Israel subjecting Palestinian detainees to torture and abuse: UN report
The report says ‘thousands’ of Palestinians detained arbitrarily by Israel during the war in Gaza. Israel has detained thousands of Palestinians during the war in Gaza and stands accused of numerous cases of torture, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights says in a new report. The 23-page report, released on Wednesday, noted allegations of widespread abuse of prisoners being held incommunicado in arbitrary, prolonged detention. It was published during a tense standoff in Israel as far-right politicians and demonstrators opposed an investigation into alleged sexual abuse of detainees by soldiers. Based primarily on interviews with released detainees and other victims from October 7 to June 30, the UN report found that since the war began, “thousands of Palestinians” including medical staff, have been “taken from Gaza to Israel, usually shackled and blindfolded”. As of the end of June, Israel’s prison service held more than 9,400 “security detainees”, the report said, adding that those detained have been “held in secret, without being given a reason for their detention” and without a lawyer. “At least 53 Palestinian detainees” are known to have died in Israeli detention facilities, it said. It also detailed “allegations of torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, including sexual abuse of women and men”. ‘Violation’ The report was released during an investigation by the Israeli army, which is questioning nine soldiers over allegations of “substantial abuse” of a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman detention camp in the Negev desert in southern Israel. Last week, eight Palestinian prisoners who were released by the Israeli army said they experienced torture during their time in Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank. Former Palestinian detainees told the UN that they were held in “cage-like facilities, stripped naked for prolonged periods, wearing only diapers”. The documented abuse included food, sleep and water deprivation and being burned with cigarettes. “Some detainees said dogs were released on them, and others said they were subjected to waterboarding, or that their hands were tied and they were suspended from the ceiling. Some women and men also spoke of sexual and gender-based violence,” the report said. Palestinian detainees held in Israel are mostly men and boys who are residents, doctors or patients as well as captured Palestinian fighters, it added. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said the testimonies gathered by his office and “other entities indicate a range of appalling acts … in flagrant violation of international human rights law and international humanitarian law”. The Israeli military rarely explains its reasons for detaining Palestinians in Gaza although it some cases it has alleged affiliation with Palestinian armed groups or their political wings, the report added. Israel also fails to provide information regarding the fate of detainees while the Red Cross has been denied access to prisons and other facilities. Adblock test (Why?)
Ukraine says it has repelled massive Russian drone attack
Russia launches one of the biggest aerial barrages in months but Ukraine says no critical infrastructure hit. Ukraine’s air force says it has repelled one of the largest aerial barrages launched by Russia on its territory in months. The air force said on Wednesday that it shot down all the incoming projectiles – 89 drones and one missile – launched by Russia overnight, the attack mainly targeting the central region of Kyiv. Kyiv’s military administration said more than 40 of the drones were downed over the capital, Kyiv, and its outskirts. There was some damage to buildings as a result of falling debris, but no casualties were reported. “Today Ukrainian air defence withstood and repelled a massive attack by enemy drones,” the air force said in a statement, identifying them as “Shahed-131/136 strike drones”. Kyiv and most of central and eastern Ukraine were under air raid alerts from 20:00 GMT on Tuesday. Serhiy Popko, the head of Kyiv’s military administration, said the latest drone attack was the seventh conducted against the city in July. About 11,500 residents sheltered for safety in metro stations overnight as the drones came in several waves from “all possible directions”, the city authorities said. Russia fires drones and missiles at Ukraine on an almost nightly basis. It says it is targeting military and energy facilities, but attacks on residential areas are frequent. Ukraine accuses Russia of directly targeting civilians, which Moscow denies. Nuclear drills Russia’s Ministry of Defence on Wednesday announced that the country has begun the third stage of drills to practise the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons. Russia held the first stage of the drills in May and ally Belarus joined the second stage in June. Since sending thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said Russia could use nuclear weapons to defend itself in extreme situations. Russia says the United States and its European allies are pushing the world to the brink of nuclear confrontation by giving Ukraine billions of dollars worth of weapons, some of which are being launched into Russian territory. The deputy spokesman for Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Andrei Nastasin, said on Wednesday that an ammunition factory being built by German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall in Ukraine would be considered a “legitimate target” for the Russian military. Ukraine’s military said on Wednesday that it had struck a weapons and military equipment storage facility in Russia’s Kursk region overnight. The Kursk region’s acting governor said on Telegram that air defences had destroyed four Ukrainian missiles over two districts. Adblock test (Why?)
Life of defiance: Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas political boss, killed
Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh has been assassinated in Tehran at the age of 62 in what the Palestinian group has described as “a treacherous Zionist raid on his residence”. Haniyeh, who briefly served as prime minister of the Palestinian Authority’s government in 2006, was killed early on Wednesday along with a bodyguard when the house he was staying in was targeted, nearly 10 months into Israel’s war on Gaza. Haniyeh was in Tehran to attend the inauguration of Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, on Tuesday. The Hamas leader had emerged as a major force in the Palestinian liberation movement and, like his colleagues and generations of Palestinian politicians and activists, had long been in Israel’s crosshairs. While Israel has not formally claimed responsibility for the assassination, an Israeli minister celebrated Haniyeh’s death in a post on X. Haniyeh was born in the Shati refugee camp on the coast of Gaza City to parents displaced from their town of Asqalan (now known as Ashkelon) when Israel was formed in 1948. As a young man, Haniyeh was a student activist at the Islamic University in Gaza City, where he studied Arabic literature. While at university in 1983, he joined the Islamic Student Bloc, an organisation widely seen as the forerunner of Hamas. As a Palestinian uprising broke out in December 1987 against the Israeli occupation, known as the first Intifada, Haniyeh was among the youth taking part in protests. That was also the year that Hamas was founded — with Haniyeh among its younger members. Israel imprisoned Haniyeh at least three times. After serving his longest sentence, a three-year stint, he was deported to Lebanon in 1992 along with hundreds of other members of Hamas, including senior Hamas leaders Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi and Mahmoud Zahhar, and members of other Palestinian resistance groups. But Haniyeh returned to Gaza a year later after the signing of the first Oslo Accord and became a close confidant of Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, Hamas’s spiritual leader and founder. After Israel released Yassin from prison in 1997, Haniyeh was appointed as his assistant. That high profile meant that Haniyeh became a target for assassination. Israel had by then established a long pattern of killing Palestinian leaders over the years. Together, Haniyeh and Yassin survived an Israeli assassination attempt in September 2003 by narrowly escaping a building in Gaza City seconds before it was hit with an Israeli air strike. However, months later, Yassin was killed by Israeli forces as he left a mosque after dawn prayers. The following month, al-Rantisi was assassinated in an Israeli helicopter missile strike on Gaza City. “After 2003, Haniyeh gained a lot of popularity among Hamas people simply because of his stance, position and media appearances,” Hassan Barrari, analyst and professor at Qatar University, told Al Jazeera. “He remained a prominent figure until his assassination.” Haniyeh’s stature within the Palestinian movement grew further in 2006 when Hamas ran in the Palestine legislative elections for the first time since its establishment. In a shock result, the group won the most votes, delivering a blow to Fatah and making Haniyeh the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority (PA). The outcome caught the United States, which had called for the elections, unprepared. Then-New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton said in leaked recordings after the elections: “I do not think we should have pushed for an election in the Palestinian territories. I think that was a big mistake. And if we were going to push for an election, then we should have made sure that we did something to determine who was going to win.” Unhappy over Hamas’s central role in Palestinian governance, Western governments halted aid to the PA, placing the body under severe financial strain. The US and many other Western governments view Hamas as a “terrorist” organisation. Amid Western pressure and heightened tensions between Hamas and Fatah, PA President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed Haniyeh and dissolved his government. This resulted in an independent Hamas-led government in Gaza in 2007, headed by Haniyeh. As Hamas took over governance, Israel, in cooperation with neighbouring Egypt, imposed a siege on the enclave, which has continued for 17 years. “This siege should not break our will and should not turn this conflict into an internal Palestinian conflict, and that conflict should be against the parties that imposed the siege against the Palestinian people,” Haniyeh said in a news briefing in 2006. Appointed as head of Hamas’s political bureau in 2017, replacing Khaled Meshal, Haniyeh led Hamas’s diplomacy from a number of locations, including Turkey and the Qatari capital, Doha, serving as a negotiator in ceasefire talks or engaging in talks with Iran, a key supporter of Palestinian liberation. “Haniyeh was a political figure and a pragmatic one,” Palestinian political analyst Nour Odeh told Al Jazeera. “He was known for maintaining very positive relations with Palestinian leaders from all factions.” After the October 7 attacks on southern Israel, the government of Israel made it clear that senior Hamas leaders were in effect on its hit list. Many of Haniyeh’s close relatives have been killed in Gaza since then. In April, three of his sons were killed in an Israeli air strike that struck their vehicle. Four of his grandchildren were also killed – three girls and a boy. In all, Haniyeh said, 60 of his relatives have been killed in the past 10 months. “All our people and all the families of Gaza residents have paid a heavy price with the blood of their children, and I am one of them,” he said in an interview. His assassination marks the latest killing of a senior Hamas leader. Most recently this year, senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri was killed in an Israeli drone strike in Beirut. But Barrari said Israeli assassinations have “never finished Hamas” in the past and wouldn’t now. “It’s not like Israel is fighting a mafia. These people represent Palestinian resistance,” he said. Adblock test (Why?)
Son of Mexican drug lord El Chapo pleads not guilty in US court
US prosecutors lay out five-count indictment against Joaquin Guzman Lopez after arrest operation in Texas last week. Joaquin Guzman Lopez, the son of convicted Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, has pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking and other charges in a United States court. Guzman Lopez, dressed in an orange jumpsuit, stood in a Chicago courtroom on Tuesday with his feet shackled as federal prosecutors detailed a five-count indictment that also includes weapons charges. US District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman ordered him detained pending trial. The judge did not set a trial date and scheduled the next court date in the case for September 30. The hearing came just days after US authorities arrested Guzman Lopez and Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, a longtime member of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, in the El Paso, Texas area last week, according to the US Department of Justice. Many of the details of the arrest operation remain murky, however. Last week, US officials familiar with the situation said Guzman Lopez duped Zambada into boarding a propeller plane in Mexico by saying they were going to scope out real estate in the country’s north. Instead, the plane brought both men to the US, where Guzman Lopez had planned to surrender, but Zambada had not. Zambada’s lawyer, Frank Perez, disputed the version of events offered by US officials. Perez said that Guzman Lopez “forcibly kidnapped” Zambada and brought him to the US against his will. Zambada pleaded not guilty to drug charges last week in El Paso federal court. Mexico has opened an investigation into the events leading to the two men’s arrest. Their capture fuelled theories about how US authorities pulled it off and prompted Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to take the unusual step of issuing a public appeal to drug cartels not to fight each other. “Those who are engaged in these illegal activities know they resolve nothing with confrontations,” Lopez Obrador said on Monday, adding “They would go out and risk the lives of other human beings, and why make families suffer?” An image provided by the US State Department shows Guzman Lopez [US State Department via AP Photo] There were no immediate reports of increased violence over the weekend. But the Sinaloa cartel has been riven for years by fighting between followers of Zambada and rivals who follow El Chapo’s sons, known collectively as Los Chapitos, or “The Little Chapos”. Their father was convicted of drug charges in New York in 2019 and is serving a life sentence in a maximum security prison. US Drug Enforcement Administration chief Anne Milgram said Zambada’s arrest “strikes at the heart of the cartel that is responsible for the majority of drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamine, killing Americans from coast to coast”. Adblock test (Why?)
Israel strikes Beirut: What we know so far
Israel says the attack targeted Hezbollah commander in response to the Golan Heights attack on Saturday. Israel has carried out an air raid in Beirut, killing at least one person in a move that could raise tensions between the country and the Lebanese group Hezbollah. Israel’s military has said the attack on Tuesday targeted Hezbollah commander Muhsin Shukr, whose condition was not immediately clear. The attack comes three days after an attack on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, which Israel blames on Hezbollah. Here’s what to know about the explosion so far: When and where did Israel attack Beirut? The blast was heard in Beirut’s southern suburbs at around 19:40 local time (16:40 GMT) on Tuesday evening. It hit the Haret Hreik neighbourhood, near Hezbollah’s Shura Council its’s central decision-making authority. Half of the targeted buildings in the densely populated neighbourhood collapsed and a nearby hospital suffered minor damages. Surrounding streets were littered with debris and broken glass as ambulances rushed to the scene. Why did Israel bomb Beirut? Israel’s military said its strike targeted Hezbollah commander, Muhsen Shukr also known as ”Haj Muhsen.” It claimed Muhsen was responsible for an attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that killed 12 people and wounded 30 on Saturday. Israel has occupied the western region of Golan Heights since the 1967 war while the remaining part is under Syria’s control. The rocket attack on Saturday hit in Majdal Shams, in the northeastern part of the Israeli-occupied territory. Hezbollah has denied involvement in the attack. How many people died in the strike? While casualties are still being confirmed, Lebanon’s National News Agency has reported at least one person was killed and several wounded. Hezbollah sources have said Shukr survived the attack. Has Israel bombed Beirut before? Since launching its war on Gaza in October, Israel has attacked Beirut on at least one previous occasion before Tuesday’s attack. On January 2, Israel carried out a strike that killed senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri. Israel’s last attack on Beirut before that was in 2006, during the 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah. What’s next? Israel’s military has not issued any new instructions for civil defence in Israel following the attack. Reporting from Beirut, Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr said the Israeli messaging is that this was their promised response to the Majdal Shams attack, and that they are not interested in more armed confrontation with Hezbollah beyond this. While Hezbollah has promised to respond to any kind of attack from Israel, the retaliation may not be immediate, said Khodr. Ori Goldberg, a political commentator in Tel Aviv, told Al Jazeera that the attack is likely not a “serious escalation.” He added that Israel might not risk war with Lebanon as it is already in the middle of “one of the most severe domestic crises it has ever experienced”. “A war with Lebanon could perhaps rally Israelis around the flag, but its effects would be almost immediately disastrous,” said Goldberg. Responding to questions about the attack on Tuesday, White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre said the US does not believe that an all-out war between Hezbollah and Israel is inevitable. US President Joe Biden “believes it can be avoided” with a diplomatic solution, she added. Adblock test (Why?)
Why was a scene from the Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony controversial?
Some people have reacted angrily to part of the Opening Ceremony of the Paris Olympics. “Demeaning, disgusting and disrespectful” – some of the words used to describe a controversial scene during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris. Organisers have apologised for the performance against the backdrop of the River Seine that some saw as a spoof of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” painting. Comprised of drag queens, a transgender model and a singer made up as the Greek god of wine, it provoked outrage among Catholics, Christians and Muslims around the world. So, was this scene simply an example of freedom of expression? Presenter: Mohammed Jamjoom Guests Simon Kuper – Columnist for the Financial Times David Goldblatt – Sport journalist Gerard O’Connell – Vatican correspondent for America Magazine Adblock test (Why?)
Dozens dead as tail end of Typhoon Gaemi lashes China
Storm has hit China with deadly rain and mudslides, devastating homes, roads and crops. The tail end of Typhoon Gaemi has hit China and North Korea with torrential rain, floods and mudslides, with dozens reported to have died. Reports early on Tuesday said that seven people had been added to the casualty list from the previous day, when a mudslide killed at least 15 people. The update brings the total number reported killed since Sunday to 22. Xinhua News Agency reported that four bodies had been found in Zixing city. State broadcaster CCTV reported that the bodies of three other missing people were found in a village nearby. Heavy rains have been falling on Hunan for days as Tropical Storm Gaemi moved inland after making landfall at typhoon strength in the neighbouring Fujian province on the Chinese coast. The storm hit Taiwan hard last week. All of the deaths in China have been recorded in Hunan province. Three more people were reported to be missing on Tuesday. Xinhua added that the rains have damaged close to 1,000 homes, prompted the evacuation of more than 11,000 people, and caused 1,345 road collapses in Zixing. Some areas of the city experienced record rainfall, with some areas receiving 645mm (25 inches) in just 24 hours. At the same time, elsewhere in the province, nearly 4,000 residents were evacuated due to a dam breach. The floods come after a landslide on Sunday destroyed a guesthouse in Hunan, killing 15 people. China is experiencing a summer of extreme weather. Heavy rains are affecting swaths of the country while other regions endure intense heatwaves. On Monday, China’s National Meteorological Centre issued an orange alert, the second-highest level, for rainstorms across much of the country’s south, southwest, and centre, as well as Beijing, Hebei province, and Tianjin in the north. The deluge has seen major dams breached, leading to the flooding of swaths of agricultural land. CCTV reported that the Ministry of Finance has earmarked funds of 238 million yuan ($33m) for disaster prevention and agricultural aid. Weather experts blame the devastating rains on a combination of the southwest monsoon and Gaemi. The combination has also seen storms in northeastern China and North Korea, with the rainfall increasing levels in the Yalu River, which divides the two countries. Serious flooding has been reported in the Chinese border city of Dandong and on the North Korean side. Adblock test (Why?)
‘It’s evil’: Breast ironing leaves long-term scars for women in Nigeria
Abuja, Nigeria – When children turn 10, their first double-digit milestone is usually a time of excitement. But not for Elizabeth John, who could only feel dread about what was to come. A day after her 10th birthday, three older women held her legs down firmly as her mother pressed a burning hot pestle against her still-developing breasts, unyielding even as the child screamed in pain. Nearly two decades later, the 27-year-old Cameroonian refugee who grew up in Nigeria’s Cross River State vividly remembers that day – as she grapples with the years of damage the ordeal inflicted. John said her life changed after her mother forced her to undergo breast ironing in an attempt to shield her from sexual abuse. Breast ironing, or “breast flattening”, is a cultural practice whereby young girls’ breasts are ironed or pounded down with brutal or heated objects to delay their development or disguise the onset of puberty, according to the Africa Health Organization. The AHO says communities who practise breast ironing believe it will make girls less attractive to men, thus protecting them from harassment, rape, abduction, and early forced marriage, and also keeping them in school. However, health bodies and rights groups say it is a form of physical mutilation that harms a child’s social and psychological wellbeing and contributes to the high school dropout rate among girls who suffer from it. The United Nations (UN) says breast ironing affects some 3.8 million women in Africa and is one of the five most under-reported crimes related to gender-based violence. Some 25 to 50 percent of girls in countries like Cameroon and certain parts of Nigeria are affected by the practice, according to data from the journal, Annals of Medical Research and Practice. Done in secret In John’s home community in Cross River State in southern Nigeria, the procedure is culturally imposed on most girls and typically performed by their mothers or other maternal figures. For years after her breasts were ironed, John suffered from pain. Her breasts developed unevenly, and the muscles are still weak and saggy today. At age 19, the pain was so bad that she had trouble sleeping, she said. Despite visiting doctors, her family did not believe breast ironing was the cause, adhering to their cultural beliefs. “Before I married, I would buy painkillers for the breast pain, but it worsened after marriage [and pregnancy] when I was trying to breastfeed my child,” she told Al Jazeera. Elizabeth John, a survivor of breast ironing [Abdulwaheed Sofiullahi/Al Jazeera] In 2021, as she was about to give birth, a doctor explained that breast ironing had damaged her glandular tissue, which would make breastfeeding difficult, and suggested a medical procedure that could help her. “After the doctor told me that the ironed breasts might affect me during childbirth, my husband and I couldn’t afford the treatment, which was $5,700,” she lamented. “I am jobless, and my husband works in furniture,” she explained. After giving birth, she struggled to breastfeed correctly. The doctor recommended using formula, but the couple could not afford it. They lost the baby when he was four months old. Ushakuma Michael Amineka, a gynaecologist at the Benue State Teaching Hospital and the second vice president of the Nigeria Medical Association, explained that breast ironing can leave long-term effects. “The immediate consequences can include pain because the breast is very soft tissue. If compressed, it can cause pain and even distort the normal anatomy of the breast tissue,” he told Al Jazeera. “Long-term consequences could include difficulties with lactation, as it can destroy breast tissue and lead to infections, causing long-term pain and reduced breast milk production.” According to 2021 research published by the United States’ National Institutes of Health (NIH), the harmful practice is typically carried out by close female relatives, and sometimes with the help of traditional midwives. It is maintained in secret by female members of the family and community, and typically hidden from men. Traditional and household tools are usually used to perform the procedure, including grinding stones, cast iron, coconut shells, calabashes, hammers, sticks or spatulas. Additionally, it can involve tightly wrapping the breasts with a belt or cloth, the NIH said. The lack of good data and empirical studies on breast ironing has also limited a broader understanding of the practice and its prevalence, NIH added. Longstanding tradition “This cultural practice is horrible and inhuman,” David Godswill, a Nigerian human rights activist, told Al Jazeera. Those who practise it “believe that if breasts develop, they will attract men”, he said, but he emphasised that the procedure is just cruel. The effects can be traumatic, causing women and girls physical pain and shame about their bodies. “It’s evil what they do to women’s breasts, and many have suffered health issues because of it,” he said. A stick used for breast ironing is seen on a fire at a survivor’s home in Cameroon [File: Joe Penney/Reuters] For John, the health effects of breast ironing have caused her years of personal pain and struggle. Now, living in Gbagyi, an Indigenous community in Nigeria’s capital Abuja, every day is a reminder of her childhood trauma. Breast ironing is a longstanding tradition in Gbagyi and many young girls in the community have had their breasts ironed, John told Al Jazeera. When she tried to warn their mothers about the health risks based on her own experience, they did not believe her and thought she wanted to encourage intimacy between men and younger girls. Conversations Al Jazeera had with seven local women in Gbagyi revealed that nearly all had experienced breast ironing. They also pushed their daughters into having the procedure to protect them from male attention and sexual abuse. Many said their mothers and grandmothers also underwent this practice. One woman, Roseline Desmond, told Al Jazeera that when a group came three years ago to raise awareness about the health implications of breast ironing, some women promised to stop while others remained unconvinced. “In this community, some
Landslides caused by heavy rains kill dozens in India’s Kerala
Landslides in southern India triggered by torrential monsoon rains have killed dozens of people with hundreds more feared trapped under mud and debris, according to officials. The southern coastal state of Kerala has been battered by heavy rains and the collapse of a key bridge at the disaster site in Wayanad district has hampered rescue efforts, according to local media reports. PM Manoj, press secretary to Kerala’s chief minister, said the landslides had killed at least 49 people so far, while district official DR Meghasree said 45 people were killed and local media reported 66 deaths. 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. Homes were caked with brown sludge as the force of the landslide’s impact scattered cars, corrugated iron and other debris around the disaster site. The Indian Army said it had deployed more than 200 soldiers to the area to assist state security forces and fire crews in search and rescue efforts. “Hundreds of people are suspected to have been trapped,” it said in a statement. More rainfall and strong winds were forecast in Kerala on Tuesday, the state’s disaster management agency said. The number of fatal floods and landslides has increased in recent years, and experts say climate change is worsening the problem. Damming, deforestation and development projects in India have also exacerbated the human toll. Nearly 500 people were killed across 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 a rockfall triggered by heavy monsoon rains killed at least 220 people and completely buried the tiny village of Malpa in the Himalayas. Adblock test (Why?)
Olympic gold: Japan’s Horigome on skateboard, GB’s Pidcock on mountain bike
Olympics day three: Gold for Japan in men’s skateboarding and gymnastics, Canada achieves a judo first, and Great Britain wins a mountain bike thriller. Yuto Horigome of Japan has retained his Olympic title in men’s street skateboarding in Paris, clinching the top of the podium on his last trick in a tense final. Team USA’s Jagger Eaton upgraded his Tokyo bronze to silver, while his compatriot Nyjah Huston claimed the last spot on the podium on Monday. Horigome clinched gold at the last moment with a flawless slide down the 10-stair round rail and a smile, underlining Japan’s dominance in the sport a day after his compatriot Coco Yoshizawa won the women’s event. “It was hard to make the podium this time,” said Horigome. “The skate level’s insane.” Eaton brought out some of his best material across the five tricks but could not catch Horigome, as the American fell on his final attempt. The competition was held under clear skies in sweltering heat after rain forced the postponement of the event on Saturday, while the competitors kept their cool in front of another packed house at the La Concorde venue. Gold medallist Yuto Horigome of Japan, centre, poses with silver medallist Jagger Eaton (left) and bronze medallist Nyjah Huston (right), both of Team USA [Frank Franklin II/AP] Horigome looked every bit the favourite as he made terrific use of the course’s 18 features in his opening run of the final. But Huston had the lead heading into the five tricks as he capped his second run with a nollie backside 180. Huston, one of the biggest names in US skateboarding since retired great Tony Hawk, was hungry for redemption after a shock seventh-place finish in the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, and he tightened his grasp on the lead with a pair of high-scoring tricks. But Eaton briefly took the top spot in the standings with a nollie 270 slide in his fourth try. Horigome looked as though he might miss the podium entirely after falling on three of his first four attempts. But he pulled out a bit of magic to leap over the rest of the field at the last moment as Japanese fans cheered. Olympic skateboarding will continue with the women’s and men’s park events on August 6 and 7. Yuto Horigome saved his best for the last run [Stefan Matzke – sampics/Getty Images] Japan claim men’s team gold in artistic gymnastics after dramatic final Daiki Hashimoto turned heartache into unimaginable joy as he overcame a fall from the pommel horse to power Japan to the gymnastics gold medal, edging out China in a pulsating men’s team final. While Hashimoto led Japan to their eighth men’s team title at the Games, Team USA were celebrating their first Olympic team medal since 2008 as they grabbed bronze. Just when it looked like China had the title in the bag as they led Japan by more than three points with only three more performances left on their final apparatus, the high bar, Su Weide fell twice during his routine, turning the title race into a nail-biter. When the chalk settled, Japan emerged victorious with a total of 259.594 points, less than a point ahead of China. The USA men put on a superb performance and locked up the bronze after nailing most of their landings in the competition. Daiki Hashimoto of Japan on the pommel horse during the men’s artistic gymnastics team finals round at Bercy Arena in Paris, France [Charlie Riedel/AP] Deguchi becomes Canada’s first judo champion Christa Deguchi won the women’s under 57kg (126-pound) gold to hand Canada its first-ever Olympic judo title before Hidayat Heydarov of Azerbaijan disappointed a partisan crowd by triumphing in the men’s under 73kg (161-pound) final. Current world champion Heydarov edged French underdog Joan-Benjamin Gaba with a golden score ippon in a marathon final that lasted nine minutes and 24 seconds at Champ-de-Mars Arena. Heydarov tried multiple times to catch his breath as the bout wore on and planted a kiss on his opponent’s forehead after celebrating victory. To the home crowd’s disappointment, Azerbaijan’s Hidayet Heydarov defeated France’s Joan-Benjamin Gaba in the men’s under 73kg (161-pound) final [Eugene Hoshiko/AP] Gaba, ranked 35th in the world and competing in his first Olympics, surprised everyone by fighting his way into the final after defeating London 2012 under 66kg (146-pound) gold medallist Lasha Shavdatuashvili of Georgia in the round of 32. In the women’s event, Sarah-Leonie Cysique added a bronze medal to the host nation’s haul after losing to Deguchi in the semifinal. In the final, Deguchi took out Huh Mi-mi after the South Korean was penalised for a third time. After becoming Canada’s first world judo champion in 2019, Christa Deguchi struck again, becoming Canada’s first Olympic judo champion [Eugene Hoshiko/AP] Great Britain’s Pidcock wins thriller to retain mountain bike title Tom Pidcock of Great Britain roared back after suffering a puncture to retain his Olympic men’s mountain bike title after a thrilling battle with France’s Victor Koretzky. World champion Pidcock, who won gold in Tokyo, found himself 35 seconds adrift after a front wheel puncture on the fourth of eight laps on the 4.4km (2.7-mile) circuit carved into Elancourt Hill. But he surged back and then went head-to-head with Koretzky on the final lap when he again had to make up ground before pulling clear with the finish line in sight. The partisan crowd booed as he crossed the line nine seconds ahead of silver medallist Koretzky, while South Africa’s Alan Hatherly finished third for the bronze medal. The Olympic gold medal came as an early birthday present for Pidcock, who turns 25 on Tuesday. Thomas Pidcock has joined Paola Pezzo and Julien Absalon as the only riders with two mountain bike gold medals from the Olympic Summer Games [Ricardo Mazalan/AP] Adblock test (Why?)