German biathlete and two-time Olympic champion Laura Dahlmeier was killed by falling rocks while scaling Laila Peak, a 6,094-meter summit in northern Pakistan. She was struck by a landslide around noon Monday at an altitude of approximately 5,700 meters.
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Watch: Major earthquake off Russia triggers widespread tsunami warnings
Tsunami alerts have been scaled back across much of the Pacific after one of the world’s strongest earthquakes struck Russia’s Far East.
The 8.8 magnitude quake struck near the Kamchatka Peninsula at 11:25 local time on Wednesday (00:25 BST) – triggering tsunami warnings that led to more than two million people being ordered to evacuate in areas including parts of Russia, Japan, and the US state of Hawaii.
Despite the earthquake’s strength, there were no reports of severe damage or injury.
“The disaster we were expecting did not come,” a Hawaii tourist told the BBC.
Governor Josh Green did not hold back when he warned residents: “It is not a regular wave. It will actually kill you if you get hit by a tsunami.”
However, a few hours later he reported that: “So far we have not seen a wave of consequence.”
The tsunami warning for Hawaii was downgraded to an advisory level by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC), meaning there is the potential for strong waves, currents and minor flooding, but a major tsunami is no longer expected.
The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency director, Stephen Logan, later said those evacuated could return home but urged people to be careful, drive slowly, and watch for flooding.
Crescent City in northern California, on the west coast of the US, recorded waves of up to 1.09m (3.6ft), according to the National Tsunami Warning Centre.
Further south, there were tidal surges of up to 0.7m in San Francisco. In Los Angeles, the weather service said Port San Luis was seeing a “rapid and damaging surge, going from low to high tide”.
British Columbia, in Canada, issued a tsunami advisory for most coastal areas, where residents were told to avoid the ocean and await the all-clear. This was later cancelled.
Russian Emergencies Ministry via EPA
Geophysical Survey Of The Russian Academy Of Sciences via EPA
In the Russian city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, several buildings were damaged by the earthquake, including this nursery – but initial reports say no one has been seriously hurt
Pictures from the Russian town of Severo-Kurilsk in the Sakhalin region show flood waters swamping some coastal areas
In Russia, where the quake originated, tsunami waves of up to 5m (16ft) struck areas including Severo-Kurilsk, a port town of about 2,000 people, which was evacuated.
No major injuries or damage were reported and officials later lifted the tsunami warning for Kamchatka, although it was later reported the Klyuchevskoy Volcano had begun erupting.
Russia’s Geophysical Survey said red-hot lava had been observed flowing down the western slope of the volcano, which erupts regularly.
The Sakhalin region declared a state of emergency in the northern Kuril islands, where the power grid was shut down after it was damaged by the quake.
Kamchatka Governor Vladimir Solodov described it as the most powerful earthquake the region has experienced in decades. At least six aftershocks followed, including one measuring 6.9.
In Japan, thousands were woken by tsunami sirens, with waves more than a metre high hitting the Pacific coast, particularly in Iwate prefecture where nearly two million people were told to evacuate.
Authorities later downgraded the tsunami warning to advisory for many areas, spanning from the north of Tokyo down to Wakayama in the south-west.
Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said there was no confirmation of any damage so far.
At the Fukushima nuclear plant, all 4,000 workers were evacuated, but the plant’s operators said there were no “abnormalities” detected.
In March 2011, the plant was hit by a devastating 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami, leading to a nuclear meltdown.
Reuters
People take shelter at a temporary tsunami evacuation site in Kushiro, Hokkaido, in northern Japan
In French Polynesia, officials raised predicted wave heights for Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas Islands to 4m, with smaller waves of just under a metre expected on surrounding islands.
The French High Commission there later said wave heights had reached only 1.5m.
Tsunami alerts were also issued for Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, with coastal residents told to evacuate to higher ground.
China’s alert for Zhejiang Province and Shanghai was lifted, with no reported damage, while the Philippines and Taiwan also cancelled their alerts.
Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Australia, Colombia, Mexico, New Zealand and Tonga were all warned of possible smaller tsunami wave activity between 1m-3m.
In Peru, officials issued a tsunami warning and closed 65 of its 125 Pacific ports. Some roads were also closed near a beach in Lima, Peru’s capital.
Wednesday’s earthquake occurred in a “seismically active” part of the world called the Pacific Ring of Fire. About 80% of the world’s earthquakes occur along the ring, according to the British Geological Survey.
Kamchatka lies close to one of these plate boundaries, as does Japan, the Philippines, and the Pacific coast of much of the Americas.
The earthquake was the joint sixth largest-ever recorded along with previous ones off the coasts of Chile and Ecuador. The fifth-largest, a 9.0 earthquake, also occurred near Kamchatka in 1952. It resulted in a 12m-high tsunami to the south of the peninsula.
Are you in any of the affective areas? If it is safe to do so, please get in touch.
new video loaded: Countries Airdrop Aid Into Gaza Amid Gripping Hunger
By Nader Ibrahim•
The Israeli military agency responsible for humanitarian affairs in Gaza said that Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates had airdropped packages in recent days. Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain confirmed that it had also airdropped supplies into Gaza this week.
Dreams of a comfortable retirement feel increasingly out of reach for young people—especially as even boomers, who spent decades saving, are now being forced back into the workforce. For Gen Z, it’s easy to feel hopeless and turn to bad financial habits like doom spending as a coping mechanism.
But the possibility of Gen Z retiring as millionaires may not be as complicated as the generation thinks it is. With proper financial planning, Gen Z can easily have seven figures to their name, according to Rashaun Williams, a multimillionaire venture capitalist returning as a guest judge on Shark Tank this upcoming season.
The secret, he tells Fortune, relies on just following three simple steps: establishing an emergency fund, maxing out retirement accounts, and keeping investments simple.
The ‘Shark Tank’ investor’s 3 steps for Gen Z wanting to become millionaires: 1. Create an emergency fund
The path toward million-dollar wealth can’t begin without planning for the unexpected, such as a job loss or medical emergency. Williams says an emergency fund should start with saving up three months worth of expenses into your savings account.
“Make sure you have enough cash for a rainy day, so you’re not pulling from your 401(k) prematurely,” Williams tells Fortune.
For those who want to be a little extra careful—or are unlucky enough to have life throw wrenches their way—many financial institutions, like Wells Fargo, suggest that up to six months’ worth of expenses could be worth it.
2. Maxing out your 401(k) and Roth IRA
Saving money using tax-advantaged accounts, like a 401(k) or Roth IRA, remains one of the most efficient ways to grow your wealth. Williams says Gen Z should try to put as much money within their budgets into retirement accounts.
“If you just do that from 25 to 50 years old, you’re going to retire a millionaire,” Williams says. “…Just by maxing out your 401(k), it grows tax deferred, and it goes in tax-free. There’s no better return than to get your returns without taxes.”
The standard 401(k) limit for employee salary deferrals is about $23,500 in 2025. The maximum amount you can contribute each year to a Roth IRA is $7,000 for those under 50 (though your income must be below a certain adjusted income threshold).
Fidelity recommends individuals save at least 15% of their annual income for retirement—something that can be a tough ask for those Gen Z early in their career.
But, it’s a number that fellow Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary has echoed: “Take 15% of your salary each week, or every two weeks when you get paid, and put it into an investment account, and never touch it until you turn 65,” O’Leary told Us Weekly in 2023. “That’s how you will retire a multimillionaire.”
In reality, the average savings rate is about 14.1%, according to Fidelity. Taking advantage of any employer match program is also important.
3. Keep investments simple
While there are many ways to invest money—including seemingly fun opportunities like individual stocks or cryptocurrencies—Williams encourages people to keep their choices simple. He specifically called out S&P 500 indexes as one of the best places to invest, with a long history of sustained growth. After all, it delivered an average return of about 10% over the last century, helping usher an unprecedented level of millionaires and billionaires.
“You don’t have to get cute, you don’t need international, you don’t need bonds. You’re not 90 years old. Just do S&P,” Williams tells Fortune.
4. A bonus tip for Gen Z wanting to become millionaires before retirement
For many young people, becoming a millionaire is more than just a retirement dream—it’s an aspiration they want to hit as soon as possible. And while for some, hitting financial goals will mean temporarily saying goodbye to expensive lattes or a vacation to Europe, one of the best ways to build wealth is to simply create your own venture.
“Start something that you can invest in, that you can grow, and start your own business,” said multimillionaire Shark Tank investor Robert Herjavec. “It’s the only path to wealth.”
Luke Shaw says the atmosphere in the Manchester United dressing room has been ‘quite toxic’.
Manchester United defender Luke Shaw has backed manager Ruben Amorim’s uncompromising approach to improve standards in the dressing room, arguing the atmosphere had been “quite toxic” at times.
Amorim took charge at struggling United in November and demanded more commitment from the squad. He also froze out key figures like Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho, who were among five players seeking to exit the club in the close season.
“A lot of the time I’ve been here over the last few years it’s been extremely negative,” Shaw, a United player since 2014, said in an interview with the BBC published on Wednesday.
“It can be quite toxic. The environment, it’s not healthy at all. … We need an environment that’s healthy, that’s positive, that’s got good energy and happiness. When you have all those things, you feel free, and you express yourself more.
“Ruben brings demands. Mentality is a big thing. He talks a lot about it. … He demands 100 percent and doesn’t want anything less. If someone’s doing 85 to 90 percent, it’s not enough. I think, especially this year, if you’re not doing the right things, you won’t play.”
Luke Shaw, centre, joined Manchester United in 2014, a year after the club’s last Premier League title [Jason Cairnduff/Reuters]
Amorim was uncompromising as he questioned Rashford’s work rate, saying he would rather have the goalkeeper coach on the pitch than half-hearted players.
Rashford has joined Barcelona on loan while British media reports have linked Garnacho with a move to Chelsea or Aston Villa.
“The manager’s not bothered. He doesn’t care who the player is. That’s how it should be. Whatever he wants, as players, we have to be delivering, and we are fully behind that,” Shaw said.
United, who finished 15th last season and lost the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur, begin their new campaign at home against Arsenal on August 17.
TikTok has been very busy lately expanding the platforms that are integrated with its ‘Add to Music App’ feature, which lets users save songs they found on TikTok to the music streaming service of their choice.
The latest addition, announced by TikTok on Tuesday (July 29) is YouTube Music. TikTok users who hit the ‘Add Song’ button next to a song name at the bottom of a video will have the song added to the ‘TikTok Songs’ playlist on their YouTube Music account.
Amid now-resolved recent clashes certain music industry giants and its ongoing potential shutdown in the US, TikTok has been playing up its growing role in the music business.
‘Add to Music App’ is a key aspect of this strategy.
“Add to Music App continues to deliver real results for the music industry, with hundreds of millions of track saves translating into billions of streams on music streaming services,” said Tracy Gardner, TikTok’s Global Head of Music Business Development.
“By partnering with YouTube Music, we’re expanding this impact globally, helping artists reach new audiences while giving fans a seamless way to engage with the music they discover on TikTok.”
In its Music Impact Reportreleased in February, TikTok said that Add to Music App had already resulted in a billion track saves as of that time.
“It is already positively influencing artist success and chart placements, and the most exciting thing is that we are just getting started,” said Ole Obermann, at the time TikTok’s Global Head of Music Business Development.
“Add to Music App continues to deliver real results for the music industry, with hundreds of millions of track saves translating into billions of streams on music streaming services.”
Tracy Gardner, TikTok
The integration with YouTube Music comes with a marketing campaign running in the US and UK, showing TikTokers how to use the feature.
The first time a user presses the ‘Add Song’ button at the bottom of a video in their ‘For You’ feed, they’re presented with a selection of music streaming services (YouTube Music now being one of them).
Whichever service they choose will become the default option and every time they press the ‘Add Song’ button, the song will be saved to that platform, but users can change the streaming service by going into ‘Settings’ and ‘Privacy’ in the TikTok app.
The latest expansion of Add to Music App shows TikTok is forging ahead with its music-focused strategy even as it faces a continuing legal headache in the US, where the “divest-or-ban” law requires the company to sell its US operations to non-Chinese owners or face an effective shutdown in the country.
President Donald Trump has extended the sale deadline three times since taking office, and the latest deadline stands at September 17. Speaking on Fox News Sunday (July 27), Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the Trump administration wants to see the app under the control of a US-headquartered company.
According to a news report earlier this month, TikTok parent company ByteDance is working on a standalone app for US TikTok users. The new app is reportedly scheduled to launch in app stores on September 5.Music Business Worldwide
The fourth night of finals from the 2025 World Championships promises to be another exciting one with an action-packed session of racing on the docket, including four individual finals and the first relay since the opening day of competition.
Things will kick off with the men’s 800 freestyle, which features reigning Olympic and defending world champion Daniel Wiffen and 2023 world champion Bobby Finke, though it’s Tunisia’s Ahmed Jaouadiand Germany’s Sven Schwarz holding the top seeds coming out of the prelims.
Jaouadi, the bronze medalist in this event at the 2024 Short Course Worlds, set a new personal best of 7:41.58 to lead the heats on Monday morning.
Lukas Märtens, who won gold in the 400 free on Day 1, will be lurking out in Lane 7 after clocking 7:45.54 in the prelims, while Wiffen will be in Lane 1 after he went 7:46.36. The Irishman has said he feels “really weak” and is working to figure out how to improve his form leading into the final. He recently dealt with appendicitis.
We’ll also see finals in the women’s 200 free, where Mollie O’Callaghan is the frontrunner, but American Claire Weinstein looks sharp, the men’s 200 fly, which American Luca Urlando headlines after he went sub-1:53 in both the prelims and semis, the men’s 50 breast, which is wide open but led by 100 breast winner Qin Haiyang, and the mixed 4×100 medley relay.
This morning, the U.S. team was a shocking 10th in the mixed medley prelims, knocking them out of the final, with Italy (3:42.19), the Netherlands (3:42.56) and China (3:42.81) holding the top three seeds.
Tonight’s session will also include Summer McIntosh back in the water in the semis of the women’s 200 fly, and Leon Marchand competing for the first time in the evening in the semis of the men’s 200 IM.
Ahmed Jaouadi made his move shortly after the halfway mark of the men’s 800 freestyle and ran away with the gold medal, putting up a time of 7:36.88 to shatter his lifetime best and move up to #3 all-time.
The 20-year-old, who placed 4th in this event at last summer’s Olympics, incredibly negative-split the event, turning in 3:48.92 at the 400 before closing in 3:47.96, with his time standing up as the fastest ever produced in a textile suit.
Jaouadi’s previous best time stood at 7:41.58, set in the prelims, while coming into the meet, his PB stood at 7:42.07.
He overtakes fellow Tunisian Ahmed Hafnaoui, the 2023 world champion who previously held the textile world record at 7:37.00, while Jaouadi still trails Tunisian legend Oussama Mellouli, who ranks #2 all-time with the African Record of 7:35.27 from 2009.
Tunisia now has the 2nd, 3rd and 4th-fastest performers ever in the event.
The battle for silver came down to German teammates Sven Schwarz and Lukas Märtens after American Bobby Finke started to fall off the pace late in the race. Schwarz had enough in the tank to get his hand on the wall for silver, clocking 7:39.96, while Märtens claimed bronze in 7:40.19 after winning the 400 free on Sunday. Both swimmers hold slightly faster best times, with Schwarz having been 7:38.12 and Märtens 7:39.10, both done earlier this year.
Finke fell off the pace with about 250 meters to go and did just enough to hang on for 5th in 7:46.42, with Victor Johansson placing 6th in 7:47.00 after setting a Swedish Record in the prelims (7:44.81).
Mollie O’Callaghan delivered under pressure yet again in the final of the women’s 200 freestyle, overcoming a crowded field to roar home on the last 50 and win gold in the event for the second time.
The 21-year-old Aussie has been open about the difficulties she’s had this year coming back from a knee injury, but when the chips were down, she proved she’s still the best in the world. After jockeying with American Claire Weinsteinearly in the race, O’Callaghan began to distance herself from the field on the third 50, and then, holding a lead of two-tenths at the 150, she blasted off the wall and rocketed home with a 28.41 split to touch first in a time of 1:53.48.
The time marks the fourth-fastest of her career and the ninth-fastest all-time, with O’Callaghan’s lifetime best sitting at 1:52.48 from the 2024 Aussie Olympic Trials.
In an exciting race for silver, China’s Li Bingjie made a big move on the back half, turning 7th at the halfway mark in 56.69 before storming home with splits of 28.99/28.84 to overtake Weinstein and snag the silver medal in 1:54.52, crushing her personal best by exactly one second. Li moves into 12th all-time in the event and is within three-tenths of the Chinese Record (1:54.26) held by Tang Muhan.
Weinstein had a strong performance to win bronze in 1:54.67, knocking two one-hundredths off the lifetime best she set in the semis.
Freya Colbert had a phenomenal swim to place 4th in 1:55.06, breaking the super-suited British Record of 1:55.54 set by Joanne Jackson at the 2009 World Championships. Colbert’s previous best time stood at 1:55.76.
In a stunning turn of events, after a fairly business-as-usual type opening semi of the 100 free, things went haywire in the second heat.
Seven of the eight fastest times from the semi-finals came out of the second heat, meaning that Kyle Chalmers‘ 47.36 was the only swim from the opening semi good enough to advance to the final, shockingly bumping out world record holder and reigning Olympic and world champion Pan Zhanle.
Jack Alexy left nothing to chance in the second semi, going toe-to-toe with David Popovici as both men threw down sub-47 performances, with Alexy clocking 46.81 to break Caeleb Dressel‘s American Record of 46.96 set in 2019 while narrowly missing Pan’s Championship Record of 46.80 set last year.
Alexy moves into #3 all-time in the event, only trailing Pan and Popovici, after he previously ranked 6th all-time with his old PB of 46.99 set last month at U.S. Nationals.
Alexy: 22.45/24.36
Popovici: 22.57/24.27
Popovici had the fastest back half in the field (24.27) to close like a freight train and nearly run down Alexy, clocking 46.84 to come within 13 one-hundredths of his European Record of 46.71 set four weeks ago. The swim marks Popovici’s fifth under 47 seconds.
Russia’s Egor Kornevset a personal best time of 47.29 to qualify 3rd overall into the final, while Maxime Grousset, Matt Richards, Patrick Sammon and Gui Caribe all threw down 47-mids from the second semi to crack the final and knock out Pan, who ended up 10th in 47.81 after he was 3rd in the first heat behind Chalmers and Hungarian Nandor Nemeth (47.72).
Placing 14th, 17-year-old youngster Luca Hoek le Guenedal clocked 48.04 to shatter his Spanish Record of 48.25 set earlier this month at the European Junior Championships.
WOMEN’S 50 BACKSTROKE – SEMI-FINALS
World Record: 26.86, Kaylee McKeown (AUS) – 2023
World Junior Record: 27.49, Minna Atherton (AUS) – 2016
Regan Smith and Lauren Cox won their respective semi-finals to lead the women’s 50 back field into tomorrow’s final, with Smith registering the top time in 27.23.
Smith’s time is 13 one-hundredths shy of her lifetime best of 27.10, set at the 2023 World Championships, while Cox was 11 one-hundredths off her PB in 27.26 to advance in 2nd.
American Katharine Berkoff, the 2nd-fastest performer ever after clocking 26.97 at last month’s U.S. Nationals, moved through comfortably in 3rd, clocking 27.34, while China’s Wan Letiansits 4th in 27.44, narrowly miss her PB of 27.41.
Luca Urlando looked smooth and comfortable as he assumed control of the men’s 200 fly final on the second 50 and never looked back, soaring to his first World Championship title in a personal best time of 1:51.87.
Urlando split 25.01/28.34/28.52/30.00 en route to the victory, improving his previous best of 1:52.37 while mainting his place as the fourth-fastest performer in history. He now sits just 36 one-hundredths back of Michael Phelps‘ American Record of 1:51.51—but he is quicker than Phelps ever was in a textile suit (1:52.09).
Krzysztof Chmielewski re-lowered his Polish Record from the prelims in 1:52.64 to win the silver medal, matching his result from the 2023 Worlds in Fukuoka. The swim is good enough to move Chmielewski up into 6th all-time in the event, having entered the competition ranked 14th with a PB of 1:53.62. He went 1:52.89 in the heats to break a 14-year-old National Record.
Australian Harrison Turner used an aggressive middle 100 to hold on for the bronze medal in 1:54.17, a new National Record, as he becomes the country’s first-ever medalist in the event. Turner’s time lowered the previous Aussie Record of 1:54.46, set by Nick D’Arcy in 2009, and narrowly missed the Oceanian Record of 1:54.15 held by Kiwi Moss Burmester.
Turner, 21, set a best time of 1:54.90 at the Australian Trials last month, which marked a drop of more than two seconds from his previous best (1:57.07).
Ilya Kharun, who won Olympic bronze last summer and broke 1:53, made up a bit of ground on Turner on the last 50 but didn’t have enough to catch him, placing 4th in a time of 1:54.34.
It wasn’t a particularly fast final, but Simone Cerasuolo was the one who came away with the glory as he wins gold in the men’s 50 breaststroke.
The 22-year-old Italian used his high-tempo stroke to power to a time of 26.54, snagging the world title after he had finished 5th, 9th and 6th at the last three World Championships. Cerasuolo owns a best time of 26.42, set here in Singapore in the prelims.
This is Cerasuolo’s first medal at a LC World Championships, having won five medals at SC Worlds, including an individual bronze in the 50 breast in 2022.
Russian Kirill Prigoda, representing Neutral Athletes B, did enough to win silver from Lane 1, clocking 26.62 to edge out China’s Qin Haiyang (26.67), the top seed from the semis and 100 breast gold medalist who settled for bronze. This marks Prigoda’s second individual LC World Championship medal and his first since 2017. He also won silver in this event (and the 100 and 200 breast) at the 2024 Short Course Worlds.
Russia’s Ivan Kozhakin, who among swimmers in the final, had the fastest time this year coming into the meet at 26.46, ended up 4th in 26.73, with 4th through 8th only separated by 16 one-hundredths.
Elizabeth Dekkers had the fastest splits in the field on the second and third 50s as she claimed the top seed for tomorrow’s final of the women’s 200 fly.
Dekkers dominated the first semi in 2:06.13, marking her fastest swim of the year (previously 2:07.36) after she was a late addition to the Australian roster after a late withdrawal from Abbey Connor.
Dekkers ended up being one of just two swimmers who advanced to the final out of the first semi, as a similar scenario to the men’s 100 free occurred and only Dekkers and Caroline Bricker (2:07.86) managed to get through from the opening heat.
Summer McIntoshcruised through to comfortably take the second semi in 2:06.22, advancing 2nd into the final after dropping the fastest closing split in the field (32.64).
Shortly after leading the 50 back semis, Regan Smith did enough to easily qualify for the final in 2:06.96, good for 3rd overall, while Ellen Walshe broke her own Irish Record by nearly a full second to advance in 4th, touching in 2:07.48. Her previous mark stood at 2:08.42, set this past March.
Twelve-year-old phenom Yu Zidi qualified for her second final of these championships, putting up a time of 2:07.95 to sneak into the final in 8th. Yu has been as fast as 2:06.83 this year, done in May at the Chinese Nationals.
MEN’S 200 IM – SEMI-FINALS
World Record: 1:54.00, Ryan Lochte (USA) – 2011
World Junior Record: 1:56.99, Hubert Kos (HUN) – 2021
Championship Record: 1:54.00, Ryan Lochte (USA) – 2011
It took until the fourth night of racing for us to see Leon Marchand racing in the evening in Singapore, but it was worth the wait.
The French superstar delivered a stunning performance in the semi-finals of the men’s 200 IM, putting up an otherworldly time of 1:52.69 to shatter the 14-year-old world record by well over a second.
Marchand’s time knocked 1.31 seconds off Ryan Lochte‘s world record of 1:54.00, set in 2011, and chopped 1.37 off his own European and French Records of 1:54.06, set en route to winning gold at last summer’s Olympics.
Marchand was previously one of just four swimmers who had ever broken the 1:55 barrier, joined by Lochte, Michael Phelps and Wang Shun, and now he enters unprecedented territory as he not only becomes the first man ever under 1:54, but bulldozes his way through the 1:53 barrier as well.
Split Comparison
Lochte, 2011
Marchand, 2024
Marchand, 2025
24.89
24.74
24.10
53.48 (28.59)
53.57 (28.83)
52.50 (28.40)
1:26.51 (33.03)
1:25.93 (32.36)
1:24.63 (32.13)
1:54.00 (27.49)
1:54.06 (28.13)
1:52.69 (28.06)
Shaine Casas and Duncan Scott looked like they were miles behind Marchand in the second semi, but both delivered impressive swims as Casas clocked 1:55.13 to qualify 2nd to lower his personal best time and overtake Laszlo Cseh for 6th all-time in the event. Casas’ previous best stood at 1:55.24, set in 2022.
Scott put up a time of 1:55.51 to advance in 3rd, just over two-tenths shy of his lifetime best of 1:55.28 set in 2021.
Tomoyuki Matsushita, the reigning Olympic silver medalist in the 400 IM, used a quick 27.88 closing freestyle leg to claim the first semi in a time of 1:57.11, edging out Hungarian Hubert Kos (1:57.22), who looked fully in control throughout as they advanced 4th and 5th into the final.
Carson Foster, fresh out of the 200 fly final, placed 3rd in that first semi in a respectable 1:57.49, out-touching Japan’s Kosuke Makino (1:57.51), who was the #2 seed coming out of the heats. That finish ended up being crucial as Foster ended up 8th overall, two one-hundredths clear of Makino.
In addition to Marchand, Casas and Scott, Lewis Clareburt (1:57.29) and Wang (1:57.48) overtook Foster and Makino’s times in the second semi.
MIXED 4X100 MEDLEY RELAY – FINAL
World Record: 3:37.43, United States – 2024
World Junior Record: 3:44.84, United States – 2019
Championship Record: 3:38.56, United States – 2024
A bloody and protracted war like the one in Ukraine greatly affects human lives. However, the long-term damage also includes infrastructure, be it energy, residential or public works. And it is often not possible to wait until the end of the conflict to start reconstruction. Life goes on, even under heavy shelling. But how to tackle these projects amid considerable logistical and material constraints, and how to do it quickly so that daily life can resume as soon as possible? Technological breakthroughs such as 3D printing may be one of the answers, as demonstrated by the latest project to rebuild a school in the Ukrainian city of Lviv.
3D printing to rebuild an elementary school…
Ukrainian authorities report that approximately 277 schools have been obliterated nationwide since the conflict’s outset, casting a dire shadow over the prospects of future generations. In Lviv’s case, a school has fallen victim to shelling, with an added complication: this western Ukrainian city has evolved into a refuge for a sizable number of displaced individuals. Among them are 75,000 school-age children. Fortunately, the humanitarian organization Team4UA has launched an initiative to address this crisis—a primary school constructed through 3D printing, executed at unprecedented speed.
The new Lviv elementary school occupies an area of 370 m2, making it the largest 3D-printed educational facility built to date. Notably, 99% of the concrete was sourced locally, bolstering its sustainability credentials. Moreover, a mere trio of workers is required to manage the 3D printing robot, streamlining the construction process.
The completion of the 3D-printed structure is anticipated within two months, while additional equipment will be ready by the close of 2023. The medium-term aspiration extends beyond this project, envisioning 3D printing to reconstruct other vital infrastructures recycling existing debris to form the concrete mixture.
And helping out war amputees
While 3D printing is gradually finding its place within industrial domains, its adaptability, and cost-efficiency in crafting unique, custom projects have elevated it to a pivotal role in crafting human prostheses. A core advantage lies in its ability to seamlessly conform to the individual morphological attributes of users, delivering this adaptability at a notably lower expense compared to traditional prosthetics.
One specific arena where the need is profound resides in nations scarred by war. Such is the scenario in places like Ukraine, where an estimated ten thousand war-related amputations have occurred. In response, the Hands for Ukraine initiative, spearheaded by a Canadian NGO, employs advanced 3D printing methods to fabricate resilient human prostheses utilizing robust plastic materials. Facilitated by user-friendly software and hardware, the project is accessible to medical practitioners as well.
Post an initial pilot trial in early 2023, the project’s architects are laying the groundwork for establishing two production hubs within Ukraine. One of these will take root in Lviv, with the second planned for Vinnytsia. The endeavor encompasses machinery, manufacturing resources, and the training of personnel responsible for printing the components poised to enhance the lives of those grappling with the aftermath of war. Beyond prosthetic manufacturing, this technology’s transformative influence extends to biomedicine, even encompassing the realm of organ printing, as we recently discussed in this article on lung bioprinting.
3D printing in times of peace
Beyond military conflicts, the application of 3D printing in construction continues to exemplify its potential. A recent instance of this lies in creating a 3D-printed concrete bench within a real estate development in Seville. This distinctive piece of urban furniture showcases sinuous lines made possible by the precision of 3D printing, eliminating the need for conventional molds and formwork. Manufactured with a technique known as contour crafting, the bench has already found its permanent place in the central courtyard of the Puerta Barqueta building. Check out this article for deeper insights into the construction of the bench and other forthcoming applications of 3D printing technology in future urban planning – such as acoustic screens and green facades.
Russian Emergencies Ministry via EPA
Geophysical Survey Of The Russian Academy Of Sciences via EPA
Reuters
