Olympic boxing qualifier in China scrapped over virus: report
Tokyo:A boxing qualifier for the Tokyo Olympics scheduled for next month in China's Wuhan will be cancelled over the outbreak of a new virus, Japan's Kyodo news agency said Wednesday.
Citing organisers, Kyodo said the qualifiers would be rescheduled and moved from Wuhan, where the outbreak of the new strain of coronavirus is believed to have begun.
There was no independent confirmation from the organisers, and Japan's boxing federation said it was waiting to hear from the International Olympic Committee on the reported cancellation.
Kyodo said the IOC was expected to announce a new host and schedule for the qualifiers.
Boxing has struggled in the run-up to the 2020 Games, and was almost excluded from the Olympic programme after a series of scandals.
The amateur boxing body AIBA was stripped of the right to organise the Olympic competition and replaced with a special taskforce. Other measures have been introduced to rebuild trust in the sport, including a more transparent judging system.
The reported cancellation comes as China said the new strain of coronavirus has killed nine people and infected at least 440 others in the country.
Cases have also been reported outside China, in countries including the United States, South Korea, Japan and Thailand.
The coronavirus has caused alarm for its similarity to SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), which killed nearly 650 people across mainland China and Hong Kong in 2002-2003.
Several countries have already stepped up monitoring measures for visitors coming from China, and the World Health Organisation will hold an emergency meeting Wednesday on whether to declare a rare global public health emergency over the virus.
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Outrage in Pune as pet dog beaten, hanged by owner's family
Pune: A deeply disturbing incident of animal cruelty has surfaced in Pune, where a pet dog, owned by Omkar Jagtap, was reportedly beaten and hanged to death by the family. The incident has sparked widespread public outrage, with calls for justice from animal rights activists and political leaders.
According to a local foundation’s social media post, the dog had been ‘severely’ beaten before being found hanging from a tree. An SOS call had been made to authorities warning of the family's threats to kill the pet if it wasn’t removed immediately, but help arrived too late.
The post shared graphic details, alleging that Jagtap’s mother was seen mercilessly hitting the dog with a thick stick, leaving injuries across its body. The foundation urged for action, stating, “The dog trusted the family, and they betrayed it. If this doesn’t boil your blood, what will? Omkar Jagtap has murdered his dog, a pet he raised since it was a pup.”
The incident drew sharp condemnation from Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray, who demanded action from Pune Police. “I just came across a very, very heartbreaking image of a dog being hung to death by its owner's family in Pune. I am shocked beyond words to see how humans can behave this way. Beyond elections and the other stress of duty, I am appealing to Pune city police to take strict action against those guilty of this. It’s inhumane. Pets are family too," Thackeray wrote on X (formerly Twitter), urging the police to act decisively.
