INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Russian and Belarusian athletes are banned from competing in the Beijing Winter Paralympics, the International Paralympic Committee
announced Thursday, citing the war in Ukraine."In order to preserve the integrity of these Games and the safety of all participants, we have
decided to refuse the athlete entries from RPC and NPC Belarus," the IPC said in a statement.The ban was a reversal of a decision the
previous day to allow the athletes to compete in the Games, which start on Friday.The statement said multiple Paralympics Committees, teams,
and athletes had threatened not to compete if the Russian and Belarusian athletes were allowed, "jeopardizing the viability" of the
Games."Ensuring the safety and security of athletes is of paramount importance to us and the situation in the athlete villages is escalating
and has now become untenable," the statement said.The International Olympic Committee (IOC) had this week urged sporting federations across
the world to exclude athletes from the two countries.International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons had initially justified
Thursday's decision to allow the Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete by saying it was the "harshest possible punishment we can do
