Belarus leader proposes three-way cooperation with Russia's Putin and North Korea's Kim
Russian President Vladimir Putin has hosted a meeting with his Belarusian ally, who referred to this weekโs summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and suggested that Minsk could join Moscowโs efforts to revive an old alliance with Pyongyang.
Russia awaits ruling on Olympic ban for flag, anthem
The ruling on whether Russia can keep its name and flag for the Olympics will be announced on Thursday Dec. 17, 2020. The CAS process is formally between WADA and the Russian anti-doping agency. The Russian agency, known as Rusada, was ruled non-compliant one year ago. The International Ice Hockey Federation, which was a party to the hearing in Lausanne, could be forced to move the 2023 men's world championships from St. Petersburg. It requires Russians who pass doping scrutiny to compete at world championships as โAuthorized Neutral Athletesโ in non-red uniforms.
Russia's reputation, Olympic status on trial for doping
(Alexei Nikolsky, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)GENEVA โ Russiaโs status as an Olympic team, and its reputation as a serial cheater in international sports, goes on trial next week in more legal fallout from the country's state-backed doping saga. WADA would let Russian athletes compete only if not implicated in doping or cover-ups. WADA says details of doping tests and emails were deleted or changed, and false trails created to frame whistleblowers. The International Olympic Committee refused WADAโs request to ban Russia outright from the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games. RUSADA rejected WADAโs proposed punishment, and Russian Olympic officials later fired the RUSADA chief executive who acknowledged the wrongdoing.
First F1 race in Tuscany; Russian GP could be 1st with fans
SPIELBERG The first Tuscan Grand Prix in Mugello will be held on Sept. 13, and the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi two weeks later could be the first Formula One race this season with fans. The F1 season started last weekend in Austria with no fans at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg because of the coronavirus pandemic. But Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko said he hopes spectators can attend can attend the race in Sochi later this year. "It will be an important event for Russian sport.It was not immediately clear how many fans Russian authorities hope to allow inside the 55,000-capacity Sochi Autodrom. It has never staged an F1 race but has hosted F2 and MotoGP races, as well as previously being a Ferrari test track.
In Russia and Ukraine, no social distance on crowded beaches
People enjoy the beach in the Black Sea in Odessa, Ukraine, Saturday, July 4, 2020. Tens of thousands of vacation-goers in Russia and Ukraine have descended on Black Sea beaches, paying little attention to safety measures despite levels of contagion still remaining high in both countries. (AP Photo/Sergei Poliakov)SOCHI Tens of thousands of vacation-goers in Russia and Ukraine have descended on Black Sea beaches, paying little heed to public health measures despite the numbers of reported coronavirus cases remaining high in both countries. While popular vacation destinations in Europe are still closed to visitors from Russia and Ukraine as European nations move carefully to lift restrictions on foreign visitors, Black Sea resorts in Russia and Ukraine are filled to capacity from domestic tourism. Now, Russian sun-lovers are left with the narrow pebble beaches of Sochi or Crimea as their only beach vacation options.
Russian teenagers beaten 10-1 as league restarts
FC Sochi players, in white shirt, try to score against Rostov during a Russia Soccer Premier League soccer match against FC Rostov as the league was resumed after a three-month hiatus because of the coronavirus pandemic in Sochi, Russia, Friday, June 19, 2020. Rostov fielded a team of teenagers because its entire first-team squad is in isolation following a suspected outbreak of coronavirus. (AP Photo)SOCHI A team of teenagers took the field for a club hit by the coronavirus pandemic and lost 10-1 as soccer in Russia restarted Friday. Sochi soon hit back and finished with 10 goals, the most in league history, mostly scored by players with Russian national-team experience. The Russian Premier League resumed Friday after more than three months, with a limited number of fans in stadiums.
Four things you need to know about the Syria 'ceasefire'
Where exactly is the safe zone? The deal requires Kurdish militias to withdraw from a "safe zone," but that zone hasn't been properly defined. But Turkey says it reaches from the Euphrates River to the Iraqi border -- which would include the key Syrian Kurdish cities of Kobani and Qamishli. Apart from bitter fighting still ongoing for Ras Al Ain, Turkish forces control much of the gap between those towns. Fighting may not stop everywhereThe agreement doesn't necessarily stop fighting outside of the safe zone.