Russian taekwondo player Alexei Denisenko guaranteed himself at least a silver medal at the 2016 Games by reaching the final of the Olympic tournament in the weight category up to 68 kilograms. In the semi-finals, he defeated the Belgian Jaouad Achad with a score of 6: 1. The final in the weight category will take place on the night of August 19 - after 4:15 Moscow time. In it, Denisenko will meet with the winner of the pair Ahmad Abughaush (Jordan) - Joel Gonzalez Bonilla (Spain).

Living at peace in wartime Donetsk and Luhansk Photo: Nigina Beroeva for Meduza The active phase of the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine ended a bit over a year ago, but the state of affairs in the region remains just as ambiguous. The “people's republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk retain their status as unrecognized sovereign states, while shots are still being fired at the front line.

Yury Ilchenko, a resident of Sevastopol accused of extremism, who escaped from house arrest to Ukraine, told Radio Liberty the details of the escape. According to him, he decided to escape on the night of June 12, when Russia Day is celebrated, because "many can abuse it and it will be easier to escape." He was transferred under house arrest from the pre-trial detention center ten days before, according to the 112 Ukraine TV channel.

"Krasnodar" defeated the Albanian club "Partizani" with a score of 4:0 in the first match of the playoff round of the Europa League. Brazilian Joazinho opened the scoring from the penalty spot, Fedor Smolov scored the second goal in the 27th minute. At the end of the first half, Artur Jedrzejczyk scored the third goal against the Albanian team. In the 73rd minute, the ball hit Partizani's goal with a rebound from Krasnika's defender after Ari's shot.

The Islamic State (an organization banned in the Russian Federation as a terrorist organization) claimed responsibility for the attack on a traffic police post in the Moscow region on August 17. The Amaq news agency, which is close to the Islamists, spread a report that the attackers were "ISIS fighters," according to SITE Intelligence Group, a terrorist monitoring company. Earlier, the Investigative Committee named two versions of the attack - possession of weapons and domestic conflict.

The Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is carrying out military exercises this week in the Pskov and Leningrad regions, where troops are simulating a NATO assault on one of the alliance's member states. The soldiers are reportedly practicing how they'll ask Western invaders to surrender. The news agency RIA Novosti says the troops are drilling with a recorded message in several languages.

The Moscow police began to search for the driver of the BMW X6 car, which drove through the pedestrian zone of the Muzeon park. The search for the driver began after a video appeared on Instagram on August 17, where you can see how the car drives along the Muzeon, including along the bike path. The video was posted by the Rich Russian Kids account . Muzeon said it was a montage . account The Rich Russian Kids is anonymous.

Moldovan athlete Sergei Tarnovsky, who competes in canoeing, was suspended from competing at the Olympics due to a positive doping test. He will not be able to compete in the canoe doubles at a distance of 1000 meters. Tarnovsky was supposed to participate in the swim with his brother. Tarnovsky has already won one medal at the Rio Olympics - bronze in the 1,000-meter single canoe. It is not yet clear whether he should return the medal - that is for the International Olympic Committee to decide.

The Gawker edition will close. This site founder Nick Denton announced on August 18. Gawker will stop working next week. The exact date of closing the site is not called. Other sites included in the Gawker Media holding will continue to work. Earlier media holding Univision made an offer to buy them for $135 million. On August 18, the deal must be approved by the court considering the bankruptcy of Gawker Media. Gawker is a tabloid that specializes in publishing exclusive celebrity content.

Russian athlete Yelena Isinbayeva became a member of the Athletes' Commission of the International Olympic Committee. In addition, were elected to this body of the IOC. the German fencer Britta Heidemann, the Hungarian swimmer Daniel Djurta and the South Korean table tennis player Yoo Seung-min 1365 votes were cast for the Russian woman. TASS The Athletes' Commission is an advisory body within the IOC that can make recommendations to the executive bodies.

In Samara, the FSB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs detained a native of Central Asia on suspicion of preparing a terrorist attack. This was reported to Interfax by a law enforcement source. During the search, the man was found, in particular, an AK-74 assault rifle, cartridges, five TNT bombs, instructions for making a bomb, as well as religious literature recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation.

Vladimir Nepomnyashchikh, a parliamentary candidate from the opposition United Civic Party of Belarus, says television operators deliberately concealed part of a slogan on his shirt during a broadcast of political speeches on August 16. Nepomnyashchikh wore a t-shirt with large red print reading “For Belarus without Lukashenko,” referring to Alexander Lukashenko, the country's authoritarian leader in power since 1994.

Scientists have accused the Olympic object of that it “helps” some athletes: WSJ Photo: Athit PorewongMetha / Reuters / Scanpix / Leta The Olympic pool in Rio is arranged in such a way that athletes floating along some paths get an advantage over the rest. This conclusion was reached by a group of scientists who analyzed the performances of swimmers in Rio. The company Myrtha Pools, which built the pool, rejects all accusations.

British brothers Alistair and Johnny Brownlee won gold and silver medals in triathlon at the Olympics. Alistair covered the distance in one hour 45 minutes and one second. His brother took six seconds more. The third was Henry Sheman from South Africa. Brothers from Russia also participated in the Olympic triathlon. Igor and Dmitry Polyansky finished 31st and 32nd respectively. Igor covered the distance in 1:49:11, and his brother in 1:49:26.

The chief editor of the agency "Between the lines" Natalya Vakhonina - about the case that was brought to her Photo: Egor Bychkova page on Facebook search in the apartment of Natalia Vakhonina On July 18, Natalia Vakhonina, the employees of the Investigative Committee, came to the apartment on the main editor of the Nizhny Tagil News Agency “between the lines”.