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NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant will compete for a third Olympic title in Tokyo alongside a new group of NBA stars seeking gold, according to an ESPN report Wednesday. A story on the US-based sports television network’s website said Durant, whose team was eliminated by Milwaukee in the second round of the NBA playoffs, will be the only player returning from the 2016 Rio champions. USA Basketball finalized its […]
by Sara HUSSEIN TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Tokyo Olympics organisers and Japanese officials meet Monday to decide whether fans will be allowed at the pandemic-postponed Games, just weeks before they open. With the opening ceremony looming on July 23, organisers are scrambling to finalise preparations, but the decision on spectators has been left as late as possible. Overseas spectators have already been banned, in an Olympic first that reflects the difficulties of staging the Games […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan plans to lift Tokyo’s virus emergency on June 20, a month before the Olympics, the government announced Thursday as reports said only 10,000 spectators would be allowed at Games events. Tokyo and several other parts of the country have been under a virus emergency since April 25, with the measure forcing the early closure of bars and restaurants and banning them from selling alcohol. It is due to expire on […]
by Shaun TANDON WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States on Tuesday eased its warnings against travel to a number of major nations including Olympics host Japan, raising hopes that widespread vaccinations will bring a return to normal travel. Close US allies and neighbors including Canada, Mexico, France and Germany also received upgrades, with the State Department asking Americans to reconsider travel but ending its blanket advice not to go at all. South Korea […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Around 10,000 of 80,000 planned Tokyo 2020 Olympic volunteers have quit, organisers have revealed as they battle persistent doubts over the Games with just 50 days until the opening ceremony. Tokyo 2020 chief Seiko Hashimoto ruled out a further postponement of the Games, speaking to a Japan sports paper, and said cancellation would only happen in catastrophic circumstance such as most delegations not being able to come to Japan. Organisers will […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Tokyo Olympics fans may have to be vaccinated or test negative for the coronavirus before being allowed into venues, a Japanese newspaper report said Monday. Cheering, eating, high-fives and drinking alcohol would also be banned under controls now being considered, the Yomiuri Shimbun daily said, citing unnamed government officials. Organizers are set to decide in June how many spectators — if any — will be allowed to attend the pandemic-postponed Games. […]
by Patrick LEE JASIN, Malaysia (AFP) — Filipina weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz grunts with the effort of hoisting a barbell over her head in an outdoor makeshift gym ringed by banana and rambutan trees as trucks thunder past — an unlikely training base for a shot at Olympic gold in Tokyo. Diaz, 30, who took silver at Rio 2016, has been stuck in Malaysia since February last year because of the coronavirus pandemic but has remained […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A new US travel warning for Japan over virus risks will not affect this summer’s pandemic-postponed Olympic Games, the Japanese government and Tokyo 2020 organizers said Tuesday. The US State Department advisory released Monday urges citizens to avoid travel to Japan, where the borders are already closed to almost all foreigners. It cites government health advice, as well as “secondary factors such as commercial flight availability, restrictions on US citizen entry, […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan opened its first mass vaccination centres on Monday in a bid to speed up a cautious Covid-19 inoculation programme with just two months until the virus-postponed Tokyo Olympics. The two military-run centres in Tokyo and Osaka will administer thousands of shots daily, initially to elderly residents of the cities, as the country battles a fourth wave of virus cases. Just two percent of Japan’s population of 125 million are fully […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — More than 80 percent of Japanese polled oppose hosting the virus-postponed Olympics this year, a new survey showed on Monday, underlining public antipathy less than 10 weeks before the Tokyo Games. The latest downbeat poll comes after Japan expanded a coronavirus state of emergency Friday as the nation battles a fourth wave of infections. The surge in cases has put pressure on the country’s healthcare system, with medical professionals […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan plans to vaccinate its Olympic athletes before the Tokyo Games, domestic media reported Wednesday, a move that would place them ahead of the general population as the government faces pressure over a slow rollout. There was no immediate comment from Olympic organisers or Japan’s Olympic Committee on the reports in the Nikkei and Yomiuri Shimbun dailies, which did not name their sources. The newspapers said around 2,500 people including athletes […]
SAO PAULO, Brazil (AFP) — Brazil will begin vaccinating Olympic athletes and other members of its Tokyo-bound delegation against Covid-19 this week, officials said Tuesday. The hard-hit South American country is struggling to secure enough vaccines for its 212 million people, but will be able to immunize its Olympians thanks to donated doses from pharmaceutical companies, health officials said. Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga told a news conference that 1,814 members of the delegation would be […]
