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Skigebieden Lech en Zürs in Oostenrijk onbereikbaar door lawine

LECH (ANP) - Nederlandse wintersporters op weg naar het Oostenrijkse Arlberg kunnen in de nacht van zaterdag op zondag niet in de populaire skigebieden Lech en Zürs arriveren. Door een lawine is de Arlbergpas sinds zaterdagmiddag 17.00 uur "tot nader order" afgesloten, meldt de website Lechzuers. De lawine heeft de toegangswegen tot de pas bedolven. De Arlbergpas "blijft naar verwachting ten minste tot zondagochtend dicht", schrijft de Oostenrijkse nieuwszender ORF op haar website.

Ook de plaats Stuben is in ieder geval tot zondagochtend niet bereikbaar voor aankomst en vertrek.

Gedurende de ochtend zal de lawinecommissie de situatie "telkens opnieuw beoordelen" en besluiten wanneer de wegen weer open kunnen, vult Tiroler Tagezeitung aan.

Zaterdag was een drukke dag op de wegen in de regio. Ook veel Nederlandse wintersporters reisden van of naar Arlberg. "Terwijl regio Noord aan haar krokusvakantie begint, keren anderen juist huiswaarts", schrijft website Skiinformatie.nl. Nederlanders die de pas niet vóór 17.00 uur wisten te bereiken, moeten voor de nacht elders onderdak zoeken, meldt ORF. Wie zaterdag wilde vertrekken uit het wintersportgebied, maar dat niet voor 17.00 uur lukte, zal een extra nacht moeten blijven.

Burgemeester Gerhard Lucian van Lech, bekend als geliefde wintersportbestemming van het Nederlandse koninklijk huis, liet aan de zender ORF weten dat veel wintersporters het dorp echter nog net op tijd hebben kunnen verlaten.

Volgens de lokale politie zijn tot nu toe geen mensen of voertuigen onder de sneeuw van de lawine aangetroffen.


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All nine bodies of skiers killed in California avalanche recovered

Six additional skiers survived tragedy in Sierra Nevadas near Lake Tahoe, a popular winter sport destination

Officials announced on Saturday that the bodies of all nine missing skiers who were killed in a devastating avalanche in California had been recovered, following days of search efforts.

The avalanche happened in the Sierra Nevada mountains in northern California near Lake Tahoe, a popular skiing and winter sport destination. No more people are left missing after Tuesday’s deadly avalanche.

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Government’s response to Maccabi Tel Aviv fan ban was ‘clumsy’, say MPs

Select committee says ‘late’ decision to overturn exclusion of fans ‘did little more than inflame tensions’

The government’s response to West Midlands police’s ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans was “clumsy”, “late” and “did little more than inflame tensions”, a group of MPs has found.

A report by the home affairs select committee, published on Sunday, analysed the original decision to ban away fans from a Europa League fixture with Aston Villa in November, as well as the advice that led to it.

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Pakistan strikes militant hideouts on Afghan border after surge in attacks

‘Intelligence-based, selective operations’ carried out against Pakistani Taliban camps, says information ministry

Pakistan carried out strikes along the border with Afghanistan on Saturday night, stating it was targeting hideouts of Pakistani militants it blames for recent attacks inside the country.

Islamabad did not say in precisely which areas the strikes were carried out or provide other details. There was no immediate comment from Kabul, and reports on social media suggested the strikes were carried out inside Afghanistan.

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‘Caipirinhas, daiquiris’: Guardiola tells City players to chill and ignore title pressure

  • Manchester City beat Newcastle to cut Arsenal’s lead to two

  • Team given three days off before facing Leeds

Pep Guardiola told his players to “take a lot of caipirinhas, daiquiris” to handle the pressure of the title chase after Manchester City beat Newcastle 2-1 to close to within two points of Arsenal.

Two goals from Nico O’Reilly on 14 and 27 minutes at the Etihad Stadium were answered only by Lewis Hall’s strike in between as City moved to 56 points and a goal difference of 31, one fewer than Arsenal’s.

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Ilia Malinin performs to Fear as he completes cathartic Olympic gala routine

  • American given rousing reception by crowd in Milan

  • Alysa Liu and Mikhail Shaidorov among other performers

Alysa Liu had the opportunity to cherish skating on the same Olympic ice where she won two gold medals one more time. Ilia Malinin had the chance to replace some disappointing memories with much better ones.

The two Americans were among more than 40 Olympic figure skaters who took part in the traditional exhibition gala on Saturday night, which not only serves to wrap up the program but to celebrate the entire sport.

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Chelsea’s Fofana and Burnley’s Hannibal abused by online racists

  • Fofana’s first of two bookings was for fouling Hannibal

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Hannibal Mejbri and Wesley Fofana have both been racially abused on Instagram in the wake of the former’s Burnley side drawing 1-1 at Chelsea after the latter was sent off.

Hannibal, who was fouled for the first of the two yellow cards that led to Fofana’s dismissal, posted the abuse he had received via a direct message on Instagram and wrote: “It’s 2026 and there still ppl like that … Educate yourself and your kids pls.” Fofana likewise posted the abuse he received.

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Whispers of spring in the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace

World Thru Lenz has added a photo to the pool:

Whispers of spring in the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace

Jorrit Bergsma en Xandra Velzeboer vlaggendragers sluitingsceremonie

Xandra Velzeboer en Jorrit Bergsma dragen zondag de Nederlandse vlag tijdens de sluitingsceremonie van de Olympische Winterspelen. Dat heeft TeamNL bekendgemaakt.

Slashdot

News for nerds, stuff that matters

America's Peace Corps Announces 'Tech Corps' Volunteers to Help Bring AI to Foreign Countries

Over 240,000 Americans volunteered for Peace Corps projects in 142 countries since the program began more than half a century ago.

But now the agency is launching a new initiative — called Tech Corps. "It's the Peace Corps, but make it AI," explains Engadget:


The Peace Corps' latest proposal will recruit STEM graduates or those with professional experience in the artificial intelligence sector and send them to participating host countries.


According to the press release, volunteers will be placed in Peace Corps countries that are part of the American AI Exports Program, which was created last year from an executive order from President Trump as a way to bolster the US' grip on the AI market abroad. Tech Corps members will be tasked with using AI to resolve issues related to agriculture, education, health and economic development. The program will offer its members 12- to 27-month in-person assignments or virtual placements, which will include housing, healthcare, a living stipend and a volunteer service award if the corps member is placed overseas.

"American technology to power prosperity," reads the headline at Tech Corps web site. ("Build the tech nations depend on... See the world. Be the future."

The site says they're recruiting "service-minded technologists to serve in the Peace Corps to help countries around the world harness American AI to enhance opportunity and prosperity for their citizens." (And experienced technology professionals can donate 5-15 hours a week "to mentor and support projects on-the-ground.")

Read more of this story at Slashdot.