Tag: cancel

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Organizers cancel fireworks shows, festivals, sports events over drought, heat

Organizers cancel fireworks shows, festivals, sports events over drought, heat

Events around the Netherlands are being cancelled or modified due to the ongoing drought and the recent high temperatures. An official national heat wave is expected to be declared this weekend, which happens after five consecutive days of temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius measured in De Bilt, Utrecht.

The thermometer should read 30 degrees in far Noord-Holland, 31 degrees in Friesland and Groningen, 32 degrees in Utrecht and the eastern region, and 33 degrees in the south. Despite overnight temperatures falling as low as 17 degrees, it should rise back above 30 degrees across the country on Sunday.

A fireworks show that was to be held on Saturday evening in Leersum, Utrecht was canceled because of the fire hazard. “Unfortunately, by order of the Utrecht Security Region, the fireworks cannot continue. It is not safe due to the drought,” the organizers said.

The fireworks show is part of the annual Bloemencorso Leersum, which has been held since 1952. The fireworks were to be staged from a park in Leersum. Due to the fire hazard caused by the fireworks, the municipality just mowed the entire park.

“Unfortunately, mowing the flowery field was not necessary,” said the municipality of Heuvelrug, which also includes Leersum, in a message posted on Twitter on Friday.

The Halve Marathon Vlieland, which was to be held on Sunday, has also been cancelled. The organization made the decision in consultation with the Friesland Security Region and the municipality of Vlieland. It would have been the first time the half marathon was organized since before the coronavirus pandemic, but the organization said it would have been irresponsible to put the runners and volunteers on the course given the heat. “The persistent heat in combination with an easterly wind will cause temperatures to become too high, especially on the shell paths in the dunes area,” the Halve Marathon Vlieland website said.

The Harvest Festival in Oldebroek, Gelderland, was also cancelled on Saturday. The party includes inspections of cows, horses and sheep, but the associations that are involved have withdrawn due to the heat. Practitioners of old crafts also cancelled.

The Bemmelse Paarden Dagen, a horse event in Bemmel, Gelderland, will continue on Monday and Tuesday, at least for the time being. The pony market on Monday has been shortened. At that market, which has taken place since 1958, animals are sold with a traditional handshake between traders and buyers.

The 255th shooting competition organized by the Roman Catholic shooting association of southern Limburg (RKZLSB) was to take place in Mechelen, in Limburg. That event was also postponed due to the heat. It will instead take place next Sunday. “After all, the personal health of all participants and all visitors should have priority and is the reason for this decision,” said the municipality of Gulpen-Wittem.

A horse-riding competition set for Saturday and Sunday was canceled in Ysselsteyn in northern Limburg, and the BraDeLierloop running competition planned for Saturday in De Lier, Zuid-Holland, was also canceled.

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9/11 Families Call on Trump to Cancel Saudi-Backed Golf Event

9/11 Families Call on Trump to Cancel Saudi-Backed Golf Event

Relatives of people killed on Sept. 11 are urging former President Donald J. Trump to cancel a Saudi-backed golf tournament set to be held this month at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey.

In a letter dated Sunday, members of the group 9/11 Justice asked to meet with Mr. Trump and urged him not to host the event, set for July 29 to 31, noting that Mr. Trump has blamed Saudi Arabia for the attack.

“We simply cannot understand how you could agree to accept money from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s golf league to host their tournament at your golf course, and to do so in the shadows of ground zero in New Jersey, which lost over 700 residents during the attacks,” they wrote in the letter.

“It is incomprehensible to us that a former president of the United States would cast our loved ones aside for personal financial gain,” they wrote to Mr. Trump, who is expected to run for president again in 2024. “We hope you will reconsider your business relationship with the Saudi golf league and will agree to meet with us.”

In the letter, the group noted that Mr. Trump told Fox News in February 2016: “Who blew up the World Trade Center? It wasn’t the Iraqis. It was Saudi. Take a look at Saudi Arabia.” He went on to say: “The people came, most of the people came from Saudi Arabia. They didn’t come from Iraq.”

An email sent to 9/11 Justice was not immediately returned on Sunday. Messages left at Mr. Trump’s club in Bedminster, and with a spokesman for Mr. Trump, were also not immediately answered.

The Saudi-sponsored golf league is part of a campaign by the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, to refresh the kingdom’s image in the eyes of the world.

The man who defeated Mr. Trump in 2020, President Biden, has recently faced criticism for his own connection to Saudi Arabia. Last week during a Middle East trip, Mr. Biden fist-bumped Prince Mohammed, who was judged responsible by the C.I.A. for the 2018 killing of the Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Mr. Biden said he confronted Prince Mohammed about the killing during a closed-door meeting with him; Saudi officials contradicted his account.

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Heatwave disruption: Schools close, hospitals cancel appointments and events are scrapped as UK braces for record temperatures

Travel chaos is on the cards, both over the weekend and beyond. Here passengers queue for ferries at the Port of Dover in Kent on Saturday morning

The country is bracing itself for extreme disruption next week, as forecasters predict possible temperatures of 40C (104F) in parts of the country.

Amid warnings that lives are at risk, a “national emergency” has been declared by the UK Health Security Agency and the Met Office has issued its first-ever red warning for extreme heat.

The heatwave is set to peak on Tuesday, with temperatures climbing over the weekend.

Find out the five-day forecast for where you live

Travel delays as tracks ‘bend and buckle’

People are being urged to avoid all non-essential travel and warned of likely disruption to travel by train and car.

Temperatures will build over this weekend and early next week for much of England and Wales. pic: Met Office
Image:
Temperatures will build over this weekend and early next week for much of England and Wales. Pic: Met Office

A No 10 spokesman said railway speed restrictions may be needed on “some parts of the network next week to manage the hot weather and to avoid any potential damage”.

Very hot temperatures can affect rails, overhead power lines and signalling equipment, as well as “bend and buckle” tracks.

Jake Kelly, of Network Rail, warned that journeys will take “significantly longer and delays are likely as speed restrictions are introduced to keep passengers and railway staff safe”.

Train operators, including Transport for London (TfL), are strongly encouraging customers not to travel on Monday 18 and Tuesday 19 July.

TFL chief operating officer Andy Lord said: “Due to the exceptionally hot weather that is expected next week, customers should only use London’s transport network for essential journeys.

“If customers do need to travel, they should check before they travel as we are expecting there to be some impact to Tube and rail services as a result of temporary speed restrictions we will need to introduce to keep everyone safe.

“It is also vital that customers always carry water at all times with them when travelling.”

Meanwhile, motorists have been advised to try to make their journeys outside of the hottest periods of the day, particularly if they have older cars.

The RAC has warned more drivers will need help as cars overheat, and asked their customers to question whether they really need to make the journey in the first place.

Hospital appointments cancelled

Some hospitals have taken the decision to cancel routine appointments and surgeries due to the risk to both patients and staff due to the predicted extreme heat.

Joe Harrison, CEO of Milton Keynes University Hospital, said on Twitter: “We have taken the decision to stand down routine outpatient appointments and surgery on Monday and Tuesday because many of the patients travelling to these appointments are frail and at increased risk, and due to the unpredictable nature of very high temperatures on demand for emergency care and on care environment.

“We will do all we can to keep wards & departments as cool as possible, but we know this will be a challenge given the very high outside temperature.

“We have solid plans and contingency plans in place and will keep social media channels and our website updated with any changing info.”

With ambulance wait times already on the rise, there have been warnings that things will only worsen during the heatwave, with patients potentially stuck in hot vehicles for hours while waiting for hospital admission.

East Midlands Ambulance Service Director of Operations David Williams warned patients they may face “an extended wait” for an ambulance and urged people to call 999 only as “a last resort”.

NHS data revealed that none of the England’s ambulance services hit crucial response time targets in June.

School closures and sports days cancelled

Some schools in the south of the country may close on Monday and Tuesday due to the extreme weather, and the NEU teaching union has said it will support headteachers taking this decision.

Schools choosing to close their doors have pointed to the potentially dangerous temperatures of classrooms, as well as the risk to both staff and pupils of having to work during the hottest points of day.

Many school sports days scheduled to take place during the hot weather are also being postponed or cancelled.

Some schools have said they will arrange a skeleton staff to keep the buildings open for parents unable to find alternative childcare at short notice.

Some southern nurseries will also be restricting their hours on the hottest days following Public Health England’s guidelines for supporting children in Early Years.

The majority of UK schools are set to break up for the summer holidays later in the week.

Some shops and salons around the country have also advised they will be closing or shutting early on Monday and Tuesday.

Scrapped events

Unprecedented weather conditions have led to many weekend events – including dog shows and summer fetes – being called off, as well as larger scale events at the start of the week.

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) have called off five meetings – their scheduled fixtures at Beverley and Windsor on Monday and their all-weather cards at Chelmsford and Wolverhampton on Tuesday, along with Southwell’s jumps fixture.

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Bride in limbo after Val Vista Lakes HOA votes to cancel events

Bride in limbo after Val Vista Lakes HOA votes to cancel events

GILBERT, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) – A bride-to-be is scrambling to re-plan her wedding after she was notified her venue is no longer hosting events starting at the beginning of next year.

“Yesterday, I got a phone call from the general manager of Val Vista Lakes telling me they were canceling all events after January 1st, 2023, and they said it was because of legal reasons,” said Amy Greco. “It’s not actually the HOA company. It’s actually the HOA board members that are voting against having the events there. The only thing that I could think of is that they want to host events there themselves and maybe because Val Vista Lakes is such a popular venue, they’re not able to do so. Which is fine, but I feel they should honor my contract.”

Greco said she wanted the venue so badly that she booked her reservation in August 2021 for her wedding in March 2023.

“Since I moved here in 2006, I wanted to get married there mainly because of the lake and the views there. Because of the docks, it reminded me of my hometown in Long Island,” Greco said. “It was a must for me. That was the first thing that I booked, and then I kind of built the wedding around that.”

Val Vista Lakes said in an email to Greco that she would be returned her $1,000 deposit. However, Greco said she doesn’t know what will happen to her vendors.

“It’s kind of like build your own wedding. So it’s up to me to pick all of my vendors and book them and put it all together,” Greco explained. “I have everything booked. I have my caterers booked, I have the bartender, invitations are sent out, there’s a hotel room block already booked, RSVPs are already coming in. If I were to have to go somewhere else, I don’t know that I can bring my vendors with me, I don’t know if they can refund me the deposits. I don’t know what’s within my budget anymore. It’s all kind of ruined.”

Greco said she wanted Val Vista Lakes as her wedding venue before meeting her future husband. She’s hoping there’s still a way to make it happen.

“The general manager from Val Vista Lakes, or the HOA company, had called me and said that there is a loophole and if I find any resident in Val Vista Lakes that will sponsor me for my event, I’m still able to have it,” Greco said. “But I don’t know anyone that lives in Val Vista Lakes because I’m all the way here in Phoenix.”

Arizona’s Family reached out to the vice president of Val Vista Lakes, but we have not gotten a response.

Copyright 2022 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.

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Surrounding Suburbs Cancel 4th of July Events in Wake of Highland Park Parade Shooting

Surrounding Suburbs Cancel 4th of July Events in Wake of Highland Park Parade Shooting

Multiple northern Chicago suburbs canceled Fourth of July events following a mass shooting along the Highland Park Independence Day Parade route Monday.

Glencoe officials said the village was canceling its Fourth of July parade as the city urged residents to “remain home” with the “threat still at large.”

“There have been no incidents or direct threats to Glencoe. Public Safety are monitoring the situation and recommend avoiding public and crowded areas at this time,” the village tweeted.

Glenview police announced around 11 a.m. that the town’s Fourth of July Parade was canceled “out of an abundance of caution.”

“There have been no incidents or direct threats to Glenview,” the department tweeted, adding that police were clearing the parade area, but the town’s fireworks display is still expected to take place Monday evening.

Nearby Deerfield announced its Family Days activities at Jewett Park were cleared and the parade in the town was canceled.

Evanston police said its holiday celebrations were canceled “effective immediately” due to the “tragic mass shooting.”

“While there is no known threat to Evanston residents, the shooter is still at large; therefore, cancelations are taking place in an abundance of caution,” the suburb stated in an alert. “Our thoughts and prayers are with our neighbors to the north.”

Northbrook announced its holiday activities, including the bike parade, mile-long parade and fireworks show were all canceled.

“Our thoughts are with our Highland Park neighbors,” the suburb said in an alert to residents.

Morton Grove also announced its parade was canceled Monday.

The public is being asked to avoid downtown Highland Park Monday as police respond to a shooting “in the area of the Independence Day parade route,” the Lake County Sheriff posted on Twitter.

“STAY OUT OF THE AREA – allow law-enforcement and first responders to do their work,” the sheriff posted.

Illinois State Police said the shooting situation is “active.”

“The Illinois State Police is currently assisting Highland Park PD with an active shoot situation that occurred at the Highland Park Parade,” police tweeted. “The public is advised to avoid the area of Central Ave and 2nd St. in Highland Park.”

According to multiple reports on Twitter, gunshots were heard at Highland Park’s Fourth of July parade. Further details were not immediately confirmed by police.

The city of Highland Park also urged people to avoid the area.

“Fourth Fest has been canceled. Please avoid downtown Highland Park. More information will be shared as it becomes available,” the north suburban Chicago town posted.

This is a breaking news story. Check back as details emerge.

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IOC urges sports federations to cancel events in Russia and Belarus – will Ironman and Challenge do that? – Triathlon Magazine Canada

IOC urges sports federations to cancel events in Russia and Belarus - will Ironman and Challenge do that? - Triathlon Magazine Canada

Ironman and Challenge Family both have events slated to take place in Russia this summer – Ironman 70.3 St. Petersburg was announced in Dec., 2019, but the race hasn’t yet taken place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is slated for July 17 this year. Challenge Family announced Challenge Moscow last March, but that race also didn’t take place last year. It’s scheduled for June 26, 2022.

We reached out to both Ironman and Challenge Family today to find out what might be happening to the events in Russia based on that country’s invasion of Ukraine over the last two days. We are waiting for a statement from Ironman and will update this story once it is available. A Challenge Family source said that they were monitoring the events in Russia and Ukraine closely, but wouldn’t be making an official statement before the weekend.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has strongly condemned “the breach of the Olympic Truce by the Russian government and the government of Belarus through its support in this.” The Olympic Truce, which was supported by consensus of all 193 UN Member States, was to begin seven days before the start of the Olympic Games and end seven days after the closing of the Paralympic Games. The IOC is now urging all International Sports Federations “to relocate or cancel their sports events currently planned in Russia or Belarus. In addition, the IOC EB (executive board) urges that no Russian or Belarussian national flag be displayed and no Russian or Belarussian anthem be played in international sports events which are not already part of the respective World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) sanctions for Russia.”

World Triathlon has already sanctioned Russia because of the doping issues that have plagued the country’s sport system for years. Part of that sanction means the Russian Triathlon Federation can’t host any World Triathlon events, but presumably that didn’t preclude organizations like Ironman and Challenge from putting events on in the country. The IOC doesn’t have any events planned in either country, either.

With the many western nations working together on economic sanctions against Russia for the invasion of Ukraine, one would imagine there will be some pressure on both Ironman and Challenge Family to cancel its events in Russia yet again.

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Sport-IOC urges federations to move or cancel events in Russia, Belarus

International sports federations should either move or cancel sports events currently planned in Russia or Belarus, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Friday, a day after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Russian troops entered Ukraine through Belarus when the invasion began on Thursday. Ukraine’s chief of staff said on Friday that the Russians were now using an airfield in Belarus to line up troops to assault Kyiv.

“The Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee reiterated today the IOC’s strong condemnation of the breach of the Olympic Truce by the Russian government and the government of Belarus through its support in this,” the IOC said in a statement.

It said international sports federations “should take the breach of the Olympic Truce by the Russian and Belarusian governments into account and give the safety and security of the athletes absolute priority.”

The IOC’s executive also said that Russian and Belarusian national flags should not be displayed at international sports events.

Russian athletes at the Beijing Games did not compete under their flag and their anthem was not played at any ceremonies, following sanctions imposed for the widespread doping across many sports exposed after the 2014 Sochi Games.

The invasion of Ukraine led to Russia losing the Champions League final, the Formula One Russian Grand Prix and skiing World Cup events among many others. (Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Tomasz Janowski)