- 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
- 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
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
- Thousands march in London in support of Palestinians, 1 year after Oct 7
- Israel readying response to Iran missile attack
- Schutt, Mooney help Australia beat Sri Lanka in Women's T20 World Cup
- Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
- Djokovic 'shakes rust off' to make third round of Shanghai Masters
- 'Imperfect' PSG fighting on all fronts - Luis Enrique
- Struggling Pakistan look to thwart adaptable England
- Child 'trampled to death' in asylum seekers' Channel crossing: minister
- Gauff fights back to set up Beijing final against Muchova
- Guardiola claims Premier League won't delay season for Man City
- Israel to mark October 7 attack as Gaza war spreads
- Gauff fights back to reach China Open final
- Recovering Stokes ruled out of first Pakistan Test
- Hezbollah battles troops on border as Israel pounds Lebanon
- Alcaraz, Sinner breeze into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Bagnaia wins Japan MotoGP sprint to cut Martin's lead
- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Gaza cultural heritage brought to light in Geneva
- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
- Padres pitcher Musgrove needs elbow surgery
- Supreme Court lets stand rules to curb mercury, methane emissions
- Boston beat Denver in NBA exhibition season opener, but Jokic says omens are good
- Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate
- Biden says 'not confident' of peaceful US election
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- Lukaku stars as Napoli beat Como to hold Serie A top spot
- Ohtani set for MLB playoff debut as Dodgers face Padres
- Pogba's drug ban cut to 18 months from four years
Paris metro 'impossible' for disabled, transport boss admits
The head of the Paris regional transport network admitted Monday that the city's metro system is near-impossible for disabled people to navigate as the French capital prepares to host the Paralympics.
The Games start Wednesday, with a lack of accessible metro transport for disabled visitors a major gripe.
The first Paris metro opened in 1900 and the network has grown into the busiest system in the European Union, with more than 300 stations spread over 16 lines carrying over four million passengers daily.
But only 29 stops are wheelchair-accessible.
The city's historic metro lines "remain the weak spot" in terms of accessibility, said Valerie Pecresse, who as president of the Paris region also runs its transport network.
She called for a massive effort to fix the problem.
While all buses running in central Paris can take wheelchairs, only 25 percent of rail services -- metros, trams and the RER suburban mass transit system -- were accessible, she said.
Most of the metro could be modernised in terms of accessibility, she told reporters, although it would take 20 years and cost between 15 and 20 billion euros ($16.7 to 22.3 billion) in investment.
Such an effort "could become the great project of this decade", she said, dubbing the idea "A Metro for All".
Paris's preparations for the Paralympics, which run to September 8, has highlighted the lack of accessible transportation in the French capital.
However, Pecresse said some solutions had been put in place for the Games, including around 100 minibuses to take disabled visitors to competition venues.
There would also be a smartphone app to help them prepare their journeys.
Authorities expect up to 300,000 daily visitors during the Paralympics, about half that of the Olympics.
S.Caetano--PC