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IOC president: Criticism of Russia’s anti-gay law will not detract from Sochi
SOCHI, Russia — International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach says heavy security and criticism of Russia’s anti-gay law will not detract from the Sochi Olympics.
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Finnish Olympic swimmer comes out ahead of Sochi games
Finnish Olympic swimmer Ari-Pekka Liukkonen has come out as gay, saying he wants to talk publicly about his sexual orientation close to the Sochi Olympic games to help raise awareness of Russia’s controversial anti-gay “propaganda” law.
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Activists target Sochi with social media, boycotts in protest of Russia anti-gay law
NEW YORK — Despite seven months of international outcry, Russia’s law restricting gay-rights activity remains in place. Yet the eclectic protest campaign has heartened activists in Russia and caught the attention of its targets — including organizers and sponsors of the Sochi Olympics that open on Feb. 7.
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Sochi organizers back-track on free speech rights of athletes
SOCHI, Russia — A day after the head of the Sochi organizing committee appeared to contradict International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach on the rights of Olympic athletes to freely express themselves at news conferences, organizers issued a back-pedaling statement Thursday “to clarify” their position.
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Mayor of Olympics host Sochi: We have no homosexuals in our city
The mayor of the Russian Black Sea resort city of Sochi, soon to play host to the Winter Olympics, says there are no gay people in his city.
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Russian lawmakers propose to expand ‘anti-gay’ law by removing the ‘gay’
MOSCOW – A coalition of Russian lawmakers, representing members from United Russia Party, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) and the Communist Party, on Friday submitted a proposal to amend the federal “anti-gay propaganda” law, expanding the measure to encompass sexual “propaganda” of any kind.
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Dutch brass band may play ‘YMCA’ at Sochi to show its support for gay rights
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The Dutch brass band that always performs at Olympic speed skating ovals is considering playing a popular gay song — “Y.M.C.A.” — at the Sochi Winter Olympics to show its support for gay rights.
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U.S. officials update travel warning, cite security steps for Sochi Games
WASHINGTON — Citing rising threats of violence at the Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, U.S. officials said Friday they are prepared to work with Russian security officials to help protect American athletes and the 10,000 American spectators expected to attend.
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Sochi still scrambling to sell tickets to Olympic games
LONDON — What if they held an Olympics and nobody came? The situation isn’t that bleak, of course, for the Sochi Games. Yet, with less than three weeks to go until the opening ceremony, hundreds of thousands of tickets remain unsold, raising the prospect of empty seats and a lack of atmosphere at Russia’s first […]
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Russian President Putin links gays to pedophiles in latest interviews
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered new assurances to gay athletes and fans attending the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics next month. Yet he defended Russia’s anti-gay law by equating gays with pedophiles and said Russia needs to “cleanse” itself of homosexuality if it wants to increase its birth rate.