Tokyo Olympics ceremonies chief resigns over 'pig' insult to female comedian

Agencies
March 18, 2021

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Tokyo, Mar 18: The creative director for Tokyo's Olympic ceremonies announced his resignation on Thursday for proposing a plus-size female comedian appear as a pig, just weeks after the postponed Games' chief stepped down in a sexism row.

Hiroshi Sasaki announced his decision after a report on Wednesday revealed his suggestion about Naomi Watanabe, a hugely popular celebrity, for the opening ceremony.

It is just the latest headache for organisers of the coronavirus-delayed Games, who are struggling for public support mid-pandemic and were left reeling by former chief Yoshiro Mori's sexist remarks last month.'

In a statement released early Thursday, Sasaki apologised to Watanabe and said he understood his proposal had been inappropriate.

"My idea would be a huge insult to Ms Naomi Watanabe. This can't be taken back," he said.

"I regret this from the bottom of my heart, and I deeply apologise to her and everyone who felt discomfort over this," he added.

Sasaki said he had spoken to Tokyo Olympics chief Seiko Hashimoto, who replaced Mori last month, to inform her he would be stepping down.

The scandal erupted on Wednesday evening, when a local magazine reported that Sasaki last year suggested to colleagues that Watanabe could appear at the Olympic opening ceremony as an "Olympig", wearing pig ears.

The proposal, made in a group chat, was immediately rejected by Sasaki's colleagues, who told him it was inappropriate.

Sasaki was initially appointed to take charge of the Paralympics opening and closing ceremonies, but became creative director for the Olympic extravaganzas in December.

Watanabe is a feted celebrity in Japan, and is known to international fans in part thanks to an appearance on the celebrated makeover show "Queer Eye".

The comedian and model, who fronts campaigns for products from clothing to skincare, has more than nine million followers on Instagram.

She is one of the few prominent plus-size figures among Japan's celebrities, and has faced insults in the past. She has not yet commented on the latest row.

There was also no immediate comment from the Tokyo 2020 organising committee, though Hashimoto is expected to address the issue at a press conference on Thursday.

The row comes at a sensitive time for the Games after the firestorm that erupted when former Tokyo 2020 chief Mori said women speak too much in meetings.

Mori eventually stepped down, with former Olympic minister Hashimoto appointed his successor, but the scandal was hugely damaging for organisers, who have now moved to improve the gender balance on their board.

It was the latest in a number of public relations setbacks for the Olympics, including a plagiarism row over the Games' original logo and public anger over a $2 billion design for the main stadium, which was later scaled back.

In 2019, the head of Japan's Olympic committee, Tsunekazu Takeda, stepped down after he was charged by French magistrates probing $2.3 million in payments made before and after Tokyo secured hosting rights.

Organisers are facing public scepticism over holding the Games this year, and are due to make a key decision on whether to allow foreign fans to attend.

They are widely expected to announce next week that overseas spectators will be barred, with limits on domestic fans still to be decided.

Organisers insist the Games can still go ahead and have released a series of rulebooks they say will ensure virus safety.

The Olympic torch relay is due to kick off on March 25, though spectators are barred from the launch ceremony and first leg, with those lining the route elsewhere banned from cheering and crowding, and required to wear masks. 

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News Network
May 12,2024

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Israeli military tanks have started to go deeper into the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza as part of a ground offensive months after claiming Hamas had been “dismantled” in the area.

Israeli forces are “carpet-bombing” the eastern areas of Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, killing and wounding several Palestinians, Al-Jazeara reported citing local sources on Sunday.

Israeli military tanks have advanced further into the Jabalia refugee camp, crossing Salah al-Din Street amidst ongoing battles with Hamas fighters, reports added.

Media quoted eyewitnesses as saying that the tanks are surrounding evacuation centers and residential buildings in the densely populated area, leading to mass evacuations and displacement towards the western part of Gaza City.

Also, Israeli drones targeted ambulances near the clinic run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Jabalia, according to Mahmoud Basal, the spokesperson for the civil defense directorate in Gaza.

Basal stated that emergency crews in Rafah, al-Zaytounm, al-Sabra, and Jabalia have been inundated with distress calls, confirming that these areas were subjected to overnight bombardment.

Shortage of oxygen for patients

Imad Abu Zayda, an emergency doctor in Jabalia, warned of the critical conditions prevailing there due to the recent Israeli aggression in the area.  

“No light due to the lack of fuel and there’s no medical supplement available as Israel has expanded their operation in the area. We have no oxygen to give to patients,” he said.

He added that the majority of those injured are children and women, and the medical team is grappling with limited resources to provide essential care.

All hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip are now out of service, following a warning from the UN about the risk of running out of fuel in hospitals across the region.

Israel’s closure of the Rafah crossing has also prevented aid trucks from entering the area since May 5.

The Jabalia refugee camp, established in 1948 to accommodate Palestinians who were displaced after the Nakba, or catastrophe, which refers to the ethnic cleansing of Palestine in 1948, has become the most densely populated refugee camp in the Gaza Strip.

With over 750,000 Palestinians forcefully displaced, this camp stands as a testament to the birth of Israel in 1948.

Since the start of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip on October 7, Israeli forces carried out several attacks on Jabilia camp, leaving it in ruins by intense bombardment.

In early February, Israeli forces withdrew from the camp claiming it had destroyed Hamas as a fighting force in the northern areas.

On Saturday, the Israeli military ordered residents of the Jabalia Refugee Camp to evacuate “immediately”, as it prepares to launch military operations against Hamas.

However, the displaced residents have no place to seek refuge, as the UN reports a severe famine in the region.

Since the start of the offensive, the Tel Aviv regime has killed more than 34,971 Palestinians and injured more than 78,641 others, mostly women and children.

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News Network
May 8,2024

Mangaluru: The Mangaluru North police have apprehended a minor in connection with alleged voyeurism incident reported in a private medical college in Mangaluru. 

DCP (Law and order) Sidharth Goyal said that the minor was produced before JJ Board as per due procedure. The incident came to light when a mobile phone was found in women's washroom in the college. 

The mobile-phone was discovered as it was ringing even when no one was in the toilet by the security guard of the college. 

Investigations revealed that the mobile phone had been strategically placed in the restroom. As a result, a case has been registered under north police station.

Further scrutiny into the matter uncovered the identity of the accused, a minor male aged 17, who had gained access to the college premises under the guise of being a patient. Following his apprehension, the accused was presented before the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Board in adherence to legal protocols.

The phone has been seized and a case has been booked under IPC section 354 (C), said the DCP.

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News Network
May 3,2024

Bengaluru: In a fresh development in the alleged Hassan sex abuse case, JD(S) MLA H D Revanna, who was accused of sexually harassing his house help, has been booked for kidnapping a victim allegedly sexually assaulted by his son, Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna. The case was filed late Thursday evening at the KR Nagar police station in Mysuru.

The 20-year-old complainant from KR Nagara accused one Sathish Babanna of taking his mother away forcibly and keeping her in an unknown location at the behest of Revanna.

As per the FIR, Revanna has been named as accused 1 while Babanna was accused 2. The duo were booked under IPC Sections 364A (kidnapping for ransom), 365 (kidnapping or abducting with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine a person) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention).

The complainant claimed that his mother, whose name and age were not revealed, had worked as a help in Revanna’s house and farm in Holenarasipura for six years, quit the job three years ago and returned to KR Nagara. She then worked for daily wages.

“Nearly three to four days before the Lok Sabha election, Sathish Babanna, who is known to us and hailed from our native place, took my mother to Holenarasipura after saying that Bhavani Revanna, the wife of MLA Revanna, had asked for her,” the complainant alleged, adding that Babanna dropped her back on the day of the polls.

Babanna allegedly told the victim’s mother and father to remain silent and evade the police if they came looking for them and to inform him of the developments.

On April 29, at around 9 pm, when the complainant was home, the suspect Babanna arrived, told the complainant’s mother that Revanna had asked for her and took her away on his motorcycle. The complainant claimed that he wasn’t aware of where Babanna took his mother and he had told him that if the police found her, a case would be registered and they would all go to jail.

On May 1, two of the complainant’s relatives called him on the phone and told him that there was a video of his mother being sexually assaulted by Prajwal and that it was a huge case, the FIR noted. He was also informed by his two friends of his "mother's videos being circulated".

When he asked Babanna later that night, he was allegedly told that there was a photo of his mother standing with a stick when Prajwal had quarrelled with someone earlier and an FIR had been registered. Babanna told the complainant that his mother would have to be released on bail, the FIR noted.

“Babanna told me not to speak on the matter on my phone and asked me to talk from a different phone,” he said, seeking action from the police.

The case has been transferred to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up to probe the Hassan sex scandal as per the government order.

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