Winter Paralympic Games bar Russian and Belarusian athletes

The reversal from allowing athletes to compete as “neutral” came after threats of boycotts by other countries. [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [View in your browser]( [Top of The World]( --------------------------------------------------------------- What The World is following Winter Paralympic Games bar Russian and Belarusian athletes [International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons, right, and spokesman Craig Spence listen to a question during a press conference at the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing, March 3, 2022.] Credit: Dita Alangkara/AP China The Winter Paralympic Games are set to begin on Friday in Beijing — but [without Russian or Belarusian athletes](, over their governments’ roles in the invasion of Ukraine. The ban comes a day after the International Paralympic Committee had initially decided to allow them to compete as [“neutral athletes”]( without displaying colors, flags or anthems representing Russia. The reversal came after athletes and teams from other countries threatened to pull out and boycott the Games. Spain Authorities in Spain say that hundreds of people from countries in sub-Saharan Africa have tried to climb over the fences that separate the Spanish city of Melilla in North Africa from Morocco. It comes a day after [about 2,500 people]( attempted to do the same, with nearly 500 of them being able to cross over. Melilla and Ceuta are Spanish territories and have the European Union’s only land borders with Africa. But Morocco’s claims over the two cities have been a [flashpoint in diplomatic relations]( between Rabat and Madrid. Ukraine The United Nations says that [1 million refugees]( have fled Ukraine in just one week, since the Russian invasion of the country began. The number amounts to just over 2% of the country's total population of 44 million. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees said that around [half of them are in Poland](. The other top locations are Hungary, Moldova and Slovakia, along with various other European countries. The UN General Assembly also approved a nonbinding resolution condemning Russia for its invasion, demanding a withdrawal of its military forces. It passed overwhelmingly by a 141-5 vote, with 35 abstentions. --------------------------------------------------------------- From The World [There's a double-standard when it comes to media coverage on refugees, analyst says]( [A family arrives at the border crossing in Medyka, Poland, after fleeing from the Ukraine, March 2, 2022.]( Credit: Visar Kryeziu/AP While several European countries have welcomed Ukrainian refugees, the reception and treatment of refugees trying to reach Europe from the Middle East and Africa is quite different. [H.A. Hellyer](, a scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, says implicit bias creates this double standard. --------------------------------------------------------------- Double take Many Ukrainian scientists have had to make tough decisions since the invasion of their country by the Russian military. They've had to choose "whether to dig in or flee to other European nations." Now, an ExoMars astrobiology mission [sponsored jointly by Russia and the European Space Agency]( to launch a Mars rover may be delayed by at least two years because of international sanctions against Moscow. [Screenshot of tweet by Jadson C. Santos]( [Credit: Twitter]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [In case you missed it from The World]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Don't forget to subscribe to The World's Latest Edition podcast using your favorite podcast player: [RadioPublic](, [Apple Podcasts](, [Stitcher](, [Soundcloud](, [RSS]( [The World logo]( [The World on Facebook]( [The World's Twitter account]( [Donate]( | [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [Edit your subscription]( | [Unsubscribe]( | [View in your browser]( Top of the World is written weekday mornings by the team at [The World](. [The World]( is produced by [PRX]( and [GBH](.