Determination by IMO organisers to remain apolitical divides participating countries amid wars in Ukraine and Gaza

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A resounding cheer erupted when on Monday three Palestinian teenagers shuffled on to the stage of a convention centre tucked away behind the golden beaches of Australia’s Sunshine Coast.

All of them from the West Bank, they were only half of a team able to attend the International Mathematics Olympiad, a gathering of the world’s brightest young mathematical minds, where medals can offer tickets to any university in the world and launch brilliant careers.

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