Peak body wants Australia to keep the event but talks are under way with other countries and about changing the Games’ format
Australia has three months to find a 2026 Commonwealth Games host city as three other candidates emerge for the event.
Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) hierarchy said on Wednesday that finding an Australian host for the 2026 edition remains the priority while appealing for government support.
Continue reading...Activists have secured a string of legal victories in Hong Kong but it is a very different story on the mainland
After months of pandemic-related delays, Asia’s first Gay Games was held in Hong Kong last week, with nearly 2,400 athletes competing. At the opening ceremony, Regina Ip, the convenor of Hong Kong’s executive council, said the competition represented the city’s commitment to “equal opportunity and non-discrimination”, and praised Hong Kong’s courts for the “numerous judgments” handed down in favour of the LGBTQ+ community in the past decade.
This was met with bemusement by activists and lawyers, who pointed out that Ip’s government has opposed each of those judgments, losing in nearly every single case. Since 2018, there have been at least seven cases relating to LGBTQ+ rights heard by Hong Kong’s courts, with many reaching the Court of Final Appeal, the city’s highest bench. “Why are they still wasting taxpayers’ money fighting these tooth-and-nail litigations when they’re recycling the same arguments and losing?” said Mark Daly, a human rights lawyer who has worked on a number of the cases.
Continue reading...Just nine weeks after breaking his back during a horror bike accident, this Sydney teen is ready to show the world what he can do
Fletcher Crowley is in many ways like any other 17-year-old boy growing up on Sydney’s northern beaches.
He loves hanging out with his mates, cracking jokes, riding bikes and being outdoors. He’s just started year 12. He’s close with his mum and dad, who he says are “so chill” – although he was still nervous about them finding out he had a tattoo.
Continue reading...The pair confirmed the news in a US magazine after weeks of speculation fuelled by Mewis wearing a large diamond ring
The Australian football star Sam Kerr is engaged to her partner and fellow professional player, Kristie Mewis.
Mewis confirmed the news in People magazine, after several weeks of speculation fuelled in part by social posts featuring her wearing a diamond ring on her engagement finger.
Continue reading...The rebel group holding Luis Díaz’s father claims military action in the local area is not only delaying the release of their hostage but putting him at risk. Díaz’s parents were kidnapped more than a week ago – his mother was freed quickly – and despite pledges from the National Liberation Army of Colombia (ELN) to expedite the return of Díaz Sr, it is taking longer than expected.
“On November 2, we informed the country of the decision to release Mr Luis Manuel Díaz, father of the player Luis Díaz,” said a statement, signed by the unit leader, Commander Jose Manuel Martinez Quiroz.
Continue reading...Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia set a course record to win the New York City Marathon men’s race on Sunday while Hellen Obiri of Kenya pulled away in the final 400 meters to take the women’s title.
Tola finished in 2hr 4min 58sec, topping the 2:05:06 set by Geoffrey Mutai in 2011. Tola pulled away from his compatriot Jemal Yimer when the pair were heading towards the Bronx at mile 20. By the time he headed back into Manhattan a mile later he was up by 19sec and chasing Mutai’s mark.
Continue reading...Many in the city have put the Hanshin Tigers’ lack of success down to an unusual Colonel Sanders-based superstition, but it may be about to end
The last time the Hanshin Tigers were proclaimed the best baseball team in Japan, their fans celebrated by hurling themselves into a canal and carrying out an “abduction” that many believe placed their team under a curse that has lasted almost four decades.
On Saturday, the sleeping giants of Japanese baseball were forced to wait another day for the chance to banish the jinx by winning their first Japan Series title since 1985, after a defeat to local rivals Orix Buffaloes ensured that the season’s finale would go to a seventh and decisive game.
Continue reading...Bob Knight, the brilliant and combustible coach who won three NCAA titles at Indiana and for years was the scowling face of college basketball, has died. He was 83.
Knight’s family made the announcement on social media on Wednesday night.
Continue reading...Saudi Arabia was confirmed on Tuesday as the sole bidder to host the 2034 men’s World Cup, raising concerns over Fifa’s ability to deliver on its human rights commitments.
After Australia decided against a bid, having been given a 25-day deadline by Fifa to express interest after the deadline was unexpectedly brought forward to 4pm GMT on Tuesday, the prospect of a second World Cup in the Gulf within 12 years is all but a formality. The lack of a competitive tender and the alacrity with which the process has been conducted, however, have prompted alarm among human rights groups. Amnesty International called on Fifa to pull the plug if human rights commitments were not fulfilled.
Continue reading...Eddie Jones’s tenure as Wallabies coach is officially over after Rugby Australia formally accepted his resignation following the team’s disastrous World Cup campaign in France.
RA on Tuesday confirmed the embattled coach’s departure from the national setup and said he would officially leave his post on 25 November.
Continue reading...South Yorkshire force looking into death of American Nottingham Panthers player during match in Sheffield
Police have said they are investigating the death of a professional ice hockey player during a match in Sheffield on Saturday night and have encouraged people to avoid speculation about the incident.
Adam Johnson, 29, died after appearing to receive a catastrophic cut to his neck from the skate blade of another player during the Challenge Cup game between his team Nottingham Panthers and Sheffield Steelers.
Continue reading...Olympic gymnastics champion Mary Lou Retton has returned home after a lengthy hospital stay because of pneumonia, her daughter said on Monday.
Shaley Kelley Schrepfer, the oldest of Retton’s four daughters, posted an update on Retton’s condition on Instagram nearly two weeks after the family disclosed that the former Olympic all-around champion was in intensive care.
Continue reading...The first thing tiler Neil Jones bought with his £2.4m prize was a pool table, on which he honed his skills
A tiler whose first purchase after winning £2.4m on the national lottery was a pool table is about to experience his “proudest moment” as he prepares to represent his country at the European Pool Championships in Malta.
Neil Jones, 59, had just £13 in his pocket when he and his partner, Julie Kirkham, won the money just before Christmas 2010.
Continue reading...The creator and producer of The Quiz Channel on YouTube, which includes Adolf Hitler’s image as part of a quiz Michigan State used on its videoboards before a game against Michigan, said the school didn’t ask for permission to use his content or pay him for it.
“It’s an absolutely normal trivia question, shown in an inappropriate setting,” Floris van Pallandt wrote on Sunday on his YouTube page. “Ignoring the dark facets of history is by no means the answer, on the contrary.”
Continue reading...A man has been arrested in Oregon over an alleged plot to carry out a mass shooting at a rock climbing event.
Samson Zebturiah Garner, 39, was taken into custody in Deschutes county after local police were informed by detectives in Portland, Oregon, that the suspect was “planning a violent attack during an event” in the area. According to the Bend Bulletin, Garner had told two acquaintances he intended to harm people at a climbing event in the county, most likely the Alpine Club Craggin’ Classic which is taking place this weekend.
Continue reading...Pubs in south-west London, where many of the UK’s 200,000-plus South Africans live, are hosting viewing parties
Excited fans of England and South Africa are gathering in bars, pubs and community centres around the UK to watch the tense Rugby World Cup semi-final between the two nations.
England secured their spot in the final four after overcoming Fiji 30-24 in a close-run quarter-final in Marseille, while South Africa narrowly defeated the hosts – and erstwhile favourites – France last weekend, 29-28.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Government fast-tracked applications of canoeist, wrestler and water polo player backed by AOC
The Australian government has fast-tracked the citizenship of three athletes from South Africa, Russia and the US, in an effort to boost the nation’s chances of winning gold medals at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
With the support of the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC), South African canoeist Pierre Van der Westhuyzen, Russian wrestler Georgii Okorokov and US water polo player Sam Slobodien, will receive citizenships ahead of the games after having their applications fast-tracked.
Continue reading...Mohamed Salah has appealed for humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza after making a donation to help those affected by Israeli air strikes.
The Egypt and Liverpool striker, one of the highest-profile Muslim footballers in the world, made the donation to the Egyptian Red Crescent on Sunday. The amount was undisclosed but is said to be significant.
Continue reading...Youcef Atal was suspended by Nice for a social media post about the Israel-Hamas conflict, the Ligue 1 club said on Wednesday.
The Algerian international, who has been at the Ligue 1 side since 2018, has since deleted the post. He had been on international duty and was summoned to speak with the club as soon as he returned.
Continue reading...The coach of the Zimbabwe women’s football team has been remanded in police custody after being accused of indecent assault against a female member of staff during an international tournament.
Shadreck Mlauzi, who was reappointed as coach at the end of last month having previously guided Zimbabwe to the 2016 Olympics, was arrested on Tuesday after returning to Harare from the Council of Southern Africa Football Association (Cosafa) women’s championship in South Africa.
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