Olympics: Sprinter seeks asylum - News Review

After criticising her team coaches, Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya claims that her country's officials tried to force her to get on a plane home.

She is now seeking asylum in Europe and is under Japanese police protection.

Neil and Roy talk about the vocabulary from this story so you can talk about it too.

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Video chapters:
0:00​​​​​​​​​​ - Introduction
0:30 - Story
1:46 - Headline 1: Olympic sprinter who criticised regime in airport stand-off as she refuses to fly home
5:13​​ - Headline 2: Belarus Olympic sprinter 'forced to airport against her will' after criticising coach
8:40 - Headline 3: Tokyo Olympics 2021: Krystsina Tsimanouskaya kidnap plot
11:36 - Language summary

The story:
An Olympic sprinter from Belarus is said to be seeking asylum in Europe after claiming she was being forced to return home from the Tokyo Games by her country's officials. Krystsina Tsimanouskaya is being given protection by Japanese police.

The Czech Republic and Poland have offered to help, and the U.N. Refugee Agency is involved. The Belarusian authorities say she was removed from the team because of her psychological condition.

Key words and phrases

standoff
situation in which neither side wants to agree

*The two parties were in a standoff after they refused to accept each other’s terms.
*He was being very standoffish and refused to speak with me.

against one’s will
the opposite of what someone wishes

*The scammers made me show them my bank details against my will.
*I will not go to the party against my will.

kidnap plot
plan to take someone without their consent

*The police stopped a kidnap plot to take the millionaire’s son.
*They were plotting to kidnap the politician.

Test your understanding on our website at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/course/newsreview/unit-19/session-205

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