- Langers edge Tiger and son Charlie in PNC Championship playoff
- Explosive batsman Jacobs gets New Zealand call-up for Sri Lanka series
- Holders PSG edge through on penalties in French Cup
- Daniels throw five TDs as Commanders down Eagles
- Atalanta fight back to take top spot in Serie A, Roma hit five
- Mancini admits regrets over leaving Italy for Saudi Arabia
- Run machine Ayub shines as Pakistan sweep South Africa
- Slovak PM Fico on surprise visit to Kremlin
- 'Incredible' Liverpool must stay focused: Slot
- Maresca 'absolutely happy' as title-chasing Chelsea drop points in Everton draw
- Salah happy wherever career ends after inspiring Liverpool rout
- Three and easy as Dortmund move into Bundesliga top six
- Liverpool hit Spurs for six, Man Utd embarrassed by Bournemouth
- Netanyahu vows to act with 'force, determination' against Yemen's Huthis
- Ali hat-trick helps champions Ahly crush Belouizdad
- Salah stars as rampant Liverpool hit Spurs for six
- Syria's new leader says all weapons to come under 'state control'
- 'Sonic 3' zips to top of N.America box office
- Rome's Trevi Fountain reopens to limited crowds
- Mbappe strikes as Real Madrid down Sevilla
- Pope again condemns 'cruelty' of Israeli strikes on Gaza
- Lonely this Christmas: Vendee skippers in low-key celebrations on high seas
- Troubled Man Utd humiliated by Bournemouth
- 2 US pilots shot down over Red Sea in 'friendly fire' incident: military
- Man Utd embarrassed by Bournemouth, Chelsea held at Everton
- France awaits fourth government of the year
- Death toll in Brazil bus crash rises to 41
- Odermatt stays hot to break Swiss World Cup wins record
- Neville says Rashford's career at Man Utd nearing 'inevitable ending'
- Syria's new leader vows not to negatively interfere in Lebanon
- Germany pledges security inquest after Christmas market attack
- Putin vows 'destruction' on Ukraine after Kazan drone attack
- Understated Usyk seeks recognition among boxing legends
- France awaits appointment of new government
- Cyclone Chido death toll rises to 94 in Mozambique
- Stokes out of England's Champions Trophy squad
- Gaza rescuers say Israeli strikes kill 28
- Sweet smell of success for niche perfumes
- 'Finally, we made it!': Ho Chi Minh City celebrates first metro
- Angry questions in Germany after Christmas market attack
- China's Zheng pulls out of season-opening United Cup
- Minorities fear targeted attacks in post-revolution Bangladesh
- Tatum's 43-point triple-double propels Celtics over Bulls
- Tunisia women herb harvesters struggle with drought and heat
- Trump threatens to take back control of Panama Canal
- India's architecture fans guard Mumbai's Art Deco past
- Secretive game developer codes hit 'Balatro' in Canadian prairie province
- Large earthquake hits battered Vanuatu
- Beaten Fury says Usyk got 'Christmas gift' from judges
- First Singaporean golfer at Masters hopes 'not be in awe' of heroes
Drought-hit Mont Blanc shuts shelters to dissuade hikers
Authorities in the French Alps said Friday they had closed down two popular mountain shelters used by Mont Blanc climbers because of potentially deadly drought-related rockfalls.
In a year marked by drought and heatwaves, rockfalls and gaping crevices have made access to the top of Mont Blanc, western Europe's highest mountain, even more difficult and perilous.
The mayor's office in the Mont Blanc village of Saint-Gervais, said climbers were in "mortal danger" from rocks and shards coming loose because of dry weather and dropping from a height.
"All day long, we still see climbers going on the mountain range, all the time, as if this was Disneyland or the Parc Asterix," said Saint-Gervais mayor Jean-Marc Peillex, in reference to two popular theme parks near Paris.
Hikers had been advised since last month to stay away because of the danger, but "they just don't give a damn," he told AFP.
The closure of the two mountain shelters -- Gouter with 120 overnight spots and Tete Rousse with 74, as well as a base camp accommodating up to 50 people -- was to "show clearly that there is no accommodation available".
The authorities had warned for weeks that falling rocks were a danger, he said, adding that crossing the Gouter mountain corridor represented "a mortal danger", he said.
Nevertheless, 79 people stayed at the Gouter shelter Thursday night, he said.
The shelters will remain shut until normal weather conditions return, the mayor said, probably not before early September.
Peillex had warned Wednesday that Saint-Gervais would require a deposit of 15,000 euros ($15,200) from each hiker, saying the sum represented the average cost of a rescue operation and a funeral.
He was, however, advised that French law offers no basis for such a move.
A lack of snow during the winter has laid bare vast areas of greyish glacier -- yellowish where sand dust from the Sahara has accumulated -- riven with fractures on the Mont Blanc.
The heat did the rest, causing the fragile snow bridges to melt that make it possible to cross the crevasses, as well as leading to landslides.
Following several heatwaves, France is in the grip of severe drought, blamed by scientists on climate change.
On Friday, 100 municipalities across the country were without drinking water, Environment Minister Christophe Bechu said.
Calling the drought "historic", Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne called a crisis meeting Friday to seek solutions.
Scientists say human-induced climate change is amplifying extreme weather -- including the heatwaves, droughts and floods seen in several parts of the planet in recent weeks -- and say these events will become more frequent and more intense.
The international community has agreed that climate change poses an existential threat to human systems and the natural world.
X.M.Francisco--PC