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World Bowls Tour revokes ban on Israeli bowlers
Israeli players will be allowed to compete in January’s World Indoor Bowls Championships after tournament organisers revoked a ban imposed amid a campaign by pro-Palestinian groups.
The World Bowls Tour (WBT) had said in a statement that invitations issued to three Israeli players for the event in Hopton-on-Sea, Norfolk had been withdrawn.
That came after a “significant escalation in related political concerns” following the involvement of Israeli bowlers at the Scottish International Open in August.
The WBT said the decision “was not taken lightly” and had been made “in the best interests of the event’s success and integrity”.
But in a new statement on Tuesday, it said Daniel Alomin, Amnon Amar and Itai Rigbi could now compete after “significant additional security measures” had been put in place.
Alomin will play in the World Open Singles, while Amar and Rigbi will feature in the World Open Pairs.
The WBT acknowledged it had been “a difficult time for all involved” and was pleased to reach an outcome that “includes players for all supporting countries”.
MP Rupert Lowe, whose Great Yarmouth constituency includes Hopton-on-Sea, welcomed the decision.
Lowe, who said he was “genuinely disgusted” the players had been banned, wrote on X: “The Israeli team will be welcomed in Great Yarmouth, and I wish them well for the event.
“The World Bowls Tour have made the right decision.”
The tournament organisers had faced pressure from several pro-Palestinian groups, including Palestine Action and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, to introduce the ban.
The Norfolk Palestine Solidarity Campaign had urged its supporters to sign a petition calling for the players’ invitations to be rescinded.
In its campaign, the group accused Israel of committing apartheid against Palestinians and called for its athletes to be banned under the 1977 Gleneagles Agreement – originally signed to exclude South Africa.
Israel strongly denies accusations of apartheid.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews described the initial ban as “an overt act of discrimination against Israeli participants”.
A government spokesperson told BBC Sport the decision was a matter for international sport federations and the national representatives to these federations but added it was “deeply disappointing”.
The sport’s governing body, World Bowls – which is separate to the World Bowls Tour – had stressed Israeli players were still welcome to play in its events.
The 14-month war between Israel and Hamas began when Hamas-led gunmen carried out an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
More than 45,000 Palestinians have been killed during the war, according to figures from Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
The figures are often disputed by the Israeli government, which says almost 20,000 “terrorists” have been killed, but they are broadly accepted by United Nations agencies.
Israel was initially banned from last year’s Ice Hockey World Championships, but the decision was later reversed.
Across other sports, there has been no ban on Israeli athletes – or the country’s national teams.
The Palestine Football Association has called for its Israeli counterpart to be suspended by world governing body Fifa, but no decision has yet been taken.
International
LA fire victims fear new housing crisis
Michael Storc and his family had just survived a devastating wildfire.
Now they have to face a daunting new challenge that he had hoped to never experience again – the Los Angeles housing market.
After losing the Altadena home that he owned in the Eaton fire, he was scouring for a new place to rent, and having little luck.
“What’s available is not nice at all and the rents have gone up a lot,” Mr Storc told the BBC. “I told my teenage daughter we had to accept we would live somewhere not very nice.”
The Los Angeles area already has one of the most expensive real estate markets in the country. And with thousands now displaced by the Palisades and Eaton fires, Angelenos are anxious that the sudden surge in demand could make rents and home prices soar even higher.
California has an anti-price gouging law that prevents landlords from raising rents more than 10% after the governor declares an emergency. It applies to both existing and tenants and new leases.
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LA brain surgeon saves street from fires
Many Los Angeles County buildings are also covered by rent stabilisation laws, which prevent landlords from raising the rent for existing tenants above a certain percentage even in normal circumstances.
“It is illegal. You cannot do it,” California attorney general Rob Bonta said at a Saturday press conference. “It is a crime punishable by up to a year in jail and fines.”
Not everyone was certain that the law would be completely enforceable, however.
“We’re aware of that but my question is, how is that being regulated? And who’s monitoring that?” said Jessica Heredia, a realtor based in the high-end Brentwood neighbourhood for the last 20 years.
International
LA brain surgeon saves street from ‘apocalyptic’ wildfires
A Los Angeles brain surgeon who fought for almost a week to save the houses on his street from wildfires told the BBC he spent 15 years preparing for such an event.
Malibu resident Dr Chester Griffiths, 62, ignored evacuation orders to keep flames from the Palisades fire at bay with the help of his son and neighbour, until emergency services were able to reach them.
“We had always known that a fire would come someday – but we didn’t know when,” Dr Griffiths told the BBC’s Today Programme.
“We never fathomed it would be this catastrophic and apocalyptic.”
International
S Korea begins impeachment trial of suspended president
South Korea’s Constitutional Court has held its first hearing to decide if suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol should be removed from office after his shock martial law attempt last month.
The hearing ended within four minutes because of Yoon’s absence – his lawyers had earlier said he would not attend for his own safety, as there is a warrant out for his arrest on separate charges of insurrection.
In December, Yoon was suspended after members of his own party voted with the opposition to impeach him.
However he will only be formally removed from office if at least six of the eight-member Constitutional Court bench votes to uphold the impeachment.
According to South Korean law, the court must set a new date for a hearing before they can proceed without his participation.
The next hearing is scheduled for Thursday.
Yoon’s lawyers have indicated that he will show up for a hearing at an “appropriate time”, but they have challenged the court’s “unilateral decision” on trial dates.
The court on Tuesday rejected the lawyers’ request for one of the eight justices to be recused from the proceedings.
Yoon has not commented publicly since parliament voted to impeach him on 14 December and has been speaking primarily through his lawyers.
Investigators are also separately preparing for another attempt to arrest Yoon for alleged insurrection, after an earlier attempt on 3 January ended following an hours-long standoff with his security team.
Yoon is South Korea’s first sitting president to face arrest. The second attempt to take him into custody could happen as early as this week, according to local media.
The suspended leader has not commented publicly since parliament voted to impeach him on 14 December and has been speaking primarily through his lawyers.
Yoon’s short-lived martial law declaration on 3 December has thrown South Korea into political turmoil. He had tried to justify the attempt by saying he was protecting the country from “anti-state” forces, but it soon became clear it was spurred by his own political troubles.
What followed was an unprecedented few weeks which saw the opposition-dominated parliament vote to impeach Yoon and then Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who succeeded him briefly as acting president.
The crisis has hit the country’s economy, with the won weakening and global credit rating agencies warning of weakening consumer and business sentiment.
Former presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Park Geun-hye did not attend their impeachment trials in 2004 and 2017 respectively.
In Park’s case, the first hearing ended after nine minutes in her absence.
Roh was reinstated after a two-month review, while Park’s impeachment was upheld.
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