer-beater for France, but it was judged to have come from inches inside the three-point line and that meant the USA won by a point.

“It feels even better to have to gut the game out like that, really have to find it, really have to string together stops and really work together, so I’m proud of this group,” Kahleah Copper said.

The Americans were jubilant at the finish, having won the title for a 10th time, and the French were crestfallen, but a crushed atmosphere soon turned to cheers of support.

As the silver medals were awarded to France, the home crowd burst into a rousing final rendition of La Marseillaise.

The result may have been agonising for France but the game was a fitting finale for these Olympics.

From Leon Marchand in the pool to Keely Hodgkinson on the athletics track and Simone Biles in the vault, 329 medal events have been contested across a thrilling 16 days in the French capital.

Paris 2024 will officially draw to an end with the closing ceremony.

The stature of the figures at courtside matched this remarkable finale.

French NBA star and silver medallist Victor Wembanyama, plus judo gold medallist Teddy Riner, roared on their Olympic team-mates.

US legend Scottie Pippen, World Cup-winning footballer Megan Rapinoe and three of the daughters of the late, great Kobe Bryant were also courtside.

The American team, unsurprisingly, were huge favourites. All 12 of their squad had won an Olympic or World Cup title and the US women had not lost a match at the Games since Barcelona 1992.

The French were silver medallists 12 years ago in London and took bronze in Tokyo, but they have never won basketball gold. They defied their past to push the Americans all the way.

Each of their point-scoring shots resulted in huge roars, while boos greeted the American free throws.

Crucially, with three seconds on the clock, Copper held her nerve amid the distracting noise to sink both of her free throws, meaning Williams’ last-gasp effort was in vain.

“Listen, great players show up whenever their name is called. I think the story of my career is just me staying ready. I’m that player,” said Copper, whose side also trailed by 10 points in the third quarter.

A’ja Wilson finished with a game-high 21 points, while gold for Diana Taurasi has made her the first athlete to win six basketball golds.

There was also an emotional medal for Brittney Griner, who was in tears as the American anthem played, in her first international tournament since leaving a Russian prison in a high profile prisoner exchange in 2022.

“Having a chance to play for gold, represent my country, for what my country did for me. “This one will definitely be more dear to my heart than the other ones, for sure.

LeBron James offers support to the US women's team

(BBC)

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Trump says US will ‘obliterate’ Iran’s power plants if Strait of Hormuz not open before 48-hour deadline

Published

11 hours ago

2026/03/22

Priyan

President Donald Trump says the US will “obliterate” Iranian power plants if the Strait of Hormuz is not open within 48 hours – the waterway is vital for global oil shipping.

Iran warns it will retaliate against all US-linked energy infrastructure in the Middle East if its power plants are attacked.

Trump also says he has achieved his war aims “weeks ahead of schedule”, adding: “Iran wants to make a deal. I don’t”

More than 100 people have been injured after strikes on southern Israel. The target appears to have been a nuclear facility 13km away from the city of Dimona

Meanwhile, Israel says it launched a wave of strikes on the Iranian capital. It follows an attack on Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility, Tehran says

An attempted Iranian strike on the joint UK-US base on Diego Gracia happened late on Thursday night into Friday morning, the BBC understands. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper says the UK won’t be drawn into wider conflict

[BBC]

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Trump at a crossroad in US-Israel war with Iran

Published

16 hours ago

2026/03/22

Priyan

Three weeks after the joint US-Israeli war against Iran began, the conflict has reached a fuzzy state of mixed messages and uncertainty, with Donald Trump’s public comments often seemingly contradicted by realities on the ground.

The war is “very complete, pretty much”, Trump has said, but new American ground forces – including a Marine expeditionary unit – are moving into the region. It is “winding down”, but US and Israeli bombing and missile strikes on Iranian targets continue unabated.

Opening the Strait of Hormuz, the geographic choke point through which 20% of the world’s oil export travels, is a “simple military manoeuvre”, but for now only Iranian-approved ships are transiting the waters.

The Iranian military is “gone”, but drones and missiles are still striking targets in the region and targets have extended as far as the joint US-UK base on Diego Garcia.

In a Friday evening Truth Social post published while he was flying from Washington to his Florida resort for the weekend, the US president provided a numbered list of American military objectives for the Iran war, which he said the US was “getting really close” to fulfilling.

The items, comprising his most detailed statement on the subject since the war began, included degrading or destroying Iran’s military, its defence infrastructure and its nuclear weapons programme, as well as protecting American allies in the region.

Not included was the goal of securing the Strait of Hormuz, which Trump said should be the responsibility of other nations that are more dependent on oil exports from the Gulf. The president has frequently noted that the US is a net exporter of energy and does not rely on oil from the Middle East – although such a view glosses over the global nature of the fossil fuel market, where price fluctuations directly impact the price at American gas pumps.

Trump’s Truth Social post also made no call for Iranian regime change. Gone are any references to approving the nation’s next leader or “unconditional surrender”, which Trump had insisted on in the early days of the war.

In Trump’s latest outline of his objectives, it is possible that the US could end its operation with Iran’s current anti-American leadership in power, its oil exports still flowing and its ability to assert some measure of control over the Strait of Hormuz intact.

If that is an unappealing resolution to a war that the president and his aides have said began with the 1979 Iran Revolution and that they would finish, there is an alternative route that involves the US ground forces presently on the way to the Middle East region.

Just over a week ago, US media reported that a Marine expeditionary unit, with about 2,500 combat soldiers and supporting ships and aircraft, had been dispatched from Japan to the Middle East, which it should reach in the coming days. Another Marine force of similar size recently departed its base in California with its arrival expected in mid-April.

Military analysts have suggested that the US could be planning to capture Kharg Island. an 3-sq-km (8-sq-mile) slice of land that contains Iran’s primary oil export terminal. Doing so could, in theory, cut off the nation’s oil shipments, depriving the nation of much-needed revenue and forcing it to make greater concessions to the Americans in exchange for an end to hostilities.

Trump on Friday said that he wasn’t sending ground troops to Iran, but added: “If I were, I certainly wouldn’t tell you”. Clarity, it seems, is not his intention.

The threat of such a move prompted Iran’s state media to report on Saturday that any attack on Kharg Island would lead Iran to cause “insecurity” in the Red Sea, another key global shipping transit point, and “set fire” to energy facilities throughout the region.

Iran’s warning underscores the dangers that would accompany a US escalation that further exposes American military forces to Iranian reprisals.

Earlier this week, US media reported that the Trump administration was preparing to ask Congress for $200bn (£150bn) in emergency funding for the ongoing Iranian military operation. Such a request would suggest that, far from winding down, the White House is preparing for a long, expensive fight.

The initial reaction from Congress, including from Trump’s Republican allies, was cautious at best.

“We’re talking about boots on the ground. We’re talking about that kind of extended activity,” said Republican Congressman Chip Roy of Texas.

“They have got a whole lot more briefing and a whole lot more explaining to do on how we’re going to pay for it, and what’s the mission here.”

The so-called “fog of war” doesn’t just cloud the thinking of military planners, it also affects the perception of politicians and the public.

The Iran war, it seems, is at a pivot. But which direction it takes from here is a puzzle.

(BBC)

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Heat Index likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and North-western provinces and in Anuradhapura, Monaragala, Mannar and Vavuniya districts

Published

16 hours ago

2026/03/22

Priyan

Warm Weather Advisory
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre of the Department of Meteorology
at 3.30 p.m. on 21 March 2026, valid for 22 March 2026.

Heat index, the temperature felt on human body is likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and North-western provinces and in
Anuradhapura, Monaragala, Mannar and Vavuniya districts.

The Heat Index Forecast is calculated by using relative humidity and maximum temperature and this is the condition that is felt on your body. This is not the forecast of maximum temperature. It is generated by the Department of Meteorology for the next day period and prepared by using global numerical weather prediction model data.

Effect of the heat index on human body is mentioned in the above table and it is prepared on the advice of the Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medical Services.

ACTION REQUIRED
Job sites: Stay hydrated and takes breaks in the shade as often as possible.
Indoors: Check up on the elderly and the sick.
Vehicles: Never leave children unattended.
Outdoors: Limit strenuous outdoor activities, find shade and stay hydrated.
Dress: Wear lightweight and white or light-colored clothing.

Note:
In addition, please refer to advisories issued by the Disaster Preparedness & Response Division, Ministry of Health in this regard as well. For further clarifications please contact 011-7446491.