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Berlin – Each sport must set its own rules on the participation of transgender athletes, instead of one global rule, and they must be based on scientific data, International Paralympics Committee President Andrew Parsons said on Thursday. Speaking one year ahead of the Milano-Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games, Parsons, who is also an International Olympic Committee member, said any decision should have an inclusive approach. The Olympic Games and the Paralympics currently allow transgender athletes to compete. Italy’s Valentina Petrillo became the first openly transgender athlete to participate in the Paralympics after the visually impaired sprinter competed in Paris last year. “Protecting the female participation is a must, but we also have to address the fact that there are more transgender individuals who want to practice high-level sport,” Parsons said in an interview. “We must have an inclusive approach. It should be guided by science. I think science is what can give us answers in every sport about participation of transgender athletes. “I believe that every sport has to find its own way. When it comes to transgender … science is the guiding principle.” The IOC has refused to apply any universal rule. Instead, in 2021, it instructed international federations to each come up with their own rules for their sports. Some sports, including athletics, swimming and rugby, have done so, but many have yet to finalize a policy on the issue. United States President Donald Trump, however, whose country will host the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, has issued an order to exclude transgender girls and women from female sports. Trump said he would not allow transgender athletes to compete at the LA Games and urged the IOC to “change everything to do with the Olympics and this absolutely ridiculous subject. “We have 3½ years to go to the Games, and a lot of things will happen between now and then,” Parsons said. “I think we need to work with international federations. We will be supporting them in the buildup to the Games and to apply their rules in their specific competitions.” Parsons has, however, more immediate issues to tackle with the 2026 Paralympics a year away, and Italian organizers racing to complete key venues on a tight deadline. “It’s a tight schedule, but we are confident, and we have been reassured by the Italian authorities, that it’s going to be delivered,” he said. The Paralympics will host more than 600 competitors in 80 events of six paralympic sports across Milan, Cortina and two more clusters in mainly existing or temporary venues. “We maximize the use of existing venues,” Parsons said. “So in this edition, yes, it means that the venues are very spread out,” Parsons said. The Winter Paralympics will have spectators — with some 200,000 tickets on offer — after the Beijing 2022 Paralympics were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly 90% of tickets cost €35 euros ($37.75) or less. “We are happy where we are at the moment,” Parsons said regarding preparations for the Paralympics. Source link

Three workers died Friday morning after collapsing inside a manhole at a sewer construction site in the city of Oga, Akita Prefecture, according to police. The incident occurred around 9:30 a.m. after one worker collapsed inside the manhole, followed by two others who tried to rescue him, according to The Asahi Shimbun. They were discovered unconscious shortly after by a colleague. Police said the men, age 29, 44 and 62, were transported to the hospital in critical condition but were later confirmed dead. The three — all residents of the city of Akita — had been repairing sewer pipes since early that morning, according to prefectural officials. The construction project began on Monday and was commissioned by the prefectural government to replace aging sewer pipes. The workers were set to operate a valve about 4 meters underground to check if household wastewater was flowing correctly through the pipes, Asahi reported. Police closed off a nearby prefectural road as a precaution and are investigating the circumstances of the incident, including the possibility of gas leaks, and warning residents near the scene to exercise caution. Information from Jiji added Source link

The England and Wales Cricket Board has apologized after its social media staff reposted a message from the account of Pope Francis and suggested the pontiff, who is in hospital being treated for double pneumonia, was a fan of the Ashes series. The post on the X account of Pope Francis was sent out on Tuesday ahead of Ash Wednesday, the start of the season of Lent when the foreheads of Roman Catholics are marked with the ashes of burnt palm leaves. “The #Ashes remind us of who we are, which does us good,” part of the message said. England Cricket’s account reposted it along with the message, “Even @Pontifex loves the Ashes,” a reference to the Ashes rivalry between the England and Australia cricket teams. “This was an ill-judged post and was swiftly deleted,” an ECB spokesman said. “We apologize for any offense.” Pope Francis on Thursday sent his first audio message since being taken to hospital nearly three weeks ago, expressing thanks to well-wishers from around the world who had offered him their support. The next edition of the Ashes cricket series, which gets its name from a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper after Australia first won a test in England in 1882, takes place later this year. Source link

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said he’s willing to add employees in Japan as the local economy picks up after decades of deflation. The return of price and wage growth, rising interest rates and corporate reforms are spurring activity in the country, Moynihan said in an interview in Tokyo on Friday. “We’ll hire internal people, but if there’s not enough, we’ll bring people from around the world,” he said. “It’s an exciting city to live in, Tokyo, so it’s not hard to get people to come here.” Source link

Japan partially lifted wildfire evacuation orders on Friday after rain helped stop the country’s worst blaze in more than half a century from spreading. The fire had raged in the mountains around the city of Ofunato in Iwate Prefecture for over a week, killing one person and forcing more than 4,200 residents to flee their homes. But wet weather, which began Wednesday following a record dry period, helped firefighting efforts. “Aerial reconnaissance this morning has not confirmed any spread of fire, fire reaching buildings or white smoke,” Toshifumi Onoda, a spokesman for the local fire department, said Friday. Firefighters were planning to enter forests to check that the fire was put out, he said. City official Shinichi Matsukawa told reporters that an evacuation order for nearly 1,000 residents had been lifted. The wildfire engulfed about 2,900 hectares — around half the size of Manhattan — making it Japan’s largest in more than 50 years. It surpassed the 2,700 hectares burnt by a 1975 fire in Hokkaido. Japan endured its hottest summer on record last year, as climate change pushed up temperatures worldwide. Then in February, Ofunato received just 2.5 millimeters of rainfall — breaking the previous record low of 4.4 mm for the month, logged in 1967, and far below the average of 41 mm. At least 78 buildings are believed to have been damaged, although details are still being assessed, according to the fire agency. The number of wildfires in Japan has declined since peaking in the 1970s. In Japan, wildfires tend to occur between February and May, when the air dries out and winds pick up. There have been around 1,300 a year in recent years. Source link

Washington – Rights advocates raised the alarm, including over free speech concerns, on Thursday after it was reported that the U.S. State Department will use artificial intelligence to revoke the visas of foreign students who it perceives as supporters of Palestinian Hamas militants. The U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment protects freedom of speech and assembly. Free speech advocates like the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and pro-Palestinian groups said AI should not be relied upon for assessments related to the decades-old and nuance-filled Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Axios cited senior State Department officials to report that an AI-fueled “Catch and Revoke” effort will include AI-assisted reviews of tens of thousands of student visa holders’ social media accounts. Source link

Beijing – China’s foreign minister said on Friday the country will “resolutely counter” pressure from the United States on the fentanyl issue, adding that major powers “should not bully the weak,” in a veiled swipe at Washington. Beijing also presented itself as a reliable global power in the midst of geopolitical turmoil and U.S. President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from international institutions, part of a clear appeal from Beijing to Europe and countries in the Global South. The U.S. levied an additional 10% tariffs on Chinese imports this week over the continued flow of the deadly opioid fentanyl into the country, threatening to worsen a spiral of trade actions against China and other countries including Canada and Mexico. Source link

Singer-songwriter Ichiko Aoba still remembers a dream where she broke into pieces. “I was experiencing sleep paralysis. My mind was moving, but I couldn’t move my body,” she tells The Japan Times. “It must have been in some kind of battle or war, and I remember being hit by a bullet and my body just sort of coming apart.” Though such dreams are terrifying, Aoba allows them to shape her waking life. Since 2010, the 35-year-old has been taking what she sees in her sleep, whether fantastical or painful, and using it as inspiration to create art both intimate and epic. “Making music is never easy. It’s not like the pain of childbirth, but it’s like taking a drop from my painful dreams and distilling it into something pure,” she says. Source link

Hideo Jojo pushes into forbidden territory and navigates the darker currents of his latest film with assurance. Source link

The U.N. Development Program said Thursday it has picked Japanese actress Mana Ashida as domestic goodwill ambassador, a post newly set up by the organization to focus on efforts in Japan. At a news conference in Tokyo the same day, Ashida, 20, said, “I hope to work so that we can lead a sustainable and bright future.” She will be in charge of promotional activities in Japan mainly related to the fight against climate change and other environmental challenges. “There are many people around the world who come up with ideas on and are studying climate issues,” she said. “I hope that sending out messages while learning from such people will lead to efforts transcending borders and generations.” The U.N. body tackles various global issues such as poverty and social disparities. Japanese actress Misako Konno, 64, who has been serving as the UNDP’s global goodwill ambassador since 1998, also attended the news conference. Konno, who is set to quit the UNDP role at the end of this month, said that she received a handwritten letter from Ashida before her appointment as domestic goodwill ambassador. “I teared up because I was truly happy to know” that Ashida who is “just 20 years old is very seriously thinking about (her role),” Konno said. “I’m really glad that she decided to take on this role,” Konno said. Source link