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Wrestler who discarded medal expelled from Games

(CNN) — A Swedish wrestler who discarded his bronze medal in a protest during the presentation ceremony has been stripped of the award and disqualified from the tournament in Beijing.

The International Olympic Committee said it was also officially disqualifying Ara Abrahamian, 35, from his event, Greco-Roman wrestling.

Abrahamian was beaten in the 84-kilogram class by eventual gold medal winner Andrea Minguzzi of Italy. He complained that blatant errors in judging caused him to lose the match and said he felt that he deserved the gold.

The Swede shouted at the referee before confronting the judges. During Thursday’s presentation ceremony, he took off his medal and left it in the center of the competition mat before walking off.

The IOC said Abrahamian violated two rules of the Olympic charter, one that bans any sort of demonstrations and another that demands respect for all Olympic athletes.

The awards ceremony is a highly symbolic ritual, acknowledged as such by all athletes and other participants, the IOC said.

Any disruption by any athlete, in particular a medalist, is in itself an insult to the other athletes and to the Olympic Movement. It is also contrary to the spirit of fair play.

Abrahamian never expressed regret or offered an apology, the IOC said. The international weightlifting federation was asked to consider further sanctions against him.

His medal was the third stripped at the Beijing Games.

On Friday, North Korean shooter Kim Jong Su had his silver and bronze medals taken away after failing a doping test. Also expelled for doping violations have been Spanish cyclist Maria Isabel Moreno and Vietnamese gymnast Thi Ngan Thuong Do.

Abrahamian’s case is not the first of its kind.

A weightlifter at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics was stripped of his bronze medal after rejecting it during the medal ceremony.

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Scolari delighted as Chelsea crush Portsmouth

LONDON, England (AP) — Chelsea began Premier League life under Luiz Felipe Scolari by thoroughly outclassing visiting Portsmouth 4-0 on Sunday.

The Blues, who last season finished runners-up to Manchester United in England and in the Champions League, easily beat the 2008 FA Cup winners at Stamford Bridge with goals by Joe Cole, Nicolas Anelka, Frank Lampard and debutant Deco.

It was an impressive performance against a side many observers have tipped to challenge for fifth place and possibly another trophy this season, and Chelsea exhibited far more flair than under Scolari’s predecessor as manager, Avram Grant.

Grant took Chelsea to within two points of United in the Premier League and just a shootout short of the Champions League title — but Chelsea’s biggest opening win since 1999 suggested that Scolari could be the man to take it one step further.

That was more than I expected, said the former Brazil and Portugal coach, who was in typically animated form on the Stamford Bridge touchline. Today they played very well. It’s important, but more important is that the fans of Chelsea saw a beautiful game.

Portsmouth’s erratic passing wasted much of the little possession the visitors did have, while Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe struggled to link up in attack, but Chelsea exploited the weaknesses ruthlessly in front of an uncharacteristically loud crowd of 41,468.

Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp said his decision to play two strikers away from home had contributed to the loss.

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Russia: Troop withdrawal to begin in 24 hours

TBILISI, Georgia (CNN) — Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has told his French counterpart that he will start pulling back forces from Georgia on Monday, according to the Russian presidential press service.

He spoke to French President Nicolas Sarkozy — who brokered a cease-fire between Russia and Georgia — over the phone on Sunday, the press service said.

Medvedev said the troops would begin withdrawing to withdraw to the buffer zone and into the breakaway province of South Ossetia, the press service said. The pullback is called for under a cease-fire agreement with Georgia.

Sarkozy, also currently head of the European Union, led negotiations on the initial cease-fire deal between Russia and Georgia.

Sarkozy and the U.S. had begun to criticize Russia for remaining in Georgia despite signing the cease-fire deal Saturday. Watch more on the cease-fire

It is designed to end the conflict which began late last week when Georgia launched a military incursion into South Ossetia to rout separatist rebels.

Russia — which supports the separatists, many of whom claim Russian citizenship — has peacekeeping responsibilities for the region and responded by sending tanks into the province for what it said was peace enforcement. From there the violence spread into Georgia and Abkhazia.

Both sides have accused each other of violating the cease-fire, Georgia most recently claiming that Russian troops had destroyed a key railway bridge and started massive fires in the scenic Borjomi Gorge. Watch the destruction done to the bridge

A senior Russian military official denied the allegations, saying any allegations it was still attacking Georgia were a hoax.

Our work is devoted to peacekeeping problems, said Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn, deputy chief of staff of Russian Armed Forces.

Sarkozy had warned Russia’s leader of serious consequences for Moscow’s relations with the European Union if it did not comply with the cease-fire, The Associated Press reported.

Sarkozy’s office said he had told Medvedev during the phone conversation that there must be a withdrawal, without delay, of all the Russian military forces that entered Georgia since Aug. 7.

Meanwhile, U.S. President George W. Bush warned Saturday that Russia had put its aspirations at risk.

Russia needs to honor the agreement and withdraw its forces and of course end military operations, he said from his ranch near Crawford, Texas.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived in Tiblisi Sunday where she will meet with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili to discuss the situation.

Under the cease-fire, about 1,500 Russian peacekeepers are allowed to remain and can do patrols a short distance outside the zone of conflict, a reference to South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

They are not permitted to patrol in Gori and other Georgian cities and cannot hamper aid distribution or control ports, highways or railroads, officials said. Watch Bush on why Georgia matters

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Georgia accuses Russia of cutting rail line, starting fires

TBILISI, Georgia (CNN) — Georgia accused the Russian army of destroying a key railway bridge Saturday and starting massive fires in the scenic Borjomi Gorge, in violation of a new cease-fire agreement between the two countries.

A senior Russian military official denied the allegation.

Georgia’s Interior Ministry also said Saturday that Russian-backed militia members have seized control of 13 Georgian villages and a power plant in the region.

The claim could not be immediately confirmed by CNN.

The ministry told CNN that the villages and the plant — all previously controlled by Georgia — fall within the borders of the separatist territory of Abkhazia. Officials at the Foreign Ministry initially suspected that the move was a Russian attempt to expand Abkhazia’s border with Georgia but later backed off that statement, saying the border remained intact.

Fighting that began last week has died down. However, Russian forces remained within 25 miles (40 kilometers) of Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi, on Saturday and were on the western front around the breakaway province of Abkhazia, according to CNN’s Frederik Pleitgen.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday that the agreement calls for the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from its neighbor’s sovereign territory, but CNN correspondents reported significant Russian troop movements Saturday.

When asked about those reports, Rice responded Saturday, The Russians perhaps are already not honoring their word.

However, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said Saturday that the cease-fire seems to be holding. There don’t seem to be any aggressive Russian actions occurring, he said.

A senior Russian military official said the bridges were the objects we tackled during last week’s fighting with Georgia. He said the allegations of Russia still attacking Georgia are a hoax.

Our work is devoted to peacekeeping problems, said Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn, deputy chief of staff of Russian Armed Forces.

A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman said troops will not completely withdraw from Georgian territory until they have finished cleaning up ammunition, weapons and booby traps left behind by Georgian forces. Watch Rice demand Russia’s withdrawal

Russian soldiers are completing security operations, spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said Saturday.

The Georgia government expressed outrage over destruction of the bridge and the forest fires. It was not immediately known how much acreage the blazes covered, but the rubble and twisted metal from the Metekhi-Grakali bridge could be seen in video footage. Watch the destruction done to the bridge

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Russian soldiers mined and exploded the bridge in the Kaspi District in east-central Georgia.

The bridge provided a major route between Tbilisi and Georgian port of Poti.

This subversive terrorist act resulted in the severing of railway links between the east and west of Georgia and connections with Georgia’s seaports, the ministry said in a statement.

Moreover, the bridge used to provide a route for refugees from the Russian-occupied territories into safe places. Russia is pursuing deliberate policy aimed at undermining Georgia’s statehood, including through bringing about humanitarian catastrophe.

The gorge, a scenic canyon whose springs produce the country’s popular bottled mineral water, is in central Georgia’s Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park, one of Europe’s largest.

Russian military helicopters started bombing the bordering territories of the city of Borjomi and settlement of Tsemi using incendiary munitions, the ministry said on its Web site.

The ministry said Georgia asked Turkey for help in fighting the fires but that Russian air patrols kept the firefighters from reaching the park.

CNN’s Michael Ware, stationed outside Gori, said there were no outward signs in the devastated Georgian city that the Russians were leaving. Armored vehicles remained in place, he added.

The Russians have set up checkpoints at strategic places, CNN’s Frederik Pleitgen reported, and these have made it difficult for aid organizations such as UNICEF, which has been trying to organize convoys to deliver aid.

Without mentioning any acts of Russian violence, President Bush warned Saturday, Russia has put its aspirations at risk.

Russia needs to honor the agreement and withdraw its forces and of course end military operations, he said from his ranch near Crawford, Texas, with Rice at his side.

Gordon Johndroe, U.S. National Security Council spokesman, said Bush conferred with Canada’s prime minister and Latvia’s president Saturday on the situation in Georgia.

Earlier Saturday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed the cease-fire plan designed to end the military conflict with Georgia, his office said.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili signed the agreement Friday. Watch more on the cease-fire

The conflict began late last week, when Georgia launched a military incursion into South Ossetia to rout separatist rebels.

Russia — which supports the separatists, many of whom claim Russian citizenship — has peacekeeping responsibilities for the region and responded by sending tanks into the province for what it said was peace enforcement. From there the violence spread into Georgia and Abkhazia.

Under the cease-fire, about 1,500 Russian peacekeepers are allowed to remain and can do patrols a short distance outside the zone of conflict, a reference to South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

They are not permitted to patrol in Gori and other Georgian cities and cannot hamper aid distribution or control ports, highways or railroads, officials said. Watch Bush on why Georgia matters

found here.

Phelps wins historic eighth gold medal

BEIJING, China (AP) — Cheering from the pool deck, Michael Phelps won his record eighth gold medal of the Beijing Games on Sunday to become the grandest of Olympic champions.

Jason Lezak held on to the lead Phelps gave him, anchoring the United States to a world record in the 400-meter medley relay against an Australian team that did its best to spoil history.

But Phelps, with a big hand from three teammates, would not be denied. He eclipsed Mark Spitz’s seven-gold performance at the 1972 Munich Games, an iconic performance that was surpassed by a swimmer fitting of this generation: a 23-year-old from Baltimore who loves hip-hop music and texting with his buddies.

Even though the Americans have never lost the medley relay at the Olympics, the latest gold was hardly a breeze. When Phelps dove into the water for the butterfly — the third of four legs — the Americans were third behind Japan and Australia.

But Phelps, swimming the same distance and stroke that he used to win his seventh gold a day earlier, powered back to the front on his return lap, passing off to Lezak with the Americans in front.

found here.