The Washington Post is making one-third of its employees redundant.
In the headline, the bosses have said that the American newspaper The Washington Post is making one-third of its employees redundant.
The long-rumoured layoffs, affecting nearly all areas of the newsroom, were confirmed to employees in a video conference Wednesday.
Subsequently, he received emails with one of two subject lines, alerting him to the potential departure or retention of his role.
image: Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos at his new headquarters in 2016. File photo: AP
image: The image shows US President Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal in 1974. File photo: AP
The departments being eliminated include the sports section as well as several foreign bureaus and the newspaper’s book coverage.
In a note to staff, executive editor Matt Murray described the move as painful but necessary to bring it to a stronger position and weather changes in technology and user habits and told them that the Post “cannot be everything to everyone”.
Mr Murray said, “The important thing is that our daily story output has fallen substantially over the last five years,” adding, “And even though we produce very excellent work, we too often write for one section of the audience, from one perspective.”
The layoffs come days after the more than 145-year-old newspaper withdrew its coverage of the 2026 Winter Olympics amid mounting financial losses.
The newspaper’s Cairo bureau chief, Claire Parker, along with all of the newspaper’s Middle East correspondents and editors, announced her additional appointment to the X, saying it was “hard to understand the logic”.
Some, including former editor Martin Baron, criticised the owner, Jeff Bezos.
Mr Baron, the Post’s first editor under the Amazon founder, said his former boss was guilty of “a case study in almost immediate, self-inflicted brand destruction”.
Margaret Sullivan, a journalism professor and former columnist at the Post and The New York Times, said the layoffs were “devastating news for anyone who cares about journalism in America and, indeed, the world.
“The Washington Post has been very important in many ways in news, sports, and cultural coverage.”
Mr Bezos, who has not commented, has had a generally indifferent attitude toward the newspaper’s editorial policy since he bought the Post in 2013.
But that appeared to change during last year’s US presidential election when he blocked the Post’s editorial board from publishing support for Donald Trump’s rival Kamala Harris.
Read more on Sky News: Winter Olympics – Everything You Need to Know Internet watchdog investigates Grok
As of 8 pm UK time (3 pm Washington time), there was no mention of the layoffs on the newspaper’s home page or media index page, nor were they announced on the title’s X account.
The Post is famous for its coverage of the Watergate scandal in the early 1970s, which led to the resignation of US President Richard Nixon.
Sky News has been nominated for nine Royal Television Society TV Journalism Awards, including News Channel of the Year. Several Sky News journalists have been honoured for their excellent work in their field, including Yalda Hakim, who hosts international news shows. Yalda Hakim hosts the world’s news shows. This achievement has been recognised in the Network Presenter of the Year category.
Special correspondent Alex Crawford and Africa correspondent Yusra Elbagir occupy two of the three slots in the Network Television Journalist of the Year category.
Inside Libya’s migrant detention centers
Crawford, who frequently travels around the world to cover major stories from war zones, will report from countries including Syria, Libya, and Somalia in 2025. she stars in a US hotspot; The series takes viewers straight into some of the world’s most hostile environments.
Elbagir has conducted extensive reporting on the war in Sudan, which includes an investigation into “killing fields” that have targeted thousands of people.
Elbagir has conducted an investigation into the thousands of people who are missing due to the war in Sudan.
Elsewhere, data and forensics correspondent Tom Cheshire has been nominated for Specialist Journalist of the Year, while Deputy Political Editor Sam Coates is shortlisted in the Politics Category, and News Correspondent Molly Malone has been recognised in the shortlist of emerging talents.
In 2025, Cheshire reported from a far-right “whites only” ghetto in Arkansas, while Malone covered the cases of several individuals in UK prisons.
‘Whites only’ settlement inside
As well as exclusive interviews and analysis from Westminster, Coates also co-hosts our Politics in Sam and Anne’s Podcast with POLITICO’s Anne McElvoy.
In the News Channel of the Year category, Sky News—which has won the award for eight consecutive years— has competition with BBC News and Al Jazeera English.
Hakim, Crawford, and Elbagir, our international correspondents, have also contributed to the recognition of our international coverage in various categories. John Sparks is up for a digital award for 24 Hours in the Kill Zone – for which he joined Ukrainian soldiers in an area targeted by explosive-carrying drones.
He is against BBC News’ reporting on militias in Sudan and ITV’s political coverage on TikTok.
24 hours in Ukraine’s ‘kill zone’
Our reporting continues on life in Syria after the fall of Bashar al-Assad. RTS is in the running with Channel 4 News for the International News Coverage Award, which has also been recognised for its coverage of Syria and The Associated Press’ reporting on the famine in Gaza.
The chairman of the RTS Television Journalism Awards, Adrian Wells, praised the ” extraordinary year of very high-quality submissions”.
He added, “UK-based broadcasters and content creators have demonstrated their skill, effort and bravery in championing the most important stories on both the domestic and international fronts.
“Despite the many other challenges facing the media industry, the calibre of journalism demonstrated across news categories has been exceptional.”
The RTS Awards will take place on 4 March, hosted by journalist and broadcaster Jeremy Vine.
There will also be an Outstanding Contribution Award and an RTS Special Award, which will be presented during the ceremony.
Andrew Bailey, the Governor of the Bank of England, is not accustomed to emotional outbursts or direct criticism.
Being measured in your public comments is part of the job description of running a central bank, and Mr Bailey has been at it since succeeding Mark Carney in 2020.
(To understand the odds of the job, consider the change in the Canadian’s public persona since he turned Threadneedle Street into his country’s premiership).
Epstein’s latest files have undermined the claims made by Andrew regarding his photo.
King expressed outrage over Andrew and Epstein’s relationship.
So it seemed important that Mr. Bailey speak with controlled anger—even with emotion—when Sky News asked his reaction to the revelation that Peter Mandelson was sharing market-sensitive information with Jeffrey Epstein while he was business secretary in 2008.
“I mean, I’m shocked by what we’re hearing. I’m shocked by what we know now about what happened during the financial crisis.”
That context matters.
In 2008, Mr Bailey was part of the Bank’s senior management fighting alongside the Treasury and Downing Street to prevent the collapse of the financial system.
There was a real possibility that the cash points would run out, and governments would be unable to raise the borrowing needed to bail them out.
In Britain, ministers and officials considered selling £20bn of state-owned assets to ease the burden, while in Europe, the EU was working on a €500m (£435m) rescue package.
‘Mandelson will bring down the Prime Minister unless he acts.’
According to the revelations of the Epstein files, Mr. Mandelson allegedly gave both details to Epstein via email before they became public.
No wonder Mr Bailey, the man sitting in the front row of the play, looked angry.
There was also a personal edge to his comments.
He became emotional as he recalled the role of the late Alistair Darling, the then Chancellor, in getting the economy back on track and is now “unable to speak for himself” about the revelation that a close aide was undermining him.
The governor’s reaction may also be explained by the fact that he is one of the few people in the British institutional establishment who has direct experience of challenging Epstein’s circle over their ties to the paedophile financier.
For further information, visit Sky News. Epstein planned to invest in fake brands King’s silence ‘will disappoint some people’ The Epstein files: the key findings so far
In 2019, as head of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), he approved the investigation of Barclays’ US chief executive Jess Staley over his ties to Epstein.
Following Epstein’s arrest, the FCA became suspicious that Mr Staley was not honest about the extent of their relationship.
Mr Staley was forced to resign in 2020, subsequently banned from holding senior executive positions in financial services, and lost an appeal last year in which Andrew Bailey gave evidence.
“I don’t want to sound self-righteous, but this is for all of us—how can we live in a society where this happened and was coveredup?” he asked.
Erbil, Iraq – The US military is in the process of transferring nearly 7,000 ISIS suspects from prisons and jails in Northeast Syria to cross-border detention facilities in Iraq. The operation comes amid concerns over security following a mass escape from at least one prison in Syria, but it is also raising concerns over the fate of detainees.
As of Thursday, an Iraqi security source informed CBS News that the country had received about 2,000 detainees.
Iraq has vowed to prosecute the prisoners, and many could face terrorism charges in an opaque justice system in which, just seven years ago, alleged ISIS terrorists, including European citizens, were convicted and sentenced to death.
In late January, Syria’s Defence Ministry announced a 15-day extension of the ceasefire, largely ending clashes between government troops and Kurdish forces in the country’s northeast. Those clashes led to chaos around prisons holding ISIS detainees in an area long controlled by the US-allied Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Members of the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) arrive in the Kurdish-held city of Ain al-Arab, also known as Kobane, on January 23, 2026, after leaving al-Aqtan prison in Syria’s Raqqa province amid clashes with government forces.
This devastating mass migration from a facility extends to January 20.
The Defence Ministry said the ceasefire extension was intended to enable the US-led military coalition to transfer ISIS suspects to Iraq.
From the beginning of the US-led war against ISIS in 2014, the SDF played a decisive role in defeating the terrorist group and forcing it to abandon its self-declared Islamic caliphate in 2019. ISIS, although no longer capturing significant territory, remains a threat, and the SDF continues to work with coalition forces to conduct joint operations aimed at preventing its re-emergence.
As a result of the initial offensive and ongoing operations, thousands of ISIS suspects were detained in prisons and detention centers guarded by the SDF and coalition forces in northeastern Syria.
But a deep lack of trust between the SDF and Syria’s new, post-dictatorship government, also backed by the US, has led to clashes that have weakened security at prisons holding ISIS detainees – many of them hardened terrorists.
Uncertainty over security at detention facilities worried not only the SDF and leaders in Damascus but also neighbouring countries and the US, and Washington agreed to transfer approximately 7,000 ISIS suspects to more secure detention facilities in Iraq.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed the plan, saying the prisoners would “remain temporarily in Iraq” and urged the detainees’ home countries to deport their citizens.
In Iraq, authorities wary of further mass migration moved quickly to tighten security on the border with Syria while providing secure facilities to hold transferred detainees.
Iraqi border forces patrol in armoured vehicles along the border with Syria in the Sinjar district of northern Iraq on January 22, 2026, amid unrest in Syria that has left the security of prisons and jails holding ISIS detainees in the country’s northeast uncertain.
An Iraqi security source, who was not authorised to speak on the matter, told CBS News, “It is better to have them captured and protected in Iraq than to worry about their escape and release in Syria.”
But while Rubio said ISIS suspects would only be held temporarily in Iraq, the government in Baghdad has gone further, saying it is prepared to prosecute them.
Iraq says it can offer ISIS suspects a “fair and decisive trial”. Can it?
Iraq’s top legal official, Judge Dr Faiq Zeidan, chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council, said in a televised address on January 23 that his country is fully prepared to handle the cases of foreign and domestic ISIS suspects.
Zidan said, “While some countries refuse to accept their citizens involved in terrorist crimes, the Iraqi judiciary reaffirms its full readiness to prosecute terrorists detained in camps within Syrian territory, in accordance with national laws and international obligations, to ensure fair and conclusive trials, to achieve justice for victims of terrorism, and to maintain security in Iraq and other countries.”
But Sarah Sambar, a researcher with the New York-based Human Rights Watch organization, questioned Iraq’s ability to conduct so many trials fairly, telling CBS News that the last time the country put a large number of people before the courts, “the system was completely overwhelmed.”
Following the defeat of ISIS in Iraq in late 2017, the country prosecuted thousands of ISIS suspects. According to the United Nations Mission in Iraq, between January 2018 and October 2019, the Iraqi judiciary processed more than 20,000 terrorism-related cases.
Iraqi authorities have not confirmed how many people convicted of terrorism crimes were sentenced to death during that period, but Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have said nearly 8,000 people are on death row in the country, including non-Iraqi citizens.
Several news outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, reported that in 2019 seven French citizens were among hundreds of people sentenced to death. The CBS News team attended a trial in Baghdad.
“They were completely sham trials,” Sambar told CBS News. “Confessions obtained under torture, people being tortured in detention centers; trials lasting 10 minutes without any lawyer present, where they were sentenced to death based on anonymous informants and no evidence.”
This April 26, 2018, file photo shows defence lawyers leaving the Nineveh Criminal Court, one of two anti-terrorism courts in Iraq, where suspected ISIS militants and their associates were tried in Tel Kef, Iraq.
Responding to questions sent via email by CBS News, an official with Iraq’s National Center of Justice and International Judicial Cooperation rejected Sambar’s allegations, saying that “the Iraqi judiciary unequivocally rejects torture” and that “obtaining confessions through coercion is a punishable offence under Iraqi law.”
“Terrorism trials in Iraq are conducted in accordance with current laws and within a constitutional framework that guarantees the right to a fair trial, the defendant’s right to defence, and the eligibility of verdicts for legal appeal,” the center official said.
Sanbar stated that the justice system in Iraq has made significant progress since the 2019 trials, coinciding with the country’s apparent stabilisation. However, he acknowledged the persistence of many major systemic issues.
He called on both Iraq and the US to answer the question, “Who is there?”
“We don’t know who is there,” Sambar told CBS News about the U.S. taking detainees to Iraq.
During a 2019 visit to a massive prison holding ISIS suspects in Hasakah, northeastern Syria, CBS News found that most of them were Iraqis or Syrians, but many were also Europeans, Asians, Turks, and citizens of other Arab countries. There was also an American man there, but CBS News later learned he was deported.
Dozens of suspected ISIS militants sit in an overcrowded prison cell in a prison run by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militia in northeastern Syria, in a September 2019 file photo.
So far, no third countries have commented on the possibility of transferring any foreign nationals to Iraq or prosecuting them in the country. This is no surprise for Sambar.
“We have seen countries whose citizens left to join ISIS completely abdicating any responsibility. They let them languish there for the last 10 years,” Sambar said. “We hope they will now take them home, and we ask them to do so.”
The Iraqi National Center for Justice and International Judicial Cooperation told CBS News it is in contact with several countries regarding the case, though it did not identify them.
When? Speaking to CBS News, Iraq’s justice chief, Zeidan, said his stance regarding previous convictions and criticism over the death penalty, including that of seven French citizens in 2019, was clear: other countries should either handle it themselves or let Iraq do it Iraq’s way.
“My message to foreign governments,” Zeidan said, “is that they should please respect the Iraqi court and Iraqi law.” If you want our court to prosecute all fighters, you must respect our verdict. You must respect our law. If you do not accept our court’s decisions, please take your captive and your suspect back to your country to prosecute them there.
Grim footage has emerged showing Ghislaine Maxwell, the confidante of billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, walking her through his filthy prison cell for a look at his spectacular descent. The privileged daughter of millionaire newspaper tycoon Robert Maxwell, Ghislaine enjoyed life to the fullest, becoming a close friend of disgraced financier Epstein.
Maxwell, who once rubbed shoulders with royalty, future and former presidents, is shown walking around her cramped prison room in a bright orange jumpsuit in a new video released by the US Department of Justice (DOJ). The footage dates back to July 1, 2020, when Maxwell was awaiting a decision on his bail status.
When this footage of Maxwell was filmed,
She was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022 on sex trafficking charges as part of her relationship with convicted paedophile Epstein. When this footage of Maxwell was filmed, her former friend Epstein had been found dead in a New York prison about 11 months earlier.
Recently released shocking footage of Maxwell’s time behind bars shows the now 64-year-old former socialite in a small room with one wall and a dirty mattress and white sheets strewn across the floor.
Above the toilet are what appear to be a vanity mirror and sink, from which Maxwell appears to have poured himself a glass of water. She then moves towards her mattress bed and tries to pull the sheet over it before using something that looks like clothing to make a pillow.
The convicted sex trafficker, who is wearing glasses, then curiously lies on her back and picks up a book from the mattress to read while she brushes back her dark cropped hair. There is a small brown box by the side of the disappointing bed, which looks like it contains some trinkets. A pair of flip-flops lay on the floor next to it.
A small wall separating the head of the bed from the toilet houses a collection of sanitary ware, cups and toilet rolls.
Posting the clip on its
The news broadcaster said the video had been verified, adding, “Maxwell, who was an associate of Jeffrey Epstein, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for sex trafficking in 2022. The video is from July 2020, as Maxwell waited to hear whether he would be granted bail.”
Maxwell is scheduled to testify under oath before US lawmakers in Congress on Monday as part of the ongoing investigation into US officials and how they handled the Epstein files.
Chelsea and Strasbourg came together in 2023 under Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital’s Bluco Group.
Strasbourg got the best deals in the first two years.
Six players left Chelsea for French clubs, five on loan and one permanently.
Strasbourg was able to spend money he had only dreamed about.
In the three years preceding Bluco, Strasbourg’s total transfer fees paid per season were £6.1m, £3.9m and £9.5m.
Over the following three seasons, Strasbourg spent £52.6m, £53.6m and £96.5m. They were the biggest spending club in France last summer, even surpassing Paris Saint-Germain (£89.2 million).
Those extra resources helped Strasbourg challenge for a Champions League spot last season.
But last summer the way both clubs did business began to change. The pendulum will swing towards the major MCO partner in Chelsea.
Take central defender Mamadou Sarr, who joined Chelsea from Strasbourg on a permanent deal in June.
The 20-year-old made only one appearance for Chelsea at the FIFA Club World Cup, coming on as a substitute.
In August he went back to Strasbourg on loan. Chelsea called him back on Monday.
Bluco would argue that this is an important part of the player’s development – that Sarr will get regular football at Strasbourg and return to Stamford Bridge as an improved player.
Then there’s the case of Ishe Samuels-Smith.
The left-back moved from Chelsea to Strasbourg in July. Chelsea then re-signed him in September – and immediately loaned him to Swansea City.
This has its own logic in the world of multi-club ownership.
Since Ben Chilwell was not part of Enzo Maresca’s plans, the full-back was sent to Strasbourg on a free transfer. The Ligue 1 club also settled a contract dispute with another defender, Ismael Doucoure.
This left Samuels-Smith as a spare in Alsace.
Rather than leave the 19-year-old struggling for first-team football, Chelsea effectively refunded the £6.5m transfer fee and sent him to the Championship club.
Club captain Emmanuel Emegha has already been confirmed to be next on the conveyor belt to Stamford Bridge.
The 20-year-old striker, one of Bleuco’s first signings at Strasbourg, will join Chelsea at the end of the season.
Club militants – long-time critics of the association with Bluco – demanded he hand back the captain’s armband.
Outsiders see players (and indeed the head coach) being moved from club to club on Chelsea’s orders.
Take Aaron Anselmino. The centre-back spent the first half of the season on loan from Chelsea to Borussia Dortmund.
Yet when Chelsea wanted Sarr in their first team, Anselmino was recalled from the Bundesliga club and sent to Strasbourg to fill the void in the team.
Anselmino was reportedly crying upon leaving Dortmund.
Chelsea were changing the chess pieces to suit their strategy.
Yet recalling loan players from one club and sending them to another club should not be seen as a special form of multi-club ownership structure.
For example, last month Manchester United brought back Harry Amas from a loan spell at Sheffield Wednesday and sent him to Norwich City instead.
US stock markets fell on Thursday, as benchmark indices fell on weakness in technology stocks led by Alphabet, while bitcoin and precious metals also posted sharp declines, according to the AP.
The S&P 500 experienced a 0.8% decline, marking its sixth consecutive loss since reaching its all-time high. As of 9:35 a.m.
Eastern Time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 326 points, or 0.7%, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.8%.
Alphabet fell 5.4%, even though Google’s parent company reported stronger-than-expected profit in the latest quarter.
Investors instead focused on its aggressive artificial intelligence spending plans.
Alphabet said its spending on equipment and other investments could double this year to about $180 billion, more than analysts’ expectations of less than $119 billion, according to FactSet. In the bond market,
Treasury yields fell after labour market data pointed to rising tensions.
US unemployment benefit applications increased more than economists expected last week, a report showed.
signalling a possible acceleration in layoffs. Another report showed that layoffs announced by US-based employers rose to 108,435 last month, the highest monthly level since October and the worst level in January since 2009, according to Challenger, Grey and Christmas.
The weak labour outlook has raised expectations that the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates to support the economy, even if that risks worsening inflation.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.23% from 4.29% late Wednesday.
Commodity markets witnessed sharp fluctuations. Silver fell 12.1% amid continued volatility after last week’s record-breaking rally halted.
Gold fell 1.9% to $4,855 an ounce after swinging sharply in recent sessions.
The metal was near $5,600 last week and fell below $4,500 earlier this week
Both gold and silver had earlier risen due to demand for safe-haven assets by investors amid concerns over political instability, expensive equity valuations and high global debt levels.
However, analysts warned that such extreme rallies could lead to a correction.
Bitcoin, often called “digital gold”, also fell and briefly slipped below $70,000, despite its record high above $124,000 in October.
Among individual stocks, Qualcomm declined 9.1% despite reporting better-than-expected profit and revenue.
The company issued a weak profit forecast as an industry-wide memory shortage hurt handset demand.
Outside the technology sector, Estée Lauder fell 16.9% despite earnings beating estimates after warning that tariff-related pressure could reduce profits for its fiscal year by about $100 million.
Stock markets also remained weak globally. London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.9% after the Bank of England kept interest rates unchanged.
France’s CAC 40 fell 0.6%, while Germany’s DAX dropped 1.1% after the European Central Bank kept rates steady
In Asia, South Korea’s Kospi fell 3.9%, falling from its record high. Samsung Electronics fell 6%, two days after rising 11.4%.
Tourists are being encouraged to visit war-torn Afghanistan with a new guide published this month
15:11, 05 February 2026
Afghan tourists can visit the Jihad Museum, which commemorates the Afghan resistance to the 1979 Soviet invasion. (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
For the first time in 20 years, a new travel guide is being published to inspire tourists to visit Afghanistan.
The war-torn country does not appear on most current travellers’ lists and the Foreign Office tells tourists they should not travel there. Afghanistan, once an important stop on the hippie path, has disappeared from travel itineraries recently. But mainstream publisher Brad believes now is the right time for the country to re-emerge on the map.
Author James Wilcox said, “At present almost the whole of Afghanistan can be visited, and with the right preparation, an inspiring range of trips is possible.
“We have tried to bring together an invaluable resource that gives readers a beneficial insight into the history and culture of Afghanistan, while also giving them the practical information they need to get there, visit and enjoy this misunderstood country.”
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The Jami Masjid, also known as the Great Mosque of Herat, in Herat features miniature art on its walls. (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
In recent decades, Afghanistan has become more famous for the war, the Taliban, and being the home of 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden. And there are even more reasons not to go here: temperatures can reach 50°C in summer and -25°C in winter.
Beer is strictly banned in Afghanistan but can be obtained on the black market in Kabul. The £24.99 guide is being released on 20 February. Written by Wilcox and his colleague Dana Fakaros, the guide covers places like the famous Khyber Pass and activities ranging from mountain trekking with nomads to the goat-related sport of buzkashi.
It says it is “aimed at the curious and adventurous” and includes sites such as the riverside summit of the Minaret of Jam, a 12th-century structure 14 hours away from the nearest paved road, and the foothills of Bamiyan, where Buddha statues stood before their destruction by the Taliban.
farm in Afghanistan (Image: Getty Images)
A spokesman for Braid said, ”Afghanistan is a paradox: a country so famous internationally, yet so little explored that it has been effectively untouched by tourism since becoming a key stop on the hippie trail four decades ago.
“The countries of the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, China and the ex-USSR collide in Afghanistan. It is a graveyard of empires and one of the most hospitable countries in the world.
“From the scorching deserts of the south to the high peaks of the Hindu Kush, any journey here is challenging – but with the right preparation it is now extremely possible.
Afghanistan during the war (Image: AFP/Getty Images)
“Even the most well-travelled visitor will find spending time in Afghanistan stirring their soul and getting their blood pumping. With the new Bradt Afghanistan Guidebook to inform and inspire you, the offbeat holiday of a lifetime is in store.”
But the Foreign Office’s advice to tourists is clear: “You should not travel to Afghanistan.” It continues: “The security situation is volatile and tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan have previously led to violent clashes in border areas.
“Travel throughout Afghanistan is extremely dangerous and many border crossings are not currently open.
“British citizens are at increased risk of being detained in Afghanistan. If you are a British citizen and you are detained in Afghanistan, you could face months or years of imprisonment.”
Zoe’s sister Izzy won slopestyle bronze in Pyeongchang in 2018.
It gave Britain its first skiing medal at the Winter Olympics.
16 years after Ellen Baxter lost my slalom bronze When he failed a drug test after using an over-the-counter nasal decongestant that he believed was permitted.
Zoe was watching from the stands with her parents in South Korea eight years ago, and her sister’s accomplishments inspired her to pursue her skiing career.
“Working with a sports psychologist has been important – when I was younger, I used to feel more intense fear, which hindered performance,” says Atkin.
“I’m still quite young, but internally there were many expectations of what I wanted to achieve.”
She is entering the Games as the reigning world champion and has achieved podium finishes at every World Cup this season, including a win at Copper Mountain and a gold medal at the X Games.
“Now that I’ve won things, surely I shouldn’t be afraid and I should be confident?” She says.
“But no matter how established you are, you always need a comfort zone to progress. It’s always a constant progression, a journey that I have now fully embraced.”
Atkin has been fortunate in that she escaped serious injuries, unlike her sister, who broke her pelvis just before the 2022 Winter Olympics and has since retired from competitive skiing.
The 21-year-old competes in ski slopestyle and big air. She rides on train tracks and performs tricks on big ramps.
She is well aware of the horrors of serious injury while on duty.
In December 2023, a scan revealed that he had torn the cruciate ligament in his knee due to repeated strikes, ruling him out for a year.
Muir, who has “never skied for so long in my life,”, says she is fit and preparing for Milan-Cortina – but admits the road back was tough.
“The game is constantly progressing, so it was difficult to take so much time off,” Muir tells BBC Sport.
Muir has won World Cup competitions in ski slopestyle and big air this season and also has a win at the X Games, but the occasional crash landing is nothing new to her.
The key to overcoming those fears, she says, is to accept that they will occur.
“The injury wasn’t the scariest thing for me because it didn’t happen at a specific time,” she says. “It happens more when things get out of your control.
“When I’m going to jump, the skis come off my feet or my goggles come over my eyes, and I’m flying through the air with no skis on my feet. It’s a weird feeling.
The United Nations agency Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has issued a new report warning of an increase in measles cases across the region.
On Wednesday, the organization issued an epidemiological alert and called on member states to strengthen “routine surveillance and vaccination activities” to combat the spread of the disease.
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“The sharp increase in measles cases in the Americas during 2025 and early 2026 is a warning signal that requires urgent and coordinated action by Member States,” PAHO said in a statement.
Overall, in the first three weeks of 2026 alone, PAHO recorded 1,031 cases of measles in the Americas. In 2025, PAHO confirmed a total of 14,891 cases.
Some of the largest outbreaks uncovered by PAHO were occurring in North America, with a large number of cases being reported in countries such as the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
What is measles?
Measles is a highly contagious airborne virus that is capable of infecting nine out of every 10 people who come in contact with it if they are not vaccinated.
In most cases, symptoms of the disease resolve within several weeks. However, measles can be fatal or cause life-altering health complications, especially in young children.
Some patients find themselves suffering from ear infections and lung inflammation. Others experience pneumonia or encephalitis, inflammation of the brain that can cause permanent damage, including seizures and memory loss.
The only way to prevent measles and stop its spread is to get vaccinated. This care is often given through a combination vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella, known as MMR.
Doctors usually advise patients to get vaccinated early. For healthy children, the general guidance is to receive the first MMR dose before 15 months of age. The second and final dose is recommended before the age of six years.
The MMR vaccine is widely considered safe. But in countries like the US, vaccination rates have declined recently due to conspiracy theories and misinformation.
For example, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation’s secretary of health and human services, previously said that the vaccine “expires very quickly,” although it provides lifelong protection.
Kennedy has also claimed that there are health risks associated with the vaccine. But experts, including the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), have repeatedly said that most people do not suffer any serious problems— and that the vaccine is much safer than exposure to measles.
“There have been no deaths associated with the MMR vaccine in healthy people,” the Infectious Diseases Society of America said on its website.
High numbers in North America
There have been 171 new cases of measles in the United States in the first three weeks of 2026, according to PAHO’s report on Wednesday. A total of 2,242 cases were reported in the country in 2025.
One of the ongoing outbreaks is in South Carolina, where 876 incidents of measles have been reported recently. Overall, 800 victims were not vaccinated, 16 had received only partial vaccination, and 38 had unknown vaccination status.
Meanwhile, the outbreak spread in Texas, with 762 cases of measles between January and August. Two unvaccinated children died in that outbreak, and 99 were hospitalised.
In 2000, measles was declared eliminated from the Americas, a sign that cases were no longer spreading domestically, although some cases occurred after exposure to the virus abroad.
Mexico also achieved measles elimination status in 1996, following a widespread vaccination campaign. The Pan-American region was declared measles-free in 2016.
However, as outbreaks persist, both the US and Mexico face the risk of losing their measles elimination status.
For example, Mexico had 6,428 cases of measles in 2025, the highest number of any country in the Americas. The first three weeks of 2026 have reported more than 740 cases.
PAHO usually determines which countries have eradication statuses, and the organization indicated it would review the situation in the US and Mexico during a virtual event. meeting on 13th April.
Meanwhile, Canada had its measles elimination status cancelled in November. Since October 2024, numerous outbreaks of measles have occurred here.
PAHO found that there were 5,436 cases of measles last year and 67 cases in the first three weeks of 2026.
The country can regain its elimination status only if it stops the transmission of measles resulting from its outbreak for more than a year.
