Pakistan batting woes deepen ahead of crucial second Test

The US state of Washington is facing one of its most severe wildfire emergencies of the year as rapidly spreading fires continue to burn across vast areas, forcing thousands of residents to evacuate and leaving tens of thousands without electricity. State authorities have declared a state of emergency after wildfires scorched more than 250,000 acres of land. Officials said the total area burned since the beginning of the current wildfire season has now exceeded 450,000 acres, highlighting the scale of the crisis. Governor Bob Ferguson announced emergency measures and imposed a statewide burn ban. He said extremely high temperatures, dry conditions and strong winds have created dangerous conditions that are allowing the fires to spread quickly. Firefighters are battling more than a dozen active wildfires across the state. More than 4,000 emergency personnel have been deployed to contain the blazes and protect communities under threat. The Old Trails Fire has become one of the most destructive wildfires in eastern Washington. The fire is threatening thousands of homes and buildings, particularly around the city of Spokane. Authorities have ordered mandatory evacuations in several areas as flames continue to move toward residential communities. Emergency officials have also evacuated important public facilities as a precaution. These include a Department of Veterans Affairs hospital, a waste-to-energy plant and water treatment facilities. Authorities said the measures were taken to protect patients, staff and essential infrastructure. The wildfire emergency has also disrupted electricity services across eastern Washington. Utility provider Avista reported that around 60,000 customers remain without power because of fire damage and precautionary shutdowns designed to reduce additional risks. One of the largest active blazes is the Kaiser Canyon Fire in northeastern Washington. The wildfire has expanded to nearly 134,000 acres and continues to challenge firefighters because of difficult terrain and rapidly changing weather conditions. Fire crews from more than a dozen US states have joined local emergency responders to strengthen firefighting operations. National Guard personnel have also been mobilised to assist with evacuation efforts, logistics and emergency response. Authorities are using helicopters, aircraft, bulldozers and other heavy equipment to slow the spread of the fires and establish containment lines. Emergency teams are working around the clock to protect homes, businesses and critical infrastructure. Residents in affected communities have been urged to follow evacuation orders without delay and remain informed through official emergency updates. Officials warned that weather conditions could continue to fuel the fires in the coming days. Despite the widespread destruction and the large-scale emergency response, authorities have confirmed that no deaths or injuries have been reported so far. Firefighters continue working to bring the blazes under control while monitoring the risk of new fires across the state.

Eight Arab and Muslim-majority countries have jointly condemned the large-scale entry of Israeli settlers and far-right political figures into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem, describing the incident as a serious provocation that threatens regional stability and religious harmony. In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates expressed deep concern over the incident. They said the entry of thousands of Israeli settlers into the mosque compound, accompanied by far-right Israeli ministers and protected by Israeli security forces, violated the longstanding historical and legal status of the holy site. The ministers warned that such actions could inflame tensions, encourage extremism and undermine international efforts aimed at achieving a just and lasting peace based on a two-state solution. They stressed that the current status of Jerusalem’s religious sites must be respected and preserved. According to Palestinian officials, more than 4,200 Israeli settlers entered the Al-Aqsa compound during the Jewish religious observance of Tisha B’Av, making it one of the largest such incursions this year. Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also visited the site under heavy police protection. Palestinian authorities said Israeli security forces imposed strict restrictions on access to the mosque, preventing many Palestinian worshippers and students from entering the compound. They also alleged that several people were assaulted during the operation. The eight countries called on Israel to immediately remove restrictions on access to Al-Aqsa Mosque and respect the existing arrangements governing the site. They reaffirmed that the Islamic and Christian holy places in Jerusalem must be protected and that any unilateral measures altering their status are unacceptable. The joint statement also urged the international community to take a firm position against actions that violate the sanctity of religious sites and to press for an end to measures that could further escalate tensions in the occupied city. Al-Aqsa Mosque is one of Islam’s holiest sites and is administered by the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf under a long-standing arrangement. The compound remains one of the most sensitive religious and political flashpoints in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with repeated incidents at the site often triggering wider regional tensions.

Palaeontologists have identified a new species of Late Triassic dinosaur from fossils discovered on the shores of Lake Kariba in northern Zimbabwe, offering fresh insights into prehistoric ecosystems across southern Africa. Named Musango matusadonaensis, the 4.5-metre-long creature lived approximately 210 million years ago, a pivotal era when dinosaurs were beginning to spread across the supercontinent Gondwana prior to becoming the planet’s dominant land animals. The discovery represents only the fifth dinosaur species formally named from Zimbabwe, stemming from a international research collaboration between institutions in the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Lead researcher Professor Paul Barrett from London’s Natural History Museum, alongside co-authors publishing in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, detailed the anatomical characteristics of the fossilised skeleton, which included bones from the spine, arms, and feet. Musango was an early sauropodomorph, an evolutionary precursor to massive four-legged herbivores like Diplodocus, though this earlier relative was lightly built and walked primarily on two legs. Microscopic analysis of its fibula revealed eight distinct growth rings, indicating the animal was around eight years old and nearly fully grown when it died, while weighing an estimated 222 kilogrammes. The discovery challenges long-held scientific assumptions that Late Triassic dinosaur populations were uniform across the southern regions of Gondwana. Based on structural features of its skeleton and comparative ecosystem data, researchers believe Musango was an opportunistic omnivore that fed on plants, small reptiles, lungfish, and crocodile-like phytosaurs. The presence of a distinct species in the Lake Kariba region demonstrates that ancient southern Africa was divided into unique, localised environments with varied wildlife compositions, showing that regional climate and geography drove dinosaur diversification much earlier than previously understood.