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Russia will remain banned from track and field events at this year’s Rio de Janeiro Olympics following claims the country ran a state-sponsored doping program.

The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) and 68 Russian athletes attempted to overturn the suspension, implemented by the IAAF.

However, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has ruled the suspension can stand.

A handful of Russian athletes could still compete as neutrals at the Rio Games, which start on August 5.

“It’s sad but rules are rules,” said Olympic 100m and 200m champion Usain Bolt, who will be chasing more gold medals in Rio.

Usain Bolt said it was important to send a strong message to the dopers.

Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva – one of the 68 to appeal to CAS – said the ruling was “a blatant political order”.

The 2012 gold medalist, 34, told the Tass news agency: “Thank you all for this funeral for athletics.”

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) said it was “pleased CAS has supported its position”, adding that the judgement had “created a level playing field for athletes”.Russia banned from Rio Olympics 2016

IAAF president Lord Coe added: “This is not a day for triumphant statements. I didn’t come into this sport to stop athletes from competing.

“Beyond Rio, the IAAF taskforce will continue to work with Russia to establish a clean safe environment for its athletes so that its federation and team can return to international recognition and competition.”

Separately, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is considering calls to ban all Russian competitors across all sports from the Rio Games following a second report into state-sponsored doping.

Some Russian athletes could compete in Rio as neutrals if they meet a number of criteria, including being repeatedly tested outside their homeland.

At least two – 800m runner and doping whistleblower Yuliya Stepanova and US-based long jumper Darya Klishina – have gone down that path.

Now the CAS ruling has cleared the way for more to follow.

CAS said the ROC could still nominate athletes to compete as neutrals. However, there appears to be little time for athletes to comply with the criteria.

Russia was suspended from track and field events by the IAAF in November 2015 following the publication of an independent World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) report that showed a culture of widespread, state-sponsored doping.

Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko apologized for Russia’s failure to catch the cheats but stopped short of admitting the scandal had been state-sponsored.

However, another WADA-commissioned report delivered earlier this week – the McLaren report – contained more damaging allegations and suggested senior figures in Russia’s sports ministry were complicit in an organized cover-up.

The report implicated the majority of Olympic sports in the cover-up and claimed that Russian secret service agents were involved in swapping positive urine samples for clean ones.

Following July 18 publication of the McLaren report, the IOC faced calls to ban all Russian competitors from the 2016 Olympics and will hold an second emergency meeting on July 24 to decide its course of action.

The Russian authorities have already suggested that they will look at ways to continue legal action.

Following the ruling, sports minister Vitaly Mutko said CAS had set “a certain precedent” by punishing a collective group for doping offences by individuals.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “The principle of collective responsibility cannot be acceptable. The news is not very good.”

Brazil has welcomed the Olympic flame for the start of a torch relay that will culminate with the opening of the Olympic Games in Rio in August.

The flame was flown inside a small lantern on a special flight from the Swiss city of Geneva to Brasilia.

Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff lit the Olympic torch which will be carried around Brazil by 12,000 runners.

It could be one of Dilma Rousseff’s last public acts ahead of a possible impeachment trial.

The Senate is expected to vote next week on whether proceedings against the president should go ahead.Olympic torch Brazil 2016

If a simple majority votes in favor, Dilma Rousseff will be suspended from office for up to 180 days and Vice-President Michel Temer will take over.

Dilma Rousseff is accused of manipulating government accounts ahead of her re-election in 2014.

The Olympic torch will pass through more than 300 towns and cities from the Amazon to Brazil’s southern border, arriving at the Maracana Stadium in Rio on August 5.

Among the first torchbearers will be a Syrian refugee who now lives in Brazil.

The first torchbearer was Fabiana Claudino, who led Brazil to Olympic gold medals in women’s volleyball in the 2008 and 2012 games, and is team captain this time.

Brazilian mathematician Artur Avila Cordeiro de Melo ran the second leg.

Brazilian researchers have discovered a drug-resistant bacterium in the sea waters where sailing and windsurfing events will be held during the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

The “super-bacteria” is usually found in hospital waste and produces an enzyme, KPC, resistant to antibiotics.

Researchers found the bacteria in samples taken from Flamengo beach.

Nearly 70% of sewage in Rio – a city of some 10 million people – is spilled raw into the waters of Guanabara Bay.

The bacterium was found in samples taken from several locations along the Carioca river.

One of them was at the point where the river flows into the bay on Flamengo beach.Superbug Flamengo beach

Residents have been told to take extra care. Flamengo beach is frequently declared unfit for swimming, but many people disregard the official warnings.

The superbug can cause urinary, gastrointestinal and pulmonary infections.

“The problem is that in case of infection it is possible that treatment involves hospitalization,” said Ana Paula D’Alincourt Carvalho Assef, the study coordinator at Rio’s renowned Oswaldo Cruz Institute.

“Since the super-bacteria is resistant to the most modern medications, doctors need to rely on drugs that are rarely used because they are toxic to the organism,” she told the AP news agency.

In its Olympic bid, Rio promised to reduce pollution in Guanabara Bay by 80%.

In June Rio Mayor Eduardo Silva admitted the target would not be met.

The authorities say they understand athletes’ concerns but insist that water pollution will not pose a major health risk during the Olympics, which will held in August 2016.