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Japan’s Ami Yuasa dances her way to gold in first Olympic breaking final

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Japan’s Ami Yuasa dances her way to gold in first Olympic breaking final

Japanese B-Girl Ami beats Lithuania’s Nicka in the gold medal competition as breaking makes a cameo at the Olympics.

The urban sport of breaking spun its way onto the Olympic stage for the first and possibly last time, with Japan’s B-Girl Ami winning the inaugural women’s gold.

Breaking, better known as breakdancing, made its debut amid the grand elegance of Paris’s Place de la Concorde, with 17 dancers known as B-Girls going head-to-head in a series of battles on Friday.

Ami, whose name is Ami Yuasa, beat Lithuania’s Dominika “Nicka” Banevic in the final, with China’s Liu “671” Qingyi taking bronze.

Japan's Ami Yuasa, known as B-Girl Ami, celebrates after winning the gold medal during the B-Girls gold medal battle at the breaking competition at La Concorde Urban Park at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Japan’s Ami Yuasa, known as B-Girl Ami, celebrates after winning the gold medal during the B-Girls gold medal battle at the breaking competition at La Concorde Urban Park [Abbie Parr/AP Photo]

The sport blends urban dance with acrobatic moves set to the grooves of hip-hop music.

Its appearance at the Olympics could be a fleeting one, however, having already been dropped from the Los Angeles 2028 programme and no guarantees it will return in the future.

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“It was disappointing it was decided that it wouldn’t be in LA, particularly before we even had a chance to show it,” said Australian B-Girl Rachel “Raygun” Gunn.

“I think that was possibly a little premature. I wonder if they’re kicking themselves now.”

Organisers ensured breaking made the most of its time in the spotlight in Paris, pumping up the volume for an excited crowd that included rapper Snoop Dogg.

“I still don’t believe that I’m here because breaking is so different,” said Italian Antilai Sandrini, known by her B-Girl name Anti.

“I never thought about breaking at the Olympics, so for me, it’s really huge.”

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Lithuania's Dominika Banevic, known as B-Girl Nicka, competes during the B-Girls quarterfinals at the breaking competition at La Concorde Urban Park at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin)
Lithuania’s Dominika Banevic, known as B-Girl Nicka, competes during the B-Girls quarterfinals [Frank Franklin/AP Photo]

Afghan B-Girl makes political statement

The first contest of the day was between India Sardjoe of the Netherlands, known by her B-Girl name India, and Refugee Olympic Team competitor, Talash.

Talash, whose real name is Manizha Talash, left Taliban-controlled Afghanistan to live in Spain two years ago and danced wearing a blue cape with “Free Afghan Women” printed on it.

Paris 2024 Olympics - Breaking - B-Girls Pre-Qualifier Battle - La Concorde 1, Paris, France - August 09, 2024. Talash of Refugee Olympic Team in action. REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth
Talash of Refugee Olympic Team in action [Angelika Warmuth/Reuters]

“There are so many people that are struggling everywhere, and this is why the world needs this,” said American B-Girl Logistx, also known as Logan Edra.

Breaking originated as part of hip-hop culture in New York in the 1970s.

What began in the block parties of the Bronx has reached the fountains and classical facades of one of Paris’s most opulent public spaces, overseen by the International Olympic Committee.

Logistx said finding a balance between breaking’s roots and Olympic competition had been “a messy process”.

“I’m just so happy with what everyone fought for on this journey because I feel like the culture pulled through,” she said.

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Netherland's India Sardjoe, known as B-Girl India, after competing during the B-Girls bronze medal battle at the breaking competition at La Concorde Urban Park at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Netherland’s India Sardjoe, known as B-Girl India, celebrates after competing during the B-Girls bronze medal battle [Abbie Parr/AP Photo]

Each battle sees B-Girls take turns to lay down their dance moves over a set number of rounds, with a panel of judges determining the winner.

The competition opened with a pool stage featuring four groups of four B-Girls, before moving onto the knockout round.

The B-Girls perform on a circular stage, accompanied by a DJ pumping out hip-hop classics and MCs hyping up the crowd.

B-Girls in the women’s event come from countries as diverse as Japan, Lithuania, Morocco and Australia.

The men’s competition takes place on Saturday.

China's Qingyi Liu, known as B-Girl 671, competes during the B-Girls bronze medal battle at the breaking competition at La Concorde Urban Park at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin)
China’s Qingyi Liu, known as B-Girl 671, competes during the B-Girls bronze medal battle [Frank Franklin/AP Photo]

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Video: Owner of Swiss Bar Detained in Fire Investigation

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Video: Owner of Swiss Bar Detained in Fire Investigation

new video loaded: Owner of Swiss Bar Detained in Fire Investigation

Prosecutors in Switzerland ordered Jacques Moretti to be detained after investigators questioned him and his wife, Jessica Moretti. Officials are looking into whether negligence played a role in last week’s deadly fire at their bar, Le Constellation.

By Meg Felling

January 9, 2026

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Greenland leaders push back on Trump’s calls for US control of the island: ‘We don’t want to be Americans’

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Greenland leaders push back on Trump’s calls for US control of the island: ‘We don’t want to be Americans’

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Greenland’s leadership is pushing back on President Donald Trump as he and his administration call for the U.S. to take control of the island. Several Trump administration officials have backed the president’s calls for a takeover of Greenland, with many citing national security reasons.

“We don’t want to be Americans, we don’t want to be Danes, we want to be Greenlanders,” Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and four party leaders said in a statement Friday night, according to The Associated Press. Greenland, a self-governing Danish territory and a longtime U.S. ally, has repeatedly rejected Trump’s statements about U.S. acquiring the island.

Greenland’s party leaders reiterated that the island’s “future must be decided by the Greenlandic people.”

“As Greenlandic party leaders, we would like to emphasize once again our wish that the United States’ contempt for our country ends,” the statement said.

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TRUMP SAYS US IS MAKING MOVES TO ACQUIRE GREENLAND ‘WHETHER THEY LIKE IT OR NOT’

Greenland has rejected the Trump administration’s push to take over the Danish territory. (Thomas Traasdahl/Ritzau Scanpix / AFP via Getty Images; Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Trump was asked about the push to acquire Greenland on Friday during a roundtable with oil executives. The president, who has maintained that Greenland is vital to U.S. security, said it was important for the country to make the move so it could beat its adversaries to the punch.

“We are going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not,” Trump said Friday. “Because if we don’t do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland, and we’re not going to have Russia or China as a neighbor.”

Trump hosted nearly two dozen oil executives at the White House on Friday to discuss investments in Venezuela after the historic capture of President Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3.

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“We don’t want to have Russia there,” Trump said of Venezuela on Friday when asked if the nation appears to be an ally to the U.S. “We don’t want to have China there. And, by the way, we don’t want Russia or China going to Greenland, which, if we don’t take Greenland, you can have Russia or China as your next-door neighbor. That’s not going to happen.” 

Trump said the U.S. is in control of Venezuela after the capture and extradition of Maduro. 

Nielsen has previously rejected comparisons between Greenland and Venezuela, saying that his island was looking to improve its relations with the U.S., according to Reuters.

A “Make America Go Away” baseball cap, distributed for free by Danish artist Jens Martin Skibsted, is arranged in Sisimiut, Greenland, on March 30, 2025. (Juliette Pavy/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

FROM CARACAS TO NUUK: MADURO RAID SPARKS FRESH TRUMP PUSH ON GREENLAND

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Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Monday that Trump’s threats to annex Greenland could mean the end of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

“I also want to make it clear that if the U.S. chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, then everything stops. Including our NATO and thus the security that has been provided since the end of the Second World War,” Frederiksen told Danish broadcaster TV2.

That same day, Nielsen said in a statement posted on Facebook that Greenland was “not an object of superpower rhetoric.”

Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen stands next to Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen during a visit to the Danish Parliament in Copenhagen on April 28, 2025. (Liselotte Sabroe/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images)

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White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller doubled down on Trump’s remarks, telling CNN in an interview on Monday that Greenland “should be part of the United States.”

CNN anchor Jake Tapper pressed Miller about whether the Trump administration could rule out military action against the Arctic island.

“The United States is the power of NATO. For the United States to secure the Arctic region, to protect and defend NATO and NATO interests, obviously Greenland should be part of the United States,” he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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What Canada, accustomed to extreme winters, can teach Europe

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Euronews spoke to Patrick de Bellefeuille, a prominent Canadian weather presenter and climate specialist, on how Europe could benefit from Canada’s long experience with snowstorms. He has been forecasting for MétéoMédia, Canada’s top French-language weather network, since 1988.

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