Month: December 2021

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Trudeau leading countries ‘clinging to Cold War mentality’, warns Chinese embassy

China has never had a better human rights record and Canada and other countries must stop politicizing sports through an Olympic boycott that could lead to “self-inflicted humiliation”, Chinese ambassadors have warned.

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau confirmed on Tuesday that his country would become the latest nation to observe a diplomatic boycott of the Games, which are scheduled to take place in Beijing in February.

Speaking on Parliament Hill, Trudeau accused China of “repeated human rights violations” over its alleged mistreatment of around a million Uyghur Muslims, which is widely thought to include forced labor and sterilization.

Trudeau said he expected the move to be of no surprise to China. “For months, we have been co-ordinating and discussing the issue with our allies,” he added.

Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly admitted that she had initiated discussions on a boycott in almost every meeting she has held since taking up her role in October.

Joly will press France – which said on Wednesday that it would not follow suit – and Germany to join the boycott, which gained its most powerful participant when the Biden administration announced on Monday that it would be shunning the Games.

“Clearly, it is important for us to send a strong signal to China because we’re extremely concerned about allegations about the Uyghurs,” explained Joly.

“Canada has been playing a leadership role on this — this is in line with our foreign policy. Canada always stands up on questions of human rights.”

The Chinese Embassy in Canada responded by calling Trudeau’s claims false, describing the accusations as “groundless” and voicing its “strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition” to the move.

In a statement, the embassy said it had “lodged stern representations with the Canadian side.”

“Based on ideological biases as well as lies and rumors, Canada and a handful of western countries have been flagrantly engaged in political maneuvering, with the attempt to disrupt the smooth progress of [the] Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games,” it thundered.

“Their clumsy performance can hardly find any support and is doomed to fail. The Chinese people are in the best position to judge how China’s human situation is.

“Now, China’s human rights situation is at its historical best – a fact that is recognized by all those without bias. Canada, by contrast, has committed heinous crimes against indigenous people.

“Until today, systematic racial discrimination is still severe in Canada. Canada is simply not qualified to be ‘a human rights preacher’ and is certainly in no position to judge China on this front.”

The announcement pointed the finger at Canada for “gravely violating the principle of political neutrality enshrined in the Olympic Charter”.

As was the case when Australian prime minister Scott Morrison confirmed his country’s boycott, the embassy claimed that Canada had not received the kind of invitation that Russian president Vladimir Putin has been given to attend the games.

“Today, in the 21st century, peace, development and win-win co-operation is the trend of the times and the shared aspiration of all countries,” it hypothesized, positioning Canada as being on the “opposite” side of that theory.

“Clinging to Cold War mentality and ideological prejudice, Canada and a handful of western countries interfere in the internal affairs of other countries under the pretext of human rights in an attempt to disrupt and contain their development process.

“This is firmly opposed not only by the Chinese people, but also by all people that love peace and uphold justice in the world.

“Canada must stop politicizing sports, stop disrupting and undermining the Beijing Winter Olympics immediately, lest it should lead to self-inflicted humiliation.”

Trudeau and the embassy do appear to have common ground on wanting the Games to be a success that is focused on sporting excellence.

“We firmly believe that, under the guidance of the Olympic spirit and with concerted efforts of all sides, we will deliver a streamlined, safe and splendid Olympic Games for the world,” said the embassy.

Trudeau said that a sporting boycott would not be held. “They need to have one thing in mind,” he said of Canadian athletes heading to the showpiece.

“That’s representing the country to the best of their ability and winning a gold medal for Canada.”

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UK public must protest over vaccine passports, urges football hero (VIDEO)

An ex-England and Manchester United favorite has encouraged the public to descend on the UK government’s London base to protest against mandatory Covid jabs, vaccine passports and “lies”.

Gary Neville came through the Red Devils’ academy in its famous Class of ’92, and as a rare one-club man won the Premier League eight times and the Champions League twice.

Now a pundit for Sky Sports, he has been outspoken on issues such as the European Super League and, increasingly, the rule of the current Conservative government in the UK. 

Accusing the Prime Minister of “distraction tactics” amid reports that a Christmas party was held at Downing Street during lockdown last year, Neville embarked on a Twitter video rant in which he demanded “vile” Boris Johnson’s resignation and said “enough is enough” of the “mistruths” while the leader was preparing to announce more covid restrictions in response to the omicron variant.

“The reports emerging that Boris Johnson is going to announce a press conference at 5.30pm, the distraction tactic is now a predictable one,” began Neville to his five million followers.

“We’ve seen it for the last two years. This guy lacks integrity. He lies to us constantly. The mistruths that come out of number 10 are just constant.

“Not only that, but he’s the worst kind of leader. Someone who expects his team to go under with him and come out and lie for him. His ministers and his MPs are constantly forced to do that and enough is enough.”

“It’s not even about a party or a social gathering on December 18,” Neville stressed. “Or a secret Santa or a cheese and wine.

“It’s about actually having a guy at the top of our country who believes he can take us all for a ride and laugh at us.

“He does it time after time after time. This cannot be let go. Now is the time to get this guy out of number 10 and start bringing some standards back into politics.”

Before that, Neville had addressed rumors on Johnson’s Plan B protocol containing orders to work from home and carry vaccine passports by telling him to “do one”.

After Johnson did indeed announce the new measures with those instructions, Neville returned to rant mode. 

“He just needed to apologize,” the ex-right back raged. “Instead, he gave us more lies, threw his team under a bus, [introduced] vaccine passports, introduced the potential for mandatory vaccines, resignations and work from home while being able to party away. The walls are closing in and his own MPs will turn very soon.

On Thursday morning, the 46-year-old ran another poll with echoes of his anti-vaccine passport survey in July, which engaged almost 320,000 users with a 60-40 percent split against the plans.

Neville had attempted to gauge the interest of an angry public in protesting on Downing Street “to stand up for truth and integrity in our democracy against the Scoundrel and his disciples”.

“18th December seems the right date. Have no idea how to organise,” he admitted.

Neville’s latest poll has seen close to 75,000 voters nod 90-10 percent in favor of the anti-government action.

Premier League clubs are reportedly set to demand vaccine passports in order for fans to gain access to stadiums.

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Top women’s footballer floors man during pitch invasion, gets booked for it (VIDEO)

A top striker for Chelsea Women knocked a man to the ground after he ran onto the pitch in search of a selfie during a Women’s Champions League match.

Australia captain Sam Kerr, a Ballon d’Or contender this year and the US National Women’s Soccer League all-time top scorer, was playing for the Blues against Juventus in the Women’s Champions League when a male fan left his seat and stormed the Kingsmeadow pitch.

Showing the kind of instinct that led her to becoming the only female footballer to win the Golden Boot in three different leagues on three different continents, the 28-year-old stopped the encroacher from further disrupting play.

The young man in question’s main aim seemed to be grabbing a selfie with Kerr’s teammate, Magdalena Eriksson.

Warning: video contains swearing

Amid booing from the crowd, he remained on the turf far longer than neccessary, causing fans to grow restless in a farcical interlude.

Videos of the altercation show supporters jeering at the man and swearing at him.

Kerr quickly lifted their spirits by shoulder-checking him to the ground to widespread approval, which also earned her praise from manager Emma Hayes despite the recent FA Cup final scorer confusingly getting booked by the referee.

“He could have waited until the end to have a photograph if he really wanted one. But jokes aside, we do have to think about player safety,” said Hayes.

“We’ve seen with the growth of the game, there is this sense of the players being more in demand.

“It should serve as a reminder to us all, in our stadiums and with our stewards, that we’ve got to put player protection first.”

Down Under, a Sydney Morning Herald reporter said that it was “hard to think of a way Sam Kerr could finish this week that would endear her to Australian fans even more, beyond what she’s achieved on the field”.

“This was the only way,” he added.

Commenting from the Gabba in Brisbane, where Australia are playing England in The Ashes first test, Aussie cricket legend Andrew Symonds was asked about the incident, which reminded sports fans of how he similarly took out a streaker in 2008 when facing India in a one day international.

“We’re obviously bred pretty tough here in Australia and don’t take backwards steps. Sammy obviously took things into her own hands when security couldn’t catch the bloke, so good for her,” said the former all-rounder.

“She’s an icon and obviously knows how to handle herself. I’d like to buy her a beer and chat about it.”

The goalless draw denied Chelsea qualification to the quarter-finals with a group game to spare and was the first time they had failed to score this season.

Despite the shut-out, Kerr is the second-top scorer in the competition courtesy of four goals in five appearances in the current campaign. 

Chelsea remain three points clear of nearest rivals Juve and Wolfsburg. Hayes’ side are guaranteed to reach the knockout stage if they avoid defeat when they visit the German on 16 December.

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Star unvaccinated footballer has a lung problem weeks after catching Covid

Champions League winner Joshua Kimmich, who has been at the center of a high-profile row after refusing to take a Covid vaccine, has been ruled out until 2022.

Bayern Munich star Kimmich is arguably the best-known player to have made it publicly clear that they have not been vaccinated.

The Germany midfielder said he had “concerns about the lack of long-term studies” on Covid vaccines when he confirmed the news in October.

That has become part of an escalating row in Germany, with Bayern thought to be unimpressed and ready to dock Kimmich’s mammoth pay packet under rules in the country that do not guarantee wages to employees who miss work and are unvaccinated.

Germany boss Hansi Flick, who had to make do without Kimmich after he was one of several players deemed a close contact to a squad member who tested positive, has insisted that the 26-year-old is not a “Covid denier” or a conspiracy theorist – claims that are often leveled at the unjabbed.

Ex-Liverpool powerhouse Dietmar Hamann has said that it “cannot be that Kimmich continues to receive his salary”, and Bayer Leverkusen supremo Rudi Voller – a former World Cup winner with Die Mannschaft – recently warned that the unvaccinated are “indecent” and “must bear the consequences”.

Now some fans are worried for Kimmich’s long-term health after the Bundesliga champions announced that he is out with a lung problem just two weeks after testing positive for Covid.

“I’m doing fine but due to slight infiltrations in the lung, I’m not able to be back in full training currently,” Kimmich is quoted as saying.

“So I’ll undergo rehab training and can hardly wait to be back completely in January.”

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Joshua Kimmich has become embroiled in a vaccine controversy © Matthias Schrader / Reuters | © Hannibal Hanschke / Reuters
Joshua Kimmich ‘set to miss out on $440,000’ amid strict German rules for unvaccinated workers forced to quarantine

Speaking after football returned to major leagues across Europe following widespread lockdowns in 2020, Dr Flaminia Ronca, a sports scientist at an International Olympic Committee research center in London, spoke about the tests that clubs would likely be carrying out on top stars.

“If there is a hint that there might still be some inflammation or an issue with the heart or lungs, they need further examination because the risk of myocarditis, blood clots or lung damage are the biggest worries,” Ronca told The Athletic.

“Endurance elite athletes are particularly susceptible to airways diseases, and some athletes have reported suffering a wheezing sensation after Covid-19 symptoms have subsided, and we need to investigate that.

“When monitoring, we would carry out a series of lung-function tests, ranging from simple spirometry up to a CT scan in the most severe cases.”

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Joshua Kimmich faced criticism after his comments. © Reuter
‘I have concerns’: Bayern Munich star Kimmich confirms he has NOT received Covid jabs as he defends vaccine stance

Ronca added that “anything is possible” in terms of the damage Covid could cause to the lungs of top athletes.

Shortly after Ronca spoke, French rugby club Stade Francais announced the cancelation of a pre-season friendly because some of their players developed lesions on their lungs after contracting Covid.

Supporters speculated that Kimmich may be facing a similar issue. His absence is also a major blow to Bayern, who have few obvious alternatives to fulfil his role in their team.

Julian Nagelsmann’s side qualified for the Champions League knockout stage in style on Wednesday, completing six wins out of six in the group stage by ousting Barcelona from the competition with a 3-0 home win.

The match was played in front of an empty Allianz Arena under Covid restrictions in place in Germany.

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‘Not a surprise’: Pele’s daughters give update from hospital

Legendary striker Pele’s daughters have updated fans and shared photos from hospital after their father was admitted again in Sao Paulo following tumor surgery.

The three-time World Cup winner with Brazil returned to his country’s leading Albert Einstein hospital this week.

In September, he had a tumor removed during a 30-day spell at the institution that treated Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro when he was stabbed on the 2018 campaign trail. 

According to a statement issued on Wednesday by four doctors, the Santos legend is in a stable condition, will continue treatment on the tumor and should be discharged in days.

Pele’s daughters provided updates to his millions of fans worldwide, with Kely Nascimento telling her “insta family” that her social networks were “booming again” while posting a bedside selfie of the legend.

Nascimento added that her sister, Kely, was “petting him there for me”.

“I appreciate all the affection we’ve received from all of you. This photo was taken 10 minutes ago [at the hospital] where my father finished a procedure that had been scheduled for months,” she added.

“In two or three days, he will return home to enjoy Christmas,” Kely revealed, claiming: “This wasn’t a surprise. It was already scheduled and is part of the treatment.”

Flavia uploaded the same snap and wrote: “My people, be calm.

“[This is] the last visit of the year to Einstein, maintaining the treatment with control exams and chemo.

“Thanks to this wonderful team, my father just evolves. Thank you very much for the affection, everyone, but daddy is great.”

Pele is yet to personally address his latest medical developments with his following of more than 7.7 million on Instagram.

The 81-year-old’s most recent post on Instagram was a photo of himself and Germany icon Franz Beckenbauer, who the all-time great played with at New York Cosmos during the late 1970s.

Three weeks ago, Pele posted a photo with a raised fist and said he wanted to let fans know he felt “fine”.

“I feel better every day,” Pele said. “I don’t think even the mask for my protection can hide my happiness. Thank you very much to all of you who send me good energy daily.”