Alassane Ouattara, the president of the Ivory Coast, was greeted with celebrations after officials announced his 83-year-old victory in a fourth term. In a vote in which his main rivals were barred from running, Ouattara won almost 90% of the vote. Ahmed Idris of Al Jazeera explains.
Published On 28 Oct 2025
New research claims that the likelihood of runners breaking marathon records is decreasing due to climate change.
According to a study from Climate Central, a non-profit organization based in the US, record-breaking runs in some races are nearly impossible due to rising temperatures.
Additionally, it predicted that 86% of the 221 global marathons, which it defines as 4C for men and 10C for women, will be less likely to take place in optimal running conditions by 2045.
The fastest British woman finisher at the 2024 London Marathon, Mhairi Maclennan, said: “At the elite level, conditions can make or break a performance.
We practice our best every day and manage every aspect of our lives until the ideal temperature drops below zero.
Knowing that record-breaking performances could soon be out of reach if the weather keeps getting hotter is not just about making races harder, it’s about knowing that climate change is about more than just making races harder.
According to the study, Tokyo is projected to experience the steepest decline by 2045, but it also has the highest chance of achieving ideal temperatures for elite male runners (69%).
The late Kelvin Kiptum set the men’s marathon world record for two hours, 35 seconds in Chicago in 2023.
Ruth Chepngetich broke the women’s world record for 2024 in Chicago, but she was banned from doing so for three years after admitting to breaking the anti-doping laws.
Over the past seven years, the men’s record has decreased by two minutes 22 seconds, with improvements largely attributable to improved shoe technology.
Catherine Ndereba, a former world record-holder for women, said: “The marathon has changed due to climate change.”
A race can be ended before it even begins with simple errors, and dehydration is a real risk. Every step now conveys the message that even the most noble efforts will fail if we neglect our planet.
The weather is currently on its way, according to Ibrahim Hussein, who has won the New York and Boston Marathons.
Jake Wightman, a silver medalist at the world 1500m, thinks the “stars are aligning” just in time for his one final Scottish Olympic gold attempt in Glasgow the following year.
The 31-year-old, who won world silver in Tokyo in September after a few injuries in the wake of his 2022 world victory, is one of the first three athletes to be chosen for Team Scotland for the reimagined event.
Wightman and Neil Gourley have been chosen as pre-selected for the Scotstoun Stadium’s resurrected mile race, while Megan Keith has been chosen for the 10, 000-meter race, all three of whom finished in the top 12 of their world championship events.
Wightman is determined to “upgrade” those medals in what will most likely be his final race in a Scotland vest after leaving the 2018 Games in Gold Coast and the Birmingham edition in 2022 with bronze.
He told BBC Sport Scotland, “I will unwaveringly try to win it.” If I can win a gold medal at this Commonwealth Games, which I’m fairly certain will be my last, would be nice, and doing it in front of a home crowd would make it even nicer.
Wightman’s Commonwealth journey will be capped by the Glasgow event, since his first Games took place in the city in 2014.
He was still a student at the time, and his injury hampered his chances of winning the heats. His ambitions are likely to be most threatened by a few of his childhood pals this time, along with others.
Josh Kerr, a two-time Olympic medalist, will join Gourley in the Scotstoun start line for the final on August 1st, though his selection won’t be until after a knee injury has left him outside the top 10 in Tokyo.
It could be one of the championships’ events because the three of us won the world championships, Australia always has good runners in the mile, and there will be a great Kenyan team, according to Wright, referring to an event that hasn’t been staged since 1966.
However, it’s possible for me, Neil, and Josh to appear on a podium, which would be pretty special.
Because we’ve raced in Scotstoun since we were kids, I believe there will be a home advantage for us. And it will be a special occasion, one that hopefully will enable us to perform above what we even anticipate, thanks to a home crowd.
And if Wightman completes the 1609m first, will he make another celebration from Gold Coast, where he wore a “See You, Jimmy” bunnet?
He said, “It’s funny because that’s the picture on my phone right now,” he said. When you have a Saltire around you, I would do it again because it fits.
In response to Trinidad and Tobago’s refusal to sign a major gas deal, Venezuela suspended the island nation’s response to a US ship.
According to state broadcaster TeleSUR, President Nicolas Maduro ordered the “immediate suspension” of a deal to supply Trinidad and Tobago with natural gas.
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One of the several US warships that President Donald Trump has deployed close to Venezuelan waters is located on the island. The US president has been accused of attempting regime change by Venezuelan officials.
Maduro accused Trinidad and Tobago’s prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar of turning the Caribbean nation “into an aircraft carrier of the American empire against Venezuela” while canceling the gas deal.
Before Venezuela had agreed to assist Trinidad and Tobago in the deal, Maduro claimed, the country “ran out” of gas.
Persad-Bissessar rebuffed his claim, telling Trinidad and Tobago’s Newsday newspaper that Venezuela “never has” a “does not depend” on the nation’s future.
She continued, noting that her government has been relying less on the delayed joint Dragon gasfield, which is near Trinidad in Venezuela.
“The previous government … mistakenly placed all their hopes on the Dragon project.” Persad-Bissessar remarked, “We have not done so.”
This implies that Venezuelans are “not susceptible to any blackmail from the government,” she claimed.
She denied, however, that the two nations’ tensions are growing because their narrowest point is only 11 kilometers (7 miles) away from one another, which is separated by a small bay.
Prior to scheduled joint military exercises, the USS Gravely, a guided-missile destroyer, arrived on Sunday in Port of Spain, Trinidad, with US Marines on board.
Authorities in Venezuela called Trinidad’s decision to house the ship a provocation. The government of the island nation has emphasized that regular joint exercises with the US take place.
At least 43 people have died as a result of the Trump administration’s alleged drug-related attacks on ships in the area since September.
The Pentagon has so far sent seven warships, a submarine, drones, and fighter jets to the Caribbean, as well as another warship to the Gulf of Mexico.
The USS Gerald R Ford, the largest aircraft carrier in the world, will soon be based on the USS Gerald R Ford, which can accommodate up to 90 aircraft and attack helicopters.
The strikes have been compared to extrajudicial killings by many leaders in Latin America and the Caribbean. Persad-Bissessar has backed the US campaign, saying she prefers to see drug traffickers “blown to pieces” as opposed to having them murder people in their own country.
Venezuela contends that the attacks are intended to “allow external powers to rob Venezuela’s untapped oil and gas wealth.”
According to Yvan Gil Pinto, the US has an “illegal and completely immoral military threat hanging over our heads,” according to Foreign Minister Gil Pinto, who spoke to the UN General Assembly on Monday.
Several senior officials have accused the US of fabricating information to plot a coup against Maduro’s government, which won elections that were discredited as neither fair nor free last year.
In 2018, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela first agreed to jointly drill for gas. The project has been delayed and hampered by US sanctions against Venezuela for a while.
The US supports the Trinidad government’s proposal for dragon gas, according to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio last month, but it will take steps to ensure Maduro’s government won’t benefit significantly from it.
Despite the sanctions against Maduro’s government, the British multinational oil and gas company Shell and Trinidad’s National Gas Company have been granted permission to develop the Dragon gasfield off Venezuela.
Shell is independently developing the Manatee gas project, which crosses Venezuela’s maritime border and has been approved for independent development on the Trinidad side by the Maduro government. According to the Reuters news agency, it was not immediately known whether that project might be in danger.
119 billion cubic meters (4. 2 trillion cubic feet) of gas, a fossil fuel that contributes to climate change, are reportedly present in the Dragon gasfield.
The Paris Agreement’s climate targets were warned by the International Energy Agency in 2021 as a prerequisite for the launch of new oil and gas projects.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), Trinidad and Tobago depends on gas to provide 92.6% of its energy needs, with the remaining 7.3 percent coming from oil.
At the age of 70, Kelly Grammer has a seventh time become a father.
Christopher is the actor’s most recent addition to his large family, his fourth wife Kayte Walsh, and he and his fourth wife Kayte Walsh have just welcomed him.
The proud father said, “We just had our fourth one, so it just became eight kids!” during a Pod Meets World appearance. Exactly three days ago. The family has just welcomed Christopher. “
The Frasier actor and Kayte now have four children, with their sons, age eight and 11-year-old Kelsey Gabriel, Jr., and 8-year-old Auden James.
Spencer, 42, was Spencer’s first child when Kelly wed his first wife Doreen Alderman in 1983.
Along with his third wife Camille Mayer, he also welcomed sons Jude, 21, and Mason, 24, from his relationship with hair and make-up artist Barrie Buckner, 33, and Kandace Greer, 33, from his family.
Grammer is thrilled to have had the opportunity to work with his offspring after starring with Kandace in the Frasier revival and Spencer in the television series The 12 Days of Christmas Eve.
He stated to Variety last year, “Kayte and I were discussing how a child could actually follow their father’s example.”
To think that all of my children, at least those who are involved, are willing to accept responsibility for their lives, is a dream come true. And she responded, “That’s something to be proud of.” I’ve never told them about it. I’m hoping that when they finish reading my upcoming memoir, they realize that Dad is okay with this. ‘
“Because I never wanted to push myself against them,” I never wanted to impose too much pressure on them or interfere with their processes. given that having my last name is a bit of a mixed blessing. You are attacked by people. You may be a result of it. And whether or not it is good or bad, there is a difference. “
The Simpsons star continued, “When all of his kids are in the same room together, that’s when he’s at his happiest.”
Kelly stated, “My work has allowed me to do that.
“I’ve had this wonderful experience. It has been difficult, difficult, and tragic all at once. But boy, is life amazing. And I want to share that with them. “
Published On 28 Oct 2025