Hidilyn Diaz made history on Monday when she won the Philippines' first Olympic gold medal.
The athlete, 30, won the women’s 55-kilogram weightlifting competition in Tokyo, setting an Olympic record of 127kg in the clean and jerk event.
Diaz is from Zamboanga, in the south of the South-East Asian islands nation, and as she made history with her gold medal, a host of her most famous countrymen and women celebrated her win on social media.
Pia Wurtzbach
Filipino-German model Pia Wurtzbach acknowledged the win on social media, celebrating "a strong and amazing woman".
"We are so proud of you," Wurtzbach wrote on Twitter.
Manny Pacquiao
Boxer and politician Manny Pacquiao took to Twitter to thank the athlete.
"Thank you, Hidilyn Diaz, for the first-ever Olympic Gold for the Philippines! We are so proud of you," he wrote.
Bela Padilla
Filipina actress and director Bela Padilla recognised Diaz's achievement, writing: "Thank you for carrying us all."
Gretchen Ho
Television presenter, former volleyball player and activist Gretchen Ho is also in Tokyo, covering the Olympic Games. She tweeted about Diaz's achievement a number of times, most notably posting a photo of the athlete's blistered hands, writing: "Golden hands of @diaz_hidilyn."
Immediately after the win, Ho tweeted an image of Diaz in action, sharing the news with the world.
She later tweeted an image of Diaz reacting to her triumph. "What gold means," Ho wrote.
Ho has since interviewed Diaz for a TV special for the Filipino channel TV5.
Gary Valenciano
Filipino singer Gary Valenciano retweeted a number of Ho's posts from Tokyo. Valenciano wrote: "You went for gold and you got it Hidilyn Diaz!"
He later said he was "speechless", describing Diaz as "outstanding".
Janine Gutierrez
Actress Janine Gutierrez celebrated Diaz's win by describing the champion as the "hero we need on SONA day", in reference to the State of the Nation Address, an address by the president of the Philippines, which is delivered on the fourth Monday of July annually. This year it coincided with Diaz's event.
Shotzi
American WWE wrestler Shotzi Blackheart, born Ashley Urbanski, and who is of Filipino and Polish descent, tweeted her "Pinay pride" following Diaz's medal win.
"Hidilyn Diaz is Philippines' first ever gold medallist!" Shotzi wrote, with a series of flag and colourful heart emojis.
Risa Hontiveros
Filipina senator Risa Hontiveros tweeted that Diaz "makes us proud", posting a photo of herself with the athlete.
Richard Juan
Hong Kong TV host Richard Juan, who lives in the Philippines, wrote: "The fact that our first Olympic GOLD medallist, Hidilyn Diaz was born, raised and trained here in the Philippines just made it extra SWEET. Congratulations!"
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Director: S Shankar
Producer: Lyca Productions; presented by Dharma Films
Cast: Rajnikanth, Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, Sudhanshu Pandey
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
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Grand Hustle/Epic/Cactus Jack
The specs
Engine: 0.8-litre four cylinder
Power: 70bhp
Torque: 66Nm
Transmission: four-speed manual
Price: $1,075 new in 1967, now valued at $40,000
On sale: Models from 1966 to 1970
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Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
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How to wear a kandura
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Don’ts
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AUSTRALIA SQUADS
ODI squad: Aaron Finch (captain), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa
Twenty20 squad: Aaron Finch (captain), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa
Titanium Escrow profile
Started: December 2016
Founder: Ibrahim Kamalmaz
Based: UAE
Sector: Finance / legal
Size: 3 employees, pre-revenue
Stage: Early stage
Investors: Founder's friends and Family
Winners
Ballon d’Or (Men’s)
Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain / France)
Ballon d’Or Féminin (Women’s)
Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona / Spain)
Kopa Trophy (Best player under 21 – Men’s)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)
Best Young Women’s Player
Vicky López (Barcelona / Spain)
Yashin Trophy (Best Goalkeeper – Men’s)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City / Italy)
Best Women’s Goalkeeper
Hannah Hampton (England / Aston Villa and Chelsea)
Men’s Coach of the Year
Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)
Women’s Coach of the Year
Sarina Wiegman (England)
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
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In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
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- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
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- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
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- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
Third Test
Result: India won by 203 runs
Series: England lead five-match series 2-1
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Getting there
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 268hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 380Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: CVT auto
Fuel consumption: 9.5L/100km
On sale: now
Price: from Dh195,000
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The results of the first round are as follows:
Qais Saied (Independent): 18.4 per cent
Nabil Karoui (Qalb Tounes): 15.58 per cent
Abdelfattah Mourou (Ennahdha party): 12.88 per cent
Abdelkarim Zbidi (two-time defence minister backed by Nidaa Tounes party): 10.7 per cent
Youssef Chahed (former prime minister, leader of Long Live Tunisia): 7.3 per cent
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Upul Tharanga (captain), Dinesh Chandimal, Niroshan Dickwella
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Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal, Dushmantha Chameera
Vishwa Fernando, Akila Dananjaya, Jeffrey Vandersay
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
