- Guardiola tells players to lead change over workload fears
- Paris Olympics sports equipment moves to new homes
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- Norris sets Singapore pace as Verstappen only 15th
- 8 dead in Israeli strike, source says Hezbollah commander killed
- Germany to bid to host women's Euro 2029
- Portugal brings deadly forest fires under control
- Postecoglou defends Solanke after slow start to Spurs career
- US nuclear plant Three Mile Island to reopen to power Microsoft
- Arteta urges Arsenal to take next step in Man City showdown
- Stock markets fall after Fed-fuelled rally
- Top Hezbollah commander 'killed' in Israel strike
- Poland charges Russian over attack on Navalny ally: prosecutors
- Man City have rest 'advantage' in Arsenal showdown: Guardiola
- Maresca has 'no doubt' in Jackson as Chelsea's number nine
- EU chief announces 35 bn euro loan plan for Ukraine before winter
- From TikTok to Hollywood, the irresistible rise of Italy's Khaby Lame
- Verstappen punished for swearing in Singapore press conference
- Sri Lanka lead by 202 in first New Zealand Test
- Brook 'not too fussed' by England's batting in heavy Australia loss
- India's Ashwin 'happy' to embrace pressure
- A modern 'Trojan Horse': two days of mayhem in Lebanon
- Third of Burundi mpox cases in children under five: UN
- Man Utd appoint Foster + Partners to develop Old Trafford 'masterplan'
- Israel-Hezbollah exchanges intensify on Lebanon border
- French mayor sorry for 'no one died' remark over mass rape trial
- Mohamed Al-Fayed, outsider shunned by British high society
- Lawyers say 'monster' late Harrods owner abused dozens of women
- India in box seat after Bumrah takes four against Bangladesh
- Taiwan retains death penalty but limits use to 'exceptional' cases
- Ferrari's Leclerc sets early pace in Singapore ahead of Norris
- 10 years into Huthi rule, some Yemenis count the cost
- France poised to finally get new govt
- Kompany, Alonso call for action on player workload amid strike talks
- Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson doubtful for Bournemouth clash
- Bumrah takes four as India bowl out Bangladesh for 149
- Sri Lanka 134-1 to take upper hand in first New Zealand Test
- Bayern's Kompany calls for game cap for players amid strike talks
- Christie's expands Hong Kong footprint in hope of art market 'pickup'
- Sultry screen legend Sophia Loren turns 90
- Cambodian opposition figure in court on incitement charge
- Bumrah takes three wickets to have Bangladesh in trouble at 112-8
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- China to 'gradually resume' seafood imports from Japan after Fukushima ban
- India minister blames dam release for flooding
- O'Rourke strikes early for Kiwis as Sri Lanka trail by three
- Deep takes two as Bangladesh totter in reply to India's 376
- Israel pounds Lebanon's Hezbollah after device blasts
- Revolution or mirage? Controversy surrounds new Alzheimer's drugs
Davos cold shoulders Russians over Ukraine war
The World Economic Forum said Wednesday it was freezing all relations with Russian entities, and would not allow anyone on the sanctions list to take part in the annual high-powered meeting in Davos.
"Following its condemnation of Russia's ongoing attack on Ukraine, the forum is complying with the evolving international sanctions and following the rapidly-developing situation," the WEF said in a statement sent to AFP.
"Therefore the forum freezes all its relations with Russian entities, and will not engage with any sanctioned individual or institution in any of our activities, inclusive the annual meeting" in Davos, it added.
The announcement came as the international outcry mounts over Russia's invasion, which in two weeks has sent nearly 2.2 million people fleeing into neighbouring countries.
The West has responded with punishing sanctions, with the United States banning imports of Russian oil, one of its biggest economic weapons against Moscow.
The WEF usually hosts its annual gathering of the global political and business elite in the luxury Swiss resort of Davos in January, but the meeting has been postponed until May 22-26 this year due to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.
- Caviar days are over -
Top Russian politicians, businessmen and oligarchs are commonly seen at the plush event.
But now, "the champagne and caviar days in Davos are over. Or at least the caviar," as Politico put it.
Among those who have been slapped with Western sanctions over the invasion is President Vladimir Putin himself, who has participated in several Davos meets.
Politico pointed out that following Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula in 2014, Putin was still invited to join the following year, but opted not to come.
WEF founder Klaus Schwab had said he hoped the event could "contribute with some bridge building".
When Putin gave a video address to the meeting during the virtual event held in the pandemic year of 2021, at a time when Moscow's relations with the West were deteriorating, Schwab stressed in his introduction that it was "essential" to hear from him.
"Even and especially in times characterised by differences, disputes and protests, constructive and honest dialogue to address our common challenges is better than isolation and polarisation," the WEF founder said.
Putin told the 2021 gathering of a last-minute agreement to prolong the New Start treaty with the United States on reducing nuclear arsenals as "a step in the right direction".
But just days into his Ukraine invasion Putin ordered his country's nuclear forces to be put on high alert -- warned in last year's speech that "differences are leading to a downward spiral".
He cautioned that "the inability and unwillingness to find substantive solutions to problems like this in the 20th century led to the WWII catastrophe."
"Of course, such a heated global conflict is impossible in principle," he said.
"This is what I am pinning my hopes on, because this would be the end of humanity."
K.Brown--BTB