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Oman and Bahrain made winning starts to their campaigns in the FIBA U18 Asia Cup Gulf Qualifiers, defeating Kuwait and Saudi Arabia respectively as the tournament tipped off at Al Gharafa Sports Hall yesterday. Organised by the Qatar Basketball Federation, the six-day competition runs from July 25 to 30 and features five Gulf nations – Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Oman – competing for two coveted places at the championship in India next month. The opening round produced two closely contested encounters, with Oman staging a remarkable second-half comeback to edge Kuwait 62-59, while Bahrain defeated Saudi Arabia 62-54 to join Oman at the top of the standings. Oman recovered from an 11-point halftime deficit to secure one of the most dramatic victories of the opening day. Kuwait controlled the first half, leading 22-13 after the opening quarter before extending the margin to 40-29 at the break. Oman gradually fought back by taking the third quarter 16-14 before unleashing a decisive 17-5 run in the final period. Tight defensive play, effective containment of Kuwait’s key players, and clinical fast-break execution proved decisive as Oman completed the comeback to earn their first two points of the tournament. Bahrain also opened its campaign on a winning note with a 62-54 victory over Saudi Arabia. Bahrain dominated the opening quarter 16-6, but Saudi Arabia responded strongly by claiming the second period 20-8 to take the momentum into halftime. Bahrain regained control after the interval with a commanding 21-11 third quarter, while both teams scored 17 points apiece in the final period, allowing Bahrain to seal an eight-point victory. Following the opening round, Oman and Bahrain sit jointly atop the standings with two points each, while Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have one point each. Hosts Qatar will begin their campaign in the second round of matches. Action resumes today, with Bahrain taking on Kuwait at 5:00pm, followed by Qatar’s opening game against Saudi Arabia at 7:00pm. Tomorrow’s schedule features Oman against Bahrain at 5:00pm before Qatar meets Kuwait at 7:00pm. Qatar’s will launch its campaign today against Saudi Arabia. The hosts will be aiming for a winning start as they seek one of the qualifying berths for the continental finals. The 12-player squad is captained by Abdullah Yassin and includes Tamim Ashraf Abouissa, Mishal Khalid al-Mughni, Moaz Omar Mousa, Azzam Mohamed Yaken, Ziad Tamer al-Johari, Mohamed Saeed Badri, Mahmoud Tamer Ibrahim, Amer Ibrahim Mousa, Owen Ikina, Youssef Walid Abdelqader and Shahi Mohamed. After a rest day, competition returns on Wednesday, July 29, with Saudi Arabia facing Kuwait at 5:00pm and Qatar playing Oman at 7:00pm. The tournament concludes on Thursday, July 30, with Oman meeting Saudi Arabia at 5:00pm, followed by Qatar against Bahrain at 7:00pm. The qualifiers serves as the pathway to the FIBA U18 Asian Championship, which will be held in Ahmedabad, India, in August. Played in a single round-robin format, each team contests four matches, earning two points for a win and one for a loss. The top two teams at the end of the competition will qualify for the continental championship, where four places at the 2027 FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup in the Czech Republic will also be at stake. Related Story Source link
McLaren’s British driver Lando Norris celebrates winning the pole position after the qualifying session at the Hungaroring racetrack…
The Jerusalem Governorate in a statement warned of calls by Israeli “Temple groups” to mobilise large numbers of settlers to carry out mass incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque next Wednesday. The governorate said the calls aim to intensify the raising of Israeli occupation flags inside the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque, describing the move as a a provocative act that violates the sanctity of the site. It also warned of serious repercussions of the act, holding Israeli occupation authorities fully responsible for any potential escalation. Earlier, dozens of settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque under heavy Israeli police protection. The mosque has been subjected to increasing incursions by settlers, Source link
Birla Public School (BPS) has posted a 100% pass rate in the CBSE Class X examinations for 2025-26, with all 557 students of its 19th batch clearing the Secondary School Examination. According to a press release, the school’s top performer was Shamita Adiga, who secured a perfect 100%. Second place was shared by five students — Harreni Shunmuga Sundara Rajan, Garv Gupta, Ishaan Anees Moidu, Mridula Arun Prakash and Mariam Nasim — each with 99.2%. The third position was jointly secured by 10 students, each scoring 99%: Maher Vidya Negi, Prithvi Rajesh, Amina Hana, Daniel John Abraham, Gopika Preejith, Ananya Anand, Jiya Japan Gandhi, Sarah Ahsan, Arush Sharma and Shanmugapriya Sivakumar. The results reflected strong overall academic performance across the cohort, with 335 students scoring above 90%, while 532 students secured distinction by obtaining more than 75%.BPS students collectively recorded 101 centums across subjects. Artificial Intelligence accounted for the highest number of perfect scores with 36 centums, followed by Data Science with 33 and Mathematics Standard with 14. Arabic produced 10 centums, while English and Tamil recorded two each. Science, Social Science, Hindi, and Marketing and Sales recorded one centum each. Among those who secured centums in Tamil were Mithraa Vijayakumar and Ayshwarya Siva Ananth. In Arabic, full marks were secured by Mohammed Yaqzan Rafeeque, Khadija Mohammed Noorul Hasan, Mohammed Nayif Noushad Parappura, Numbly Abdullah, Mohammed Naheem Noushad Parappur, Nidha Fathima, Numan Mohammed Naveed Shaikh, Syeda Haziqa Hassan, Zisel Nousher and Duaa Kalam. In Mathematics Standard, the students who scored centums were Harreni Shunmuga Sundara Rajan, Simon Moses Walter Moses, Ishaan Anees Moidu, Shamita Adiga, Ananya Anand, Madiha Kadri, Edlin Jacob Jibu, Gavin Aneesh Chako, Heena Jaganathan, Aryan Bijukumar Nair, Neil Jacob Mathew, Ayshwarya Siva Ananth, Shenil Salgin Cherian and Lakshmi Sukrutha Yejju. Shamita Adiga also secured perfect scores in Hindi, Science and Social Science. In English Literature, Shiza Manal Parambil and Garv Gupta achieved centums, while Riya Kaviarasu secured full marks in Marketing and Sales. Artificial Intelligence accounted for the largest number of centums. Students who secured full marks in the subject included Amina Hana, Mirthun Raaj Sridharan, Mehreen Jeelani Munawar, Harinitha Kannan, Filza Mehrin Sulfikkarali, Rohan Jacob, Gopika Preejith, Aryan Haridas, Avaaneesh Ankush Pathare, Akshat Chaudhary, Shamita Adiga, Siddhi Harish Pillai, Angel Mariam Benoy, Aron Binoy Daniel, Paul Renju Moolayil, Ananya Anand, Krithika Pradeep, Ayesha Zahra Muttathushalil Rish, Abel Aby George, Edlin Jacob Jibu, Niya Najeeb, Olivia Joseph, Sarah Ahsan, Tanushree Balakrishnan, Gowri Anupama Sibin, Pranathi Vivekanandh, Mridula Arun Prakash, Vega Azhar, Akshaya John, Nawfal Abdul Khaleel Qibran, Mariam Nasim, Aryaman Mishra, Adnan, Dhruv Amit Gaur, Shanmugapriya Sivakumar and Tanvi Raviraj Patte. In Data Science, centums were achieved by Faizaan Ahammed, Adithya Midhun Kalathil, Arun Deepak Pereira, Elasha Anna Aji, Maher Vidya Negi, Anvi Sharma, Arshal Kanichai Remin, Jomei Samuel Victor John Victor, Vibha Vinod Jadhav, Shahd Shihab, Aryan Vandana Prasad, Madiha Kadri, Navya Arun Nair, Gowshik Kulandaivel, Rhea Grace Sujith, Prarthana Kurian, Daniel John Abraham, Anushka Shenoy, Jiya Japan Gandhi, Soha Altaf Sheikh, Mohammed Qais Shanil Mookkathayi, Vaishnavi Suresh Pillai, Nabeel Syed, Ken Abraham Thomas, Joanna Meriam Viju, Ammaar Ahmed Syed, Mahanthikaa Suresh, Mohammed Sanie Esa Valappintakat, Zisel Nousher, Drishti Jain, Mohammed Zayan Zafar Khan, Shenil Salgin Cherian and Jay Shrestha. BPS chairperson Maria Pakalomattom, vice-chairman Dr Mohan Thomas, members of the board, principal Dr Anand R Nair, staff and parents congratulated the students and teachers for the strong performance, attributing the results to the school’s continued focus on quality education and coordinated teaching efforts. Source link
Iran Sunday rebuffed a fresh round of peace negotiations with the United States, declaring Washington’s demands excessive and its conduct in breach of the ceasefire — even as US President Donald Trump threatened to destroy every power plant and bridge in the country unless Tehran accepted his terms.Trump said the U.S. military had taken control of an Iranian-flagged cargo ship by blowing a hole in its engine room. “We have full custody of their ship, and are seeing what’s on board!” he wrote on social media.Tehran’s rejection, reported by state news agency IRNA, cited Washington’s unrealistic expectations, constantly shifting positions, and the ongoing US naval blockade of Iranian ports as grounds for refusing to send a delegation to Islamabad for a second round of talks. Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency confirmed no decision had been taken to participate while the blockade remained in place.Trump had earlier announced on Truth Social that his envoys would arrive in Pakistanthisday evening — leaving barely a day for progress before the two-week ceasefire expires early on Wednesday. “We’re offering a very fair and reasonable DEAL, and I hope they take it because, if they don’t, the United States is going to knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran,” he wrote. “NO MORE MR. NICE GUY!”The White House did not immediately respond to Iran’s rejection.Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Sunday that he spoke with Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian about the conflict in the Gulf.During the talk, Sharif shared insights with Pezeshkian regarding his recent conversations with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, he said in a post on X.”I appreciated Iran’s engagement, including its high-level delegation to Islamabad for the historic talks, and recent discussions with Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir in Tehran,” Sharif said.Sharif assured Pezeshkian that Pakistan remains committed to its role as a facilitator of peace and regional stability.Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, had acknowledged some progress from the first round but said the two sides remained far apart on nuclear issues and the Strait of Hormuz. Washington had proposed a 20-year suspension of all Iranian nuclear activity; Tehran countered with three to five years.The strait itself remained closed Sunday, a day after Iranian forces fired on two vessels attempting to cross. Iran had announced on Friday it would reopen the waterway — triggering the sharpest single-day oil price drop in years and a global stock market rally — but reversed course on Saturday after Trump declined to lift the US port blockade. Marine traffic data showed shipping through the strait at a virtual standstill.Energy analyst Amrita Sen, founder of the Energy Aspects think tank, warned of fresh market volatility when trading resumed on Monday, saying Iran’s weekend actions had laid bare just how fragile the situation remained.Now in its eighth week, the conflict has delivered the most severe shock to global energy supplies in history.On the ground in Islamabad, two US C-17 cargo planes touched down at Nur Khan air base Sunday carrying security equipment ahead of the expected delegation’s arrival. City authorities halted public transport, barbed wire was rolled out near the Serena Hotel — venue of last week’s talks — and all guests were ordered to leave. Related Story Source link
Two Palestinians were wounded by gunfire from the Israeli occupation forces on Sunday in the city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank.Local sources said Israeli forces fired a barrage of live ammunition at a vehicle, wounding two Palestinians. Medical sources described one of the injuries as critical.In a related development, Israeli forces arrested a Palestinian from the village of Azmut, east of the city of Nablus.Local sources reported that Israeli forces raided the village and detained one person.Cities, towns and refugee camps across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem witness daily raids and incursions by Israeli forces and settlers, often accompanied by clashes, arrests, and the use of live and rubber-coated bullets, and tear gas against Palestinians. Source link
