Belarus Russia

Chess great Magnus Carlsen has urged his game's top sporting body not to readmit Russia and Belarus ahead of a key vote this weekend on whether to restore their membership.

UN nuclear watchdog head Rafael Grossi kicked off a visit Tuesday to "independently assess" conditions at Russia's Kursk nuclear plant following Ukraine's unprecedented cross-border offensive into the Russian region.

Athletes from Russia and Belarus will compete under a neutral banner, without team colours, but will not be permitted to take part in the opening or closing ceremonies.

China is staging army drills with Belarus this week at NATO's eastern border, in a sign of escalating tensions between Beijing and the US-led defence alliance.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday 10 civilians, including a politician and two priests, taken prisoner in Russia and Belarus had been freed in a deal mediated by the Vatican.

A Belarusian man who set fire to a railway substation in western Russia has been detained on suspicion of pro-Ukraine sabotage, Russian state news agencies reported Monday.

The International Olympic Committee added that there were currently only eight athletes from Russia and three from Belarus who had qualified as neutral athletes.

The Nobel Foundation said Saturday it was reversing its decision to invite ambassadors from Russia and Belarus to this year's Nobel award ceremony in Stockholm, after the move sparked anger.

The exiled leader of the opposition of Belarus, where some Wagner fighters moved after their short-lived mutiny in Russia, said Wednesday that no Belarusian would miss Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who is feared dead in a plane crash.

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said Thursday it was "unlikely" that track and field athletes from Russia and Belarus would be welcomed back to competition before next year's Paris Olympics

Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu will visit Russia and Belarus this week, his ministry said in an online statement on Monday. Ties between Beijing and Moscow have remained warm, with China refusing to speak out against Russia's Ukraine Invasion.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has met his closest ally, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, for the first time since the latter helped broker a deal to end a mutiny by Wagner fighters inside Russia last month.

The smell of freshly cut wood floated over a newly built Belarusian camp site that could end up housing Russia's Wagner fighters after their short-lived rebellion against the Russian army's leaders last month.

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is still in Russia, Belarus's president said Thursday, raising questions about the deal to end the mercenary leader's mutiny last month.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he persuaded Russian President Vladimir Putin not to "wipe out" mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, in response to what the Kremlin cast as a mutiny that pushed Russia towards civil war.

Chess great Magnus Carlsen has urged his game's top sporting body not to readmit Russia and Belarus ahead of a key vote this weekend on whether to restore their membership.

UN nuclear watchdog head Rafael Grossi kicked off a visit Tuesday to "independently assess" conditions at Russia's Kursk nuclear plant following Ukraine's unprecedented cross-border offensive into the Russian region.

Athletes from Russia and Belarus will compete under a neutral banner, without team colours, but will not be permitted to take part in the opening or closing ceremonies.

China is staging army drills with Belarus this week at NATO's eastern border, in a sign of escalating tensions between Beijing and the US-led defence alliance.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday 10 civilians, including a politician and two priests, taken prisoner in Russia and Belarus had been freed in a deal mediated by the Vatican.

A Belarusian man who set fire to a railway substation in western Russia has been detained on suspicion of pro-Ukraine sabotage, Russian state news agencies reported Monday.

The International Olympic Committee added that there were currently only eight athletes from Russia and three from Belarus who had qualified as neutral athletes.

The Nobel Foundation said Saturday it was reversing its decision to invite ambassadors from Russia and Belarus to this year's Nobel award ceremony in Stockholm, after the move sparked anger.

The exiled leader of the opposition of Belarus, where some Wagner fighters moved after their short-lived mutiny in Russia, said Wednesday that no Belarusian would miss Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who is feared dead in a plane crash.

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said Thursday it was "unlikely" that track and field athletes from Russia and Belarus would be welcomed back to competition before next year's Paris Olympics

Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu will visit Russia and Belarus this week, his ministry said in an online statement on Monday. Ties between Beijing and Moscow have remained warm, with China refusing to speak out against Russia's Ukraine Invasion.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has met his closest ally, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, for the first time since the latter helped broker a deal to end a mutiny by Wagner fighters inside Russia last month.

The smell of freshly cut wood floated over a newly built Belarusian camp site that could end up housing Russia's Wagner fighters after their short-lived rebellion against the Russian army's leaders last month.

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is still in Russia, Belarus's president said Thursday, raising questions about the deal to end the mercenary leader's mutiny last month.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he persuaded Russian President Vladimir Putin not to "wipe out" mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, in response to what the Kremlin cast as a mutiny that pushed Russia towards civil war.