China is celebrating its best-ever performance at an overseas Olympics after winning the same number of golds as the United States at the Paris 2024 Games.

Both countries finished with 40 golds, marking the first ever tie for total golds at the Summer Games – but the US claimed top spot overall with 126 medals to China’s 91.

The race was dramatically close as the two sporting superpowers went head-to-head in yet another aspect of their geopolitical rivalry in a Games that was at times overshadowed by a doping controversy.

China has become one of the world’s most competitive sporting nations in recent decades, seeing its Olympic performance as a symbol of national strength. In 2008, it topped the gold medal table at the Beijing Games, surpassing the US for the first time.

In Paris, the Chinese team appeared on course to top the medal table as it built up a sizable early lead over Team USA, thanks to its domination in shooting and diving. But as track and field events got underway, the US quickly caught up – then eventually overtook its rival.

China is only the third country after the US and the former Soviet Union to top the gold medal count at a Summer Olympics away from home soil – and Chinese state media hailed the “record-breaking” haul from Paris.

“Chinese analysts said this proves that the success of Chinese modernization can bring not only economic growth, but also can benefit the development of public health, as well as the environment for sports industries, to effectively energize ‘sports for all,’” the state-run Global Times said.

Chinese social media also celebrated the team’s performance with a burst of national pride, with many users criticizing what they said was as an unfair attempt by US officials to smear China with persistent doping allegations against its swim team.

On microblogging site Weibo, the hashtag “China tied for first place on the gold medal leaderboard” became the top trending topic, racking up more than 500 million views.

“We won every gold medal square and fair!” said a top comment with over 28,000 likes.

Others argued China should have surpassed the US with a total of 44 golds by adding the medals from Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Taiwan competes at the Olympics as Chinese Taipei to avoid objections from China, whose ruling Communist Party claims the democratically governed island as its own territory despite having never controlled it.

Hong Kong, a former British colony, competes as Hong Kong, China at the Olympics.

Doping controversy

China’s swim team faced intense scrutiny in Paris following revelations that nearly half the group that Beijing sent to the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 had months earlier tested positive for a banned performance-enhancing substance.

The swimmers had been cleared by the China Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) shortly before the Tokyo Games, after it ruled that the positive tests for a banned heart medication were the result of contamination, likely from a hotel restaurant. The global sports doping watchdog World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accepted the assessment without an appeal.

The accusations, first reported by the New York Times and German public broadcaster ARD in April, have sparked backlash in the swimming world, where doping can result in years-long bans for athletes who violate the rules.

Concern only deepened last month, after WADA acknowledged a separate 2022 case in which two Chinese swimmers tested positive for trace amounts of a banned anabolic steroid. They were provisionally suspended but later cleared of a violation by Chinese officials – again citing contamination linked to food, WADA said.

In China, where the swim team has long been a source of Olympic glory, the doping allegations brought outrage and accusations of unfair treatment – with many seeing it as an attempt by the US to sabotage the Chinese team at the Games.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington accused the US of “using the doping issue to smear and suppress China,” while CHINADA and state media have accused the US of “double standards” in handling drugs scandals.

Last week, CHINADA called for more intensive testing of American track and field athletes, citing past doping controversies in the US – and highlighting the case of sprinter Erriyon Knighton, who finished fourth in the men’s 200-meters in Paris.

Knighton was provisionally suspended after testing positive for a banned substance in March, but he was cleared to compete in Paris after an independent arbitrator determined his failed drug test was “more likely than not” caused by contaminated meat, according to the US Anti-Doping Agency.

On Monday, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV posted an article on social media with the headline: “The Olympics Games have ended, but the shocking questions about the ‘United States of Addicts’ cannot be left unanswered.”

“The next Olympics will be held in Los Angeles, USA. To restore the world’s confidence in American sports, the US owes an explanation to the world,” the article said.

A helicopter crashed onto the roof of a seaside hotel in Cairns, Australia, in the early hours of Monday, killing the pilot, authorities said, as video showed flames and smoke billowing into the night sky.

Hundreds of guests and staff of the luxury DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel were evacuated into the street after the helicopter crashed into the building near Cairns Esplanade, a waterfront boardwalk popular with travelers in the north Queensland city.

Police have cordoned off the area in the busy tourist strip, and charter company Nautilus Aviation said it was working with officials as they investigate the “unauthorized use” of one of the company’s aircraft.

Witness Veronica Knight, who was visiting Cairns from Sydney, was sitting on the esplanade, talking on the phone after midnight, when she saw a helicopter fly by very low over the water.

Seconds later, it hit the roof of the hotel.

Police said in a statement they received reports at 1:50 a.m. of the crash, which caused a fire on top of the building. The hotel was evacuated, and nobody was injured, police said – though Knight added that the guests “looked stunned” as they left the building.

Her videos show the orange glow of flames and smoke coming from the top of the hotel, while sirens wail in the distance.

The pilot – and sole occupant of the helicopter – was declared dead at the scene, police said.

Knight said the helicopter had passed over trees and another taller building before hitting the roof of the seven-story hotel.

“[The pilot] would have known those buildings were there,” said Knight. “The strange thing is it went straight past a tall building nearby, and it went straight past the tall one and got a lower one.”

Police have declared an exclusion zone in the area, urging the public to stay away.

Other investigators include the forensic crash unit and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), which sent a team to the crash site on Monday to gather evidence and conduct interviews.

The bureau asked witnesses with any photos or videos of the helicopter to contact authorities through the ATSB website.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. condemned on Sunday Chinese air force actions in waters of the South China Sea claimed by both countries, calling the actions “unjustified, illegal and reckless.”

A day earlier, Manila and Beijing accused each other of disrupting their militaries’ operations around the Scarborough Shoal in the first incident since Marcos took office in 2022, in which the Philippines has complained of dangerous actions by Chinese aircraft. Previously, the actions had involved navy or coast guard vessels.

The Philippine military condemned “dangerous and provocative actions” when two Chinese aircraft dropped flares in the path of a Philippine aircraft during a routine patrol around the shoal on Thursday.

The Chinese military’s Southern Theater Command countered that the Philippines had disrupted its training, accusing Manila of “illegally intruding” into its airspace.

On Sunday, Marcos urged China to act responsibly both in the seas and in the skies.

“We have hardly started to calm the waters, and it is already worrying that there could be instability in our airspace,” Marcos said in a statement posted by the Presidential Communications Office on the social media platform X.

The Chinese embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Scarborough Shoal is one of Asia’s most contested maritime features and a flashpoint for flare-ups over sovereignty and fishing rights.

Chester Cabalza, president of the Manila-based think tank International Development and Security Cooperation, said China’s actions were a “show of force” in response to Manila’s participation in multi-nation drills that promote freedom of navigation and overflight.

“After a series of gray zone tactics at sea, we may probably see dog fights up in the sky if China continues its growing antagonism in the Philippines’ air and defence zones,” Cabalza said.

Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual shipborne commerce, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.

China rejects a 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague that Beijing’s expansive claims had no basis under international law.

Hezbollah fired a barrage of rockets toward northern Israel on Sunday night, as Israeli forces remain on high alert for potential retaliation from Iran and its proxies following the assassination of a top Hamas leader last month.

Rocket fire toward Israel by Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon has become a near-daily occurrence since the outbreak of war in Gaza, as fears grow over the possibility of an Iranian attack that could escalate into a wider regional conflict.

The latest Hezbollah salvo was fired in support of the Palestinian people in Gaza and in retaliation for Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon, the militant group said in a statement. It comes after Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that an Israeli strike on the town of Ma’aroub, southern Lebanon, injured 12 people including six children.

About 30 rockets were launched from Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said, adding that some fell into open areas and no injuries were reported.

Earlier Sunday, the IDF said its instructions to the public had not changed amid a possible military response from Iranian forces to the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31.

“The IDF and the security establishment monitor our enemies and the developments in the Middle East, with an emphasis on Iran and Hezbollah, and constantly assess the situation,” IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said. “IDF forces are deployed and prepared in high readiness. If it becomes necessary to change the instructions, we will update about it in an orderly message on the official channels.”

Mediators in ceasefire-hostage talks between Israel and Hamas are making a renewed push to bring the warring parties to the negotiating table this week, as concerns grow that the conflict could spiral into a regional war.

A source privy to the details told Ravid the situation is “still fluid” and the internal debate in Iran continues. It is possible Iranian decision-making will still change.

Austin has ordered a guided-missile submarine to the Middle East and accelerated the arrival of a carrier strike group to the region ahead of an anticipated Iranian attack against Israel, the Pentagon said in a statement Sunday evening.

The announcement came in a readout of a call between the defense secretary and his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant.

Ravid also reported that a source with knowledge of the call said Gallant told Austin that Iranian military preparations suggest Iran is getting ready for a large-scale attack.

As the threat of an attack from Iran and Iran-backed Hezbollah looms, the leaders of the United States, Qatar and Egypt said Thursday they may present what they called a “final bridging proposal” this week, urging Israel and Hamas to conclude a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed Israel will send a delegation to the talks.

Hamas said Sunday it has asked mediators to implement a ceasefire plan based on previous talks such as those put forward by US President Joe Biden and the UN Security Council in July.

This story and headline have been updated with additional developments.

Using his sleeve to wipe tear gas from his burning eyes, 25-year-old Mugdho weaves through the crowd, handing out bottles of water to the protesters whose demands for reform would soon topple Bangladesh’s leader.

Fifteen minutes later, the university student would become a martyr of the protest movement, when a bullet pierced his forehead as he paused to rest during the searing afternoon heat in the capital Dhaka.

The video of Mugdho handing out water before his death on July 18 punctured the social news feeds of millions across Bangladesh, galvanizing more people to take to the streets calling for justice for the lives lost.

What began as peaceful protests against a quota system for government jobs spiraled into a nationwide movement to push longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina out of office, resulting in a deadly crackdown and clashes which killed at least 300 people, according to analysis by local media and agencies.

“(The killings) kept happening, and everyone was silent,” said Farah Porshia, a 23-year-old protester who works at a tech company in Dhaka. “We needed to stand up for ourselves, and for democracy.”

Hasina fled to India by helicopter last week as tens of thousands of protesters marched on her home. By Thursday, the Bangladeshi economist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus had returned to Dhaka to form a temporary government, ahead of elections which the constitution states should be held within 90 days.

“I’m surprised by the amount of power we hold,” Porshia said. “Because for years, all of us have been feeling so powerless.”

Families seek justice

As the chaos of the last month is replaced by an uneasy calm, many families are now seeking accountability for the deaths of their loved ones.

Identical twins Mugdho and Snigdho were inseparable since birth – eating, sleeping and studying together, sharing clothes as well as secrets.

“He was not only my brother, he was my best friend, he is one of the parts of my body,” Snigdho said. “We used to do everything together.”

Math graduate Mugdho was studying for an MBA, and Snigdho had graduated with a law degree. The twins were planning to move to Italy this fall – to further their studies and explore Europe on motorbikes. To save money for their travels, they were doing social media marketing for the online freelancer hub Fiver.

Now, Snigdho and the twins’ older brother Dipto – Mir Mahmudur Rahman – are facing a future without Mugdho.

They kept hold of the university ID card Mugdho wore on a lanyard around his neck when he died – his spattered blood left to dry as a symbol of that dark day.

Now, they are trying to find solace from the impact Mugdho made on the protest movement.

“Because of him, people got the strength to do the protest,” Snigdho said. “He always used to say that ‘I will make my parents proud someday.’ That moment has come.”

Mugdho died two days after another pivotal moment in the protests – the death of 25-year-old Abu Sayed on July 16, captured on video which was widely circulated.

Amnesty International analyzed the videos and accused police officers of deliberately firing at Sayed with 12-gauge shotguns in a “seemingly intentional, unprovoked attack,” and condemned the authorities for using “unlawful force.”

The shocking deaths of Sayed and Mugdho catapulted the unrest from being a largely student-led protest into the mainstream.

“Everybody was on the streets, people of every race, every religion, every ethnicity, of all ages, professionals, students, infants were on the roads,” Porshia said.

Among the hundreds of people who have reportedly died during the clashes over the past few weeks, UNICEF says at least 32 were children.

In a tiny shack made of corrugated metal and mud in the heart of Dhaka, the parents of 13-year-old victim Mubarak are still trying to process what happened to their son.

His mother Fareeda Begum rocks back and forth, weeping as she watches Mubarak’s TikTok videos on her phone – now all that she has left of him.

The youngest of four and the only one who still lived at home, Mubarak often helped his parents with their cows so they could sell milk to survive.

“He was a smiling, happy boy. If you gave him work, he would never say no, he would do it with a smile,” his father Mohammad Ramzan Ali said, adding that he could also be “a little mischievous.”

Mubarak was outside playing with his friends on July 19 when the curious teenager wandered a short distance from their home in central Dhaka to see the protests.

The parents only found out that he’d been shot when they got a call from the hospital.

Holding his wife Fareeda in his arms as her tears rolled down her face, Ali said, “My son has been martyred for this movement.”

“I did not understand this quota protest before, we are uneducated,” he said. “But later what I understood is that this protest isn’t just for students, it’s for all of Bangladesh.”