Category World News

On a rainy night in Tokyo, Trinidad and Tobago’s Keshorn Walcott won the men’s javelin final of the World Athletics Championships 2025 beating India’s Neeraj Chopra and Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem.

Nadeem, the reigning Olympic champion, and Chopra, the reigning world champion, both looked in poor form at the Japan National Stadium on Thursday when they failed to pass the 85-meter mark.

With an elevation of 88.16 meters, Trinidad and Tobago’s Walcott won his first global title since 2012’s teen gold medal at the Olympics.

The 32-year-old won his first world championship medal in addition to his 2012 gold and bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics by dominating the competition in a blustery breeze, producing the two longest throws of the evening.

Anderson Peters of Grenada won silver medals at the 2019 and 2022 world championships in a good night for the Caribbean, placing him second with a throw of 87.38m.

Curtis Thompson won the bronze medal in the event’s opening throw of 86.67m, marking the United States’ first world championship victory since Breaux Greer in 2007.

Chopra, who had a best attempt of 84.03m and finished eighth, struggled to reach the site of his 2021 Olympic triumph, and made no fairytale comeback.

Nadeem from Pakistan, who has been out for much of the season, also had a disappointing evening, placing 10th overall with an best throw of 82.75m.

With a personal best of 86.27m on his first attempt, Sachin Yadav placed fourth ahead of Julian Weber, restoring pride for India.

The German, who had a best throw of 86.11m, was a distant second-place finisher behind the world-leading 91.51m he recorded in the Diamond League final in Zurich last month.

Julius Yego, a 36-year-old world champion from Kenya, injured himself on his third time and was unable to win.

Authorities in Kerala, India’s southern state, have issued a health alert following more than double-infections and fatalities brought on by a rare water-borne “brain-eating” amoeba, which has more than doubled in a year.

Since the start of 2025, according to officials in Kerala, 69 cases of primary amoebic meningoencephalitis have been reported, including 19 deaths, as a result of contact with the Naegleria fowleri amoeba, according to a statement released on Wednesday. In the last month, three-month-old babies were among the deaths that were reported.

36 cases with which there were nine deaths reported last year were all included.

The amoeba, which does not spread through people, lives in warm lakes and rivers and is contaminated water that enters noses.

State Health Minister Veena George quoted as saying, “We are not seeing clusters linked to a single water source, unlike last year.” These are “single, isolated cases,” which has gotten more difficult for our epidemiological investigations.

According to NDTV, the Kerala government has begun chlorinating wells, water tanks, public bathing areas, and other locations where people are likely to take baths and come into contact with the amoeba.

“Cases across the state”

While the number is still low, a doctor who is a member of a government task force to stop the spread claimed that state authorities were “proceeding tests on a large scale across the state to detect and treat cases.”

Altaf Ali told the AFP news agency, “It’s worrying that new cases have emerged this year from across the state rather than just particular pockets in the past.”

Infections are “very rare but almost always fatal,” says the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The health agency calls it a “brain-eating amoeba” because it can “infect the brain and destroy brain tissue.” More than 95 percent of those affected by the amoeba can become infected with it once it enters the brain.

According to the World Health Organization, symptoms include a headache, fever, and vomiting that quickly “appears to be seizures, altered mental status, hallucinations, and coma.”

In 2016, the first case of infection in Kerala was identified.

The request was made on Thursday, one day after Kim Keon-hee and Kweon Seong-dong were questioned about her alleged involvement in the bribing.

The accusations come as a result of a search for Kim’s and her husband, former president Yoon Suk-yeol, who was ordered to resign from power last year after enforcing martial law.

According to prosecutor Park Sang-jin, “We have requested an arrest warrant for Han today.” “She is facing charges of embezzlement, conspiracy to defraud, and incitement to destroy evidence,” she says.

We sought the warrant because we thought the risk of Han tampering with the evidence was very high.

The Unification Church criticized Han’s detention, insisting that she doesn’t pose a flight risk or threaten to destroy evidence, and that she has cooperated despite her health issues.

The Unification Church, which was established in 1954 by Han’s late husband, has long drawn controversy and criticism.

Fans are referred to disparagingly as “Moonies” because they still have a cult-like culture. The church organizes mass weddings in accordance with Moon’s role as the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

The church’s activities range from food distribution to media and tourism. Han assumed leadership after Moon passed away in 2012.

In order to win Kim over, Han is suspected of ordering the delivery of expensive presents, including a handbag and a diamond necklace, in 2022 in order to win her husband, who was elected president that year.

Kim was detained and charged with bribery and stock market manipulation last month. The allegations are refuted by her attorneys. Her husband, who is also in custody, is facing a trial for his brief declaration of martial law in December.

Before being overturned by opposition lawmakers, Yoon’s declaration of martial law temporarily suspended civilian rule.

In April, Yoon was impeached and fired from office as a result of the attempt.

Han is also accused of paying Kim Jong-un 100,000,000 won ($72, 000) in bribes.

Kweon was subject to an arrest warrant in Seoul on Tuesday because there was a chance that he might tamper with evidence.

Han, who was detained for almost ten hours on Wednesday, disputed her claims that she was responsible for the alleged bribes and blamed a former church official who has since been detained.