The Tokyo Olympics officially kicked off on Friday with the opening ceremony but the competition has officially began as well and fittingly it was Japanese team that registered the first victory of the olympic games.

Olympics Softball: Japan beat Australia 8-1 opening match

In his first television interview since the assassination attempt on him, Mohamad Nasheed, the current speaker of the Maldives Parliament (People's Majlis) has expressed worries over the extremist elements in his country.

Maldives's Mohamed Nasheed expresses worries over extremist elements, Chinese debt

Head of the WHO Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has backed the staging of the Tokyo Olympics. She told International Olympic Committee (IOC) members that the Games should go ahead to show what can be done with the correct COVID safeguards.

WHO Chief Dr Tedros backs Tokyo games amid pandemic

France and Britain have agreed to deploy more police and invest in detection technology on the French coast to try to stop boats carrying illegal migrants from reaching British shores.

France & United Kingdom's bid to crackdown on illegal migrants

On Friday the 16th of July the daughter of Afghanistan's ambassador to Pakistan was abducted she was held for hours and tortured the hospital medical report says she suffered blows to her head she had rope marks on her wrists and legs and was badly beaten up. See how Afghanistan's Ex-minister Hosna Jalil reacted over the whole incident.

'Pakistan is not committed to human rights', says Afghan's Ex-Minister Hosna Jalil

Residents and business owners in a town badly hit by the record flooding in Germany struggled to pick up the pieces after their livelihoods - from old books to wine - were swept away or caked in sludge. The floods - Germany's worst natural disaster in more than half a century - turned houses into rubble and cut power and communications in some regions.

Antique books and vintage wine - livelihoods ruined by the floods

One of the sports breaking new ground for India at these Olympic games is table tennis. four paddlers from the country have managed to qualify for the first time and among them is Manika Batra, who rocketed into the national spotlight with a historic medal haul at the 2018 commonwealth games. WION sports' Rahul Dalal speaks to the Indian star ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.

WION Sports: Buildup to Tokyo 2020 with Manika Batra

The Maldives parliament speaker and former president Mohamed Nasheed spoke to WION's principal diplomatic correspondent Siddhant Sibal in his first interview after surviving an assassination attempt in May. Watch this exclusive interview.

Maldives former Prez Mohamed Nasheed first interview since assassination bid

Along with poaching Taiwan's formal diplomatic partners, China has used its diplomatic and economic heft to prevent or shrink unofficial relations between the island and foreign nations.

Taiwan to open representative office in Lithuania

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit India next, becoming the 2nd Biden Administration official to visit Delhi this year. United States Secretary of Defense, General (Retd.) Lloyd J. Austin earlier this year visited New Delhi and held talks with his counterpart and called on top Indian leadership including PM Modi.

US Secretary of state Blinken to visit India next week

The spacecraft will carry Bezos, his brother Mark, 82-year-old former pilot Wally Funk and 18-year-old teen Oliver Daeman beyond the Karman Line. Lift-off is at 8:00 am Central Time (1300 GMT) from a remote facility in the west Texas desert called Launch Site One, some 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of the nearest town, Van Horn.

World's richest man Jeff Bezos, Blue Origin all set for space debut

As the tensions between China and US are accelerating, the smaller nations in the Asian region also increasing their arms arsenal radically. According to defence experts, 'The bilateral spar between the US and China has sparked an arms race which is driven by a lot of concerns'.

China-US tensions spark Asian arms race

While Ben & Jerry’s products will not be sold in the settlements, the company said it will stay in Israel through a different arrangement. But doing so will be difficult.

Ben & Jerry’s to stop sales in West Bank, East Jerusalem

At a height of 21.16 metres, 3.5 meters higher than the previous record holder, the world's new tallest sandcastle was unveiled in Denmark last week. The sandcastle built in Blokhus in northwest Denmark broke the Guinness World record on Friday (July 2), previously held by a sandcastle made in Germany in 2019 which was 17.66 metres.

World's tallest sand sculpture built with COVID-19 theme

Former South African president Jacob Zuma, whose jailing earlier this month triggered riots, is expected to appear virtually on Monday for the latest hearing in a trial related to an arms deal corruption case.

Trial of South Africa’s ex-leader Jacob Zuma on arms deal corruption charges

Europe has a world-leading warning system that issued regular alerts for days before floods engulfed entire villages. But at least 200 people still died in Germany and Belgium, in floods that came quickly and forcefully.

Deadly floods inundated parts of Europe

Goraya, who now lives in exile in Netherlands, was allegedly kidnapped and tortured by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate in 2017, along with four other prominent activists critical of human rights abuses by the Pakistan Army.

Conspiracy to kill anti-Pak army blogger

Brief clashes were reported between Israeli Police and Palestinians at the Al-Aqsa mosque on Sunday. No serious injuries were reported and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett ordered the Police to continue allowing jews to ascend temple mount on the first day of Tisha B'Av.

Palestinian worshipers clash with Israeli police at Temple mount

The Taliban is getting stronger each day. The threat to India cannot be downplayed. With hostile neighbours already intent on breaching borders, the Taliban could act as a force multiplier. On Gravitas Plus, WION's Palki Sharma tells you what India's options are.

Gravitas Plus | Taliban's Rise: The threat to India

Heavy downpours overnight have caused severe water logging in India's financial capital Mumbai. Apart from disrupting local trains and traffic, the rains have also caused a wall collapse resulting in deaths of over 15 people.

India: Heavy downpour causes water logging

Two athletes have tested COVID-19 positive in the Tokyo Olympic Village after a team colleague was also infected raising fears of a cluster just days before the opening ceremony.

Coronavirus Update: Two athletes test positive in Athletes' village in Tokyo

Thousands of people protested across France against the government’s latest measures to push people to get vaccinated and curb rising infections by the delta variant of the Coronavirus.

COVID-19: Thousands protest in France against health pass

Although rain has stopped in the worst-affected areas of Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, storms and downpours have persisted in other parts of Western Europe.

Over 180 killed in Europe's flood catastrophe

Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani on Sunday recalled all Afghan diplomats from Islamabad, Pakistan, following the kidnapping and assault on an envoy's daughter in the Pakistani capital.

News Alert: Afghanistan recalls its diplomats from Islamabad after kidnapping incident

The Chinese company that is working on the Dasu hydropower project in Pakistan has decided to suspend the work at the site. Watch this report to know more.

Chinese firm suspends hydropower project operations

The organisers did not specify whether the two infected athletes staying at the village will be quarantined elsewhere.

Tokyo Olympic 2020: 2 athletes test positive for Covid-19

When the United States thought that it had managed to defeat the coronavirus, the moving seven day average of the new number of cases has now increased pretty much on a day-to-day basis for more than a week and all this has been blamed on the fastest spreading strain of COVID-19.

New York: COVID cases rise as Delta variant spreads

It is another pandemic-era Haj for Muslims across the world. But this one is not without historic changes.

The West Asia Post: Another Haj under the shadow of Covid-19

Representatives of the Afghan Government and the Taliban insurgents will be meeting in Doha today for the second day to resume talks for peace following continued fighting in the region.

Doha Peace Talks: Afghan, Taliban negotiators hold talks in Doha

Sunak tweeted: “Whilst the test and trace pilot is fairly restrictive, allowing only essential government business, I recognise that even the sense that the rules aren’t the same for everyone is wrong. To that end I’ll be self-isolating as normal and not taking part in the pilot.”

UK PM Boris Johnson, FM Rishi Sunak exposed to COVID

According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Silsila Alikhil has been admitted to a hospital and is under medical care after being released from captivity.

Afghan envoy's daughter abducted, tortured in Islamabad

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