#47: TRANS ATHLETE TAKES FIRST PLACE IN WOMEN'S 200-METRE SPRINT

Town abandons eco-diesel pledge because it's too expensive + right-wing parties will draft Chile's new constitution + Meloni accused of taking over public broadcaster + MORE!

TRANSGENDER ATHLETE CLAIMS FIRST PLACE IN WOMEN’S 200 METRE RACE

Halba Diouf, a Senegalese male-born transgender woman won the 200 metre race in Nice, France with a time of 22.67 seconds on Sunday – beating out other women competitors.

This performance would place her among the top ten French sprinters of all time, and very close to the Olympic qualifying standard of 22.57 seconds.

Diouf beat Nice Cote D’azur Athletisme athlere Ariel Piper, who came in second at 27.36 seconds.

However, Diouf's achievement will not be recognized by the French Athletics Federation (FFA) or World Athletics (WA), the international governing body of the sport. Diouf, who transitioned to female at the age of 18 and is now 21, is only allowed to compete at the departmental level by the FFA, following a controversial decision that excluded her from national championships earlier this year.

The FFA based its decision on WA's rules, which ban transgender women from competing in women's events unless they have a testosterone level below 5 nmol/l for at least 12 months.

Diouf claims that she meets this criterion, as she takes medication that lowers her testosterone level. However, the FFA says that it needs more information on her profile and that it has created a commission to study her case.

In response, Diouf called the FFA's decision discriminatory and unfair, and has vowed to continue running despite the obstacles. She has received support from some human rights groups and French politicians.

MUNICIPALITY ABANDONS ECO-DIESEL PLEDGE BECAUSE IT’S TOO EXPENSIVE

Ockelbo, a municipality in central Sweden, has decided to stop using environmental diesel for its municipal vehicles and return to regular diesel.

The decision, made by the municipal board led by the Social Democrats, is expected to increase fossil emissions by about 80 percent, but also save half a million kronor per year.

Ockelbo had first switched to HVO100, a renewable fuel made from waste and residues, in 2018 as part of its environmental policy. The initiative was supported by Magnus Jonsson, a social democratic municipal councillor who participated and voted for the change.

However, Jonsson says that the municipality is now facing a historically difficult financial situation and that it has no choice but to cut costs wherever possible. He says that he feels bad about the decision, but that it was necessary.

“It’s an idiotic decision, I feel bad about it, “ said Johnsson.

“I understand the signal value in this is not good, but it was a necessary decision. There are no margins.”

RIGHT-WING PARTIES TO DRAFT CHILE’S NEW CONSTITUTION

Chileans voted on Sunday to elect the members of the council that will draft a new constitution for the country. The results showed a clear victory for the right-wing parties, who opposed the previous constitutional proposal that was rejected by the majority of voters last year.

According to the electoral authority, with 95 percent of the ballots counted, the Republican Party, headed by former presidential candidate Jose Antonio Kast, had nearly 35 percent of the vote.

Another alliance of more conservative parties had just over 20 percent of the vote, while the left-wing coalition of President Gabriel Boric had around 29 percent. The remaining votes went to centrist parties. The council will have 50 members, and the final proposal will need the backing of three fifths of them.

The council will work on a new constitution based on a draft prepared by 24 constitutional experts appointed by Congress in March. The voters will then have the final say on the constitutional proposal in December.

Boric came to power last March and was a supporter of the constitutional proposal that was ultimately rejected by almost 62 percent of voters. Since then, his popularity has dropped as voters are concerned about a struggling economy and rising crime.

He has since pledged to not interfere in the process of the constitutional draft.

IRELAND WANTS DRAG QUEENS IN SCHOOL CURRICULUM

The Irish Department of Education has recommended that students in middle school should be taught about 'drag queens' and 'cross dressers' in their classes on Relationships and Sexuality Education.

The document, called Relationships and Sexuality Education 1, is aimed at teachers, and contains a number of classroom exercises for students on gender issues, according to the outlet Gript.

One activity deals with 'Gender and Gender Identity', and states that 'some people may not identify with the gender they were given at birth'. It then gives a list of terms, such as 'cis-gender', 'transgender' and 'non-binary'.

“‘Drag queen’ refers to a person who assumes a female persona for performance. ‘Cross-dresser’ refers to a cisgender person who dresses in clothing typically worn by members of a different sex,” it states.

MELONI ACCUSED OF TAKING OVER PUBLIC BROADCASTER

Carlo Fuortes, the head of RAI, Italy’s public broadcaster, has resigned from his job.

He told media he was leaving because of interference from the government, who wanted him to make changes in the editorial and programming direction that he "did not think were in RAI's best interests".

Opposition parties in Italy have since claimed that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is trying to gain control of Italian media.

"With the resignation of Fuortes begins the maneuvers for the total control of public broadcasting,” said Nicola Fratoianni of the Italian Left.

Meloni’s party Fratelli d'Italia has denied the accusation.

"Fuortes's decision to resign, above and beyond the fantastic reconstructions of some media outlets, has been determined by his awareness of (the broadcaster’s) difficulties,” said a party statement.

"We now hope that the government immediately finds a new MD for RAI to be able to finally relaunch the central function of the public service, of its role of real pluralism and defence of the national cultural industry".