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From VOA Learning English, this is In The News. |
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Millions of sports lovers |
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are thinking about just one thing right now -- |
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the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. |
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Close to 2,900 men and women |
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are set to compete in the 2014 Winter Games. |
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The opening ceremonies were held Friday night. |
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The games continue through Sunday, February 23. |
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The Olympics are bringing a lot of attention to Sochi, |
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a city on the Black Sea. |
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Sochi is a popular area for vacation travelers. |
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The area is known for its mild winters, |
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with warm to hot weather in the summer. |
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At least $50 billion is being spent on the 2014 Winter Games, |
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making it the costliest Olympics in history. |
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Seven billion dollars was spent on |
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the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, Canada. |
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Olympic officials chose Sochi to host the 2014 games |
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almost seven years ago. |
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At the time, Russian President Vladimir Putin said |
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the games would cost about $13 billion. |
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Yet the real cost is four times his estimate. |
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So where did all the money go? |
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Many Russians say people involved in the project |
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have taken some of it. |
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One research group found that 38 percent of Russians |
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it spoke with said the Olympics |
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increased the likelihood of corruption. |
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Other observers say the high cost |
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is partly the result of security measures. |
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Brian Jenkins is a terrorism expert from the RAND Corporation. |
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"There are anywhere between |
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70,000 and 100,000 policemen and military troops |
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deployed around the city. |
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In addition, we hear reports that Russian authorities |
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are going door to door in Sochi looking for suspects." |
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The main threat comes from separatist and Islamist groups |
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from the North Caucasus, especially from Chechnya and Dagestan. |
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One group claimed responsibility |
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for two suicide bombings in Volgograd last December. |
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The attacks killed more than 30 people. |
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The city is only about 600 kilometers away from Sochi. |
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Bruce Hoffman is a terrorism expert |
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from Georgetown University in Washington, DC. |
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He says the increased security |
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makes Sochi a difficult target for terrorists. |
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He says they probably know |
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they cannot get close to those attending the games. |
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"....But they can, and I believe their intention is to, |
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make life difficult for the Russians |
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and to create some sort of incident |
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that takes away from the enjoyment |
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and the sporting spectacular that is the Winter Olympics." |
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The last time Olympians from around the world |
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competed on Russian soil was in 1980. |
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That was a year after Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan. |
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Sixty countries boycotted the Moscow Summer Games. |
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Thomas de Waal, a British journalist, |
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says President Putin has a lot invested in the Sochi Olympics. |
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"He is a man who, as we know, |
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has made his whole brand about being this man |
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who has put Russia back on the map. |
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He has made Russia strong again, respected again, a place of prestige." |
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As the games began, |
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protesters were criticizing Russia's treatment of homosexuals. |
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Critics of a Russian law recently demonstrated in 20 cities around the world. |
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They said the law bars nearly all public discussion of homosexuality. |
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President Barack Obama is not sending any top officials to the Sochi Olympics. |
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Instead, the US delegation includes tennis great Billie Jean King |
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and two other openly gay athletes. |
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And that's In the News, from VOA Learning English. |
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I'm Steve Ember. |