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Winnipeg Free Press
25-07-2025
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Women's Euros the gift that keeps on giving
Opinion Both semi-finals at the 2025 Women's European Championship went into extra time. Two matches required penalties in the quarterfinal round. That's two thirds of the knockout games going past the 90 minutes. At no point was it tedious. Quite the contrary, in fact. JEAN-CHRISTOPHE BOTT / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS England's Michelle Agyemang (17) scored England's opening goal on Tuesday against Italy. It was Agyemang's second heroic goal of the tournament. This Euro, set to finish Sunday in Basel, Switzerland (11 a.m., TSN), has been compelling from the very first kick, the sort of event where looking away — even for a moment — invites the risk of missing something important. Thought England and Italy were bound for a shoot-out on Tuesday? Hopefully you didn't go to the kitchen or check your phone, because Chloe Kelly knew that the 119th minute was still within the 120. Quite incredibly, it looked as though Italy was headed to a first tournament final, only to concede to Michelle Agyemang in the sixth minute of stoppage time. It was the 19-year-old's second heroic moment in five days, the first coming in the form of an 81st-minute equalizer against Sweden. Her surname means 'saviour of the nation,' which might be the most poetic thing in a competition that's written more than a few stanzas. Having gone on to beat the Swedes on penalties and then the Italians with mere seconds left on the referee's watch, the Lionesses are back where they were three years ago: in a continental final. They beat Germany that night at Wembley to win their first major trophy. Thirteen months later they came close to winning a second, only to collide with Spain — the sport's latest superpower and Sunday's other finalist. Loaded with star players and brimming with the confidence of a world champion, Spain beat their group stage rivals (Belgium, Italy and Portugal) by a combined score of 14-3. Esther González scored in all three matches, and resurgent former Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas tallied in two. After seeing off Switzerland in the quarterfinals, they had to suffer through extra time against Germany and even looked to be flagging late on. That's when the world's top footballer finally came good. Latching onto Athenea del Castillo's pass after Ona Batlle had done well to win the ball on the right-hand side, Aitana Bonmatí split the German defence before beating goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger from what seemed an impossible angle. Few players would have even attempted such an audacious shot, but the reigning two-time Ballon d'Or winner is not just any player. And as if her 113th-minute winner wasn't impressive enough in its own right, it was all the more meaningful given her recent hospitalization with viral meningitis. Discharged mere days before the tournament began, she was nearly left off the national team and started the first two matches on the bench. In that context, it's remarkable that La Roja were able to so easily dispatch their opponents without the full contribution of their best player. But now, as she rounds into form at exactly the right time, Spain can finally deploy the one-two punch of Bonmatí and Putellas that's deprived them since the latter sustained a serious knee injury ahead of Euro 2022. It's a combo that'll have England boss Sarina Wiegman deliberating over her line-up into Sunday morning. That Spanish midfield, which also includes the superb Patricia Guijarro (she, Bonmatí and Putellas are club teammates at Barcelona) will inevitably control the centre of the park. To avoid being completely overrun, which they were against France, the Lionesses could well sacrifice Lauren James in favour of Grace Clinton. Weekday Evenings Today's must-read stories and a roundup of the day's headlines, delivered every evening. England has shown they can outlast the opposition, suffering through the balance of a match before striking quick with Kelly or Agyemang. It'll likely be their approach on Sunday. Which means the European Championship final could well extend beyond the 90 minutes. Here's hoping it does. Because the only way this tournament can get better is by having even more of it. jerradpeters@
Boston Globe
30-05-2025
- Climate
- Boston Globe
Swiss glacier collapse renews focus on risks of climate change as glaciers retreat around the world
A huge mass of rock and ice from a glacier thundered down a Swiss mountainside, sending plumes of dust skyward and coating with mud nearly all of an Alpine village that authorities had evacuated earlier this month as a precaution. — The Associated Press (@AP) While the debris insulated the glacier and slowed melting, its weight caused the ice to begin moving — which accelerated dramatically a few weeks ago. Authorities ordered the evacuation of about 300 people, as well as all livestock, from the village in recent days, 'when it became clear that there's a whole mountainside that's about to collapse,' said Truffer, who is from Switzerland. Glacial lakes pose threat Advertisement Lakes that form at the base of glaciers as they melt and retreat also sometimes burst, often with catastrophic results. Water can even lift an entire glacier, allowing it to drain, said Truffer, adding that Alaska's capital of Juneau has flooded in recent years because a lake forms every year on a rapidly retreating glacier and eventually bursts. In 2022, an apartment building-sized chunk of the Marmolada glacier in Italy's Dolomite mountains detached during a summer heat wave, sending an avalanche of debris down the popular summer hiking destination, killing 11. Advertisement A glacier in Tibet's Aru mountain range suddenly collapsed in 2016, killing nine people and their livestock, followed a few months later by the collapse of another glacier. An aerial view shows the destruction of Blatten on ordered the evacuation of about 300 people, as well as all livestock, from the village in recent days. JEAN-CHRISTOPHE BOTT/Associated Press There also have been collapses in Peru, including one in 2006 that caused a mini tsunami; most recently, a glacial lagoon overflowed in April, triggering a landslide that killed two. 'It's amazing sometimes how rapidly they can collapse,' said Lonnie Thompson, a glacier expert at the Ohio State University. 'The instability of these glaciers is a real and growing problem, and there are thousands and thousands of people that are at risk.' Scientists say melting glaciers will raise sea levels for decades, but the loss of inland glaciers also acutely affects those living nearby who rely on them for water for drinking water and agriculture. No way to stop the melting Scientists say greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels such as coal have already locked in enough global warming to doom many of the world's glaciers — which already have retreated significantly. For example, glaciers in the Alps have lost 50% of their area since 1950, and the rate at which ice is being lost has been accelerating, with 'projections ... that all the glaciers in the Alps could be gone in this century,' Thompson said. Related : Switzerland, which has the most glaciers of any country in Europe, saw 4% of its total glacier volume disappear in 2023, the second-biggest decline in a single year after a 6% drop in 2022. A 2023 study found that Peru has lost more than half of its glacier surface in the last six decades, and 175 glaciers disappeared due to climate change between 2016 and 2020, mostly due to the increase in the average global temperature. Advertisement An aerial view shows the destruction of Blatten. Scientists say melting glaciers will raise sea levels for decades, but the loss of inland glaciers also acutely affects those living nearby who rely on them for water for drinking water and agriculture. JEAN-CHRISTOPHE BOTT/Associated Press A study published Thursday in Science said that even if global temperatures stabilized at their current level, 40% of the world's glaciers still would be lost. But if warming were limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit ) — the long-term warming limit since the late 1800s called for by the 2015 Paris climate agreement — twice as much glacier ice could be preserved than would be otherwise. Even so, many areas will become ice-free no matter what, Truffer, the University of Alaska expert. 'There's places in Alaska where we've shown that it doesn't take any more global warming,' for them to disappear, Truffer said. 'The reason some ... (still) exist is simply because it takes a certain amount of time for them to melt. But the climate is already such that they're screwed.'
