Int'l sports federations said that "they are ready to cooperate on the establishment of an independent drug-testing body under the control of the World Anti-Doping Agency," according to the AP. IOC President Thomas Bach "met Friday with Francesco Ricci Bitti, who heads the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations, to discuss issues of governance and anti-doping." The IOC also "proposes taking drug-testing out of the hands of the federations and setting up an independent body under WADA control before the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea." ASOIF said Ricci Bitti offered "full support" for the plan and the association will study how the federations can help fund the body (AP, 12/11).
RIO WAITS: XINHUA wrote city officials said that another $255M "is needed to complete the extension of Rio de Janeiro's metro line connecting tourist areas to the site of the 2016 Olympics." Rio's transport secretary said that "the city was waiting for a late payment this month" of about $120M from the federal budget and that then another $135M would be needed to finish the project (XINHUA, 12/12).
