- Leading climate activist released from Vietnam jail
- Ethiopians struggle with bitter pill of currency reform
- Sri Lanka votes in first poll since economic collapse
- Feminist author warns of abortion disaster if Trump wins US election
- US city of Flint still reeling from water crisis, 10 years on
- Arsenal's mean defence faces acid test to shut out Man City again
- Late surge lifts Thailand's Jeeno to LPGA Queen City lead
- DeChambeau says PGA's Ryder Cup decision 'just the start'
- Alcaraz defeated on Laver Cup debut
- Postecoglou embraces 'struggle' to make Spurs a success
- Nice hand 'ashamed' Saint-Etienne 8-0 Ligue 1 mauling
- Boeing CEO says ending strike 'a top priority'
- Stock markets mostly fall after Fed-fueled rally
- Harris slams Trump for hypocrisy on abortion as US starts voting
- Academy to host first overseas ceremony to honor young filmmakers
- No doctor necessary: US okays nasal spray flu vaccine for self-use
- Gurbaz, birthday boy Rashid lead Afghanistan to 177-run rout of South Africa
- Former delivery man Baldwin leads star names at PGA Championship
- Trump shooting: Secret Service admits complacency
- Can an ambitious Milei make Argentina an AI giant?
- Haiti, its suffering growing, in 'race against time': UN expert
- Ibrahim Aqil, the Hezbollah elite unit commander wanted by the US
- Chinese forward Cui signs NBA contract with Brooklyn Nets
- US Fed dissenter calls for 'measured' pace of rate cuts
- Guardiola tells players to lead change over workload as Kompany demands cap on games
- Norway limits wild salmon fishing as stocks hit new lows
- Top Hezbollah commander killed in Israeli strike on Beirut
- Rotterdam fatal knife attacker suspected of 'terrorist motive'
- First early votes cast in knife-edge US presidential election
- Top-ranked Swiatek out of Beijing due to 'personal matters'
- Hard-right Reform UK looks to the future after vote success
- Embiid agrees to NBA contract extension with 76ers
- Joshua aims to complete road to redemption in Dubois bout
- World champion Bagnaia sets pace with lap record at Misano
- Biden says 'working' to get people back to homes on Israel-Lebanon border
- Pope criticises Argentina's crackdown on protesters
- Court limits screenings of videos in France mass rape case
- Gurbaz century takes Afghanistan to 311-4 in 2nd ODI
- Central banks face 'difficult balancing act': IMF chief
- McLaren's Norris sets Singapore pace as struggling Verstappen 15th
- Guardiola tells players to lead change over workload fears
- Paris Olympics sports equipment moves to new homes
- 'Happy' Kinghorn relishing life at Toulouse
- 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
Russian, Belarusian athletes banned from Winter Paralympics
Russian and Belarusian athletes were on Thursday banned from the Beijing Winter Paralympics over the war in Ukraine, with organisers bowing to international pressure and threats of a boycott.
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) had just a day earlier said athletes from the two countries would be allowed to compete as "neutrals" in the Games, which start on Friday.
It said that was the "harshest punishment" the IPC could dish out under its rules.
But organisers reversed that decision less than 24 hours later, meaning 83 athletes from Russia and Belarus, which hosted troops for Moscow's attack, will now be packing their bags and heading home.
"In order to preserve the integrity of these Games and the safety of all participants, we have decided to refuse the athlete entries from RPC and NPC Belarus," the IPC said in a statement.
"To the para-athletes from the impacted countries, we are very sorry that you are affected by the decisions your governments took last week in breaching the Olympic Truce," IPC President Andrew Parsons told reporters.
"You are victims of your governments' actions."
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) earlier this week urged sporting federations across the world to exclude athletes from the two countries.
Multiple Paralympics committees around the world, teams and athletes had threatened not to compete if the Russian and Belarusian athletes were present, which was "jeopardising the viability" of the Games, organisers said.
"Ensuring the safety and security of athletes is of paramount importance to us and the situation in the athlete villages is escalating and has now become untenable," the IPC said in a statement.
- 'Miracle'-
Ukraine Paralympic Committee President Valeriy Sushkevych said his team -- who arrived in Beijing Wednesday -- had been overwhelmed with solidarity.
He said many team members had difficulties escaping bombings on their journey out of the country.
"This is a miracle that we managed to be here at the Paralympic Games," he told reporters in Beijing.
"We came with a primary objective. We are here to defend our country with the whole sport community," he said.
IPC President Parsons said he expects Belarus and Russia to take legal action against the ban.
"I hope and pray that we can get back to a situation when the talk and focus is fully on the power of sport to transform the lives of persons with disabilities, and the best of humanity," he added.
The previous decision to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete had drawn a swift and international backlash on Wednesday.
Germany's top Paralympic official had criticised the decision as lacking courage and had told AFP it was "a dark day for the Paralympic movement".
- Emotional rollercoaster -
Athletes from Ukraine arrived safely in Beijing as the UN said the number of refugees fleeing to neighbouring countries had topped a million.
Biathlon team members were preparing for competition -- hitting the slopes for skiing and shooting training in Zhangjiakou on Thursday.
The small Eastern European country has punched above its weight in previous Paralympic winter events, with frequent podium finishes in the biathlon and ski competitions.
The delegation took home 22 medals in 2018 -- including seven golds -- gaining the sixth spot on the world tally.
For some of the team, the emotional rollercoaster and disrupted focus will be a case of deja vu.
During Russia's hosting of the Winter Paralympics in 2014, Ukrainian athletes had to grapple with Moscow's takeover of the Crimea peninsula.
O.Lorenz--BTB