Un individuo de Luling se enfrenta a tres cargos de delito grave después de que una investigación de la Oficina del Jefe Estatal de Bomberos (State Fire Marshal’s Office, SFMO, por su nombre y siglas en inglés) sobre un incendio en un negocio local llevó al descubrimiento de contrabando.

September is considered the peak of hurricane activity, but it’s important to remember hurricane season runs through November.

Septiembre se considera la etapa cumbre de la actividad ciclónica, pero es importante recordar que la temporada de huracanes se extiende hasta noviembre.

Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov said that unmanned aerial vehicles attacked the territory of the Russian University of Special Forces named after V. V. Putin (RUS) in the city of Gudermes. The attack took place on the morning of Tuesday, October 29. Kadyrov did not specify the number of drones involved. According to the Chechen President, the roof of the empty building caught fire as a result of the attack. No casualties were reported, the fire was quickly extinguished. The activities of the university have not been suspended, all services are operating as usual, Kadyrov said.

A woman trapped in her flooded home in Utiel, Valencia, was rescued with her dog. The video of her salvation shows the professionalism of Spanish rescuers. At least 51 people were killed in Spain's autonomous community of Valencia due to heavy rains and floodwaters, the Single Operations Coordination Centre (Cecopi) said. Rescuers found the lifeless bodies of five people in the town of Torrent: a couple, two children and a baby. Four bodies were found in Paiport: two men, a woman and a child. Victims were also reported in Chiva, Cheste, Alfafar and Alcudia.

Russia's fibre optic controlled Knyaz Vandal (Prince Vandal) drone struck a column of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) in the Kursk region of Russia. The attack was captured on video. The recording shows the drone flying at high speed over an asphalt road. It slows down and descends slightly when approaching an intersection. Several Ukrainian vehicles with ammunition can be seen driving in its direction. Knyaz Vandal flies up to one of the vehicles and crashes into it to explode.  Fiber optic controlled UAVs are a revolutionary weapon. According to military analyst and co-founder of Vatfor information and analytical project, Sergey Poletayev, drones controlled via fibre optic appeared as part of the scientific and technological revolution. The invention of such drones can be compared to the advent of artillery.

The Russian forces struck the building of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine that housed the control center for unmanned aerial vehicles, the Russian Defence Ministry said. The ministry did not specify any details of the attack. In total, 44 group strikes were carried out during the week from October 26 to November 1. The Russian Armed Forces struck Ukraine's energy facilities, airfields and railways with high-precision weapons. The energy facilities that were targeted in the attack provided the military-industrial complex of Ukraine.

The Russian Army is conducting the most powerful offensive since the beginning of the military conflict in Ukraine, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi said in his Telegram channel following a meeting with the Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Republic Karel Řehka. "I informed my Czech colleagues about the situation on the front line, which remains difficult. Active military actions, which continue in certain areas, require constant replenishment of resources of Ukrainian units,” he wrote. Syrskyi also said that he considers the Czech Republic a loyal ally of Ukraine. According to him, the republic initiated, among other things, the creation of a coalition to develop the capabilities of Ukrainian military equipment.

A football player was killed when a flash of lightning struck him during a match between Juventud Bellavista and Familia Chocca in Peru. The incident occurred when the players were leaving the field due to bad weather. Thirty-nine-year-old defender Hugo de la Cruz Mesa died on the spot. Four other players were hospitalized, one of them remains in serious condition, Peruvian agency Andina said.

Five people were hurt when an unmanned aerial vehicle crashed into a multi-story apartment building in Belgorod. The drone crashed into a building on Kashtanovaya Street. A large fire started in the building as a result of the explosion. According to Mash Telegram channel, there was a family staying in the apartment at the moment when the drone struck. Relatives are unable to contact anyone from the family.

The Russian army is advancing from all sides near the settlemnt of Kurakhovo. "The pressure of the Russians on Kurakhovo has increased with new directions that threaten the logistics of the city. The Russian troops have deployed a huge number of resources in several areas of the front. They are actively storming the eastern part of Kurakhovo reaching into eastern outskirts of the city while trying to break through in the Ostrovsky area," Ukraine's DeepState website said. The Russian Armed Forces are trying to reach the Ilyinka-Berestki line in order to take control of the north of the city.

A new sensation in London’s restaurants! Not so long ago, a new dish appeared on restaurants’ menus across London. It is an unusual and yet absolutely fabulous soup entitled “Putin’s Ear.”  Yes, Putin, as in the President of the Russian Federation! According to the legend, President’s wife Ludmila Putina has personally informed a journalist of “The Times”  in a phone interview of the actual recipe. The dish has been titled “Putin’s Ear” mainly because of the phone static.  The soup has rather interesting ingredients. In order to prepare such dish one will need a pike perch, a ling, potatoes, carrots, eggs, tomatoes, orange zest, celery, onions and spices. Despite the use of orange zest that adds a little bit of bitterness, the soup still tastes like traditional Russian fish-soup “uha”.

New exhibition entitled “Art of Islam” begins today in the halls of the State's Hermitage Museum in London's Somerset House. 75 items from the Hermitage's Eastern Art Collection will be displayed. “Exhibition of Islamic art with a few pieces from Hermitage had taken place in London nearly 40 years ago. However, this art collection of the world’s famous Hermitage is taking place in London for the first time on such grand scale,” stated senior staff scientist of the Department of Eastern studies of Hermitage, Adel Adamova, reports RIA ‘Novosti”. Museum halls will showcase various pieces from different countries of the Islamic world; the earliest dating back to the Middle Ages. Visitors could witness the best examples of Muslim bronze work, Turkish and Iranian weapons, jewelry items, a series of Persian miniatures, chasubles of Russian priests made from Turkish and Persian fabrics, as well as velvet fabrics made in Iran in XVI century.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Dostoyevsky of 20th century, dies of heart failureAlexander Solzhenitsyn died in Moscow at age 89. President Dmitry Medvedev presented his condolences to writer’s wife and sons. Stepan Solzhenitsyn told The Associated Press his father died late Sunday of heart failure, but declined further comment. Solzhenitsyn's unflinching accounts of torment and survival in the Soviet Union's labor camps riveted his countrymen, whose secret history he exposed. They earned him 20 years of bitter exile, but international renown. And they inspired millions, perhaps, with the knowledge that one person's courage and integrity could, in the end, defeat the totalitarian machinery of an empire.

Billions of citizens from more than 130 countries are expected to turn off their lights on Saturday for the Earth Hour 2011, the event organizer told Australia's media on Thursday. The Earth Hour event, organized by environment group World Wildlife Fund (WWF), was first started in Sydney of Australia in 2007 with 2.2 million Australians taking part to turn off their lights in aid of the environment. By 2009, up to 1 billion citizens across the world had taken part. According to Earth Hour spokesman Winston Su, this year, 133 countries had signed up for the event, with 13 of them taking part for the first time, Xinhua informs. "Earth Hour is a chance for people and communities across the globe to join together with the common purpose of a sustainable future for our planet," said Andy Ridley, cofounder and executive director of Earth Hour. "This year Earth Hour asks people to commit to the event, big or small, for the coming year, taking Earth Hour beyond the hour."

Florence researchers are about to excavate the bones of the woman they believe served as the model for Mona Lisa. Their hope is that facial reconstruction will prove once and for all if Lisa Gherardini was the subject of the Leonarda da Vinci portrait that has mesmerized viewers for centuries. The painting has long also been known as La Gioconda, linking it to Gherardini's husband, Francesco del Giocondo, who commissioned da Vinci to paint his wife. Digging will begin later this month at a convent in central Florence where Gherardini was buried in 1542, Newser reports. The team will be led by Silvano Vinceti, an art historian who last year announced that he had found the remains of the Renaissance genius Caravaggio, although his claim was disputed by other scholars.

Elvira Nabiullina approved as Chairperson of Russian Bank The economist, Elvira Sakiphzadovna Nabiullina, has been approved by the Russian State Duma as Chairperson of the Russian Bank and will take office on the 24th of June 2013. She was born in Ufa, Bashkortostan, on the 29th of October 1963, of Tatar descent.  After graduating from the Lomonosov State University in Moscow, she gained a PhD in Economics, in 1990. Stations of her career were the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, the Russian Ministry for Economic Development and Trade, and Sberbank. In 2008, Elvira Nabiullina was appointed as Minister for Economic Development and Trade. When Vladimir Putin was re-elected for his third term as President of the Russian Federation, in 2012, she joined his advisory committee as presidential aide.

Source: REX The US intends to return 28 documents signed by Peter the Great and Joseph Stalin in the 18th and 20th centuries to Russia.  The documents were stolen during the 1990s from Russian archives, but were later found in the United States in the course of the investigation that lasted for about six years. The US Embassy in Moscow plans to deliver the historical documents to the Russian government on March 3 in a special ceremony, despite the confrontation between the two countries.

AP Photo The Empty tomb of Jesus Christ at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem may face destruction because of frail foundation. Such a conclusion was drawn by experts of the National Technical University of Athens. They assert that repair work could save the Tomb. Six million euros are required though. According to them, renovation will take nine months. The case is that there are a lot of passageways inside the foundation, these are tunnels and canals. They have been found in course of restoration. Thus, the foundation stones will have to be covered with cement. And water disposal systems should be installed.

Russia, when signing documents for the sale of Alaska to the United States, was realizing her objective benefit, deputy director of the Historical and Documentary Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Doctor of Historical Sciences Artyom Rudnitsky said.According to him, the deal between Russia and the United States on selling Alaska was fair and aligning with international norms of that time.Rudnitsky noted during the Russian-American international conference "Dialogue of Fort Ross - Meeting in Russia" that the sale of Alaska by Russia was due to several reasons, including the fact that the colony was unprofitable. There were objective difficulties in protecting it in the event of an attack, he added. At the same time, Russia expected to make $5 million from the sale, but managed to obtain more $7 million in the end, which was considered a great achievement for that historical period. Moreover, the Alaska deal became an expression of relations between Russia and the United States. Strengthening relations with the US was important for the Russian Empire, which was in international isolation after the lost Crimean War."Do you think Russia would concede part of its territory to a country that was aggressive and hostile agains it? They treated the Americans well back then and believed that this would in no way infringe upon Russia's interests," concluded Rudnitsky. Also read: If US wants Crimea returned to Ukraine, Russi wants Alaska backPravda.Ru Read article in Russian

Source: Mil.ru To mark the Day of Airborne Forces, which Russia is celebrating on August 2, the Russian Defence Ministry published unique documents on its official website about the establishment of Airborne Forces.The documents date back to the Great Patriotic War. One of them is titled the "Main Directorate of Airborne Troops of the Red Army." The document had been drafted literally a few days before the beginning of the war in 1941. Another document determines the combat composition of airborne units that started fighting against fascist invaders in September of 1941. The publication also includes the combat characteristics of the commander of the 49th Guards Rifle Division, Colonel Margelov, who subsequently became the legendary commander of the Airborne Forces.The main symbol of Russia's Airborne Forces - the blue beret - was approved in 1969 by Marshal of the Soviet Union Andrei Grechko.

US pilots told a story about Soviet pilots of MiG aircraft that took off to intercept enemy aircraft at the height of the Cold War. Soviet pilots were making jokes during the operations, Theaviationgeekclub website wrote with reference to a collection of stories dedicated to the Douglas F3D Skyknight air missions. "The first time we were intercepted, they reported that we were taking pictures of them, as we were carrying 35 mm hand-held cameras. Normally, it would be on the pilot's side where the interceptors were, and the ECMO would lean across and snap some pictures of them. And the Russians would report, "They're taking pictures of us. What should we do?” One of the Russian controllers had a sense of humour and said "Smile”. Who would have thought the Russians had any sense of humour at all?" Skyknight pilot Chuck Houseman said. The book also said that US pilots, who were collecting reconnaissance data near the Soviet borders in the Far East, thought of Soviet pilots as friendly individuals compared to pilots from other communist countries. According to the author of the book and aviation expert Joe Copalman, the midair encounters had always been quiet as the United States had not violated state borders and performed its tasks within international space.

Admiral Vyacheslav Popov, the former commander of the Northern Fleet of the Russian Navy, said that the Kursk submarine (nuclear submarine K-141 Kursk) sank in 2000 as a result of the collision with a NATO submarine. The name of the Western submarine is known almost for sure, Popov said in an interview with RIA Novosti. The ex-commander-in-chief of the Northern Fleet suggested that the submarine that collided with the Kursk was tracking the sub. The Western submarine could not ensure the required level of safety under the conditions of the sea and other circumstances, so it came too close to the Kursk. According to the admiral, the sub was later found off the coast of Norway. Popov added that the manoeuvre of the Russian nuclear submarine could also lead to the "loss of contact." According to the admiral, he can reveal the name of the NATO submarine with almost 100 percent certainty, but said that he would not do it for a number of reasons.

Former US President Bill Clinton offered Russian President Boris Yeltsin large investments in Russia in the 1990s in exchange for NATO's eastward expansion and Moscow's approval of that expansion. A number of declassified documents testifying to USA's plans to buy off Russia became available on the website of the US Presidential Library. According to the documents, Yeltsin responded to Clinton's suggestion by saying that such a measure was like a bribe in exchange for Russia's consent to NATO's expansion to the detriment of her own interests.

Ukrainian figure skaters Artem Darensky and Sofia Golichenko, who perform in pair skating, chose to speak Russian at the Beijing Olympics, despite the ban from Ukraine's Ministry of Sports, RIA Novosti reports. The athletes stated that it was up to them to decide in which language to communicate at the Olympics. "We can speak Ukrainian, Russian and English. It's just that it's really hard for us to speak Ukrainian, and in order for people to understand us more, we speak Russian,” said Darensky.

Alexei Zheleznyakov, who is part of the team of Russian figure skating coach Eteri Tutberidze, responded to recent reports about a suspicious doping test that one of the skaters of the Russian national team had at the Beijing Olympics. Zheleznyakov said that he did not believe that anyone from the Russian team could violate anti-doping rules. "The guys took samples before the Games, most likely when they arrived and after their performances. We were staying at the hotel without getting out, but now they suddenly found something, and it happened right after the gold medal,” Alexei Zheleznyakov, who choreographs the Russian figure skaters in Beijing wrote on his Facebook account.

Kamila Valieva's doping test revealed the presence of three substances to improve the heart function, the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) said. According to The New York Times, these drugs can be aimed at increasing endurance, if used in combination. According to USADA's chief Travis Tygart, Kamila Valieva's doping test revealed the presence of trimetazidine, L-carnitine and hypoxen. Of these three drugs, it is only trimetazidine that is included in the list of drugs prohibited for athletes. "It's a trifecta of substances — two of which are allowed, and one that is not allowed. The benefits of such a combination "seem to be aimed at increasing endurance, reducing fatigue and promoting greater efficiency in using oxygen," Travis Tygart said.

Kamila Valieva, Russian figure skating phenomenon, failed her performance and was ranked fourth in the free skating program at the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing. When Kamila finished her performance, Tutberidze asked her why she stopped fighting during the performance. "Well, why did you let go of everything? Well, explain, you let go somewhere after the axel,” said the coach to her 15-year-old athlete.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has announced its stance  on the case of Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva. The text is available on the website of the agency. WADA believes that the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which allowed 15-year-old Valiyeva to participate in the individual tournament at the Beijing Olympics, was made contrary to the Code of the agency. This will have consequences and may lead to the recurrence of similar cases in the future, WADA said.  The WADA statement stressed out that CAS had rewritten the Code of the agency, when it decided to allow Valieva to participate in the individual tournament. 

Roman Abramovich, a Russian billionaire entrepreneur, bought Turkey's Goztepe football club (Göztepe S. K.), D-Smar Spor reported via Twitter. Abramovich, the owner of London's Chelsea and the Turkish side have agreed on the details of the deal. Göztepe's acquisition by Abramovich is to be officially announced on April 8. Reports about Roman Abramovich's interest in another football club first appeared on March 23. After 31 matches, Göztepe was ranked 18th in the Turkish Super League. The team faced the risk of leaving the elite division.

Andrei Rublev is one of the Russian tennis players banned from the Wimbledon tournament. He defeated world number one Novak Djokovic in the Serbia Open 2022 final in Belgrade today. Rublev, who is only eighth in the world rankings, beat his opponent 6-2, 6-7 (4-7), 6-0.

Russian entrepreneur Roman Abramovich has closed the deal to sell London's Chelsea Football Club, RIA Novosti reports with reference to the British government. Chelsea, an English Premier League (EPL) club, owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, has been sold to American businessman Todd Boeli's consortium. It was earlier reported that the deal was evaluated at 5.33 billion dollars.

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has launched a disciplinary investigation into the behavior of Turkish fans at the match of the second qualifying round of the Champions League between Fenerbahce (Turkey) and Dynamo (Kyiv). The football match, which took place on Wednesday in Istanbul, ended with a score of 2:1 in extra time in favor of the Ukrainian team. After the Ukrainian team scored the first goal, Turkish fans started chanting the name of Russian President Vladimir Putin. "In accordance with Article 31(4) of the Disciplinary Regulations, the UEFA Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector will conduct an investigation into the alleged misconduct of Fenerbahce fans during the Champions League second qualifying round second leg against Dynamo Kyiv," the statement said.

The prosecutor on Thursday requested 9.5 years in prison for American basketball player Brittney Griner, accused of smuggling hash oil, RIA Novosti correspondent reports from the Khimki courtroom. “By partial addition, I finally ask you to appoint nine years and six months in prison with a sentence to be served in a general regime colony with a fine of one million rubles,” the state prosecutor said in his speech. Griner pleaded guilty in court, but stressed that she had no intent to commit a crime, and she "collected the bag in a hurry." During the consideration of the case, it became known that a doctor from the state of Arizona prescribed marijuana to her instead of traditional painkillers due to the side effects of the latter.

The International Boxing Association (IBA) has canceled the suspension of Russian and Belarusian athletes, a message posted on the official website of the organization says. The board of directors of the association voted for the admission of boxers from Russia and Belarus to international competitions. The decisions comes into force immediately, the IBA said. "The IBA strongly believes that politics shouldn't have any influence on sports. Hence, all athletes should be given equal conditions. Respecting its own autonomy as the international sports federation, the IBA shall remain politically neutral and independent,” the organization said in a statement.

Formula 1 (F1) has been striving to become more environmentally friendly in recent years while still remaining relevant beyond the race track. The series has included more technology that is seen in street cars, such as small-displacement engines with turbos and hybridization. However, F1's CEO, Stefano Domenicali, has said in an interview with an Italian paper that the series will "never go electric." F1 sees synthetic fuels, also known as e-fuels, as the future of the series. These lab-created fuels are already in limited production but come with an extreme cost. However, this is not a problem for motorsport. F1's goal is to have e-fuels powering the grid by 2026 and then working towards finding a way to use them in passenger cars as combustion bans start to take effect in nations in the 2030s, just as F1 hopes to become carbon neutral.

According to Al Arabiya, frequent use of wireless headphones may lead to oncology. Prolonged use of Bluetooth headphones increases the risk of developing tumors in the body and may also contribute to miscarriages in women. In this regard, experts recommend limiting the use of wireless headphones while exercising, watching TV, and in other situations. However, it is worth noting that specialists also emphasized that smartphones and X-ray radiation can cause greater harm to the human body.

Former Real Madrid defender Marcelo, who now plays for Brazil's Fluminense, broke Argentinos Juniors defender's leg in a Copa Libertadores match in Buenos Aires. The defender, Luciano Sanchez, had his knee dislocated. The player will recover in about a year, Spanish sports website AS said. In the second half of the game, Marcelo, circling Sanchez, accidentally stepped on his leg when Sanchez threw it forward. Marcelo burst into tears because of the shocking incident and was sent off.

Jon Jones, US champion of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) responded to Russian mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Islam Makhachev, who criticised promotion's ratings. "Heavy is the head that wears the crown. Criticism comes with territory. I want to encourage the young fighters to beat some of my records instead of using their lips. Now thats gangsta,” Jones wrote in a message posted on social media. Jones is the current UFC heavyweight champion. He tops the ranking of the promotion's best fighters regardless of weight categories (P4P). During his career, the fighter won 27 victories and suffered one loss. Another fight with his participation was declared invalid.

President of Turkey's Ankaragucu football club, Faruk Koca, punched referee Halil Umut Meler in the face after the match of the 15th round of the Super League, Sabah Spor reports. Faruk Koca punched the referee in the face knocking him down on the lawn. Several other men ran up to the referee the next moment and kicked him in the head. The incident occurred after the final whistle. According to Koca, he wanted to spit the referee in the face, but decided to hit him not too hard. The referee was hospitalised.

The head of the All-Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation, Irina Viner, announced that her athletes would no longer compete at international tournaments in a neutral status, TASS reports. According to Viner, until recently Russian athletes could only count on one place in victory at the Games. "What's the point of that? There's no flag, no anthem, no communication, no fans, but there's special uniforms and special music. It would be a shame if we go there. This would be very humiliating for Russia. Russian rhythmic gymnasts will not go there for certain. We will never again perform without the Russian flag and anthem," said Viner.

The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs put Russian fencers Sergei and Violetta Bida on wanted list after the athletes left for the United States. At the same time, it remains unknown which article of the Russian Criminal Code was used to put the two world medalists in fencing on wanted list. Tokyo Olympics vice-champion Sergei Bida and his wife, world medalist Violetta Bida (nee Khrapina) left Russia without permission. The athletes were active officers of the Russian Guard, but they voluntarily left Russia in 2023 and moved to the United States (to California). Sergei was a member of Dynamo Moscow and had the rank of a warrant officer of the Russian Guard; Violetta Bida was an active service member of the Ministry of Defence at CSKA Moscow.

14-year-old figure skater Maria Simonova was rushed to hospital after she fell on ice hard during a tournament in Moscow. Male skater dropped Simonova while holding her on support. The girl fell hard on ice and hit her head. After the fall, she was able to get up and finish the programme. She did not come to the traditional kiss-and-cry room after the performance and asked for help.

Too late Group E, Dinamo Moskva 6 games, six victories, 18 points, 9 goals scored, 3 against, passes through to the next round of the Europa League together with PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands). In Group H, Krasnodar had the first victory, away at Everton in the UK (city of Liverpool) but too late. Qualified for the next round: Borussia Mönchengladbach, Villarreal, Club Brugge, Torino, Besiktas, Tottenham, Red Bull Salzburg, Celtic, Inter, Dnipro, Feyenoord, Sevilla, Everton, Wolfsburg, Napoli, Young Boys, Dinamo Kiev, Steaua Bucuresti, Fiorentina, Guingamp, Legia Warsaw, Trabzonspor Played Won Drawn Lost Goals For Against Goal Difference Points

With the Russian Championship frozen out until March, the main focus this week is on the English Premiership, where Chelsea FC recovered a buffer of two points against main rival Manchester City. In Spain, Cristiano Ronaldo's Real Madrid leads as the striker waits to hear whether he has won his second successive Ballon d'Or and in Serie A in Italy has become a two-horse race. I present this year the latest updates in four competitions: the National Championships, the Champions and Europa Leagues and the Qualifiers for UEFA 2016 in France, as well as all the matches played for our readers to follow the evolution of the competitions. UEFA National Championships 2014-2015

Cristiano Ronaldo has been chosen the world's best soccer player for the third time, just before his thirtieth birthday. The record-breaking Portuguese forward, currently at Real Madrid, saw his superb performance in 2014 crowned at the highest level: Cristiano Ronaldo is the best soccer player on the Planet. Cristiano Ronaldo won his third title of best soccer player for the year, after the Ballon d'Or for Best European Player in 2008, and simultaneously, the FIFA Best Player of the Year in the same year, and the amalgamated title, FIFA Ballon d'Or, in 2013 and 2014, after a marvelous season in which he scored 60 goals in 61 appearances and helped Real Madrid to the FIFA World Club Championship, the Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup and the Spanish Copa del Rey. Signaling his victory with the words "I would like to thank all of those who voted for me, my president, my coach and Real Madrid. It has been an unforgettable year. To win this trophy at the end of it is something incredibly unique, " Ronaldo obtained 37.66% of the vote, Messi had 15.76% and Neuer 15.72%.

Messi gets a brace at Barça, along with Neymar. At Real, Bale and Benzema hit the net. Chelsea reaches the League Cup Final in England as January draws to a close and one of the European Leagues frozen out of winter starts to revive. Next week the Bundesliga is back. I present this year the latest updates in four competitions: the National Championships, the Champions and Europa Leagues and the Qualifiers for UEFA 2016 in France, as well as all the matches played for our readers to follow the evolution of the competitions. UEFA National Championships 2014-2015

What is wrong with Real Madrid? Every two to three years, or so, the team collapses. They don't run on the ball, they certainly don't run off the ball, they look miserable, they seem to have problems in the boot room. When you are paid that sort of salary, you eat the grass every single match. Not Real Madrid. I present this year the latest updates in four competitions: the National Championships, the Champions and Europa Leagues and the Qualifiers for UEFA 2016 in France, as well as all the matches played for our readers to follow the evolution of the competitions. UEFA National Championships 2014-2015

Russian federal TV channels may refuse to broadcast the 2018 Winter Olympics from South Korean Pyeongchang should the Russian delegation be suspended, the Vedomosti newspaper wrote. For the time being, Russia's three major TV channels - Channel One, Rossiya-1 (part of VGTRK) and Match TV (part of Gazprom Media) plan to broadcast Winter Olympics from South Korea. Yet, if the Russian national team is excluded from the Games, Channel One and Rossiya-1 will most likely refuse to broadcast the Olympics. Naturally, Russian people watch Olympic Games to support Russian athletes in the first place. If no Russian athletes take part in the Games, the audience of the major sports event of this winter will decease sharply, representatives of the above-mentioned channels say. It makes no sense for major channels to pay millions of dollars for the rights to broadcast the Games, if they make no money from advertising because of low ratings.

An anonymous assistant to President Putin has had a few meetings with winter sports coaches, during which he "in a mild form" recommended to refuse from participating in the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang. According to All Sports agency, an official from the Kremlin administration, whose name remains anonymous, specified that it would have to be the athletes themselves to make such a decision. The talks of the of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) commission with representatives of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) took place in Moscow this week. The meetings were devoted to the structure of the Russian delegation during the Games in South Korea. The next day it became known that a number of prominent Russian athletes with an unblemished reputation, including biathlete Anton Shipulin, skier Sergei Ustyugov and speed skater Victor An, as well as the leaders of hockey and speed skating teams were not invited to the competitions, even though those athletes were not listed either in Richard McLaren or Denis Oswald reports. On Tuesday, the press service of the Russian Ice Skating Federation said that the IOC did not allow Russian figure skaters Ksenia Stolbova and Ivan Bukin to participate in the 2018 Winter Games without explaining the reasons. Representatives for the Russian Ice Skating Federation expressed their indignation about the absurd decision and started to defend the honour and dignity of athletes in all possible ways.The Russian Olympic Committee prepares to give a hard estimate to IOC's actions and request appropriate explanations.Following those events, Russian politicians assumed that the IOC was pushing Russia to boycott the Winter Games 2018 and exit the Olympic movement."If no explanations follow, perhaps Russian athletes will have to revise their decision regarding the participation in the Olympics in Pyeongchang. They wanted to make us boycott the Games before, but as soon as they realised that we were not going to do it, they decided to suspend clean athletes with perfect reputations. This looks like political blackmail and creates conditions for unfair victories at the Olympics," chairman of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture Mikhail Degtyarev told Sport Express newspaper. On December 5, the IOC Executive Committee decided that only clean Russian athletes would be able to perform at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang under the Olympic flag. Two special committees of the IOC have reduced the list of 500 applicants to 389 names so far. The final structure of the Russian delegation will be announced on January 28. On December 6, President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia would not boycott the Games. Pravda.Ru