Add source Login
Norway wins 3 golds, Italy triumphs in short track mixed relay

Norway wins 3 golds, Italy triumphs in short track mixed relay

Norway enjoyed a golden day across multiple disciplines at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on Tuesday, while Italy thrilled home fans by claiming gold in the short track speed skating mixed team relay, one of the most anticipated events of the day, reported Xinhua. Italy's quartet of Elisa Confortola, Arianna Fontana, Thomas Nadalini and Pietro Sighel skated a composed final to clock a winning time of two minutes 39.019 seconds. Canada finished second, with Belgium taking bronze. "We knew we were on a mission. This is our home, and we had to protect it," said Fontana, a three-time Olympic champion. China narrowly missed the podium, placing fourth in 2:39.601. The Chinese team of Gong Li, Zhang Chutong, Liu Shaoang and Sun Long led early after an aggressive opening by Zhang, but an exchange error allowed Italy back in front. In the closing laps, China was passed by Canada and Belgium. Norway's dominance in the day was highlighted by Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo's victory in the men's cross-country skiing sprint classic. Klaebo led most of the final and crossed the line in 3:39.74 to secure his second gold medal of the Games, lifting his Olympic tally to seven golds, one silver and one bronze. "I felt more relaxed today after already winning once," Klaebo said. "That helped me enjoy the race and perform at my best." In biathlon, Olympic debutant Johan-Olav Botn delivered a flawless shooting performance to win the men's 20-kilometer individual in 51:31.5. France's Eric Perrot took silver, while Norway's Sturla Holm Laegreid added a bronze for the team. Norway also topped the podium in the men's freestyle skiing slopestyle event, where Birk Ruud secured gold with a decisive opening run of 86.28 points. Challenging weather conditions, including light snowfall and reduced visibility, disrupted much of the field, but Ruud's early score proved untouchable. The victory marked his second Olympic title after winning big air gold at Beijing 2022. Austria produced one of the day's biggest surprises in alpine skiing, as Ariane Raedler and Katharina Huber claimed gold in the women's team combined event. The underdogs edged out favored teams, while American star Mikaela Shiffrin and Italy's Sofia Goggia both missed the podium. Goggia's bid ended after a crash in the downhill leg on home snow. Germany also celebrated gold, with Julia Taubitz winning the women's singles luge. The world champion surged into the lead after her second run, setting a new track record, and secured her first Olympic title. Latvia's Elina Bota earned silver, with Ashley Farquharson of the United States taking bronze. China recorded a historic result in the event, as Wang Peixuan finished 21st to post the country's best-ever Olympic placing. Wang missed out on the final run by one position but said she was encouraged by her overall performance and would turn her focus to the upcoming team relay. In ski jumping, Slovenia, led by siblings Nika and Domen Prevc, successfully defended its title in the mixed team event. The Slovenian team dominated throughout to claim its first ski jumping gold of the Games. The final gold medal of the day came in the mixed doubles curling, where Sweden's sibling duo Isabella and Rasmus Wranaa staged a late comeback to edge the United States 6-5, delivering under pressure in the final end to seal the victory, while Italy defeated Britain to take bronze.

Women rarely report sexual assault in Germany: study

Women rarely report sexual assault in Germany: study

Official police figures recording sexual assault against women in Germany only represent a tiny fraction of the actual number of cases, according to a large-scale study commissioned and released by the government, reported dpa. While women are significantly more likely to be victims of sexual assault than men, they report it much less frequently than male victims, the figures show. A total of 15,479 people aged 16 to 85 were questioned between July 2023 and January 2025 for the representative study on safety in everyday life. It is designed to help shed light on the true extent of crime, including offences that are not reported to police due to shame or mistrust and are therefore not part of official criminal statistics. The figures show that while women are significantly more likely to be victims of sexual assault, they are less likely to report it than men. Some 1.5% of women and 0.2% of men became victims of rape or other non-consensual sexual acts in the past five years, the study found. However, only 3% of women affected said they reported it to the police, compared to 14.5% of men. However, the researchers noted that the reporting rate for men is subject to measurement inaccuracy due to the low number of cases. The study also found that a significant share of sexual offences against men is perpetrated by men. While 98.2% of perpetrators of sexual assaults against women are male, 33.7% of sexual assaults against men are also committed by men.

Obesity may increase risk of severe infections: study

Obesity may increase risk of severe infections: study

An international study of more than 540,000 people has shown that adults with obesity face a 70% higher risk of hospitalisation or death from infectious disease, said the University of Helsinki in a press release on Tuesday. The recent study examined the link between obesity and severe infectious diseases. The researchers found that obesity significantly increases the risk of hospitalisation or death from common infections, including influenza, Covid-19, pneumonia, and gastrointestinal and urinary tract infections. For people with morbid obesity, the risk was found to be three times higher. “During the pandemic, obesity was widely linked to a higher likelihood of severe Covid-19. We set out to investigate how broadly this link applies across different types of infections and whether any underlying factors contribute to it. Our findings extend beyond any single pathogen, with similar associations observed for bacterial, viral, parasitic and fungal infections,” said one of the articles lead authors, Solja Nyberg of the University of Helsinki and the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. HIV and tuberculosis were exceptions, where obesity did not appear to increase the risk of severe disease. In addition, comorbidities, social status and lifestyle factors such as alcohol use and physical activity did not influence the increased disease risk associated with obesity. Participants were tracked for an average of 13–14 years, with their body mass index (BMI) recorded at the start of the study. People with obesity, that is, a BMI of 30 kg/m² or higher, had a 70% greater risk of hospitalisation or death from any infectious disease than those of healthy weight, meaning a BMI of 18.5–24.9. This risk rose steadily with body weight. Individuals with morbid obesity (a BMI of 40 kg/m² or higher) faced a risk three times that of people of healthy weight. The study also showed that changes in body weight affected the risk of severe infection. Those who lost weight and moved from obesity to overweight or healthy weight had 20% fewer severe infections than those with persistent obesity. By contrast, weight gain from overweight to obesity was associated with a 30% higher risk of infection. “Obesity is a well-known risk factor for diabetes and other chronic diseases. The links now identified indicate that severe infectious diseases should be added to the same list,” said Mika Kivimäki of the University of Helsinki and University College London, who led the study. “Obesity seems to weaken the immune systems ability to manage infections, raising the risk of severe disease,” he added. He also points out that experimental evidence of weight-loss drugs supports an association with the immune system, as reducing obesity appears to lower the risk of severe infections, alongside offering other health benefits. However, Kivimäki stressed that more research is needed to confirm the mechanisms underlying these associations. The study used a large Finnish and British dataset, monitoring participants through national registers. The researchers also incorporated infectious disease mortality data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study to examine how obesity affects infectious disease deaths in different countries, regions and worldwide. The analysis suggests that 0.6 million of the 5.4 million infectious disease deaths worldwide in 2023 (11% or one in ten) were linked to obesity. In the Nordic countries, the shares of infectious disease deaths associated with obesity are estimated to be in Finland 19%, Sweden 13%, Norway 11% and Denmark 12%. In 2023 the United States recorded the largest share among high-income countries, at 26%.

Germany overtakes US in NATO's top command positions

Germany overtakes US in NATO's top command positions

Germany will soon occupy more top positions in NATO's military command structure than the United States as a result of a new distribution of responsibilities, reported dpa, quoting sources. The move is part of a shift towards a fairer distribution of burdens and responsibilities within NATO, the alliance stated in a statement released on Tuesday. "Allies agreed on a new distribution of senior officer responsibility across the NATO Command Structure in which European Allies, including NATOs newest members, will play a more prominent role in the Alliances military leadership," NATO said in a statement. At the same time, NATO made it clear that the US will continue to assume military leadership responsibilities - for example, by continuing to hold the position of Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR). The US has reaffirmed a strong commitment to NATO, Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone explained as chairman of the NATO Military Committee. The changes in the allocation of positions foresee that the United Kingdom will take over command of the Joint Force Command Norfolk in the US state of Virginia from the US, and Italy will take over command of the Allied Joint Force Command in Naples from the US. Germany and Poland will also share command of the Joint Force Command Brunssum in the Netherlands on a rotational basis, NATO said. All three Joint Force Commands led by Europeans As a result of the planned changes, all three Joint Force Commands will be led by Europeans in the future. The four-star commands lead in crises and conflicts at the operational level under the strategic command of the SACEUR. The United States, on the other hand, will lead all three Component Commands at the level of strategic operational areas and will also newly assume responsibility for the NATO Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) in Northwood, United Kingdom. They already lead the Allied Land Command in Turkey (LANDCOM) and the Allied Air Command (AIRCOM) at the Ramstein base in Germany. The fact that Germany will soon be so strongly represented in the command structure is due to the fact that, in addition to the three and four-star generals in the aforementioned commands, other general positions are also counted. The changes are to be gradually implemented in the coming years - in line with established personnel rotations.