PARIS (AP) — The city of Paris wants to honor the late Ugandan Olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei by naming a sports venue after her.
The proposal was announced by city mayor Anne Hidalgo on Friday and will be discussed by city officials in October.
Cheptegei died on Thursday at a Kenyan hospital where she was being treated after 80% of her body was burned in an attack by her partner. She was 33.
Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month ago and finished 44th.
“Paris will not forget her and we will dedicate a sports venue to her, so that her memory and her story will remain among us, and help us carry even stronger the message of equality, which is a message carried by the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” Hidalgo said.
City hall said in a statement, “Paris joins its elected representatives in expressing its support for the family of the athlete, victim of a femicide a few weeks after her participation in the Olympic Games.”
Trans Nzoia County Police Commander Jeremiah ole Kosiom said this week that Cheptegei’s partner, Dickson Ndiema, bought a can of gasoline, poured it on her and set her ablaze during a disagreement last Sunday. Ndiema was also burned and was being treated at the same hospital.
Every 11 minutes on average, a woman or girl is killed by an intimate partner or family member somewhere in the world, according to figures from UN Women, the agency promoting gender equality, and the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime.
“An emotional thought for Rebecca Cheptegei," Hidalgo said. "She dazzled us here in Paris. We saw her — her beauty, her strength, her freedom — and it was in all likelihood her beauty, strength and freedom which were intolerable for the person who committed this murder,”
Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.
FILE -Rebecca Cheptegei, competes at the Discovery 10km road race in Kapchorwa, Uganda, Jan. 20, 2023. (AP Photo, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — The 76th Primetime Emmy Awards has launched to honor the best of television.
The hosts, father-son duo Eugene and Dan Levy, opened the show Sunday night. They won Emmys at the 2020 awards for “Schitt’s Creek.”
“Shogun,” “The Bear” and “Baby Reindeer” are favorites going into the night. “Shogun″ is expected to win best drama series after picking up 14 wins at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards held last weekend.
The Emmys are back in their traditional mid-September spot after a single strike-delayed edition in January.
The show began at 8 p.m., Eastern time, and is airing on ABC from the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles.
For more on this year’s Emmy Awards, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/emmy-awards
Here's the latest:
Ahead of the premiere of the 50th season of “Saturday Night Live” on Sept. 28, cast members from the sketch show’s storied history have gathered for an unforgettable reunion.
Former members Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph and Seth Meyers joined current regular Bowen Yang onstage.
The segment leans into the January Emmys’ nostalgia-laden programming, which included Tina Fey and Amy Poehler presenting an award in the style of SNL’s famed “Weekend Update,” along with the casts of “Cheers,” “Martin” and other hit shows reuniting.
Jessica Gunning, who haunts as stalker Martha on “Baby Reindeer,” accepts the Emmy for her performance from a group of actors who have portrayed iconic villains in a fitting pairing. She got emotional as she thanked Richard Gadd, the star and creator of the series.
“I tried so many times to put into words what working on ‘Baby Reindeer’ meant to me and I fail every time,” she said. “It really means a lot. So, thank you, reindeer.”
“Today, a Republican vice president would never attack a woman for having kids. So, as they say, my work here is done,” Candice Bergen wryly said before presenting the lead actress in a comedy series award.
She was referring to her Murphy Brown character being attacked by then-Vice President Dan Quayle for being a single mom.
Her subsequent “meow” got a big laugh and applause from the audience, including Jon Stewart.
Hosts Eugene Levy, left, and Dan Levy speak during the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
