Free Republic

On Wednesday morning, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled in favor of the restrictions placed on female track athletes with high levels of testosterone by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The landmark decision means that women like Caster Semenya of South Africa, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in the 800 meters, must take testosterone suppressants in order to continue competing in certain middle-distance events. Since 2009, when Semenya won the World Championship 800 meters in Berlin at the age of 18, the middle-distance runner has been heavily scrutinized by the IAAF. At 5-foot-10 and with a...

China's 800m peasants to escape yoke of farm tax By Richard Spencer (Filed: 21/12/2005) A 2,000-year-old grievance will be lifted next year when China scraps taxes for hundreds of millions of peasants, the government's traditional source of revenue. Reforms introduced as proof of China's commitment to those left behind by the economic boom are so far ahead of schedule that farm taxes, which date back to before the first emperor, will be abolished early, the finance minister, Jin Renqing, said. Local governments would be compensated for the loss of income from central funds. Taxes have been one of the peasantry's...