Cincunri Sakia

Senin, 02 Agustus 2021

Tokyo 2020: Belarusian Olympian Krystsina Tsimanouskaya receives Polish humanitarian visa - Sky Sports

Krystsina Tsimanouskaya plans to seek political asylum in Poland after alleging her team's officials tried to force her to fly home from the Tokyo Olympics; Polish deputy foreign minister Marcin Przydacz says Tsimanouskaya has been granted a humanitarian visa

Last Updated: 02/08/21 1:14pm

Sky Sports News reporter Geraint Hughes says Belarusian Olympian Krystsina Tsimanouskaya has received a humanitarian visa by Poland

The Belarusian Olympian who refused to get on a flight from Tokyo after she said she was taken to an airport against her will has been granted a humanitarian visa by Poland.

Krystsina Tsimanouskaya plans to seek political asylum in Poland after alleging her team's officials tried to force her to fly home, where she feared she would not be safe from an autocratic government.

On Monday, Polish deputy foreign minister Marcin Przydacz said on Twitter the 24-year-old has received the visa.

He added: "Poland will do whatever is necessary to help [Krystsina Tsimanouskaya] to continue her sporting career. Poland always stands for solidarity."

Kryscina Tsimanouskaya a Belarusian athlet is already in direct contact with Polish diplomats in Tokyo. She has received a humanitarian Visa. Poland will do whatever is necessary to help her to continue her sporting career. 🇵🇱 always stands for Solidarity.
— Marcin Przydacz (@marcin_przydacz) August 2, 2021

Tsimanouskaya, who spent Sunday night in a hotel after seeking the protection of Japanese police at Haneda airport, arrived at the Polish embassy in Tokyo on Monday morning.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said she was "safe and secure" and being looked after.

Tsimanouskaya's arrival at the Polish embassy comes after France's European affairs minister said it would be an "honour" if Europe were to grant her political asylum.

She had been due to compete in the women's 200m and the 4x400 metres relay at the Tokyo Olympics this week.

Rob Koehler, Director General of Global Athlete, says Belarusian Olympian Krystsina Tsimanouskaya must be supported 'long-term'

But Tsimanouskaya criticised team officials on her Instagram account, saying she was put in the relay despite never having raced in the event before.

She had also claimed some members of her team were judged ineligible to compete because they had not undergone enough doping tests.

Coaching staff went to Tsimanouskaya's room and told her to pack as a response to what she had said, she claimed.

When she arrived at the airport, she summoned Japanese police and refused to board the flight to Minsk via Istanbul.

In a message on social media, Tsimanouskaya said: "I was put under pressure and [Belarus team officials] are trying to forcibly take me out of the country without my consent."

In a statement on its Facebook page, the Belarus Olympic Committee said Tsimanouskaya was removed from the Games because of her "emotional and psychological state".

It said: "According to doctors, due to the emotional and psychological state of the Belarusian athlete Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, the coaching staff of the national athletics team decided to stop the performance of the athlete at the XXXII Olympics.

"Consequently, the athlete's application for participation in qualifying races at 200m and in the 4x400m relay was recalled."

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2021-08-02 11:53:24Z
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Wildfires cause further devastation in Turkey, Greece - Al Jazeera English

The death toll from six straight days of wildfires in Turkey has risen to eight, while in neighbouring Greece, firefighters were attempting to contain a blaze that has destroyed houses and hospitalised more than a dozen people.

The Turkish fires have been fuelled by a southern European heatwave fed by hot air from North Africa, which has also seen chaos grip other parts of the Mediterranean in recent days.

Experts have warned that climate change is increasing both the frequency and intensity of wildfires.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis warned on Monday that Greece is suffering its worst heatwave since 1987 as forecasters said temperatures could reach 45 degrees in the coming days. The intense heat has helped fan wildfires that have destroyed more than 3,000 hectares (7,400 acres) of pine and olive groves in the country’s west since Saturday.

Elsewhere in Europe, more than 800 flare-ups were recorded over the weekend in Italy, mainly in the south, the country’s fire brigade said. A second straight day of wildfires in Sicily on Saturday forced people to leave their homes and saw the local Catania airport temporarily shut down.

In Spain, firefighters backed by waterbomber aircraft battled a wildfire that broke out Saturday near the San Juan reservoir, about 70km (40 miles) east of Madrid. That blaze was stabilised overnight but authorities urged people to stay away from the reservoir, a popular bathing spot for residents of the Spanish capital.

Turkey

In Turkey, two people died on Sunday in the Mediterranean coastal city of Manavgat, raising the town’s death toll to at least seven, Minister of Health Fahrettin Koca said.

In recent days, at least one person has also died in Marmaris.

Twenty-seven people were still being treated in hospitals in impacted areas, while thousands have been evacuated from their homes.

The many of fires across several provinces on Turkey’s Aegean and Mediterranean coasts broke out last Wednesday, fanned by strong winds and scorching temperatures.

While many have been extinguished, responders were still tacking seven blazes in the coastal provinces of Antalya and Mugla – popular tourist areas, and in Tunceli, southeast Turkey.

Many villagers have lost properties and farm animals, while locals and tourists have fled vacation resorts in boats.

The wildfires are the worst of their kind in at least a decade, with nearly 95,000 hectares (235,000 acres) burned so far this year, compared with an average of 13,516 at the same point in the years between 2008 and 2020.

Support teams from Russia, Ukraine, Iran and Azerbaijan have been deployed to help Turkish firefighters.

Planes from Spain are expected to arrive on Tuesday while one from Croatia will join efforts on Monday, an EU official said.

Blazes grip Greece

In Greece, firefighters on Monday tried to contain a wildfire burning in the western region of Patras that destroyed homes and left 15 people in hospital with breathing problems after erupting over the weekend, local authorities said.

Five villages in the area, which sits about 210km (130 miles) west of the capital, Athens, were evacuated.

The mayor of nearby village Aigialeias, Dimitris Kalogeropoulos, called the situation “an immense catastrophe”.

Flames consumed approximately 30 houses, barns and stables in the villages of Ziria, Kamares, Achaias and Labiri.

“We slept outside overnight, terrified that we would not have a house when we woke up,” a Labiri resident told Greek TV station Skai.

Firefighters were also tackling a blaze on the island of Rhodes, near the Turkish coast.

Authorities said they were optimistic the fire was on the back foot as of Monday after more firefighters and resources were deployed overnight.

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2021-08-02 11:11:06Z
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Tokyo Olympics: Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya arrives at Polish embassy after refusing to board flight home - Sky News

Belarusian Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya has arrived at the Polish embassy in Tokyo after refusing to board a flight back to Minsk.

The 24-year-old was seen entering the building after spending the night at an airport hotel where she is reportedly applying for a visa.

Sky News spoke to Timanovkaya's husband on Monday, Arseniy Zdanevich, who left Belarus last night for Ukraine.

Mr Zdanevich, who is now in Kiev, said: "I didn't think it would get this serious. I made the decision to leave without thinking twice."

He spoke to his wife on Monday morning and said she was calm and told him that everything was fine and she was in a safe place.

He said he doesn't have any further plans yet but is sure he will join his wife wherever she ends up.

"We never had any connections, never supported the opposition. We're just normal sports people, we're just devoted to sports and we're not interested in the opposition movement," Mr Zdanevich, who is also an athlete, added.

Timanovkaya said she was seized by officials from her own country on Sunday after she publicly complained about the national coaches and sought police protection.

Olympic officials later said she was "safe and secure".

Her arrival at the Polish embassy comes after France's European affairs minister said it would be an "honour" if Europe were to grant Tsimanouskaya political asylum.

Poland, where many critics of Alexander Lukashenko's regime now live, offered help to Tsimanouskaya, with deputy foreign minister Marcin Przydacz tweeting that Tsimanouskaya has been offered a "humanitarian visa and is free to pursue her sporting career in Poland if she so chooses".

The Belarusian Embassy in Tokyo has made an official request to the Japanese authorities for information about the athlete, the RIA news agency reported.

The Olympian said she was seized by officials from her own country on Sunday after she publicly complained about the national coaches.

She spent the night in an airport hotel after seeking the protection of Japanese police at Haneda airport.

Tsimanouskaya said in a filmed message distributed on social media that she was pressured by Belarus team officials, so had asked the International Olympic Committee for help.

She said: "I was put under pressure and they are trying to forcibly take me out of the country without my consent."

Tsimanouskaya had been due to compete in the women's 200 metres and the 4x400 metres relay at the Tokyo Olympics this week.

But she criticised team officials on her Instagram account, saying she was put in the relay despite never having raced in the event before.

She had also claimed some members of her team were judged ineligible to compete because they had not undergone enough doping tests.

Coaching staff went to Tsimanouskaya's room and told her to pack as a response to what she had said, she claimed.

When she arrived at the airport, she summoned Japanese police and refused to board the flight to Minsk via Istanbul.

An activist group supporting Tsimanouskaya said she believed her life was in danger in Belarus and she would seek asylum with the Austrian Embassy in Tokyo.

A spokesman for the Japanese government, Katsunobu Kato, told reporters that Japan was cooperating with other organisations "to take appropriate measures" and confirmed the sprinter was safe.

The Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation (BSSF) said Tsimanouskaya contacted them for help over fears she would be deported to Minsk after government supporters targeted her.

"The campaign was quite serious and that was a clear signal that her life would be in danger in Belarus," BSSF spokesman Alexander Opeikin said.

BSSF said it had bought a plane ticket to Warsaw for 4 August and that the sprinter was applying for a visa in the Polish embassy.

Who is Krystsina Tsimanouskaya?

Krystsina Tsimanouskaya is a Belarusian sprinter, having previously won two medals (one gold, one silver) in the 100m and 200m sprints, although this is her first Summer Olympics.

The 24-year-old has previously competed in nine international competitions, coming second in the 100m race at the European U23 Championships held in Poland in 2017. She won gold for her 200m performance at the 2019 Summer Universiade in Naples, Italy.

She came fourth in the women's 100m heat on 30 July, and was scheduled to take part in the 200m race on Monday 2 August.

In a statement released by the BSSF, Tsimanouskaya said she was in a police station early on Monday.

She said: "I explained the situation to a police officer of how I was taken from the Olympic Village.

"Now I am in a secure situation and am figuring out the question of where I will spend the night."

The IOC has been in dispute with the Belarus National Olympic Committee, which is headed by the country's authoritarian president Alexander Lukashenko and his son Viktor.

Both of them were banned from the Tokyo Games after the IOC received complaints from athletes about intimidation and reprisals following the protests that began last August after the country's disputed presidential election.

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In a statement on its Facebook page, the Belarus Olympic Committee said Tsimanouskaya was removed from the Games because of her "emotional and psychological state".

"Consequently, the athlete's application for participation in qualifying races at 200m and in the 4x400m relay was recalled."

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2021-08-02 08:59:40Z
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Belarus Olympian safe in Tokyo hotel after refusing 'forced' flight home - BBC News

A Belarusian Olympian who refused her team's order to fly home early is safe after seeking protection from Japanese police, Games officials have said.

Sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, 24, spent the night in a hotel at Tokyo's Haneda airport. She says she was forcibly taken to the airport on Sunday for criticising coaches.

Belarus says she was removed from the team because of her emotional state.

The Czech Republic and Poland have offered the athlete a visa.

Ms Tsimanouskaya is reportedly considering seeking asylum in Europe.

She was being looked after by the Japanese authorities, International Olympic Committee (IOC) spokesman Mark Adams said. A number of agencies were in contact with her, including the UN refugee agency.

The Belarusian National Olympic Committee had been asked for a full report into the issue. The IOC and the Japanese authorities will also be holding further consultations.

Mr Adams also said the IOC had taken measures against the Belarusian committee in the run-up to the Games, after last year's protests over the disputed re-election of the country's president, Alexander Lukashenko.

It banned some officials, including the president's son, for failing to protect athletes who had joined the demonstrations.

Krystsina Tsimanouskaya surrounded by police

On Sunday, Ms Tsimanouskaya sought police protection at Haneda's terminal so she would not have to board the flight, voicing fears for her safety if she were to be returned to Belarus.

The flight took off without her on board.

The sprinter, who was due to compete in the women's 200m event on Monday, had earlier complained on social media about being entered into another race at short notice after some teammates were found to be ineligible to compete.

The video led to criticism in state media, with one television channel saying she lacked "team spirit".

Ms Tsimanouskaya said officials had come to her room and given her an hour to pack her bags before being escorted to the airport. She says she was "put under pressure" by team officials to return home and asked the IOC for help.

"They are trying to get me out of the country without my permission," she said in a video posted on the Telegram channel of the Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation, which was created last year to support athletes during the anti-Lukashenko protests.

Anatol Kotau, a member of the group, told the BBC on Sunday: "She's afraid of repression on her family in Belarus - this is the main concern for her right now."

Government forces brutally cracked down after hundreds of thousands protested. Some of those who took part were also national-level athletes, who were stripped of funding, cut from national teams and detained for demonstrating.

The Belarusian Olympic committee said Ms Tsimanouskaya had been taken off the team because of her "emotional and psychological condition".

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2021-08-02 07:15:04Z
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Minggu, 01 Agustus 2021

Belarus Olympian safe in Tokyo hotel after refusing 'forced' flight home - BBC News

A Belarusian Olympian who refused her team's order to fly home early is safe after seeking protection from Japanese police, Games officials have said.

They say sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, 24, spent the night in a hotel at Tokyo's Haneda airport.

She says she was forcefully taken to the airport on Sunday for criticising coaches. Belarus says her "emotional condition" was the reason for the move.

The Czech Republic and Poland say they are ready to offer the athlete a visa.

Ms Tsimanouskaya is now said to be considering seeking asylum in Europe.

At Monday's news briefing in Tokyo, International Olympic Committee (IOC) spokesman Mark Adams said Ms Tsimanouskaya was being looked after by the Japanese authorities. He said the UN refugee agency was also involved.

Mr Adams added that Belarus' National Olympic Committee (NOC) had been asked for a full written report into the issue. The IOC and the Japanese authorities will also be holding further consultations.

He also said the IOC had taken measures against the Belarusian committee in the run-up to the Games, after last year's protests over the disputed re-election of the country's president, Alexander Lukashenko.

It banned some officials, including the president's son, for failing to protect athletes who had joined the demonstrations.

On Sunday, Ms Tsimanouskaya sought police protection at Haneda's terminal so she would not have to board the flight, voicing fears for her safety if she were to be returned to Belarus.

The flight took off without Ms Tsimanouskaya on board.

The video led to criticism in state media, with one television channel saying she lacked "team spirit".

Ms Tsimanouskaya claimed officials came to her room and gave her an hour to pack her bags before being escorted to Haneda. She says she was "put under pressure" by team officials to return home and asked the IOC for help.

"They are trying to get me out of the country without my permission," she said in a video posted on the Telegram channel of the Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation (BSSF), a group that supports athletes jailed or sidelined for their political views.

Belarus' NOC said she had been taken off the team because of her "emotional and psychological condition".

Speaking to the BBC on Sunday, the BSSF's Anatol Kotau said: "She's afraid of repression on her family in Belarus - this is the main concern for her right now."

The BSSF was set up in August 2020 to support athletes during the anti-Lukashenko demonstrations.

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Belarus Olympian safe in Tokyo hotel after refusing 'forced' flight home - BBC News

A Belarusian Olympian who refused her team's order to fly home early is safe after seeking protection from Japanese police, Games officials have said.

They say sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, 24, spent the night in a hotel at Tokyo's Haneda airport.

She says she was forcefully taken to the airport on Sunday for criticising coaches. Belarus says her "emotional condition" was the reason for the move.

The Czech Republic and Poland say they are ready to offer the athlete a visa.

Tsimanouskaya is now said to be considering seeking asylum in Europe.

At Monday's news briefing in Tokyo, International Olympic Committee (IOC) spokesman Mark Adams said Tsimanouskaya was being looked after by the Japanese authorities. He said the UN refugee agency was also involved.

Mr Adams added that Belarus' National Olympic Committee (NOC) had been asked for a full written report into the issue. The IOC and the Japanese authorities will also be holding further consultations.

On Sunday, Tsimanouskaya sought police protection at Haneda's terminal so she would not have to board the flight, voicing fears for her safety if she were to be returned to Belarus.

The flight took off without Tsimanouskaya on board.

The video led to criticism in state media, with one television channel saying she lacked "team spirit".

On Sunday, she claims officials came to her room and gave her an hour to pack her bags before being escorted to Haneda.

She says she was "put under pressure" by team officials to return home and asked the IOC for help.

Belarus' NOC said she had been taken off the team because of her "emotional and psychological condition".

Speaking to the BBC on Sunday, the BSSF's Anatol Kotau said: "She's afraid of repression on her family in Belarus - this is the main concern for her right now."

The BSSF was set up in August 2020 to support athletes during protests against President Alexander Lukashenko, re-elected last year in a disputed presidential vote.

Government forces brutally cracked down after hundreds of thousands protested about the election. Some of those who took part were also national-level athletes, who were stripped of funding, cut from national teams and detained for demonstrating.

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Eight dead as wildfires sweep Turkey, Greece and Italy - forcing beach resort and village evacuations - Sky News

Wildfires are continuing to rage in Turkey, Greece, and Italy, with entire villages and beaches being evacuated.

Coastal areas are among the worst-affected, with fires blazing for a fifth day in some of Turkey's Mediterranean resort towns.

Residents and tourists were rescued by small boats during the weekend, as the coastguard and navy ships waited further out to sea in case a larger-scale evacuation was needed.

Allyson, who has been living in the Mediterranean resort of Marmaris for 15 years, said of the fires: "Something is different because I've never seen this before.

"We had little fires before but I've never seen this devastation.

"And it is not just here - it is everywhere."

There are more than 120 fires in Turkey alone, with eight people confirmed dead and 27 more being treated in hospital.

Fires are common in southern Turkey during the hot summer but experts have said this year's are much bigger than usual.

Authorities are investigating possible arson but scientists blame climate change, with temperatures five or six degrees higher than the average for this time of year.

The current heatwave is being fuelled by hot air from northern Africa and the southern coastal city of Antalya reached 42C (107F) during the weekend and temperatures are expected to reach 47C (116F) this week.

Helicopters are being used to fight the flames in some areas that are unreachable by land, but in many places even aerial firefighting was impossible by Sunday night.

Forestry official Mustafa Ozkaya said workers were digging ditches in an effort to slow the fire's progress but eight planes and 50 helicopters would fly on Monday.

The aerial fighting force includes contributions from Croatia, Spain, Ukraine, Russia, Iran and Azerbaijan.

Fires have also devastated parts of Greece and Italy.

In the Italian city of Pescara, on the Adriatic coast, people ran from the beach when they spotted smoke and flames rising from a nearby pine forest and several people were injured when they tried to extinguish flames that had reached their homes.

On the Greek island of Rhodes, many residents were left without electricity and water as a fire threatened the Valley Of The Butterflies, a military base, and the village of Psinthos, all of which have been evacuated.

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2021-08-02 01:42:39Z
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Senin, 02 Agustus 2021

Krystsina Tsimanouskaya plans to seek political asylum in Poland after alleging her team's officials tried to force her to fly home from the Tokyo Olympics; Polish deputy foreign minister Marcin Przydacz says Tsimanouskaya has been granted a humanitarian visa

Turkey

Blazes grip Greece

More on Tokyo Olympics

Who is Krystsina Tsimanouskaya?

Minggu, 01 Agustus 2021

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