GENEVA (AP) — Russian track and field athletes could be banned from next year’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro after a devastatingly critical report accused the country’s government of complicity in widespread doping and cover-ups.
The World Anti-Doping Agency commission set up to investigate doping in Russia said even the country’s intelligence service, the FSB, was involved, spying on Moscow’s anti-doping lab, including during last year’s Olympics in Sochi.
The commission chaired by Dick Pound recommended that WADA immediately declare the Russian athletics federation “non-compliant” with the global anti-doping code, and that the IAAF suspend the federation from competition.
AMMAN, Jordan (AP) – This week a Jordanian police officer opened fire at a regional police training center in the Jordanian capital, killing two Americans, two Jordanians and a South African before being shot dead, the Jordanian government spokesman said.
A U.S. official, speaking on conditions of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media, said at one point that the death toll had apparently risen to eight, but Jordanian government spokesman Mohammed Momani disputed that figure. He said authorities are investigating whether the attacker’s motive was personal or political.
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted they had not given up on the pursuit of Middle East peace, even as the prospect of an elusive agreement between Israelis and Palestinians appears further out of reach.
Obama and Netanyahu’s meeting at the White House marked the first time the two leaders have talked face to face in more than a year. Their relationship has long been marred by tension, with the most recent being the U.S.-backed nuclear deal with Iran. Ahead of Netanyahu’s arrival in Washington, U.S. officials made it clear that the White House does not expect peace to be achieved before Obama leaves office in January 2017.