- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Toddler among 4 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says 'very violent' Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Guardians maul Tigers, miracle Mets rally in MLB series openers
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Madrid beat Villarreal but Carvajal suffers knee injury
- Madrid beat Villarreal to move level with Liga leaders Barcelona
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- French rugby player on rape charge whistled but 'serene' on return
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Toddler among 3 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Kovacic stars as Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Thousands march for Palestinians ahead of Oct 7 anniversary
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
Winter Olympics threatened by climate change, says report
Climate change is threatening the future of the Winter Olympics, reducing the number of suitable venues for the event around the globe, a report warned ahead of the Beijing Games.
The Olympics in China, which start on February 4, will be the first Winter Games to rely almost 100 percent on artificial snow, according to the study.
"Slippery Slopes: How Climate Change is Threatening the Winter Olympics", was produced by the Sport Ecology Group at Britain's Loughborough University and the Protect Our Winters campaign group.
It says more than 100 snow generators and 300 snow-making guns are working flat out to cover the ski slopes of the 2022 Winter Olympics in artificial snow.
The authors say it is an energy and water-intensive process frequently using chemicals to slow melt, but also delivers a surface that many competitors say is unpredictable and potentially dangerous.
"The risk is clear -- man-made warming is threatening the long-term future of winter sports," the report says. "It is also reducing the number of climatically suitable host venues for the Winter Olympiad."
"The 2022 Winter Olympics will, no doubt, be an awesome spectacle –- watched and enjoyed by millions worldwide," it adds.
"But they should also provoke a debate about the future of snow sports, and the limits of engineering artificial natural environments. Slippery slopes lie ahead."
Of the 21 venues used for the Winter Games since Chamonix 1924, scientists believe that by 2050 only 10 will have the "climate suitability" and natural snowfall levels to host an event.
Chamonix is now rated "high risk" along with venues in Norway, France and Austria, while Vancouver, Sochi and Squaw Valley in the United States are deemed "unreliable".
British freestyle skier Laura Donaldson, who competed at the Salt Lake Games in 2002, warned in the report of the dangers to athletes.
"If freestyle super pipes are formed from snowmaking machines in a poor (natural snow) season, the walls of the pipe are solid, vertical ice and the pipe floor is solid ice," she said.
"This is dangerous for athletes -- some have died."
Two-time Canadian Olympian Philippe Marquis raised concerns about the increase in injuries caused by the lack of practice on snow and voiced environmental fears.
"Athletes feel the urge to push their limits even if the conditions are suboptimal," said the freestyle skier.
"The conditions are definitely more dangerous than what we've seen before."
Former British Olympic snowboarder Lesley McKenna added: "I have cherished the last three decades in snow sports. But I harbour mounting fears for where we could be in another 30 years' time."
S.F.Warren--AMWN