Transgender women cannot participate in female Olympic events, International Olympic Committee says
Olympic rings stand in front of Ponte di Castelvecchio on day fourteen of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games on February 20, 2026 in Verona, Italy. (Photo by Claudio Lavenia/Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Transgender women athletes cannot participate in female Olympic events, the International Olympic Committee said on Thursday, as the committee announced a new policy limiting eligibility for female events to biological females.
The policy will begin for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
The committee said the decision was “evidence‑based and expert‑informed,” and “protects fairness, safety and integrity in the female category.”
The IOC said eligibility will be “determined on the basis of a one‑time SRY gene screening.”
The committee said “athletes with an SRY-positive screen, including XY transgender and androgen-sensitive XY-DSD athletes, continue to be included in all other classifications for which they qualify. For example, they are eligible for any male category, including in a designated male slot within any mixed category, and any open category, or in sports and events that do not classify athletes by sex.”
IOC President Kirsty Coventry said in a statement that the new policy “is based on science and has been led by medical experts.”
“At the Olympic Games, even the smallest margins can be the difference between victory and defeat,” she said. “So, it is absolutely clear that it would not be fair for biological males to compete in the female category. In addition, in some sports it would simply not be safe.”
Vehicle, carrying the body of the last Israeli hostage remaining in Gaza Ran Gvili, arrives the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute prior to the funeral ceremony in Tel Aviv, Israel on January 26, 2026. (Photo by Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The final deceased Israeli hostage in Gaza taken during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack has returned to Israel following a military operation to retrieve the body, Israeli officials said.
Rani Gvili, who served in the Israeli Police Special Forces, died in combat during the Hamas attack on Israel. Hamas took his body into Gaza, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
The IDF located his body in a cemetery in northern Gaza in the area of the so-called yellow line, which marks off Israeli-controlled parts of the territory, during an operation that began Sunday morning, according to an Israeli military official. Through dental identification, the hostage was confirmed to be Gvili, 24, according to the official.
“A short time ago, we returned the late Ran Gvili, a hero of Israel. There are no more hostages in Gaza,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said while addressing the Knesset on Monday. Gvili was known as both Ran and Rani.
Netanyahu congratulated the IDF and the Israel Security Agency on the “perfect execution of this sacred mission.”
Gvili’s sister said the news is bittersweet.
“Wow, I feel an insane sense of relief. I feel relieved. I am sad. I’m very sad that it ended this way, but it had to end at some point. I am so happy he’s coming back home, Rani is on his way, Rani is coming,” Shira Gvili said, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
The Israeli hostage crisis lasted 843 days. Hamas kidnapped 251 people during its surprise attack, with 85 returning in caskets. More than seven weeks have passed since a deceased hostage was retrieved from Gaza; on Dec. 3, the remains of a body were transferred to Israel and later identified as Sudthisak Rinthalak, a Thai agricultural worker.
Hamas’ return of all the Israelis hostages in Gaza, and Israel’s release of some Palestinian prisoners, was agreed upon in the first phase of the U.S.-brokered Gaza Strip ceasefire deal that began in October 2025. Gvili’s return brings to a close the first phase of the ceasefire. Israel and Hamas will now move into the second, more complicated phase of the Gaza ceasefire.
President Donald Trump celebrated the return of the final hostage in a post on social media, saying, “Most thought of it as an impossible thing to do.”
Hamas said it “exerted significant efforts” in the search for Gvili and provided “necessary information as it became available, which contributed to the recovery of the body.”
Hamas called on Israel to “complete the full implementation of the ceasefire agreement without any reduction or delay, and adhere to all its obligations,” including reopening the Rafah Crossing, a border crossing point between Egypt and Gaza that has been closed since May 2024.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said Sunday it has agreed to reopen the Rafah Crossing, a limited crossing for people, not goods, following the recovery of the final deceased hostage. The US has been pushing for the Rafah to be opened as soon as possible. It’s still unclear how and who will carry out security checks on those crossing into or leaving Gaza.
Ahead of the recovery of Gvili’s body, the Trump administration said earlier this month that the Gaza peace plan is moving into the next phase, which it said “begins the full demilitarization and reconstruction of Gaza.” The thorniest issue is expected to be disarming Hamas.
An American Airlines Airbus A321 airplane arrives at Los Angeles International Airport from Washington D.C., March 7, 2026, in Los Angeles. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
(COLOMBIA) — An American Airlines flight attendant has been reported missing in Colombia, according to officials.
Eric Fernando Gutiérrez Molina landed on March 21 on a flight from Miami to Medellin, Colombia, according to the Medellin security secretary.
Authorities believe he may have been drugged and are investigating that claim.
He was last seen early Sunday morning after a party at a club in the Medellín neighborhood of El Poblado, with a man and a woman, according to the security secretary.
“We are actively engaged with local law enforcement officials in their investigation and doing all we can to support our team member’s family during this time,” American Airlines said in a statement.
A State Department spokesperson said, “We are aware of these reports and are closely tracking the situation.”
“The Trump Administration has no greater priority than the safety and security of Americans, and the State Department stands ready to provide all consular assistance to Americans in need abroad,” the spokesperson said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny attends a rally in support of political prisoners in Prospekt Sakharova Street in Moscow, Russia on September 29, 2019. (Sefa Karacan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a rare lethal toxin found in poison dart frogs from South America, according to a joint statement from the UK, France, Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany.
The European partners said they are confident in their determination based on analyses of samples from Navalny which confirmed the presence of the lethal toxin, Epibatidine.
“Navalny died while held in prison, meaning Russia had the means, motive and opportunity to administer this poison to him,” the statement read.
Alexei Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, said in a social media post she “was certain from the first day that my husband had been poisoned, but now there is proof: Putin killed Alexei with chemical weapon.”
Navalnaya said she is grateful to the countries who have worked on the investigation.
“Vladimir Putin is a murderer. He must be held accountable for all his crimes,” she said.
Russian officials did not immediately comment on the report.
