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☆ 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.

☆ Japan authorities seek criminal charges against Dentsu, others over Olympics contracts
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Japan's Fair Trade Commission said on Tuesday it filed criminal complaints against Dentsu (4324.T) and five other firms as well as seven individuals over alleged bid-rigging on contracts for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The complaint marks the latest development in months of investigations into alleged corruption in the planning and sponsorship of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics Games, held in 2021 after a pandemic-driven postponement. Tokyo prosecutors are planning to the bring the charges on Tuesday, Kyodo News agency said. Dentsu, Cerespo and Fuji Creative have already been barred from bidding for contracts at the industry, foreign and education ministries for nine months. Reporting by Satoshi Sugiyama, Kantaro Komiya, Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim and Edwina GibbsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Oksana Masters Had a Difficult Path to Athletic Triumph
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Emily Bobrow | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

“A lot of people have no idea that I was living in a car right before Sochi”—the 2014 Winter Games, when she took home a silver and a bronze for cross-country skiing. Her 17 medals are also for rowing, cycling and the biathlon. “People see me now, but they don’t see the hard parts that came before,” she says. That is why she decided to write her new memoir, “The Hard Parts,” out Feb. 21. It also covers her formative years in several abusive orphanages in Ukraine, where she was born with webbed fingers, one kidney and no weight-bearing bones below the knees.

The Baltic nations and Poland earlier Thursday called on international sports bodies to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing in the Olympics and other events while the war in Ukraine continues. "Efforts to return Russian and Belarusian athletes to international sports competitions under the veil of neutrality legitimize political decisions and widespread propaganda of these countries," it added. They called on "all international sports organizations and federations" to remove Russian and Belarusian athletes from international competitions until the war ends. Latvia joined Kyiv on Wednesday in threatening to boycott the 2024 Olympics and qualifiers if Russian and Belarusian athletes are included while the war continues in Ukraine. The Paris Olympics will be held from July 26-Aug. 11 next year and the Paralympics from Aug. 28-Sept. 8.

☆ Latvia would not send athletes to Olympics if Russia and Belarus included
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

VILNIUS, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Latvia would not send athletes to an Olympic Games that included Russian and Belarusian nationals while the invasion in Ukraine is ongoing, a spokesperson for the country's Olympic committee said on Wednesday. But the Paris Games is a year and half away. The Paris 2024 Olympics will be held from July 26-Aug. 11 and the Paralympics from Aug. 28-Sept. 8. Neither the Lithuanian nor Estonian National Olympic Committees are considering boycotts of Paris Olympics, their chairs told domestic media on Tuesday. Foreign ministers of the three countries and Poland on Tuesday agreed that Russian and Belarusian athletes in Olympics are "unacceptable" so long as the invasion continues, Latvian foreign minister Edgars Rinkevics said.

☆ Nick Clegg led Meta's decision to reinstate Trump to Facebook and Instagram. Here's how the former UK deputy prime minister charmed his way into Mark Zuckerberg's inner circle.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Philip Webster | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +18 min

Nick Clegg has risen quickly to become one of Mark Zuckerberg's closest confidants at Meta. Clegg, a former UK deputy prime minister, led the decision to reinstate Donald Trump to Facebook. It was updated on February 16, 2022 following the news that Nick Clegg had been promoted to the role of President for Global Affairs. In a challenging economic climate, the Lib Dems and their Conservative coalition partners voted to raise tuition fees. Nick Clegg (left) and Chris Huhne appearing on the BBC's "The Andrew Marr Show" in October 2007.

☆ Vivienne Westwood, Britain's provocative dame of fashion, dead at 81
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Marie-Louise Gumuchian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/4] Designer Vivienne Westwood poses for a portrait before her catwalk show at London Fashion Week Men's in London, Britain June 12, 2017. "Vivienne Westwood died today, peacefully and surrounded by her family, in Clapham, South London. Instantly recognisable with her orange or white hair, Westwood first made a name for herself in punk fashion in 1970s London, dressing the punk rock band that defined the genre. Westwood used her public profile to champion issues including nuclear disarmament and to protest against anti-terrorism laws and government spending policies that hit the poor. "I've used fashion to challenge the status quo."

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☆ IPC suspends Russian, Belarusian committees with immediate effect
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Russia's suspension was passed by 64 votes to 39, with 16 abstentions, at the IPC's extraordinary General Assembly in Berlin on Wednesday. "Due to their suspension, NPC Russia and NPC Belarus lose all rights and privileges of IPC membership, in accordance with the IPC Constitution," the IPC said in a statement. "Both NPC Russia and NPC Belarus now have the right to appeal the decision. The next IPC General Assembly is due to take place in the final quarter of 2023 at a venue yet to be confirmed." The Russian Paralympic Committee called the IPC decision unfounded.

☆ Phrygian caps to be the Paris 2024 Games mascots
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Alan Baldwin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/6] Paris 2024 Olympics - Official mascots of Paris 2024 Olympics unveiled - Olympic Committee Head Quarters, Saint-Denis, France - November 11, 2022. Picture taken November 11, 2022 General view as the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic mascots the Phryges are unveiled REUTERS/Gonzalo FuentesPARIS, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Phrygian caps will be the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games mascots as organisers look to celebrate the French revolution's spirit. "'Phryges' aim to show that sport can change everything, and that it deserves to have a prominent place in our society," Paris 2024 brand director Julie Matikhine said on Monday. The red Phrygian caps come in two versions - the Olympic and the Paralympic one - with a blade leg. The Olympic Games will be held from July 26-Aug. 11 and the Paralympics from Aug. 28-Sept. 8.

CNN —Paralympic gold medalist swimmer Robert Griswold “maliciously targeted,” groomed and sexually abused a younger, intellectually disabled teammate, a civil lawsuit filed on Friday in Colorado alleges. “The USOPC observed Griswold engaging in this conduct and allowed it to continue,” the lawsuit adds. Griswold, who was born with cerebral palsy, won two gold medals at Tokyo 2020. Egbert and Griswold became roommates there, allowing the abuse to continue and intensify, the lawsuit says. Due to the “acts and omissions” of Griswold, USOPC and SafeSport, the lawsuit says, Egbert has “had to make the difficult decision to leave behind his lifelong dream,” of being a Paralympic swimmer.

☆ Dan Mancina: The blind skateboarder challenging misconceptions about sight and sport
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Amy Woodyatt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Mancina, who started skating at age seven, has been slowly losing his vision throughout his life. Courtesy Dan MancinaThe 35-year-old spent a few years trying to figure what he as a blind person could do -- before finding his way back to skateboarding. Courtesy Dan Mancina“I’m trying to figure out “what is a blind person? What can a blind person do?”The Michigan native started skating at seven, but got into it more seriously at 13, developing a love for the sport which he says helps him express himself. “I noticed a big difference in the way people treated me as a sighted person compared to a blind person,” he said, explaining that some people have lower expectations of what a blind person can achieve.

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