KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine's central bank will improve its forecasts for inflation and gross domestic product growth for 2023 at its

I don't know about you, but I feel like I need a cigarette after Amazon's

Lance Armstrong has been accused of staggering hypocrisy after wading into a public debate about transgender representation in sport. The disgraced former cyclist, who was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles in 2012 after being found guilty of multiple doping offences, boasted on Twitter that he was “uniquely placed” to speak about divisive subjects. Announcing the launch of a special series of his podcast ‘The Forward’, he tweeted: “Of all the controversial and polarizing subjects out there today, I'm not sure there are any as heated as the topic of Trans athletes in sport. “Is there not a world in which one can be supportive of the transgender community and curious about the fairness of Trans athletes in sport yet not be labelled a transphobe or a bigot as we ask questions? Do we yet know the answers? And do we even want to know the answers? “I do. Hence these conversations… a special series of The Forward, beginning Monday, where I dive into this issue with an open mind in an attempt learn as much as possible from all sides of the debate.” He ended his thread: “I hope that for those who have been reluctant to have this conversation, this somehow feels safe. Be fearless.” Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter His announcement has not gone down well with fellow social media users, countless of whom have picked up on his eyebrow-raising choice of wording. Here’s what they had to say about his so-called curiosity about the “fairness” of trans sportspeople’s inclusion in competitive events: The furore comes just weeks after World Athletics (WA) announced a banon transgender athletes who have been through male puberty from female category events, following similar codes to those of rugby and swimming. At the end of March, the organisation’s president, Lord Sebastian Coe, said that the decision was driven by the need to “protect the female category”. “We cannot in all consciousness leave our transgender regulations as they were,” he said. Elsewhere, Alun Williams, Professor of Sport and Exercise Genomics at Manchester Metropolitan University, agreed that athletics’ previous approach of allowing transgender women to compete in female events with reduced levels of testosterone did not equate to fairness. He told the PA news agency: “There are key biological differences that appear predominantly during male puberty due to elevated testosterone while growth is still going on. “Those differences seem to persist whatever happens for the rest of someone’s life, including if they then lower testosterone down to what is the typical female range. “The biological effects that are related to sport – like an increase in skeleton size, having larger muscles that are stronger, increase in the size of organs like the heart that help in all sorts of activity – those persist. “On that basis, the choice for the authorities like World Athletics is to make a decision – do they prioritise fairness or do they prioritise inclusion, but there’s no evidence at the moment that those two can be met at the same time.” However, critics of a blanket ban argue that not enough research has been done to draw such a conclusion. Liz Ward, director of programmes at Stonewall, which campaigns for LGBTQ+ rights and equality, said: “It is so disappointing to see World Athletics announce a unilateral ban on trans women in track and field events. “Their own statement recognises that there are no trans women competing at an international level and that they have no specific evidence to justify the ban. “It is vital that decisions about trans participation are based on robust evidence, specific to the sport played and the athletes competing at that level of the sport. “We stand with trans people who now have the door closed on their chance to compete in athletic sports at an international level.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

By Anna Tong (Reuters) -Worldcoin, a cryptocurrency project founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, launches on Monday. The project’s core

Former NFL running back Le'Veon Bell has challenged social media personality turned boxer, Logan Paul, to a boxing match

Alix Earle shared a 'Get Ready With Me' video where she proposed different outfit choices to wear for a Miami Dolphins game

West Ham skipper Declan Rice does not know if he has played his last game for the club after the Europa Conference League victory over Fiorentina. The England midfielder has been linked with a move away from the Hammers this summer. And Rice may have signed off his West Ham career by becoming only the club’s third captain, along with Bobby Moore and Billy Bonds, to lift silverware in their 128-year history after the 2-1 victory in Prague. Rice told BT Sport: “It’s not a goodbye yet. Look at the moment there’s a lot of speculation about my future. “There is interest from other clubs, that’s out there, but ultimately I’ve still got two years left at West Ham (one year plus option). “There hasn’t been nothing yet (offers). Let’s wait and see, who knows. “I love every minute of it here, you can see the smile on my face. It’s not about that tonight, it’s about celebrating and that’s what I’m going to do now.”

Barry Plath, who went through a drastic fitness transformation, looked almost unrecognizable in an image shared by his son Micah Plath

Northern Ireland will hope the visit of San Marino to Windsor Park on Saturday is the opportunity they need to end their long losing run in Euro 2024 qualifying. Here, the PA news agency looks at the key talking points ahead of the game. Back to the start Northern Ireland’s win away to San Marino in the opening fixture of this qualifying campaign back in March feels a long, long time ago now. Back then optimism was high that the return of Michael O’Neill as manager and what was seen as a favourable draw, certainly from pot five, in Group H could offer Northern Ireland a chance of challenging for qualification. But since their 2-0 win in Serravalle, nothing has gone right for O’Neill and his players, as a seemingly never-ending injury list and a string of narrow 1-0 defeats has doomed this campaign. A must-win game Qualification is now beyond them but the visit of San Marino is a must-win game for Northern Ireland, who have the opportunity to reset the narrative of this campaign and deliver a performance in front of the Windsor Park crowd. Even with their problems, anything short of a victory at home against the traditional whipping boys of European football would nudge a struggling team towards a crisis. Home doubleheader Northern Ireland have enjoyed few home comforts of late – winning only two of their last 17 fixtures in Belfast – but after the logistical challenges of last month’s away doubleheader against Slovenia and Kazakhstan, back-to-back games at Windsor is a welcome reprieve and a chance for O’Neill to get more work done with his players in the absence of long transfers. There is also a pressure of expectation from the sell-out crowd heading to Saturday’s match, but the players already expect nothing but a win anyway. Marshall’s moment? Since O’Neill announced his squad for these fixtures, much of the buzz has been around the return to the senior squad for West Ham striker Callum Marshall. The 18-year-old was denied a dream international debut by VAR in June when his late equaliser against Denmark in Copenhagen was ruled out for offside, but is now expected to get another chance in green against San Marino. Northern Ireland have been desperately seeking a reliable finisher for several years and although O’Neill is reluctant to put pressure on the teenager, many have already compared Marshall to record goal-scorer David Healy. Euro 2028 This might be the Euro 2024 qualifying campaign but after UEFA confirmed this week that the 2028 edition will be hosted by the United Kingdom and Ireland, there has been talk all week of Northern Ireland potentially getting the opportunity to play on home soil in five years’ time. O’Neill is about the only person not keen to get involved – he has more pressing concerns as he tries to mould a young squad into one that might be more competitive by then – but there is now a massive carrot dangling for Northern Ireland’s players. “It’s a big thing that’s going to be coming here, it’s fantastic,” said the 35-year-old Jonny Evans. “Who knows? I might still be knocking about.” Read More Millie Knight to compete in Karate World Championships after skiing retirement Steve Borthwick confident England will ‘rise to the occasion’ against Fiji Dan Sheehan keen to avoid being affected by hype of Ireland-New Zealand clash Michael O’Neill vows not to put ‘added pressure’ on rising name Callum Marshall Matt Peet admits leading Wigan out in a Grand Final ‘does seem bizarre’ No sweat: England great Sir Alastair Cook was always cool in the heat of battle

Saudi Aramco raised its payout to investors and Saudi Arabia’s government by more than half, in a move

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TAIPEI, Taiwan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 2, 2023--