3 d. ago Where is our Tiananmen square ‘Tank Man’ who can stand up to Trump? | Corey Robin

The reason we don’t see that person is because we’re asking the wrong questionEveryone’s waiting for that one person to stand up to Donald Trump. Not just that one person. There are a lot of such people. You can read about them in every newspaper. But that one person with real power who’s willing to risk something costly in defiance. That one university president who’ll say, fuck you and your money. That one Democrat who’ll say, fuck you and your threat to my re-election or that of my party. Everyone’s looking for our Tank Man, staring down a column of tanks, all by himself, in Tiananmen Square.Why don’t we see that person? Where is our Tank Man? (And, no, I don’t think Cory Booker doing a marathon-length filibuster counts.)When you’re thinking of becoming a hero, you feel like a slob. You feel, do you really have a right to do that?Corey Robin is the author of The Reactionary Mind: Conservatism from Edmund Burke to Donald Trump and a contributing editor at Jacobin. This piece origi...

Politics

4 d. ago Severe storms and tornadoes rip across US south and midwest, killing one person

Rare tornado emergency declared in Arkansas city as homes ripped apart and warnings issued in multiple statesViolent storms and tornadoes have torn across the US south and midwest, killing at least one person and downing power lines and trees, smashing homes and upturning cars across multiple states.Dozens of tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings were issued in parts of Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Mississippi on Wednesday evening. In Arkansas, the National Weather Service told residents: “This is a life threatening situation. Seek shelter now.” Continue reading...

Events

4 d. ago Severe storms and tornadoes rip across US south and midwest, killing at least one person

Rare tornado emergency declared in Arkansas city as homes ripped apart and warnings issued in multiple statesViolent storms and tornadoes have torn across the US south and midwest, killing at least one person and downing power lines and trees, smashing homes and upturning cars across multiple states.Dozens of tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings were issued in parts of Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Mississippi on Wednesday evening. In Arkansas, the National Weather Service told residents: “This is a life threatening situation. Seek shelter now.” Continue reading...

Events

5 d. ago Violent storms cut through the South and Midwest, spawning tornadoes and killing 1 person

Violent storms have cut through a wide swath of the South and Midwest, spawning tornadoes and killing at least one person, knocking down power lines and trees and ripping roofs off homes

Events

2 w. ago Newly elected IOC President Kirsty Coventry celebrated on return home to Zimbabwe

Newly elected International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry has arrived in her home country of Zimbabwe to a hero’s welcome as her victory is celebrated as a national milestone

Politics

2 w. ago Lord Coe never had a chance in Olympics race with Robert Mugabe's 'golden girl'

JEREMY CROSS COLUMN: Lord Seb Coe was in the running to become the next IOC President though was beaten by two-time gold medallist and Zimbabwe sports minister Kirsty Coventry

Sport

2 w. ago Armed robbers ransack new Olympic president Kirsty Coventry's parents' home and steal £46,000 of jewellery, cash and her gold

Armed robbers broke into the Zimbabwe home of Kirsty Coventry's parents before making off with sporting mementos belonging to the new International Olympic Committee president.

Events

2 w. ago View from Africa: how Kirsty Coventry will handle sport’s biggest job at the IOC

Incoming president owes her position to political support but is promising a collective and sustainable approachThe International Olympic Committee’s president-elect, Kirsty Coventry, did not initially have designs on a role in sports administration until she was thrust into it, essentially by politics.On 7 September 2018, Coventry found out, along with the rest of Zimbabwe, that she had been appointed as the country’s minister for sports, art and recreation. She was the only white person on the 23-member cabinet, a unifier, albeit briefly, of a nation divided by racial schisms and labelled the “golden girl” by the then-deposed president Robert Mugabe. As an athlete who was also seen as a patriot, in a country where non-compliance has had serious ramifications, she could not refuse the position. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago New Olympics chief claims Russia's exile is double standards and opens door for their return for Los Angeles Games in 2028

Incoming IOC president Kirsty Coventry has revealed that she will open talks to have Russia reinstated to the Olympics in time for the 2028 Games in LA. Russia was banned from Paris 2024. 

Sport

2 w. ago Sent to Coventry: how Bach’s power helped Zimbabwean’s shock IOC win

Poll result defied candidates’ calculations and illustrated outgoing president’s influence but change may yet comeIt might sound beyond ridiculous, given the scale of Kirsty Coventry’s seismic victory in the International Olympic Committee presidential election. But as the various royals, sporting dignitaries, politicians and billionaires left the Costa Navarino resort on Friday, some really believed the result could have turned out very differently.Yes, the 41-year-old Zimbabwean ex-swimmer had won in the first round with 49 votes to become the first woman to lead the IOC. And yes, Juan Antonio Samaranch and Sebastian Coe, the other members of the “Big Three”, had come away with just 28 and eight votes respectively. But in the postmortem there were several stories about how the IOC machine had powered Thomas Bach’s chosen successor over the line. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago 2 men arrested in Zimbabwe for armed robbery and stealing new IOC President Coventry's memorabilia

Two brothers have been arrested and appeared in a Zimbabwe court accused of an armed robbery at the home of new International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry’s parents

Events

2 w. ago So it’s victory for Kirsty Coventry in the IOC elections. Who says cards with a rigged deck isn’t an Olympic sport? | Marina Hyde

The Zimbabwean has global sport’s top job but Britain’s Sebastian Coe was snubbed, and with good reason: he might have changed thingsCongratulations to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on the surprise election of its new president, Kirsty Coventry, confirming its status as one of the few electorates on Earth never to have had a change election. Another one is Fifa, with those two organisations’ eternal contest to be the worst-run governing body remaining easily the hardest-fought rivalry in world sport.Yes, the IOC has been in its 144th special session to elect a new leader. Don’t worry – it hasn’t been all hard beds, spartan canteens and bad lighting, as is inflicted on the poor old cardinals in Conclave. The three-day event inevitably took place at a five-star luxury Greek resort.Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnistDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication...

Politics

2 w. ago Thomas Bach ‘relieved’ as IOC members vote in Kirsty Coventry as his successor

Coventry has been seen by many observers as the continuity candidate.

Politics

2 w. ago Who is Kirsty Coventry? From Zimbabwean swimmer to the most powerful person in sport

The 41-year-old has risen from Africa’s most decorated Olympian to become the new president of the IOC

Politics

2 w. ago Why Seb Coe lost the room in crushing IOC presidential election defeat

Lord Coe finished a distant third in the race for the prestigious role leading the Olympic movement after making enemies inside the IOC, writes Lawrence Ostlere – but that was not the only reason

Politics

2 w. ago British Olympic hero Sharron Davies blasts IOC after Lord Coe lost election race and throws gauntlet down to new president to protect women's sport after boxing gender row at Paris Games

New International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry is facing immediate calls to protect the women's category after securing a landslide election win.

Sport

2 w. ago So who is Kirsty Coventry, who now has global sport’s most powerful job? | Sean Ingle

IOC’s first female president faces significant challenges including handling Donald Trump’s power and protecting women’s sportsBarely an hour after Kirsty Coventry had become the most powerful figure in global sport at the relatively tender age of 41, she faced a series of verbal grenades about how she might handle Donald Trump in her new role.What would the new president of the International Olympic Committee respond, the first interrogator asked, if the American president tried to cause trouble during the Los Angeles Olympics by banning athletes from certain countries? Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Seb Coe gracious after crushing defeat to Kirsty Coventry in IOC presidential election

Lord Coe earned just eight of 97 votes

Politics

2 w. ago British Olympic hero Sharron Davies blasts IOC after Lord Coe lost election race and throws gauntlet down to new president to protect women's sport after boxing gender row at Paris Games

New International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry is facing immediate calls to protect the women's category after securing a landslide election win.

Sport

2 w. ago New Olympics chief Kirsty Coventry backs blanket ban for trans athletes from all female events

Former Zimbabwean Olympic swimmer Kirsty Coventry, 41, was today elected as the new Olympics chief, pipping Lord Sebastian Coe and Juan Antonio Samaranch to the position.

Politics