Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

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Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, and Russian ice skaters Lina Fyodorova, left, and Maksim Miroshkin, second left, light an Olympic torch during a ceremony to mark the start of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic torch relay in Moscow on October 6, 2013. (Reuters/Sergei Karpukhin)

Opinion: Russia seeks a higher profile in Sochi

by Amir Taheri | Jan 31, 2014 | Opinion

As Russia prepares to host the 22nd Winter Olympics next week, the adage about not “mixing sports with politics” is making the rounds in the media. In reality, however, sport—as indeed other areas of human activity—is linked to and affected by politics. And the Sochi...

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In this photo provided by Olympictorch2014.com, a torch bearer carries an Olympic torch during the Olympic torch relay at a stadium in Yelets, some 380 kilometers (237.5 miles) south of Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2014. The 65,000-kilometer (40,389 mile) Sochi torch relay, which started on Oct. 7, is the longest in Olympic history. The torch has traveled to the North Pole on a Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker and has even been flown into space. (AP Photo/Olympictorch2014.com)

Russian security forces battle militants before Olympics

by Asharq Al-Awsat | Jan 15, 2014 | World

Moscow, Reuters—Three Russian servicemen and four gunmen were killed in a shoot-out in southern Russia on Wednesday during a sweep for militants ahead of the Sochi Winter Olympics. Russia’s National Anti-terrorism Committee (NAC) said the dead gunmen included a...

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Russian police check a driver’s documents in Sochi on December 30, 2013. (Reuters/Maxim Shemetov)

Russia tightens security in Sochi before Olympics

by Asharq Al-Awsat | Jan 7, 2014 | World

Moscow, Reuters—Russian forces went on combat alert in Sochi and tightened restrictions on access to the Black Sea resort on Tuesday as part of measures by President Vladimir Putin to ensure security at next month’s Winter Olympics. All vehicles have been banned...

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Russian President Vladimir Putin (R), Sberbank President German Gref (C) and Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kosak visit an Olympic venue near Sochi January 3, 2014. REUTERS/Alexei Nikolskiy/RIA Novosti/Kremlin (RUSSIA – Tags: POLITICS SPORT OLYMPICS BUSINESS) ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

Putin eases curb on demonstrations in Sochi

by Asharq Al-Awsat | Jan 4, 2014 | World

Moscow, Reuters—President Vladimir Putin has eased restrictions on demonstrations in the Black Sea Winter Olympics venue of Sochi, his latest bid to burnish Russia’s image ahead of the Games. Campaign groups had complained that a ban on rallies imposed as part...

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This screen image taken from NASA shows the Sochi Olympic torch being held during a spacewalk on Saturday, November 9, 2013. (AP Photo/NASA)

Olympics: Cosmonauts take Sochi Olympic torch on spacewalk

by Asharq Al-Awsat | Nov 9, 2013 | World

Baikonur, Kazakhstan, Reuters—A pair of Russian cosmonauts took an Olympic torch into open space for the first time on Saturday as part of the torch relay of the Sochi 2014 Winter Games. Gripping the unlit silver-and-red torch in the gloved fist of his spacesuit, Oleg...