Latest news bulletin | July 31st – Midday
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00:00Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has been assassinated in Tehran by an Israeli airstrike.
00:12President Maduro has vowed to detain opposition leaders over the country's disputed election
00:17results.
00:21Olympic fans are experiencing a heatwave as temperatures in Paris climb to 35 degrees
00:26Celsius or even higher.
00:30Simon Biles earns a sweet redemption in Paris as New Zealand win back-to-back Rugby 7s gold.
00:45Hamas has confirmed its political leader has been killed in Tehran, according to Iran's
00:51paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.
00:52Iran has previously vowed to kill Ismail Haniyeh and other leaders of Hamas over the
01:01group's 7th October attacks on Israel.
01:03Hamas has blamed Israel for the attack, however an Israeli military spokesman did not immediately
01:10respond to a request for comment.
01:14Haniyeh had been living in exile in Qatar but was in Tehran to attend a ceremony.
01:20The strike comes at a precarious time between Israel and Hamas, whose representatives are
01:25currently working out a ceasefire deal.
01:31Israel said it targeted a Hezbollah commander in a rare strike on the Lebanese capital of
01:36Beirut, in a strike that killed at least one woman and wounded dozens more.
01:42The attack comes amid escalating hostilities between Israel and the Lebanese paramilitary
01:47Hezbollah group.
01:50Hezbollah said the strike killed the commander allegedly behind the deaths of 12 youths in
01:54a weekend rocket attack on the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights.
02:01Hezbollah's ongoing aggression and brutal attacks are dragging the people of Lebanon
02:09and the entire Middle East into a wider escalation.
02:14While we prefer to resolve hostilities without a wider war, the IDF is fully prepared for
02:23any scenario.
02:27Hezbollah did not immediately confirm the commander's death and it was not initially
02:31clear whether he was hit.
02:36Lebanon's public health ministry said that the strike in a southern suburb of the capital
02:41killed one woman and injured 68, some of them seriously.
02:51At least 108 people were killed and dozens more injured after the Indian state of Kerala
02:56was devastated by days of heavy rainfall, triggering mass landslides in what government
03:02officials called one of its worst natural disasters.
03:07Local media reported that most of the victims were tea estate workers.
03:13India's weather department has put Kerala on alert as the state has been lashed by incessant
03:17rains with the downpour disrupting life for many.
03:29Violent demonstrations continue in Venezuela over the country's disputed election results.
03:36From a balcony at the presidential palace, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro addressed
03:41a crowd of supporters demanding the incarceration of opposition leader Maria Carina Machado.
04:06Both Maduro and the country's main opposition coalition have claimed that they have won
04:10Sunday's presidential election.
04:17On the international stage, the Peruvian government
04:35rejected the Venezuelan election results, prompting the closure of the Venezuelan embassy
04:39in Lima.
04:47The National Electoral Council has yet to release any figures at a polling station level.
04:56A German citizen sentenced to death on terrorism charges in Belarus was granted a pardon by
05:02the country's authoritarian leader.
05:05It wasn't clear whether the decision by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko means the capital
05:11punishment will be replaced with life in prison for German Rico Krieger.
05:16Krieger was reportedly accused of photographing some of the country's military facilities
05:21and of staging an explosion at a railway station on orders from the Ukrainian special services.
05:31Ukrainian President Zelensky visited a military hospital where veterans are being treated
05:37and rehabilitated.
05:40During his trip to the facility in Ukraine's Rivne region, Zelensky was given a tour of
05:45the hospital's operations.
05:48This included a physical therapy room, swimming pool and a robot rehabilitation room where
05:53therapists work with patients.
05:56Zelensky greeted patients and handed medals to wounded soldiers.
06:01Slowly but steadily this summer, Russian troops have been forging through Ukraine's
06:05outgunned and undermanned defences in a relentless onslaught.
06:11Moscow's forces overran two villages on the Ukrainian front line in Donetsk, according
06:15to a Ukrainian army sergeant.
06:19Ukraine announced plans to involve Russia in the second peace summit, with one of Kiev's
06:23spokespeople saying the main question is whether Moscow will conduct the negotiations in good
06:28faith.
06:32Sardinia declared a state of emergency due to a persistent drought crippling the island
06:37and creating a lack of drinking water.
06:40The tourism hub has not seen rain in weeks as temperatures in the region continue to
06:45rise with the island expecting to see heat of 40 degrees Celsius in the coming days.
06:52The announcement was made by Sardinia's regional council and the provision will remain in force
06:57until December 31.
07:00The president of the autonomous region said extraordinary procedures such as the declaration
07:05of a state of emergency were necessary to contain the effects of the ongoing water crisis.
07:12The scarcity of water has been drastically affecting agricultural and industrial activities,
07:17the tourism sector and the daily lives of Sardinian citizens.
07:21Italian Senator Marco Meloni has called for long-term strategies to mitigate the effect
07:26of climate change and drought on Italian islands.
07:32After a rain-soaked opening ceremony last week, Olympic fans are adjusting to a very
07:37different experience, a heatwave.
07:41Most of France is under a heatwave warning with temperatures in Paris and its surrounding
07:46areas expecting to climb to 35 degrees Celsius or higher according to the French National
07:52Weather Agency.
07:54Visitors and residents cooled off by drinking water and staying in the shade.
07:59Paris' train and metro operator said over 2.5 million containers of water will be distributed
08:05at public transport stations.
08:08France's National Weather Agency described heatwaves as increasingly intense, frequent,
08:13early and long-lasting amid climate change.
08:16It said that before 1989 such high temperatures were observed on average once every five years,
08:22but since 2000 they've been repeating every year.
08:25It predicts the trend will keep increasing.
08:34A great Tuesday for women's sports in Paris.
08:38Simone Biles and the US gymnastics team won gold by a huge margin three years after Biles'
08:46withdrawal at the Tokyo Games due to mental health issues.
08:51In women's rugby sevens, New Zealand defeated Canada to win back-to-back Olympic golds
08:58while a British player is being investigated over an alleged racist message.
09:04Australia remained in the top spots of the medal table after Kayleigh McKeown won the
09:11women's 100 metres by beating American world record holder swimmer Regan Smith.
09:21In other news, an Egyptian fencer Nada Hafez revealed she competed while being seven months
09:37pregnant.
09:38Hafez managed to reach the round of 16 before losing to South Korea.
09:52You don't need to be a world-class athlete to feel a part of the Olympics.
09:59For some, collecting memorabilia is a gold medal sport in itself.
10:03We've come to a fan zone on the outskirts of Paris to speak with some super fans and
10:08collectors.
10:09This is the first time ever that collectors have their own dedicated space.
10:2187-year-old Robert Prat from Monaco has been collecting pins for 40 years.
10:51Catherine Salin brought her collection of pins to Paris for the duration of the Games.
11:05There may be an official trading space, but collectors also exchange elsewhere.
11:20When I bring pins that I have not paid a lot of money for, if I can trade them or sell
11:25them for more than I've paid, it'll help reduce the cost of my trip.
11:28To see somebody with a bag like this or a lanyard with pins on them, that means that
11:32they're willing to trade, so it's okay to go up to them and talk to them.
11:35It's not just the revenue side, but the interaction.
11:37It's fun to talk to people.
11:38For collectors, Olympic memorabilia is at the heart of telling the Games story.