IOC, Paralympics join Russian doping case

BONN, Germany (AP) — The International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee want to have a say on Russia’s doping ban.

With Russia facing a four-year ban on its name and anthem at major events including the Olympics and Paralympics, the IPC said Friday that both bodies filed a formal “notice of intervention” in the Court of Arbitration for Sport case which will decide the matter.

The IPC says it just wants to make sure the punishment is clear-cut.

“The only purpose of this intervention is limited to the interest of the IOC and the IPC that the pronounced sanctions are clear, leave no room for any interpretation and can be applied without any further procedures,” the IPC said in a website statement.

The World Anti-Doping Agency has accused Russia of handing over doctored computer data from the Moscow anti-doping laboratory to conceal past cover-ups. WADA also says fake evidence was planted to discredit its star witness, former lab director Grigory Rodchenkov.

The case at CAS is technically between WADA and the Russian anti-doping agency, but third parties are allowed to have a degree of involvement if they would be affected by the sanctions. The Russian Olympic Committee and Russian Paralympic Committee both said they’d filed to seek that status Friday.

If CAS upholds the sanctions, then Russian athletes would face extra vetting using the lab database to indicate whether they ever benefited from cover-ups. That could mean more legal disputes in the run-up to the Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo this year.

Protesters in face masks march against Belgrade’s smog

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Hundreds of people have rallied in Serbia’s capital to protest the heavy pollution that has gripped Belgrade in recent days.

Many participants in Friday’s protest wore face masks as they gathered outside City Hall and marched through downtown.

Activists behind the event said the government should take steps to address smog in Belgrade, such as improving public transportation and planting trees.

“A 21st century state cannot look at the sky and wait for the wind to blow to solve pollution,” said Radomir Lazovic from the Do Not Drown Belgrade group. “People are getting sick and dying.”

High concentrations of air pollutants also have been recorded in other major Balkan cities in the last week.

The capital of Bosnia, Sarajevo, traditionally has the worst winter smog because it is located in a deep valley and surrounded by high mountains.

On Friday, Sarajevo authorities promised to hand out free protective masks to residents most of risk for health problems from dirty air.

Serbia’s government said Friday it has formed a team to tackle pollution in a “systematic way.”