From today's featured articleThe modern Olympic Games are leading international multi-sport events in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in various competitions. The Summer and Winter Games are each held in a different city every four years, offset from each other by two. Inspired by the ancient Greek Olympic Games, Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894, leading to the first modern Games in 1896. The abuse of amateur rules by the Eastern Bloc in the late 20th century prompted the IOC to begin allowing participation by professional athletes. The growth of the Games has created challenges and controversies, including political boycotts, doping, and commercialisation. Olympic symbols and rituals include the Olympic flag (pictured) and torch, the opening and closing ceremonies, and medals given to the top three finishers in each event. The contemporary Olympic movement includes related events, such as the Paralympic Games for athletes with physical disabilities. ( Full article...)
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The Indus River is a 3,180-kilometre (1,980 mi) transboundary and trans- Himalayan river that rises in western Tibet before flowing northwest through the regions of Ladakh and Gilgit-Baltistan in Kashmir. The river then bends sharply to the left after the Nanga Parbat massif, flows generally southwest through Pakistan, and empties into the Arabian Sea near the port city of Karachi. The Indus has a total drainage-basin area exceeding 1,165,000 km2 (450,000 sq mi). Its estimated annual flow is around 243 km3 (58 cu mi), making it one of the fifty largest rivers in the world by discharge. This photograph shows the Indus valley near the city of Leh, a capital of Ladakh in Indian-administered Kashmir. Photograph credit: KennyOMG
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