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Russia did not compete in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympics with the entire team suspended over the country’s doping scandal that also saw dozens of Russians banned from competing in the Rio Olympics. Russia’s athletics federation is also still banned while the country’s anti-doping agency remains non-compliant with the World Anti-Doping Agency’s standards. “Although we are pleased with the progress to date, a number of key criteria still need to be met,” International Olympic Committee President Philip Craven told a news conference....

Vladimir Putin’s forces have reportedly used “kamikaze” drones to hit civilian targets, including an apartment block in Kyiv on Monday which killed at least four. Attacks on Tuesday in other cities have left Ukraine scrambling to come up with an effective response to the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which are cheaper alternatives to cruise missiles and are helping Russia make up for its dwindling munition supplies. “The Russians have a small window of opportunity because they managed to use the tactical initiative by using those drones....

World athletics championships hosts Russia on Monday rejected claims they are soft on doping, saying the exposure of a spate of high-profile cheats was due to a step forward in testing. A number of Russian athletes, including 2004 Olympic hammer champion Olga Kuzenkova, have been banned in recent months for doping violations, prompting calls in some quarters for Moscow to be stripped of its right to host the championships later this year....

Speaking to the Russian state-owned television news channel Rossiya 24, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the U.S. and other Western nations of violating international law and attempting to impose a “rules-based” global order. “Our special military operation is meant to put an end to the unabashed expansion [of NATO] and the unabashed drive towards full domination by the U.S. and its Western subjects on the world stage,” Lavrov told Rossiya 24, according to a translation from Russian state-run media outlet RT....

Ahead of a visit by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, Ukrainian officials said at least 10 civilians were wounded in shelling by Russian forces in residential areas on Sunday night. “Two of these people have been hospitalized in the intensive care unit and are in a critical condition,” Dmytro Orlov, mayor of the occupied city of Enerhodar in southeast Ukraine, where the nuclear power plant is located, said on Telegram....

A clip of the state television report and an English translation were shared on Twitter Monday morning by BBC journalist Francis Scarr, who said that it focused on the unforeseen “benefits” of losing a son in the conflict. The Russian couple is first shown inside their home with a picture of a man who is presumably their son. “Like his grandfathers and great-grandfathers he fought against fascism,” a narrator is heard saying, according to Scarr’s translation....

That advisor, Alexey Arestovich, said the aim of the Russian army’s renewed offensive is to “surround our troops in the area of Izyum,” a medium-sized city currently under Russian occupation. After Russia’s initial attack failed to capture the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, Colonel General Alexander Rudskoy announced on March 25 that the invading forces would pull back from areas in the north of Ukraine in order to focus their efforts on “liberation of the Donbas,” Ukraine’s eastern region....

Mikhail Shishkin, whose books have won the prestigious Russian Booker Prize and the Big Book Award, spoke to U.K.’s Channel 4 about his opposition to the invasion. He has been frequently critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin, having opposed the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and writing an open letter in The Guardian detailing the importance of Russian-Ukrainian solidarity. In his Channel 4 interview, he further expressed his views....

“It’s the right thing, there were flares, there was a flare gun, there had been clashes in the stands, it’s necessary to sort all of this out,” R-Sport news agency cited the minister, Vitaly Mutko, as saying. “We will prepare properly, we will present our position… The fans were rooting greatly, but there are people who do not come for the football.” (Reporting by Lidia Kelly) 0 votes

With the successful performances of both these titles, Marvelous announced that Rune Factory 3 would be coming to Switch next year, under the same Special subtitle moniker during a Nintendo Direct. Not only that, Marvelous confirmed a brand-new entry in the Rune Factory series was in development at the same time. Marvelous staff member Maekawa was recently interviewed about the upcoming release, where he answered a number of questions about the future of the franchise....

With Memphis’ JaMychal Green at the free-throw line, Westbrook can be heard ripping an official before receiving back to back technical fouls resulting in an ejection. He yells, “that’s bulls—, that’s crazy” while pointing at another official on his way out. MORE: 12 surprises, disappointments from the NBA season Westbrook continued to argue about the shot clock resetting on a previous Grizzlies’ possession. during the free throw attempts one official T’d him up then signaled all the players to clear out so Gasol could shoot the technical free throw....

Speaking on ESPN’s First Take, Jefferson stated: Jefferson elaborated, sharing how the former MVP can apply that to his own situation: Westbrook recently shared that he is all-in on helping the team win, so it will be interesting to see if he makes the necessary adjustments. Watch Richard Jefferson’s comments on Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony below: Dan Patrick criticizes Russell Westbrook’s 2021-22 season Speaking on the Dan Patrick Show, host Dan Patrick criticized Russell Westbrook’s defensive effort and unwillingness to adjust last season, stating:...

The Seahawks quarterback, who made a brief appearance last year, will return to spring training with the Rangers in Surprise, Ariz., FOX Sports Southwest reported Tuesday. Wilson and general manager Jon Daniels have yet to work out the details. MORE: Deion, Bo, Russell? ‘Never say never,’ but not right now, Wilson says “I love baseball, so any opportunity I would have to hang out with the guys and take some swings, I’ll take,” Wilson said before the Super Bowl....

As the U.S. pulled the last of its forces out of a 20-year war set to officially conclude by the end of August, fighters of the Taliban movement have gained control of key border crossings with neighboring Iran, Tajikistan and, most recently, Turkmenistan. The Taliban, with which the U.S. struck a peace deal in March of last year, has downplayed the prospect of a civil war erupting, and regional powers often critical of the U....

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif visited his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow on Tuesday. He was on the second leg of a Eurasian tour, following a stop in Azerbaijan. The two men discussed Moscow’s role in ending the conflict that raged last year between South Caucasus rivals Azerbaijan and Armenia over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as a number of bilateral and international affairs, including the 2015 nuclear deal to which both nations are parties....

“Our delegation is putting in colossal effort and demonstrates more readiness towards them than the other side,” Peskov said, Reuters reported. “Agreeing such a document, the observance of all its parameters and their implementation could very quickly stop what is happening,” he added. Peskov also said that Ukraine “is in no rush” to make a peace deal and that the Russian delegation is ready to exert further efforts, per Bloomberg....

Two weeks after leaving the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty banning land-based weapons ranging from 310 to 3,420 miles, the Pentagon announced Monday it tested a cruise missile in California that would have been restricted under the agreement it has accused Russia of violating. In response, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov cited President Vladimir Putin as saying Tuesday “such tests only proved that from the very start, the Americans were determined to derail the INF Treaty and were making preparations for it....

Europe, which was already facing the prospect of gas shortages this winter, is now scrambling to mitigate the impact before the situation reaches a point where gas rationing is necessary. The European Union (EU) is striking deals with non-Russian suppliers and seeking to impose gas consumption quotas on member states. Italy signed an agreement with Algeria on July 18 to boost natural gas imports from the North African nation, and France recently signaled deeper energy cooperation with the United Arab Emirates....

Vladimir Medinsky, Russia’s chief negotiator in talks with Ukraine, told a meeting of an interdepartmental commission on historical education that Moscow now faces a great challenge with the West, according to Russian news agency RIA Novosti. At Thursday’s meeting, he compared the significance of what Russia calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine and the response from Kyiv’s allies to that of the Russian revolution or the breakup of the Soviet Union....

Russian agency Roskomnadzor said it halted access to Facebook because it had engaged in “discrimination” against Russian news media. The government claimed there were 26 cases of reported “discrimination” made against Russian media by the social media platform. The move against Facebook and Twitter follows other restrictions Russia has enacted against foreign news organizations. The government previously restricted access to the BBC and Deutsche Welle for allegedly spreading false information about the war in Ukraine....