Section: KXAN (USA)
APNewsBreak: IAAF officials explored hush up of Russia bans
PARIS (AP) — Six years before the IAAF banned Russia, track and field’s governing body knew of doping so out of control it feared Russian athletes could die from abuse of blood-boosting drugs and transfusions, and officials considered collaborating with Russians to hide the full extent of the cheating before the 2012 London Olympics,...
New ICC courtroom opens for business with Kenya trial
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The International Criminal Court held the first public hearing in its new permanent headquarters Tuesday, with prosecutors urging judges not to throw out a crimes against humanity case against Kenya’s deputy president. The court’s new home — a series of six interconnected blocks hunkered down in the dunes...
India sentences crew of US-owned ship to 5 years in jail
NEW DELHI (AP) — A news report says an Indian court has sentenced the crew of an American-owned ship to five years in prison for illegally entering Indian waters while carrying weapons and ammunition. In its report late Monday, the Press Trust of India news agency, or PTI, said the 35-member crew includes British, Ukrainian and Estonian...
Russia’s ruble tanks on first day of trading after holiday
MOSCOW (AP) — The Russian ruble has tanked on the first day of trading after a ten-day holiday period as the price of oil continues to decline. The national currency dropped by nearly 2 percent half an hour into trading to 76.1 rubles on Monday at the Moscow stock exchange’s first currency trading session since Dec. 31. Oil prices, the...
Orthodox faithful mark Christmas with services, celebration
MOSCOW (AP) — For much of the Orthodox Christian world, Thursday is celebrated as Christmas Day. Believers in Russia, Ukraine, and parts of Eastern Europe and the Middle East flocked to churches for the holiday. Some Orthodox churches follow the liturgical calendar observed by the Roman catholic and Protestant churches and celebrate Christmas on...
Orthodox Christians celebrate Epiphany
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Wednesday is Epiphany, a major holiday in much of Orthodox Christianity celebrating the birth and baptism of Jesus. Religious services are held as well as Blessing of Water ceremonies at lakes, rivers and seafronts. But in Russia, Serbia, Ukraine and other Orthodox countries which observe a different religious calendar, it...
Navy leader says ‘nukes’ essential to US survival
WASHINGTON (AP) — In his blueprint for a stronger Navy, the sea service’s new top boss, Adm. John M. Richardson, is blunt about what he thinks matters most: nuclear punch. Battling terrorists is today’s problem, but in looking toward a farther horizon, Richardson wants a Navy built to counter unpredictable future threats from other...
Malaysia Airlines lifts baggage ban on Europe flights
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia Airlines said Wednesday it has lifted a ban on check-in baggage on flights to Paris and Amsterdam, after the move angered many passengers who slammed the airline on social media. The U-turn came less than 24 hours after the airline announced that passengers cannot check-in baggage for Tuesday and Wednesday...
New Navy leader: Nukes ‘foundational to our survival’
WASHINGTON (AP) — In his blueprint for a stronger Navy, the sea service’s new top boss, Adm. John M. Richardson, is blunt about what he thinks matters most: nuclear punch. Battling terrorists is today’s problem, but in looking toward a farther horizon, Richardson wants a Navy built to counter unpredictable future threats from other...
Abe says summit with Putin needed to resolve territorial row
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday that summit talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin must take place in order for the countries to forge a peace treaty. Japan and Russia never signed a peace treaty after World War II because of territorial disputes over islands north of the Japanese island of Hokkaido, which Japan...
