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Odd as it may sound, Olympic competition once included art, and medalists included musicians, painters, and poets. One was Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the 1912 Stockholm Games’ gold medalist in poetry and — by sheer coincidence, surely — also the modern games’ founder. “O sport,” the nobleman’s winning “Ode to Sport” waxed, “you are beauty,” and “audacity,” and the “pleasure of the gods.” A century on, the Olympics still embody beauty, but the audacity they now conjure is not what Coubertin had in mind, but a celebration of cheating and a saga of lost innocence — financially, athletically, and politically.

A Russian vice-consul shot and killed a robber who attacked him on Thursday afternoon in Rio de Janiero, according to Brazilian state run news agency Agencia Brasil. Media reports said the diplomat struggled with the robber during the attempted mugging, before managing to take the assailant's gun and shoot him. Russian state news agency TASS has published a report completely denying the shooting occurred, quoting Rio's Russian Consul General as saying the diplomat was not involved "in a shootout."

You "ARE" forgiven forever whether others forgive you or hold onto their guile "I" have forever set you free for I AM GOD and not man . So now walk in my forgiveness and take hold of this freedom and just fly for the Heavenlies "ARE REAL" and Zion is yours "Today" for you "ARE" seated with Me in Heavenly places even NOW ! Galatians 5:1 Walk by the Spirit 5 It was for this freedom that Christ set us free [completely liberating us]; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery [which...

Drivers in Rio de Janeiro were facing gridlock as the dedicated Olympic Lanes came into use - and brought cars across the city to a standstill. Over 100 miles of special traffic lanes set aside for the transportation of Olympic athletes and staff began to operate on Sunday. Motorists face fines and points on their licence if they stray into the lanes, which connect all the Olympic zones.

RIO DE JANEIRO — Worried about possible terrorist attacks at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil’s government is working closely with American law enforcement and intelligence services to identify threats and thwart potential disasters at the Games.

Shocking new pictures of the filthy waters in Rio have revealed yet more concerns for Olympic athletes in Brazil who have been told not to put their heads under water. Ganabara Bay will host the triathlon, sailing and some swimming events at the Games and last week a floating corpse and a severed arm were found floating in the water. A study has shown viral levels in the bay is up to 1.7 million times what would be considered worrisome in the United States or Europe.

An Olympic athlete and his accompanying cameraman have been robbed of their luggage at a Rio hotel during a carefully designed theft which started with them being vomited on. Chinese hurdler Shi Donpeng had just arrived at his hotel in Brazil ahead of the start of the Olympics on Friday and was exhausted after the long journey from China.

The Rio de Janeiro you see advertised in videos promoting the Olympics is the iconic one everyone knows: Ipanema, Sugarloaf Mountain, the statue of Christ the Redeemer. But that’s just a tiny slice of this sprawling metropolis of 12 million people, most of whom live miles from the beach. You can see the other Rio, their Rio, as you drive into town from the international airport, past the walls enclosing the freeway: a sea of red cinderblock shacks stacked precariously atop one another, with narrow roads snaking in between. One in seven Rio residents make their home in so-called favelas...

Supermodel Gisele Bundchen will be robbed during a scene in the Olympics opening ceremony in a brutally honest reflection on life in Rio de Janeiro, it was reported today. Details of the unexpected twist, which will be watched by an estimated 900 million viewers on Friday night, were revealed last night on social networking sites by spectators who watched a full dress rehearsal yesterday.

My love abounds in the riches of the fruit from My Tree. So come and partake of Me in Mercy and Grace. Bathe yourself in My humility and find Peace in all you do for I AM a Wellspring of knowledge and as you seek MY Face I will adorn you in My manifold Spirit so you to may walk in the fullness of My ways and not lack anymore. Philippians 4:19 19 And my God will liberally supply (fill until full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Brazilian firemen stole Zika-protective shirts from Australia's residence during an evacuation, when a laptop was also pinched and other computer equipment rifled through. Australian team boss Kitty Chiller says she crossed paths with the thieves at the height of Friday's fire drama at the Olympic athletes' village. At the time, Chiller's initial thought was the shirts may have been given to the firemen by Australian team members as thanks for helping them evacuate.

Saudi Arabia will send four women to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, doubling its female participation after two women competed for the first time at the 2012 London Games. Hosam al-Qurashi, executive director of the Saudi Olympic Committee, told The Associated Press on Sunday that two of the women will participate in track and field, one in judo and one in fencing. The track and field athletes are Sarah Attar, who competed in 2012, and Cariman Abu al-Jadail. Judoka Wujud Fahmi and fencer Lubna al-Omair are the other competitors. …

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil's former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and the former chief executive of investment bank Grupo BTG Pactual SA will stand trial for obstruction of justice, documents from a federal court in Brasilia showed on Friday. Lula was previously under investigation in various jurisdictions in a sprawling corruption probe focused on state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) but is now officially a defendant. The case dates to last November, when former Senator Delcidio do Amaral and Andre Esteves, the founder and former CEO of BTG Pactual, were arrested for allegedly trying to stop a...

Protests have continued to roil the lead-up to the 2016 Summer Olympics, with the opening ceremony just over a week away. On Wednesday night, government employees angry over delayed salary payments took to the streets in Angra dos Reis, a city near Rio de Janeiro, and confronted the procession carrying one of the Olympic torches. Chaotic scenes caught on amateur video show a crowd of young people appearing to steal the torch from the procession and then extinguish it. Local news reports said that the Brazilian military eventually disbanded the protests using tear gas and rubber bullets, and in return...

Organizers of the Rio Summer Olympics provide an average of 41 condoms and 17 packets of lube per athlete competing at the games. The 450,000 prophylactics distributed include 100,000 female condoms. The number does not include the rubbers handed out by national Olympic committees. Australia, for instance, issues to its team members super-strength condoms, which allegedly provide “near-complete anti-viral protection against Zika virus in laboratory studies.”

Olympic athletes competing in the waters off Rio’s shore dodge human feces, the invisible rotavirus, and dead bodies in pursuit of gold. This game ranks not as an official Olympic sport but as a necessity for athletes competing on the open waters during the August event in Rio.

The mother-in-law of Formula One racing executive Bernie Ecclestone was reportedly kidnapped in Brazil and the criminals are demanding a $36.5 million ransom. ADVERTISEMENT Reuters, citing Brazilian media, reported Monday that Aparecida Schunck, 67, who is the mother of Ecclestone’s wife Fabiana Flosi, was captured Friday night in the Sao Paulo neighborhood of Interlagos. According to Veja, the ransom demand is the highest in the country’s history. Brazilian authorities have yet to confirm the kidnapping. Ecclestone, 85, is one of the most powerful officials in Formula One. He’s estimated to be worth about $3.1 billion, according to Forbes magazine. He...

Brazil's federal police today arrested 10 people and smashed a network allied to ISIS that was preparing 'acts of terrorism' at next month's Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. President Michel Temer has called an emergency cabinet meeting and Justice Minister Alexandre de Moraes said the operation spanned nine states across Brazil, although the arrests were made in the southern states of Sao Paulo and Parana. A court in Parana said there were indications the group was planning to use weapons to launch attacks similar to the Paris atrocities in November last year. Earlier this month Mr Moraes said a jihadist...

Flame on. While the Olympic torch was being carried through the Brazilian city of Joinville on Thursday, a man attempted to put out the flame with a fire extinguisher. A runner ran through the streets with the torch when a spectator came out of nowhere and did his best to extinguish the flame. The man got one burst of the extinguisher off before he was swarmed by security. The attempt was, fortunately, a failure, but even in failure, a second attempt doesn't bode well for the remaining days of torch transit. We don't know the most recent attacker's motivations, but...

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