Russian sports minister Mikhail Degtyaryov says the country’s skiers and snowboarders have won a court ruling to get the chance to apply to compete as neutral athletes for qualification events to the Winter Olympics.

In the city of Khabarovsk in Russia's Far East.

Many thousands marched across Khabarovsk to protest the arrest of the region's governor on murder charges, continuing a wave of protests that has lasted for two weeks. Sergei Furgal has been in a Moscow jail since his arrest on July 9, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has named an acting successor. Protesters in Khabarovsk see the charges against Furgal as unsubstantiated and demand that he stand trial at home. His victory was a humiliating setback to the main Kremlin party, United Russia, which also has lost its control over the regional legislature. Degtyaryov has refrained from facing the protesters and left the city on Saturday for an inspection trip across the region.