Milan and Cortina Gear Up for 2026 Winter Olympics Amidst Global Events
The 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, set to begin on February 6 and run through February 22, are fast approaching, with Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo in northern Italy preparing to host more than 3,500 athletes. The games mark the first time the Winter Olympics will be officially co-hosted by multiple cities, according to Time.
Milan, a financial and fashion center, will host ice sports such as figure skating and hockey. Cortina, a resort town in the Italian Dolomites, will host skiing, snowboarding, and other mountain events, Time reported. The joint bid from Milan and Cortina won in 2019, surpassing a bid from Stockholm and Åre in Sweden.
Meanwhile, other global events continue to unfold. In Kyiv, Ukraine, residents are facing a fourth winter of war with Russia, marked by brutal conditions and attacks on the country's energy grid. Joanna Kakissis of NPR Politics reported that candles have become a last resort for light during power outages, a symbol of loss and resilience. "February ... is sobbing," the Ukrainian poet said, as quoted by Kakissis.
In the Middle East, tensions flared as Israeli strikes in Gaza killed at least 19 Palestinians, mostly women and children, on Wednesday, February 4, according to The Associated Press. Hospital officials confirmed the casualties. Israel stated the strikes were in response to a militant attack on Israeli soldiers that seriously wounded one. Among the Palestinians killed were five children, NPR Politics reported.
In other news, Nature reported on a universal concept for melting in mantle upwellings. Research suggests that the first melts generated in any solid-state mantle upwelling are kimberlitic CO2-rich silicate melts, forming at about 250 km depth through oxidation of elemental carbon to CO2. Experiments forced a range of surface melts into equilibrium with fertile mantle at adiabatic and super-adiabatic conditions at 7 GPa.
Back at the Olympics, NPR's Rachel Treisman provided a glimpse inside the Milan Olympic Village, describing it as a sprawl of modular buildings and high-rise apartments adorned with the flags and banners of participating countries. Treisman was among the journalists who were given the opportunity to explore the village the week of the opening ceremony.
Discussion
AI Experts & Community
Be the first to comment