Tag Archives: Olympics

Transgender athletes cause controversy at Paris Olympics

88004533-13693959-Algerian_women_s_boxer_Imane_Khelif_pictured_after_winning_a_mat-a-26_1722446680666

Important Takeaways:

  • A volleyball player left partially paralyzed by a transgender opponent has slammed the Olympics over its boxing controversy.
  • She told DailyMail.com it was ‘disgusting’ that two boxers who failed gender tests had been cleared to fight women at this year’s Games in Paris.
  • ‘These women have worked so hard and trained tirelessly to get all the way to the Olympics, all so they can get punched in the face by a dude. ‘It used to be illegal for men to beat up women, and now people are putting it on TV and watching it. It’s such a weird reality we are living in now.’
  • Imane Khelif of Algeria and Lin Yu-Ting of Taiwan were banned from competing in the Women’s World Boxing Championships in March last year in New Delhi because they failed gender eligibility tests.
  • Khelif and Lin have both always competed as women and it does not appear that either identifies as transgender or intersex (those born with sexual organs belonging to both sexes).
  • But the Paris Olympics’ organizers have cleared them to fight in the women’s divisions, saying their entry complies with ‘applicable medical regulations.’
  • Concerns were raised over the transgender athletes being included in women’s boxing at the Olympics after video showed Imane Khelif landing brutal blows on their competitor Mexico’s Brianda Tamara
  • Khelif has claimed online that they have been excluded from matches because of a ‘conspiracy’ to prevent Algeria winning a gold medal.

Read the original article by clicking here.

“An attack on France” and “coordinated sabotage” disrupt travel ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics

vandals-targeted-Frances-high-speed-train

Important Takeaways:

  • France’s high-speed train lines were targeted by multiple “malicious” acts including arson on Friday, in what has been described as “an attack on France” and “coordinated sabotage” to disrupt travel ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.
  • No-one has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but given their scale and precision, it is clear they are more than just random acts of vandalism.
  • The operator said the Atlantic, Northern and Eastern high-speed lines were impacted, with damage caused to several of its facilities
  • At the same time, France has been among many European countries impacted by a wave of attacks that have been linked by officials to Russia. They have included arson and acts of sabotage against infrastructure. Russia has not responded to the allegations.

Read the original article by clicking here.

French Police arrest suspected Russian likely planning to destabilize Olympics

Paris-Olympics-2024-Emblem-www.ihf_.info-media-center-events-olympic-games-paris-2024

Important Takeaways:

  • French police have arrested a Russian man suspected of planning to destabilize the Olympics, the Paris prosecutor’s office said on Wednesday, just days before the Games begin.
  • The 40-year-old man was detained on Tuesday after police raided his house at the request of the Interior Ministry, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
  • The evidence found at his home raised “fears of his intention to organize events likely to cause destabilization during the Olympic Games,” it said.
  • Relations between France and Russia have been deteriorating for months as President Emmanuel Macron is a prominent critic of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and a strong supporter of the Kyiv government.
  • The arrested man has been placed in pre-trial detention and could face up to 30 years in prison, the statement said.
  • Russia’s embassy in Paris said it had not received official notification of the detention.

Read the original article by clicking here.

French government resigns

French-Government-Resigns

Important Takeaways:

  • French centrist Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and his government resigned on Tuesday, but will stay on in a caretaker capacity until a new cabinet is appointed following an inconclusive snap election.
  • The caretaker government will run current affairs in the euro zone’s second-largest economy, but cannot submit new laws to parliament or make any major changes, experts say.
  • Its role will include making sure that the Olympics, that start on July 26, run smoothly.
  • Who becomes president of the assembly, equivalent to a speaker who organizes the chamber’s agenda and runs debates, is crucial at a time when it is still unclear who will run the government as no party or group has an absolute majority.
  • A left-wing alliance that unexpectedly topped the June 30 and July 7 election, and which has since been fighting bitterly over who to put forward as prime minister, hopes to agree on a name for parliament chief.
  • “Never before has the election of the president of the assembly held such a political significance,” Euro intelligence analysts said.

Read the original article by clicking here.

Olympics in Paris around the corner and ISIS encourages lone wolf attacks

Lone-Wolf-poster-ISIS

Important Takeaways:

  • ISLAMIC terror outfit ISIS has threatened chilling attacks on the upcoming Paris Olympics in an appalling poster message.
  • The death cult posted a propaganda image showing one of its terrorists seemingly flying an “armed drone” to attack the iconic Eiffel Tower.
  • The poster, pushed by ISIS-linked social media channels, was captioned: “Lone wolves’ Olympics have begun with the Will of Allah.”
  • The chilling threat vaguely indicates there could be attempts to carry out lone-wolf-style terror attacks across Paris amid the upcoming games.
  • France is already on high alert amid a slew of vile threats made by Islamic terror outfits.
  • Tony Estanguet insisted that “security is the priority” to ensure the safety of 15 million fans and more than 10,000 athletes.
  • But the July 26 ceremony along the River Seine — the first not held in a stadium — has already been scaled back from 600,000 spectators to 300,000.
  • The 10,500 athletes from 203 nations will take to boats on the Seine, watched by one billion globally.
  • There will be 30,000 police, 15,000 soldiers and 22,000 security guards on duty.

Read the original article by clicking here.

China uses Olympics to share future of undisputed power

Matthew 24:6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.

Important Takeaways:

  • As Olympics begin, Beijing projects ‘shared future’ of undisputed Chinese power
  • China’s motto of coming “together for a shared future” during the hardships of pandemic — an echo of President Xi Jinping’s political philosophy of building a “community with a shared future for mankind”
  • [Narrative] has been countered by U.S.-led diplomatic boycotts that seek to hold the Chinese Communist Party accountable for human rights abuses, military aggression and ascendant nationalism during Xi’s rule
  • Coronavirus-constraining “closed loop” of designated buses and hotels has made it impossible for most Beijing residents to take part in the events.
  • China itself has used the Olympics to promote its political vision; underscore its claims of ownership over Taiwan
  • Xinhua News Agency wrote, “Ensuring the Beijing Winter Olympics were held on schedule demonstrates the significant advantages of Socialism with Chinese characteristics and is a bold declaration that no force can stop the Chinese people from realizing their dreams.”

Read the original article by clicking here.

Top Japan medic urges nationwide state of emergency amid COVID surge

By Akiko Okamoto, Linda Sieg and Kiyoshi Takenaka

TOKYO (Reuters) – The head of the Japan Medical Association called on Tuesday for a nationwide state of emergency to contain a surge in COVID-19 cases in Olympics host city Tokyo and elsewhere, Kyodo news agency said, as worries grow about a strained healthcare system.

The call by JMA President Toshio Nakagawa followed Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s announcement that only COVID-19 patients who are seriously ill and those at risk of becoming so will be hospitalized, while others isolate at home, a shift in policy some fear could boost the death toll.

Japan has seen a sharp increase in coronavirus cases. Tokyo, which had a record high of 4,058 new infections on Saturday, had another 3,709 new cases on Tuesday.

Tokyo hospitals are already feeling the crunch, Hironori Sagara, director of Showa University Hospital, told Reuters.

“There are those being rejected repeatedly for admission,” he said in an interview. “In the midst of excitement over the Olympics, the situation for medical personnel is very severe.”

Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told reporters fewer elderly people, most already vaccinated, were getting infected.

“On the other hand, infections of younger people are increasing and people in their 40s and 50s with severe symptoms are rising,” he said, adding some could not immediately get admitted to hospital.

Suga announced the change in hospital policy on Monday, saying the government would ensure people isolating at home can be hospitalized if necessary. Previous policy had focused on hospitalizing a broader category of patients.

Suga and Olympics organizers say there is no link between the July 23-Aug. 8 Summer Games and the sharp increase in cases.

Medical experts, however, have said holding the Olympics sent a confusing message about the need to stay home, contributing to the rise.

Unlike the voluntary restrictions and low vaccination rates elsewhere in Japan, more than 80% of the people in the Olympic village in Tokyo for athletes and coaches are vaccinated, testing is compulsory and movement is curtailed.

Organisers on Tuesday announced 18 new Games-related COVID-19 cases, bringing the total since July 1 to 294.

‘IN-HOME ABANDONMENT’

On Tuesday, Suga, meeting with heads of national medical groups, vowed to “protect people’s lives”.

“The spreading infections on a nationwide scale are approaching our biggest crisis since last year’s first wave,” Nakagawa said.

Some worry the hospital policy shift could lead to more deaths.

“They call it in-home treatment but it’s actually in-home abandonment,” opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Yukio Edano was quoted as saying by NHK public TV.

Japan on Monday expanded its state of emergency to include three prefectures near Tokyo and the western prefecture of Osaka. An existing emergency in Tokyo – its fourth since the pandemic began – and Okinawa is now set to last through Aug. 31.

Japan’s latest emergency steps, unlike stricter measures in many countries, have focused mainly on asking eateries that serve alcohol to close and those that don’t to close by 8 p.m.

The country has avoided a devastating outbreak of the virus, with about 941,000 total cases and just over 15,000 deaths as of Monday.

But it is now struggling to contain the highly transmissible Delta variant even as the public grows weary of mostly voluntary limits on activities and the vaccination rollout lags.

Just under 30% of the population is fully vaccinated, including three-quarters of those 65 and over.

Nearly 70% of hospital beds for seriously ill COVID-19 patients were filled as of Sunday, Tokyo data showed.

Showa University Hospital’s Sagara said there was a difference between theoretically available beds and beds that could accept patients immediately.

“I think the latter is close to zero,” he said, adding that if infections keep rising, hospitals will have to limit surgery and other non-COVID-19 treatments.

“We must avoid a situation in which the Olympics was held but the medical system collapsed,” he said. “At present, infections are spreading quite a lot and if they spike further, (the Olympics) will be considered a failure.”

According to health ministry guidelines, seriously ill patients are defined as those admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) or needing artificial respirators.

The Tokyo Shimbun newspaper said 12,000 patients were isolating at home, a 12-fold increase in the past month.

(Reporting by Linda Sieg, Akiko Okamoto and Kiyoshi Takenaka; Additional reporting by Ritsuko Ando, Ami Miyazaki and Tim Kelly; Editing by Gerry Doyle and Nick Macfie)

Olympics-Risk of COVID spread is ‘zero’, IOC chief says, amid rising cases

TOKYO (Reuters) -International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said on Thursday there was “zero” risk of Games participants infecting Japanese residents with COVID-19, as cases hit a six-month high in the host city.

Bach said Olympics athletes and delegations had undergone more than 8,000 coronavirus tests, resulting in three positive results. “Risk for the other residents of Olympic village and risk for the Japanese people is zero,” he added.

The three cases have been placed in isolation and their close contacts are also in quarantine, Bach said at the beginning of talks with Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike and Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimoto.

Just over a week before the July 23 opening ceremony, Tokyo reported 1,308 new COVID-19 infections on Thursday, its highest daily tally since late January.

Postponed last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Summer Olympics have little public support in Japan amid widespread fears about a further spread of the coronavirus.

Critics on Thursday submitted a petition against the Games that has garnered more than 450,000 signatures this month, Japanese media reported.

Organizers have imposed Olympics “bubbles” to prevent further transmissions of COVID-19, but medical experts are worried they might not be sufficiently tight.

COVID-19 CASES EMERGE

A number of infections have emerged among visiting athletes and people involved with the Games.

An Olympic athlete under a 14-day quarantine period has tested positive in Tokyo, the organizing committees’ website reported on Thursday, without disclosing any details about the athlete.

Eight members of the Kenyan women’s rugby team had been classified as close contacts of a passenger on their flight to Tokyo who had tested positive for coronavirus, their squad said.

The athletes had been isolated as a precaution, but had all tested negative on arrival and were expected to link up with the rest of the players at their residential training camp in Kurume on Friday, the team added.

Tokyo entered its fourth state of emergency earlier this week amid a rebound in COVID-19 cases that pushed Games organizers to ban spectators from nearly all venues.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told reporters Japan would take thorough steps to strengthen border controls against the coronavirus.

Given the state of emergency in the host city, the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee said it would bar public access to the capital’s waterfront area and asked the public to refrain from visiting the Olympic flame platform.

The waterfront area, dubbed Tokyo Waterfront City, was supposed to feature “cool spots, rest areas and dining spaces” and be open to spectators and non-ticket holders, according to organizers.

Some of the sponsor booths may be operated on a restricted-access basis during the Games, a committee spokesperson told reporters.

A decision of whether to allow public access to the area during the Paralympic Games will be taken after the Olympics have ended, the spokesperson said.

(Reporting by Eimi Yamamitsu, Ju-min Park Editing by Michael Perry, Mark Heinrich and Andrew Heavens)

Factbox: Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

(Reuters) – Olympics organizers capped the number of spectators at 10,000 for each venue of the 2020 Tokyo Games, days after experts said holding the event without fans was the least risky option during the pandemic.

DEATHS AND INFECTIONS

EUROPE

* President Vladimir Putin said the coronavirus situation in some Russian regions was getting worse as authorities began promoting the idea of regular revaccinations to try to halt a surge in cases.

* French nightclubs will be allowed to re-open from July 9, government minister Alain Griset said, allowing the industry to operate for the first time since it was shut during the France’s COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020.

* As the Delta coronavirus variant continues to spread, Portuguese authorities are scrambling to bring a spike in cases under control and said they would accelerate vaccinations and increase testing.

ASIA-PACIFIC

* India’s government is in talks with Pfizer and other vaccine manufacturers to import their COVID-19 vaccines in accordance with local laws, a senior government official said.

* Indonesia passed the mark of 2 million coronavirus cases after a record number of new infections, as authorities announced a tightening of restrictions to contain the spread in the world’s fourth most populous country.

* Hong Kong said it would shorten the quarantine period for vaccinated people arriving in the city to seven days from 14, provided travelers show sufficient antibodies against the novel coronavirus.

* Taiwan welcomed 2.5 million vaccine doses from the United States on Sunday as help from a true friend. China’s foreign ministry urged the United States not to seek “political manipulation” in the name of vaccine assistance.

* Well above 80% of the athletes and officials residing in the Olympic village will be vaccinated when the Games kick off, the International Olympic Committee President said.

AMERICAS

* Canada will start cautiously lifting border restrictions for fully vaccinated citizens and other eligible people on July 5 but U.S. and other foreign travelers will still be excluded, the government said.

* U.S. land borders with Canada and Mexico will remain closed to non-essential travel until at least July 21, the U.S. Homeland Security Department said.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* Africa is working with the European Union and other partners to help create regional vaccine manufacturing hubs in Rwanda, Senegal and South Africa, with Nigeria under consideration, World Trade Organization Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said.

* An Israeli health official urged more 12- to 15-year-olds to be vaccinated, citing new outbreaks that he attributed to the Delta variant.

* Qatar will only allow people fully vaccinated to attend next year’s World Cup and is in talks to secure one million doses, the prime minister said.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* GlaxoSmithKline and Vir Biotechnology said final results from a late-stage study of their monoclonal antibody confirmed it significantly reduced hospitalization and death among high-risk COVID-19 patients when given early in the disease.

* Cuba’s Soberana 2 vaccine candidate has shown 62% efficacy with just two of its three doses, state-run biopharmaceutical corporation BioCubaFarma said on Saturday.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

* Global stocks dropped to a four-week low after last week’s surprise hawkish shift by the U.S. Federal Reserve reduced the allure of riskier assets, while the dollar held gains and stood near a 10-week high.

(Compiled by Veronica Snoj and Juliette Portala. Edited by Shounak Dasgupta, Mark Heinrich and Barbara Lewis)

German, Israeli air forces fly past 1972 Munich Olympic attack site

FUERSTENFELDBRUCK, Germany (Reuters) – German and Israeli fighter jets flew in formation past the site of the 1972 attack on Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics on Tuesday in their first joint exercise in Germany.

As part of their “Blue Wings 2020” maneuvers, German and Israeli pilots flew over the Fuerstenfeldbruck military airfield near Munich to commemorate the attack which left 11 Israelis, a German policeman and five Palestinian gunmen dead.

A gunfight erupted at the airfield after Palestinians from the Black September group took members of the Israeli Olympic team hostage at the poorly secured athletes village on Sept. 5, 1972.

Later the jets flew over the site of the Dachau concentration camp where some 200,000 people, many of them Jews, were imprisoned and 41,500 murdered under Adolf Hitler’s Nazis. Set up in 1933, it was meant as a model for other concentration camps.

Senior officials, including a relative of a camp survivor and German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer were due to take part in a ceremony there.

“Our Air Force pilots flew over the Dachau concentration camp in Germany today,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a tweet. “In Dachau a massacre of the Jewish people took place.

“The big lesson of the Holocaust is that no one will protect the Jews if they do not defend themselves. Today we are defending ourselves. I salute our pilots!”

Since the end of World War Two, Berlin has felt a special responsibility towards Israel and the joint maneuvers are the first time Israeli fighter planes have trained in Germany.

A rise in anti-Semitism, in particular an attack on a synagogue in Halle last year which left two people dead, has caused alarm in Germany.

Luftwaffe chief of staff Ingo Gerhartz said the program was a sign of friendship. The darkest chapter of German history handed the country the “task to resolutely fight anti-Semitism today,” he was quoted by broadcaster BR24 as saying.

(Reporting by Reuters Television; Editing by Mike Collett-White)