Krystina Tsimanouskaya: Two Belarus team coaches removed from Olympics over involvement in trying to send sprinter home - Sky News

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it has removed two Belarusian team coaches from the Games, four days after they were involved in trying to send sprinter Krystina Tsimanouskaya back to Belarus.

The organisation said it had cancelled and removed the credentials of Artur Shimak and Yury Maisevich.

"The two coaches were requested to leave the Olympic Village immediately and have done so," the IOC said.

Image: Tsimanouskaya holds a T-Shirt which says 'I just want to run'

It was done as an interim measure during a formal investigation "in the interest of the wellbeing of the athletes", the Olympic body said.

Shimak and Maisevich continued to have contact with Belarusian athletes since Sunday after the IOC linked them to taking Tsimanouskaya in a car to the airport to put her on a plane to Belarus.

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Tsimanouskaya had criticised team coaches on social media and is now in Poland after being granted a humanitarian visa.

In a news conference in Warsaw the 24-year-old claimed her grandmother had told her by phone there were TV reports that she was mentally ill, and said it was best for her to not return.

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Tsimanouskaya, who had already competed in the 100 metres in Japan, thanked people who supported her during the tense stand-off.

Image: Krystina Tsimanouskaya competed in the 100m in Tokyo

"It was the whole world, and these people make me much stronger," she said.

She also had a message for her fellow Belarus citizens, saying: "I want to tell all Belarusians not to be afraid and if they're under pressure, speak out."

The IOC said Shimak and Maisevich "will be offered an opportunity to be heard" by its disciplinary commission investigating the case.

Image: Alexander Lukashenko is on his sixth president term. Pic: AP

It was unclear if the men have stayed in Japan or will leave for Belarus, an authoritarian former Soviet republic that relentlessly pursues its critics.

Belarus has been in turmoil for a year since Alexander Lukashenko claimed a sixth presidential term after a state election widely viewed as rigged in his favour.

Mr Lukashenko also led the Belarusian Olympic committee since the 1990s until this year. His son, Viktor, was elected to replace him.

The IOC banned both Lukashenkos from attending the Tokyo Olympics after investigating complaints from athletes they faced reprisals and intimidation in a security crackdown after the election.

Alexander Lukashenko was unable to attend the 2012 London Olympics because of a European Union visa ban imposed during a previous crackdown that followed a disputed election.

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2021-08-06 07:25:04Z
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Woman in San Francisco pictured waving AK-47 out of car window - Sky News

US police have seized a car after a woman was seen hanging out of its window brandishing an AK-47 assault rifle during an illegal drag race.

A photo released by police in San Francisco shows the woman, who has not been named, leaning out of a Cadillac window holding the gun as it is driven past.

Police said the photo was taken on 11 July during an "illegal exhibition of speed event" and the car was tracked down and seized on 5 August.

On 7/11/2021, During an illegal exhibition of speed event at Barneveld & McKinnon, a passenger leaned out of a Cadi holding an AK47; see photo. SFPD Traffic Company personnel worked up a case, and seized this particular vehicle today. @SFPD @sfmta_muni @SFPDPerea pic.twitter.com/4disQpzziY

— SFPDTrafficSafety (@SFTrafficSafety) August 5, 2021

The incident remains under investigation.

A tweet from San Francisco police appears to show the same car being towed away while escorted by officers on motorcycles.

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"Due to the fact that this is an open [and] active investigation we cannot comment further," police spokesperson Adam Lobsinger told SF Gate.

Police said they couldn't comment on whether any arrests were made, or whether the woman fired any shots.

According to the police department's mid-year report, firearm-related violence in the city during the first six months of the year has increased by 84% when compared with data for 2020, with more fatal and non-fatal shootings.

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2021-08-06 05:55:03Z
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US to allow visitors from Hong Kong to stay for 18 months - BBC News

Reuters

Thousands of Hong Kong residents are to be offered a temporary "safe haven" in the US, President Joe Biden says.

Mr Biden said that because Hong Kong's freedoms were being violated by China, the US would allow visitors to stay for a period of 18 months.

Thousands of Hong Kong residents already in the US may benefit.

China has reacted angrily to the announcement, describing the decision as a gross interference in Hong Kong's internal affairs.

The UK has offered people from Hong Kong a path towards permanent residency following last year's adoption of China's security law for the territory.

The law criminalises what are deemed to be acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion.

Mr Biden said there were "compelling foreign policy reasons" to allow Hong Kong visitors to stay.

He said China had been "undermining its remaining democratic processes and institutions, imposing limits on academic freedom, and cracking down on freedom of the press".

He pointed to the arrests of more than 100 people, including activists and opposition politicians, under the new security regime.

Liu Pengyu, the spokesman for China's embassy in Washington, criticised the US government's actions, which he said "disregard and distort facts, and grossly interfere in China's internal affairs".

The Chinese foreign ministry's Hong Kong office said the US had engaged in a "plot to oppose China and stir up trouble in the city".

Maggie Shum, a researcher in the US, said many students had been left in limbo amid uncertainty about returning to Hong Kong and welcomed Thursday's news.

"I feel elated and welcome this Biden decision to not abandon us - the US did not abandon us," she told Reuters news agency.

Samuel Chu of Washington-based Hong Kong Democracy Council, which campaigned for the move, says the group estimates that it could affect some 100,000 people.

"It is a significant number because, I think, its a pretty good chance that a pretty large number of visitors would benefit from this," he told the BBC.

"Partly also because the situation in Hong Kong has been unfolding pretty publicly, and you've seen people travelling and leaving Hong Kong in droves, not just to the US but other countries."

The US government says some 155,000 visitors arrived from Hong Kong in 2019 and 23,000 came in 2020.

Those who have serious criminal convictions will reportedly not be eligible to stay.

The move is the latest action Mr Biden has taken to combat what he says is an erosion of democracy in Hong Kong.

In July, the US government warned firms over the risks of doing business in Hong Kong under the security law.

In January, the UK introduced a scheme allowing residents of the former British colony to come to the UK for up to five years and apply for permanent residency. It launched the visa after China imposed the security law.

The British government estimates 5.4 million Hong Kong residents are eligible for the scheme, and expects 300,000 people to take up the offer in the first five years.

UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab welcomed Mr Biden's announcement as a "big-hearted decision".

• EXPLAINER: Can 5.4 million Hong Kong residents now live in the UK?
• IN DEPTH: The Hong Kong slogan that will land you in jail

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2021-08-06 06:24:36Z
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Belarus: IOC expels two coaches over Krystina Timanovskaya case - BBC News

Two Belarusian coaches have lost their Olympic accreditations after allegedly attempting to force an athlete to leave the games in Tokyo.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmed that Artur Shimak and Yury Maisevich had left the Olympic Village. An investigation is under way.

The case of Krystina Timanovskaya caught global attention after she refused her team's orders to fly home.

She is now in Poland, where she has been granted a humanitarian visa.

Belarus says she was removed from the national team because of her emotional state. But the 24-year-old says this is not true, saying she was removed because she spoke on Instagram about the "negligence of [her] coaches".

In a statement, the IOC said it had removed the accreditations of the two coaches "as a provisional measure... in the interest of the wellbeing of the athletes of the National Olympic Committee of Belarus who are still in Tokyo".

The body said a disciplinary commission had been established to investigate the incident and that both coaches would be "offered an opportunity to be heard".

The case has again put the spotlight on Belarus, which has been ruled by authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko since 1994. Last year, nationwide protests over his disputed re-election were violently repressed by the security forces.

AFP

Ms Timanovskaya's removal came after the sprinter complained on social media about being entered into the 4x400m relay 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 Timanovskaya said two coaches came into her room and told her to pack her bags immediately, ready to return home. She was told to say that she had been injured.

In an interview with the BBC, she said she was on her way to the airport last week when her grandmother warned her it was not safe to return, after watching local news reports on the situation.

At the airport, Ms Timanovskaya showed officers a translated plea for help on her phone in an effort to avoid being put on a plane home.

She was then given police protection before being moved to the Polish embassy in Tokyo. She travelled to Poland on Wednesday.

The mass protests that gripped Belarus last year saw security forces often use violence to break up the demonstrations and thousands of people arrested.

Some of the protesters were national-level athletes, who were then stripped of funding, cut from national teams and detained.

But Ms Timanovskaya insists that she is "not a political girl" and just wants to focus on her sporting career.

"I don't know anything about politics. I never was in politics," she said.

The sprinter told the BBC she wanted to return to Belarus, but that it was too dangerous at the moment.

Her husband has also fled Belarus and has been given a visa for Poland, but her relatives remain in the country.

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2021-08-06 02:40:47Z
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US urges Iran's new President Ebrahim Raisi to resume nuclear talks - BBC News

AFP

The US has called on Iran's new president to return to talks on reviving a historic nuclear deal.

The window for diplomacy would not remain open forever, a spokesman for the US state department warned.

Tensions between the US and Iran have soared since 2018, when then-President Donald Trump pulled out of the nuclear deal and restored sanctions.

Ebrahim Raisi was sworn in on Thursday saying he would support "any diplomatic plans" to end sanctions on Iran.

"All illegal US sanctions against the Iranian nation must be lifted," he said.

Western countries accuse Iran of trying to build nuclear weapons - a charge Tehran denies.

The 2015 deal between Iran and six other countries - the US, UK, France, China, Russia and Germany - saw it stop some nuclear work in return for an end to sanctions hurting its economy. But Iran re-started banned nuclear work after Mr Trump pulled out of the deal.

Thorny negotiations have been taking place in the Austrian capital, Vienna, between Iran and other countries which are still part of the agreement to try to revive the frayed deal and lift sanctions. However the talks have been on hold for several weeks.

In comments following Mr Raisi's inauguration, US state department spokesman Ned Price told reporters: "We urge Iran to return to the negotiations soon so that we can seek to conclude our work."

"Our message to President Raisi is the same as our message to his predecessors... the US will defend and advance our national security interests and those of our partners. We hope that Iran seizes the opportunity now to advance diplomatic solutions," he said.

But he added: "This process cannot go on indefinitely."

Mr Raisi, a hardline cleric, has succeeded Hassan Rouhani, seen in the West as a relative moderate.

The 60-year-old is close to Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and has been touted as a possible successor.

Among the major challenges he faces is a battered economy, which has led to growing discontent among ordinary Iranians, who have seen a sharp rise in the cost of living. Iran has also blamed US sanctions for an acute shortage of medicines.

Alongside the economic crisis, Iran is battling the coronavirus pandemic. It is the worst-hit country in the region and has recorded its highest number of cases for the past three days running.

Iran has also been rocked by a wave of street protests in the south-west, triggered in part by severe water shortages.

• PROFILE: Who is Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi?
• EXPLAINER: Iran nuclear crisis in 300 words
• IN CHARTS: How renewed US sanctions have hit Iran hard

A former judiciary chief, Mr Raisi has been heavily criticised over his human rights record. Campaign groups have accused him of involvement in the executions of thousands of political prisoners in 1988.

Mr Raisi was one of four judges who sat on secret tribunals that came to be known as the "Death Committee" which condemned the prisoners to death. He has said the sentences were justified because then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini had issued a fatwa, or religious ruling.

The US imposed sanctions on Mr Raisi in 2019 for alleged human rights abuses.

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2021-08-05 21:21:29Z
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Ebrahim Raisi sworn in as Iran’s eighth president - Al Jazeera English

Tehran, Iran – Ebrahim Raisi has been sworn in as Iran’s eighth president.

At the ceremony in the country’s parliament in Tehran on Thursday, Raisi, with a hand on a Quran, read the inauguration oath before adding that he will make Iran stronger and engage with the world.

The 60-year-old Raisi, who is a frontrunner to replace the 82-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Iranians want him to maintain the country’s independence and resist foreign bullying.

But he also promised to pursue “diplomacy and constructive and extensive engagement with the world”, reiterating his stance that boosting relations with regional neighbours would be at the top of his foreign policy.

“I extend a hand of friendship and brotherhood to all countries, especially those in the region,” Raisi said.

He told some 260 local and foreign officials present at the chamber that regional crises need to be resolved through dialogue, and the presence of foreign forces only encourages more instability.

Countering rhetoric by the West, Israel and some Arab neighbours, Raisi also asserted that Iran’s presence in the region creates security and supports peace and stability.

Raisi reiterated his stance that boosting relations with regional neighbours would be at the top of his foreign policy [Atta Kenare/AFP]

He also said harsh US sanctions, imposed in 2018 after then-US President Donald Trump unilaterally abandoned Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal, must be lifted.

“We will support any diplomatic plans that will achieve this goal,” he said, signalling he will continue negotiations in Vienna aimed at restoring the accord.

Moreover, he promised that Iran’s nuclear programme is strictly peaceful and nuclear weapons “have no place in the country’s defence strategy”.

The president tried to convey that he understands the many challenges ahead – including a troubled economy – and said he will try to improve the quality of life for all Iranians.

He further promised to be a “true defender of human rights”, not just in Iran but across the region.

This follows calls on Thursday by Amnesty International for Raisi to be “criminally investigated” for his role in the execution of thousands of political prisoners in 1988.

Hardliners

Raisi’s speech came after addresses by parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and newly selected judiciary chief Mohsen Ejei.

Raisi, Ghalibaf and Ejei hailed the country’s June 18 presidential elections as “historic” and “epic” and said it signalled that the people of Iran trust the establishment and the “revolutionary” elements within it represented by the hardliners.

“Jihadi management is the solution to all the physical and spiritual problems of the society,” Ghalibaf said.

Ghalibaf came to power in February 2020 in elections that saw a 42 percent turnout, the lowest in any election since the 1979 revolution.

The June presidential elections saw a 48.8 percent turnout, also the lowest in any presidential election since the revolution.

Reformist and moderate candidates were widely disqualified from running in either race.

The selection of a hardline Tehran mayor next week would signal the completion of a takeover of power by hardliners who have been significantly empowered since the US reneged on the nuclear deal.

The president now has two weeks to present his cabinet picks but is likely to do so earlier after the supreme leader, on Tuesday, directed him in his endorsement ceremony to form his team quickly since the country is in a dire economic situation and needs immediate action.

The June presidential elections saw a 48.8 percent turnout, also the lowest in any presidential election since the revolution [Atta Kenare/AFP]

Foreign guests

In addition to top officials of the country, including the outgoing president, Hassan Rouhani, the inauguration ceremony was attended by dozens of high-level representatives from more than 70 countries, including several heads of state, according to state television.

In preparation, Tehran was ordered to shut down entirely on Thursday. Streets around the parliament were cleared, government offices and banks were closed, and airports stopped operating for several hours.

Iraqi President Barham Salih, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Palestinian Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, and Russian Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin were some of the top leaders from the region to attend the ceremony.

Other regional representative guests included the speaker of Turkey’s National Assembly, Mustafa Sentop, Pakistani Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjirani, Yemeni Houthis’ chief negotiator Mohammed Abdulsalam, Syrian parliament Speaker Hammouda Sabbagh, and Azerbaijani National Assembly Chairman Sahiba Gafarova.

Delegates also attended from several nations from Africa, South America, Europe and Eastern Asia. Pope Francis sent a representative as well.

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2021-08-05 16:22:08Z
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Door is 'ajar' for diplomacy with Iran but inauguration of new president is 'crossroads' moment, says Dominic Raab - Sky News

The door is "ajar" for diplomacy with Iran but the UK will impose a cost if its new president chooses hostilities, the foreign secretary has said, describing this as a "crossroads moment".

Dominic Raab said the inauguration on Thursday of Ebrahim Raisi - a hardline cleric - creates opportunities at a time of tensions after London accused Tehran of attacking an Israeli-linked tanker off Oman last week, killing a British national and a Romanian.

Iran has denied involvement.

Image: Ebrahim Raisi (right) is a hardline cleric and succeeds Hassan Rouhani (left). Pic AP

""We know this is a crossroads moment for Iran. There is a new president who is inaugurated this week and there's a crossroads set of opportunities," Mr Raab said in an interview at the Foreign Office.

"If they continue down the track of harrying or attacking shipping in the Middle East, if they continue destabilising activities through their proxies, if they continue to row back from their nuclear commitments under the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action], and if they continue to take arbitrarily detainees as we have had with Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, Anoosheh Ashoori, Morad Tahbaz then we will apply cost, we will hold them to account," Mr Raab said.

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"Equally the door is always ajar as we demonstrated over the last two years for diplomacy and a better path forward, but we cannot have incidents like the attack off the coast of Oman without Iran being held to account."

The foreign secretary vowed a "concerted response" following the suspected drone attack against the Mercer Street tanker a week ago.

More on Dominic Raab

He declined to say what specific actions would be taken, nor whether it might include a military element.

"We don't start signalling in media interviews or on Twitter precisely what we do," Mr Raab said.

Image: Images have been released of the damage to the Mercer Street tanker a week ago

The UK, Romania and Liberia - the tanker was operating under a Liberian flag - have written to the United Nations Security Council president to draw attention to the tanker attack. Britain will raise the issue at a security council meeting in New York on Friday.

Britain also summoned Iran's ambassador to a meeting at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on Monday.

In addition, other allies, including the United States and the NATO alliance, have released statements condemning the attack.

Adding to the tensions, a second tanker was targeted on Tuesday in what the UK described as a "potential hijack".

Armed men, which sources said were probably backed by Iran, boarded the Asphalt Princess off the coast of the United Arab Emirates but by Wednesday morning the attempted seizure was over and the vessel was declared to be safe.

Iran has again denied any involvement.

Image: Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab vowed a 'concerted response' following the suspected drone attack against the Mercer Street tanker

Mr Raab was also asked about the situation in Belarus under the regime of Alexander Lukashenko. Lithuania has accused Minsk of using migrants from Iraq as a weapon against the European Union - the country has allowed thousands of migrants to come to Belarus and then move across its border into the neighbouring Baltic state.

The foreign secretary described this action as "appalling".

He also said other activities - including attempting to force a Belarusian athlete to return home from the Olympics after she criticised her managers - as "appalling" and signalled that the UK may be looking at further moves to hold the Lukashenko regime to account.

"We will be saying more on that shortly," he said.

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2021-08-05 12:11:15Z
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