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☆ No restrictions on hijab in Paris 2024 Games' athletes village-IOC
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Stephane Mahe/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBERLIN, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Athletes can wear a hijab in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games athletes' village without any restriction, the International Olympic Committee said on Friday, days after France's sports minister banned it for the host country's athletes. The Olympic body also said it needed to better understand the situation in France and had been in contact with the French Olympic Committee (CNOSF). French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera said on Sunday French athletes would be barred from wearing a hijab during the Paris Games to respect principles of secularism. The vast majority of the approximately 10,000 athletes at Olympic Games reside in apartments in the Olympic village and share common spaces, including dining halls and recreational areas. There are 32 sports on the programme of the Paris Games.

Persons: Stephane Mahe, Amelie Oudea, Castera, Emmanuel Macron, Karolos, Toby Davis Organizations: Paralympics, Compagnie, REUTERS, Rights, International Olympic, French Olympic, French Sports, Sunday, Paris Games, IOC, Olympic Games, International Federation, United Nations, Thomson Locations: La Guerche, Bretagne, Rennes, Brittany, France, Paris, ”

☆ Russian athletes to compete at Paris Paralympics after IPC votes against full ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"At the IPC General Assembly in Bahrain, IPC members voted 74-65 (13 abstentions) against a motion to fully suspend NPC (National Paralympic Committee) Russia for breaches of its constitutional membership obligations," the IPC said. The decision comes two weeks before the International Olympic Committee session in Mumbai where it will also discuss Russia's and Belarus' participation at the Paris Olympics next year. The IPC had last year suspended the paralympic committees of both countries and banned their athletes from competing following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The IOC has not sanctioned the Russian or Belarus Olympic Committee or Russian members of the IOC. In March, however, it issued a first set of recommendations for international sports federations to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to return.

Persons: Benoit Tessier, Karolos Grohmann, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: Ephemere, Rights, International Paralympic, IPC, Assembly, National Paralympic Committee, International Olympic, Russia's, Paris Olympics, IOC, Belarus Olympic, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, Russia, Bahrain, Mumbai, Belarus, Ukraine, Belarusian

☆ Russian para-athletes permitted to compete under neutral flag at Paris 2024 Games after IPC vote
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Matt Foster | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Russian para-athletes will be permitted to compete under a neutral flag at next year’s Paris 2024 Games after the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) voted against a full suspension of Russia’s National Paralympic Committee (NPC) on Friday. “IPC members voted 90-56 in favour of a motion to partially suspend NPC Russia (with six members abstaining),” the IPC said in a statement. A full suspension would have meant no Russian para-athletes could compete at the Paris Games. NPC Russia is also not allowed to organise any sport event/competition involving other IPC members,” the statement added. CNN reached out to the Ukrainian and Russian Paralympic Committees for comment on the decision but did not immediately receive a response.

Persons: “ Organizations: CNN, International Paralympic Committee, IPC, Russia’s National Paralympic Committee, Assembly, Russia, Paralympic, Paris Games, “, Russian Paralympic, Russian NPC, Russian Locations: Russian, Paris, IPC’s, Bahrain, Russia, Beijing, Belarusian, Mumbai

☆ Airbnb CEO urges Parisians to put homes up for rent for Olympics
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Elizabeth Pineau | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Paris' tourism office expects some 16 million people to visit the wider Paris region for the Olympics and Paralympics. If they put their (homes) on Airbnb and there is enough housing, prices will stay within reason," Chesky said. "If not enough people put their homes on Airbnb and people don't have enough ... hotels and they can't build more hotels, that's going to increase prices." "So while hotel prices are going up, I will make sure that Airbnb is more affordable than hotels for the equivalent amount of space when people are travelling for Paris for the Olympics. Reporting by Elizabeth Pineau; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Alison WilliamsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Emmanuel Dunand, Brian Chesky, Chesky, Elizabeth Pineau, Ingrid Melander, Alison Williams Organizations: Olympics, Rights, Reuters, Games, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, Airbnb

The 35-year-old Frenchwoman brought back two bronze medals from the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games on the track and she now looks set to take part in the Paris 2024 Olympics after claiming the paracycling road race world title last year. Sport, however, is also a platform for Patouillet, also a gay rights activist, to raise awareness against discrimination on any basis, be it gender, sexual orientation or disability. In 2022, she sported rainbow-coloured hair at the 2022 UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championships in a bid to spark conversation on LGBTQIA+ rights. "Athletes who left an impression on me through their activist commitments to fight against discrimination, they are rather Anglo-Saxon. "I hope that the (2024) Games in Paris will give rise, or at least be an opportunity for certain athletes, to speak out on these subjects and that, after that, there will be changes on this."

Persons: Marie Patouillet, Frenchwoman, Patouillet, Dykes, I've, it's, Julien Pretot, Christian Radnedge Organizations: Tokyo Paralympic Games, French, Reuters, Paralympic, Paralympics Games, French national Institute of Sport, Physical Education, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Paris, France

☆ France-born boxer chases Olympic dream with Ivory Coast
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Clotaire Achi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Sedia Sanogo, 33, captain of the Ivory Coast women's boxing team who dreams to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics Games, attends a practice session in Guerville, France, August 25, 2023. "When I watched the Rio Olympic Games in 2016, there were many people from many countries, including my (former) teammates from the French team, but Ivory Coast was not represented," Sanogo, 33, told Reuters. But she chose to run under the flag of Ivory Coast, becoming the African country's first female boxer with Olympic aspirations. "In Ivory Coast, many have a traditional way of thinking. Arthur Boua, the head of Ivory Coast's boxing federation, said he was proud that thanks to Sanogo, the country now had a women's team.

Persons: Sanogo, Benoit Tessier, Denis, Ivory Coast's, Arthur Boua, Ivory, Clotaire Achi, Loucoumane Coulibali, Tassilo Hummel, Ingrid Melander, Conor Humphries Organizations: Ivory Coast, Paralympics Games, REUTERS, Rights, Paris, Rio Olympic, Reuters, Olympic, Thomson Locations: Ivory, Guerville, France, Ivory Coast, Paris, Seine, African, Africa, Dakar, Ivory Coast's

☆ 13 brands, from Coca-Cola to REI, that are pouring money into movies and TV to reach consumers with Hollywood-style storytelling
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Mattel's Barbie is just one of many big brands getting serious about making Hollywood-style entertainment. "Barbie" may be the movie of the summer, but lots of other big brands are getting serious about making Hollywood-style entertainment. Brands are also getting more systematic about tracking the projects' outcome so they can justify the cost. Neutrogena: Neutrogena Studios launched in 2021 and is J&J Consumer's first brand-funded content studio to make feature documentaries and scripted shorts. Showtime/PepsiPepsiCo: PepsiCo's Content Studio is led by veteran PepsiCo marketer Lou Arbetter.

Persons: Barbie, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer's, Oscar, Michael Sugar, Brian Newman, REI, Michael Sugar's, Jae Goodman, Lauren Denowitz, Coke, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard's, Selman Careaga, John Deere, Mara Downing, Al Roker, Jill Wilfert, Robbie Brenner, J.J, Abrams, Lena Dunham, Barney, Daniel Kaluuya, J, Sebastian Garcia, Laurie Hernandez, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck's, Entertainment —, Justin Biskin —, Howard, Lou Arbetter, Max, Robert Rodriguez, Nadia Hallgre, Stanley Nelson, Arbetter, It's, Procter, Kimberly Doebereiner, Paolo Mottola, Kyra Sedgwick, Watiti, Saint Laurent, Anthony Vaccarello, Saint, Pedro Almodóvar, Ethan Hawke, Pedro Pascal, it's, Paolo Sorrentino, David Cronenberg, Kelly Mullen, Bryce Dallas Howard, Lena Waithe, WePresent, Holly Fraser, Moses Sumney, Solange Knowles, Riz Ahmed, Aneil, Fraser Organizations: Hollywood, Procter, Gamble, Brands, Unilever, InBev, Waffle Iron Entertainment, draftLine Entertainment, Netflix, Coca Cola, Entertainment, Global, Deere, Warner Bros, Warner Brothers, Universal Studios, Mattel, Neutrogena Studios, Studio, Kerry, Seattle Film, Ghetto Film, HBO Nike, Nike, Waffle, Apple, HBO, Showtime, Pepsi PepsiCo, PepsiCo, Pepsi Super, Pepsi, G Studios, Imagine, Amazon's, Hulu, Paramount, Blue Fox Entertainment, Saint Laurent Productions, Unilever Entertainment, Imagine Entertainment, Monotype Locations: Hollywood, Kerry Washington, American, Cannes, Britain

☆ As the Olympics loom, Paris's transport grid worries wheelchair users
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Yiming Woo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

With Paris streets often clogged by traffic, travelling underground is often much quicker but only 9% of metro stations can be accessed without walking up and down steps. Wheelchair users, however, would need to travel by bus as both metro stations have stairs and no lifts, a test ride carried out by Maille, who was accompanied by a Reuters journalist, showed. In Berlin, 83% of underground stations are accessible for wheelchair users, according to the operator. The company also plans to deploy 250 specially refitted buses that can transport more wheelchair users, he added. But wheelchair activist Maille said this won't help many visitors with their trips between hotels and venues.

Persons: Franck Maille, Stephanie Lecocq, Alexander III, la, Maille, Gregoire de Lasteyrie, Yiming Woo, Tassilo Hummel, Ingrid Melander, Ken Ferris Organizations: APF, Madeleine, REUTERS, Rights, la Chapelle, Wheelchair, Reuters, Transport, Thomson Locations: APF France, Paris, France, London, Berlin

☆ 'Heart of Invictus' review: Prince Harry uses his producing clout on the uplifting Netflix docuseries
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Brian Lowry | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —There is a small strata of Hollywood deal-making where who’s behind a project – and with whom the programmer gets to align itself – carries more weight than the specifics. That would seem to define Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry’s producing arrangement with Netflix, which bears fruit this week with “Heart of Invictus,” a docuseries about the games devoted to wounded, ill and injured veterans. The streaming giant’s 2020 partnership with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex clearly appeared to be modeled after its relationship with Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company, Higher Ground. Yet even with that disclaimer, there are moments in “Heart of Invictus” where one has to be pretty heartless not to get a bit choked up, and it’s hard to question that its heart is in the right place. “Heart of Invictus” premieres August 30 on Netflix.

Persons: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry’s, ”, Duke, Duchess, Barack, Michelle Obama’s, Ted Sarandos “, Harry, Prince Harry, Orlando von Einsiedel, Julien Allen, Na Hyeongyoon, Invictus ” Organizations: CNN, Netflix, “, Daily Mail, Hague, Invictus Games, “ Wheelchair rugby, South Locations: Sussex, Netherlands, Ukraine, Iraq, “, South Korean

☆ Paris 2024 eyes sell-out crowds to beat London record - IPC
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( Karolos Grohmann | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"The ambition is to sell each and every ticket, 2.8 million, and then this will make Paris the number one in terms of ticket sales. London 2012 was 2.7 million," Parsons told Reuters in an interview exactly one year before the Games begin. "We want these Games to sell out even before the opening ceremony. So what we want is that we sell every ticket before the start of the Games," he said. "There will also be a higher quality of athletes," Parsons said.

Persons: Andrew Parsons, Parsons, Roland Garros, Karolos Grohmann, Ed Osmond Organizations: International Paralympic, London, Reuters, Games, Eiffel, IPC, International Olympic, Paris, IOC, Thomson Locations: London, Paris, Tokyo, Beijing, Russian, Belarusian, Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Bahrain

☆ Indomitable one-limbed Spaniard wins third track world, next target Paris
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Martyn Herman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

On Monday, at the age of 47, he won his third para track cycling world title, obliterating the rest of the field in the C1 scratch race, averaging 44kph over 60 circuits of the Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow. Ten, who hails from Valencia, is writing a second chapter to a remarkable tale of sporting endeavour in the face of adversity. Before taking up cycling, he was already a three-time Paralympic gold medallist in swimming having made his debut at Atlanta in 1996 and owns three world titles in para swimming. You need to use different muscles but it didn't take much effort to swap from swimming pool to the bike." Ten, who took years to recover from his injuries, has used a specially designed bike since switching seven years ago.

Persons: Spain's Ricardo Ten Argiles, Chris Hoy, Neil Fachie, Matt Rotherham, Thomas Ulbricht, Robert Forstemann, Martyn Herman, Christopher Cushing Organizations: GLASGOW, Chris Hoy Velodrome, Atlanta, Paralympic, Reuters, UCI, Thomson Locations: Glasgow, Valencia

☆ UK rowing body bans transgender women from competing in women’s events
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Amy Woodyatt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —Transgender women will not be allowed to compete in the women’s category of British Rowing events, the sport’s UK governing body has announced ahead of a change in policy due to come in later this year. Only athletes “assigned female at birth” will be allowed to compete in the women’s category in competitions under its jurisdiction, or be selected to represent Great Britain or England at international events, British Rowing said in a media release published Thursday. Meanwhile, any athletes are eligible to compete in an “Open” category, while competitions can stage “Mixed” events at any level of competition, providing 50% of crew are eligible to compete as women, British Rowing added. The policy includes athletes who compete in rowing and para-rowing, and applies at all levels including the Olympics and Paralympics, British Rowing added. “While elite sport often dominates these discussions, it only makes up a tiny proportion of all sport played in the UK.

Persons: “, Liz Ward, ” Organizations: London CNN —, British Rowing, Olympics, Rowing, British Cycling, Swimming Federation, FINA, Athletics, WA Locations: British, Great Britain, England

☆ Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic torch unveiled by designer Mathieu Lehanneur
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Christy Choi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Smooth, sleek and chic is the look for the next Olympic torch. “For Paris 2024, and for the first time in its history, (the torch) plays on perfect symmetry, speaking to us more clearly about equality,” he said in a statement. As simple as a hyphen and as fluid as a flame.”Chair of the Paris 2024 organizing committee Tony Estanguet (left) and designer Mathieu Lehanneur (right) pose with the latter's Olympic and Paralympic Torch. This is part of the organizing committee’s strategy to “build bridges between the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” Paris 2024’s president Tony Estanguet said in a statement. Mathieu Lehanneur holds aloft his design for the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Torch.

Persons: Mathieu Lehanneur, ”, “, Tony Estanguet, ’, Lehanneur, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Moët Hennessy Organizations: CNN, Games, Olympic, Paralympic Games, ”, Sydney Opera House, Museum of Modern Art, Pompidou Centre Paris, LVMH, Louis Locations: Paris, French, Russia, New York, Olympia, Greece, France

☆ This top Procter & Gamble exec is showing Hollywood how brands can make prestige films and be 'power-up' partners for studios and streamers
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

P&G Studios head Kimberly Doebereiner argues that great entertainment can come from brands. Procter & Gamble is at the forefront of the growing brand film space — with its own in-house shingle, P&G Studios, actively pursuing entertainment projects that look nothing like ads. "The first thing I'd love is for the distributors to see that great content can come from anybody, and even if it's from a brand, that doesn't mean it's brand content," she told Insider in an interview. "We have great marketing, we have great brands, we can help bring in viewers, right? "We'd love to have our content be able to show up in the retailer with our brands and create better awareness for that content," Doebereiner said.

Persons: Kimberly Doebereiner, Doebereiner, Gamble, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer's, Michael Sugar's Sugar23, Reese Witherspoon's, Barbie, we've, Brand, Queen Latifah Organizations: G Studios, Procter, Gamble, HBO, Hulu, Brands, Hollywood, Advertising, Tide, Gillette, Tribeca Studios, Walmart, Blue Fox Entertainment Locations: Hollywood

☆ Brands are pouring money into film and TV — meet 13 marketers making the biggest moves as Hollywood's new financiers
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

It's not just Barbie — lots of big brands are getting serious about making Hollywood-style entertainment. Insider identified 13 new and established players making the biggest moves in the space. "Barbie" may be the movie of the summer, but lots of other big brands are getting serious about making Hollywood-style entertainment. Neutrogena: Neutrogena Studios launched in 2021 and is J&J Consumer's first brand-funded content studio to make feature documentaries and scripted shorts. PepsiCo: PepsiCo's Content Studio is led by veteran PepsiCo marketer Lou Arbetter.

Persons: It's, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer's, Oscar, Michael Sugar, Brian Newman, REI, Michael Sugar's, Jae Goodman, Lauren Denowitz, Coke, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard's, Selman Careaga, John Deere, Mara Downing, Al Roker, Jill Wilfert, Ryan Gosling, Margot Robbie, Barbie, Ken, Jaap Buitendijk, Robbie Brenner, J.J, Abrams, Lena Dunham, Barney, Daniel Kaluuya, J, Sebastian Garcia, Laurie Hernandez, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck's, Entertainment —, Justin Biskin —, Howard, Lou Arbetter, Max, Robert Rodriguez, Nadia Hallgre, Stanley Nelson, Arbetter, Procter, Kimberly Doebereiner, Paolo Mattola, Kyra Sedgwick, Watiti, Saint Laurent, Anthony Vaccarello, Saint, Pedro Almodóvar, Ethan Hawke, Pedro Pascal, it's, Paolo Sorrentino, David Cronenberg, Kelly Mullen, Bryce Dallas Howard, Lena Waithe, WePresent, Holly Fraser, Moses Sumney, Solange Knowles, Riz Ahmed, Aneil, Fraser Organizations: Hollywood, Procter, Gamble, Companies, Brands, Unilever, InBev, Waffle Iron Entertainment, draftLine Entertainment, Netflix, Coca Cola, Entertainment, Global, Deere, Warner Bros, Warner Brothers, Universal Studios, Mattel, Neutrogena Studios, Studio, Kerry, Seattle Film, Ghetto Film, HBO Nike, Nike, Waffle, Apple, HBO, PepsiCo, Pepsi Super, Showtime, Pepsi, G Studios, Imagine, Amazon's, Hulu, Paramount, Blue Fox Entertainment, Saint Laurent Productions, Unilever Entertainment, Imagine Entertainment, Monotype Locations: Hollywood, Kerry Washington, American, Cannes, Britain

☆ It's not just 'Barbie' — as Hollywood goes through upheaval, brands from Nike to John Deere are becoming the new financiers of film and TV
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

As studios cut spending and strikes shut down production, Hollywood can take some solace — brands are coming to the rescue. Brand Storytelling is an organization that's held a festival for brand content alongside the Sundance Film Festival for the past seven years. Brand film submissions have almost tripled to 160 in the past three years, according to Rick Parkhill, director and co-founder of Brand Storytelling. "Film directors need the work," said Marcus Peterzell, who left ad giant Omnicom to found Passion Point Collective, a brand film studio, in 2019. He's since made some 36 film projects for brands.

Persons: Greta Gerwig, Kyra Sedgwick, John Deere, Kimberly Doebereiner, Chris Paul, Mattel's Robbie Brenner, There's, Jill Lubochinski, Holly Fraser, WePresent, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer's, Reese Witherspoon's, Michael Sugar's Sugar23, we've, Marc Gilbar, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Gilbar, that's, Rick Parkhill, Riz Ahmed, WeTransfer, Vicky Grout, Parkill, Saint Laurent, Pedro Almodóvar, David Cronenberg, They're, Marcus Peterzell, Peterzell Organizations: Hollywood, Mattel, Nike, HBO, Procter & Gamble, Tide, Gillette, G Studios, Warner Bros, Discovery, PepsiCo, REI, Dallas Buyers, Sundance, Brand, Brands Locations: —, HBO's, Hollywood

☆ Paris Olympic headquarters searched as part of corruption investigations
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Julien Pretot | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] The logo of the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics Games is seen on the Pulse building, the headquarters of the Paris 2024 Olympics organizing committee, as a police search is currently underway, in Saint-Denis near Paris, France, June 20, 2023. The national financial prosecutor's office (PNF) said the Paris 2024 headquarters were raided amid a preliminary investigation launched in 2017 into contracts made by the Summer Games' organising committee. "A search is currently under way at the headquarters of the Organising Committee," Paris 2024 said in a statement. "We are aware that there has been a search by police of the Paris 2024 headquarters today," an IOC spokesperson said. "We have been informed by Paris 2024 that they are cooperating fully with the authorities in this matter."

Persons: Denis, Stephanie Lecocq PARIS, Tony Estanguet, Dentsu, Julien Pretot, Karolos Grohmann, Alex Richardson, Alison Williams Organizations: Paralympics, REUTERS, Summer Games, Olympic, Paralympic, Corruption Agency, Paris, Dentsu, Tokyo, Tokyo Games, Thomson Locations: Saint, Paris, France, SOLIDEO, French, Saint Denis

☆ Amputee surfer making waves in the sport
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Borja Suarez | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] Sarah Almagro, 23, trains with her coach Javier Donoso, during the adaptive surfing Open LPA Surf City, Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Spain, June 11, 2023. REUTERS/Borja SuarezLAS PALMAS DE GRAN CANARIA, June 12 (Reuters) - When Sarah Almagro was 18 she suffered meningococcal meningitis and surgeons had to amputate both her hands and feet. Almagro was among the competitors who took part in the Open LPA Surf City 2023 championship in Playa de las Canteras in Gran Canaria on Saturday. Adaptive surfing refers to surfing where people with disabilities adapt their techniques and equipment in order to be able to practise the sport. Surfing will not be part of the Paralympics next year in Paris, but Almagro hopes it will chosen as a sport for the Games from 2028.

Persons: Sarah Almagro, Javier Donoso, Borja Suarez, Almagro, Graham Keeley, Toby Davis Organizations: Gran Canaria, REUTERS, Borja Suarez LAS PALMAS DE GRAN CANARIA, Reuters, Games, Thomson Locations: Las Palmas, Gran, Spain, United States, Playa de las, Malaga, Paris

☆ BWF extends ban on 'spin serve' until after Paris Olympics
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 29 (Reuters) - The Badminton World Federation (BWF) has extended the ban on the new "spin serve" until after next year's Paris Olympics and Paralympics, it said on Monday. The BWF this month temporarily banned the serve, which involves a player spinning the shuttle before launching it, after it proved to be tough to return or completely unplayable. "After consultation with the badminton community, BWF Council believed it best to forbid the 'spin serve' for another 15 months so as to not impact the Olympic and Paralympic qualifying periods and the Games themselves," the BWF said. The BWF secretary general Thomas Lund said the governing body "welcomed innovation in badminton" but added that "more evidence was needed on the potential effects" of the serve before introducing it. Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru, editing by Ed OsmondOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Marieke Vervoort: How one Paralympian and triathlete's euthanasia papers extended her life by a decade
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Amy Woodyatt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —Throughout her storied career, triathlete and Paralympian Marieke Vervoort captured the imagination of her native Belgium and the wider world. … The fact that that had given her so much mental liberation and spiritual liberation, I thought, was a fantastic story,” Rapaport told CNN Sport. “If I didn’t have the papers, I think I would have already committed suicide,” Vervoort told reporters in 2016. And in this case, having control over decision-making about the end of your life,” Rapaport explained. Vervoort died in October 2019.

☆ "We're being hounded" - French transgender sprinter decries Olympics ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Noemie Olive | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] French sprinter Halba Diouf, 21, a transgender woman athlete who dreams to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics Games, attends a practice session on an athletics track in Aix-en-Provence, France May 3, 2023. REUTERS/Gonzalo FuentesAIX-EN-PROVENCE, France, May 9 (Reuters) - French sprinter Halba Diouf feels she is being marginalised and hounded after her dream of participating at next year's Paris Olympics was shattered when World Athletics (WA) banned transgender women from elite female competitions. "The only safeguard transgender women have is their right to live as they wish and we are being refused that, we are being hounded... In March WA's council cut the maximum amount of plasma testosterone for DSD athletes in half to 2.5 nanomoles per litre from five. The WA rules also stated the level must be maintained for at least 24 months before DSD athletes can compete in female competitions.

[1/6] French runner Barbara Humbert, 83, long-distance world record winner in her category who dreams to run the Olympic Marathon For All at the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics Games, poses during a daily practice session in Villiers-Adam near Paris, France April 26, 2023. REUTERS/Gonzalo FuentesEAUBONNE, France, May 2 (Reuters) - At 83, Barbara Humbert dreams of taking part in next year's Paris Olympic Games 'Marathon For All', a race opening the Olympic route to non-elite competitors for the first time - and she's got the pedigree to beat some runners half her age. Not your typical great-grandmother, the German-born Frenchwoman runs 50 km (30 miles) a week, has competed in dozens of marathons, and has the medals to show for it. "It's extraordinary to have the Olympics in Paris," said Humbert at her home in Eaubonne, an hour's drive north of the capital. They remind Barbara of all the races she's been part of, from Athens to Boston and beyond, amounting to some 8,000 km run, according to her own calculations.

☆ Paralympics TikTok account uses 'edgy and unique content' but has been critiqued by some for lack of sensitivity
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Ben Morse | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —Social media is awash with memes and GIFs and, at times, ‘edginess,’ but it can be a difficult balancing act as the official Paralympics TikTok account is discovering. The account is run by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the organization which organizes and manages the Paralympic Games. In the comments, the official Paralympic account replied: “This is Brad Snyder. Mixed reactionsAs a result, the videos posted on the official account have received a mixed reaction, with commentators on many of them left disbelieving that the content published there is permitted. “Looking through that whole account, I might have seen one or two [videos] where the athlete actually does something successfully.

☆ Oscar Pistorius: from 'Blade Runner' hero to convicted murderer
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

JOHANNESBURG, March 31 (Reuters) - Oscar Pistorius, known as the "Blade Runner" for his carbon-fibre prosthetic legs, went from public hero as a Paralympic champion to a convicted murderer in hearings that drew worldwide attention nearly a decade ago. 2004 - Running on carbon-fibre prosthetics which earn him the nickname "Blade Runner", Pistorius becomes a Paralympic gold medallist when he wins the 200 metres in Athens. 2008 - Pistorius wins three golds at the Paralympics in Beijing. 2014 - Sept. 12 - A high court judge convicts Pistorius of culpable homicide, letting him off the more serious charge of murder. Aug. 19 - South Africa's justice minister blocks Pistorius' expected release on parole after serving 10 months of his five-year sentence.

☆ Iraqis recount their struggles after Saddam Hussein's fall
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Amina Ismail | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

But he says ridding the nation of Saddam has just created anarchy for others to bleed the country dry. Under Saddam's rule minorities were tolerated and not singled out for their religious beliefs, but were oppressed if they opposed the government. After the fall of Saddam, they were targeted by Islamists for their religious beliefs and labelled apostates or devil worshippers. A CHRISTIAN: PASCALE WARDAWhen U.S.-led forces invaded, Iraqi Christian Pascale Warda was in London lobbying European leaders to depose Saddam. It was the same under Saddam," said Warda, who had several members of her family executed by the state.

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