Russia on Thursday launched a counter-terror operation after five bodies riddled with bullets were found in a southern region bordering the Winter Olympics host Sochi, less than a month before the start of the games.
Successive-day bombings on a railway station and trolleybus in Russia's heartland expose the challenge President Vladimir Putin faces in ensuring a safe Olympics on the edge of the violence-plagued North Caucasus.
The last of the 26 foreign Greenpeace activists who were detained after an Arctic protest flew out of Russia on Sunday, the group announced, finally ending a saga that had caused global concern.
Eyeing a massive boost to tourism and prestige, Brazil hoped it had won the jackpot in earning the right to host the next World Cup and summer Olympics.
Three astronauts returned to Earth Monday, after 66 days aboard the International Space Station, bringing back the Olympic torch back to the planet after a historic space walk.
Three new crew members blast off Thursday for the International Space Station (ISS) on a Russian rocket, taking with them the precious cargo of an Olympic torch for the 2014 Winter Games in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.