Olympic Notes: Russian President Putin Targets Dagestan Insurgents As Olympics Loom

Ahead of the 2014 Sochi Olympics, Russia "is taking saliva samples from religiously conservative Muslim women, according to locals in the North Caucasus, gathering DNA so authorities can identify the body parts if any become suicide bombers." The move "coincides with a drive by President Vladimir Putin to crack down on an Islamist insurgency in Dagestan, a province in the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains east of the Winter Games sites in Sochi" (REUTERS, 10/31). ... The squash world "might still be recovering from the blow of another Olympic disappointment, but all the signs are that they will pick themselves up and try for a fourth time to join sport's greatest event." Professional Squash Association CEO Alex Gough said, "We've got to all sit around the table again and work out what's best for the sport" (BBC, 10/31).