
-
City officials vote to repair roof on home of MLB Rays
-
Rockets forward Brooks gets one-game NBA ban for technicals
-
Pentagon watchdog to probe defense chief over Signal chat row
-
US tariffs could push up inflation, slow growth: Fed official
-
New Bruce Springsteen music set for June 27 release
-
Tom Cruise pays tribute to Val Kilmer
-
Zuckerberg repeats Trump visits in bid to settle antitrust case
-
US fencer disqualified for not facing transgender rival
-
'Everyone worried' by Trump tariffs in France's champagne region
-
Iyer blitz powers Kolkata to big IPL win over Hyderabad
-
Russian soprano Netrebko to return to London's Royal Opera House
-
French creche worker gets 25 years for killing baby with drain cleaner
-
UK avoids worst US tariffs post-Brexit, but no celebrations
-
Canada imposing 25% tariff on some US auto imports
-
Ruud wants 'fair share' of Grand Slam revenue for players
-
Lesotho, Africa's 'kingdom in the sky' jolted by Trump
-
Trump's trade math baffles economists
-
Gaza heritage and destruction on display in Paris
-
'Unprecedented crisis' in Africa healthcare: report
-
Pogacar gunning for blood and thunder in Tour of Flanders
-
Macron calls for suspension of investment in US until tariffs clarified
-
Wall St leads rout as world reels from Trump tariffs
-
Mullins gets perfect National boost with remarkable four-timer
-
Trump tariffs hammer global stocks, dollar and oil
-
Authors hold London protest against Meta for 'stealing' work to train AI
-
Tate Modern gifted 'extraordinary' work by US artist Joan Mitchell
-
Mexico president welcomes being left off Trump's new tariffs list
-
Tonali eager to lead Newcastle back into Champions League
-
Lesotho hardest hit as new US tariffs rattle Africa
-
Stellantis pausing some Canada, Mexico production over Trump auto tariffs
-
Rising odds asteroid that briefly threatened Earth will hit Moon
-
Italy reels from Brignone broken leg with Winter Olympics looming
-
Is the Switch 2 worth the price? Reviews are mixed
-
Civilians act to bring aid to Myanmar earthquake victims
-
US trade gap narrows in February ahead of bulk of Trump tariffs
-
Stocks, dollar and oil sink as gold hits high on Trump tariffs
-
Arsenal defender Gabriel out for rest of the season
-
Trump says US to emerge 'stronger' as markets tumble over tariffs
-
Wiegman says Belgium games can aid England's women's Euros title defence
-
Prosecutors demand jail term for Ancelotti for tax fraud
-
Syria accuses Israel of deadly destabilisation campaign
-
Skiing World Cup champion Brignone suffers broken leg
-
Iconic Paris hotel Lutetia taken over by Mandarin Oriental
-
Nepal capital chokes as wildfires rage
-
AI could impact 40 percent of jobs worldwide: UN
-
Liverpool's Slot happy to let Premier League title bid take its course
-
Tesla sales fall again in Germany amid Musk backlash
-
Italy's skiing champion Brignone air-lifted to hospital after crash
-
Defending champion I Am Maximus heads final field for Grand National
-
Rubio says US committed to NATO - but tells allies to spend more

Olympics meaningful even without fans, Tokyo 2020 chief says ahead of Beijing
Next month's Beijing Winter Olympics can still be meaningful even with the general public locked out because of Covid-19, a top official from last year's pandemic-delayed Tokyo Games has said.
China on Monday cancelled plans to sell Beijing Olympics tickets to the public as the number of coronavirus cases in the country reached its highest level since March 2020.
Beijing 2022 chiefs said they will instead "organise spectators to watch the Games on-site", without explaining how they will be selected.
The pandemic-postponed Tokyo Olympics were held almost entirely behind closed doors last summer, and Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto said his experience had shown the Games can thrive even without full stands.
"I think it's preferable to have fans at an Olympics, but I don't think the meaning of hosting it was lost just because antivirus measures meant fans couldn't be there," he told AFP.
"In our digital society, people can watch as if they are in stadiums. Make no mistake, that emotion still comes across."
Beijing organisers have planned a raft of antivirus measures in a bid to keep the virus out.
Athletes, support staff, volunteers and media will all be kept in a tightly controlled "closed loop" bubble separating them from the rest of the population.
They will also have to undergo daily virus tests and wear a high-spec mask at all times.
The strict measures are a continuation of those developed and implemented at the Tokyo Games -- and Muto warned they may still be needed at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
"I don't think anyone can say for sure how the virus situation is going to develop from now on," he said.
"There are still more than two years to go until the Paris Games so my hope is that things will be back to normal by that time.
"That's my hope, but you never know until the time comes."
- 'No regrets' -
Muto said he hoped Beijing and Paris would learn from Tokyo's experience dealing with the virus, which forced the event to be delayed by a year.
Athletes and officials have already started to land in Beijing, immediately entering the bubble.
Unlike in Tokyo, where local volunteers, contractors and journalists could go in and out of the bubble, nobody will be able to leave Beijing's closed loop during the Games.
Muto defended Tokyo's handling of the Summer Games, which were dogged by protests and low public approval rates in the months before they began.
"I don't have any regrets at all -- the majority of people said afterwards that they were glad we held the Games," Muto said.
"That's not to say that everything went well. One thing we can reflect on is that we didn't confront public unease over hosting the Games -- we didn't explain things in a way that reassured them it was going to be OK."
Muto cited a Japanese government report released last month that found the Tokyo Olympics did not contribute to the spread of the virus among the general population.
But he acknowledged it was "not clear" whether the public would support another Japanese Olympic bid.
Sapporo, on the northern island of Hokkaido, is bidding to host the 2030 Winter Games.
The city, which hosted the 1972 Games, will launch a survey throughout Hokkaido this spring to gauge public sentiment.
Sapporo slashed its projected costs for hosting the event by about a quarter last November, amid fears of a public backlash after the ballooning cost of the Tokyo Games.
"They will be doing various things from now on to gain the understanding of the people of Hokkaido, and it could come down to the result of that," said Muto.
"Sapporo hosted the Winter Olympics at the same site 50 years ago and personally I think it would be wonderful if they can host it again half a century later."
N.Esteves--PC