The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) General Assembly voted on Saturday to reinstate the full membership rights of the National Paralympic Committees of Belarus and Russia.
The decision, taken at the 2025 IPC General Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, means NPC (National Paralympic Committee) Belarus and NPC Russia now regain their full rights and privileges of IPC membership, having been partially suspended at the 2023 assembly for breaches of their constitutional membership obligations.
The IPC General Assembly, comprising National Paralympic Committees, International Federations, and International Organizations of Sport for the Disabled, first voted against a motion to fully suspend NPC Russia, with 111 votes against, 55 for, and 11 abstentions. They subsequently voted against a motion to partially suspend NPC Russia, with 91 votes against, 77 for, and eight abstentions.
For NPC Belarus, the assembly voted against motions to fully suspend (119-48 with nine abstentions) and partially suspend (103-63 with 10 abstentions) the NPC. For a motion to be passed, a majority of 50 percent + 1 of all votes cast was required.
The IPC stated it will work with the two members to implement the practical arrangements for their reinstatement as soon as reasonably possible.
Int'l Paralympic Committee lifts Russia, Belarus partial suspensions
Int'l Paralympic Committee lifts Russia, Belarus partial suspensions
Tokyo stocks rose Friday, with the benchmark Nikkei stock index ending at a fresh record high, buoyed by optimism over a settlement in the Middle East conflict.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended up 1,654.93 points, or 2.68 percent, from Thursday at 63,339.07.
The broader Topix index, meanwhile, finished 38.65 points, or 1.00 percent, higher at 3,892.46.
"There was some optimistic trade around the latest U.S.-Iran talks, but this optimism seems to be based on the fact that things aren't getting drastically worse in the region rather than the situation improving significantly," Timothy Pope, a market analyst for China Global Television Network (CGTN), recapped the day's developments.
"This optimism was most strongly on display, I think, in Tokyo today, where the Nikkei rose 2.7 percent with hopes for some relief on oil prices and other currently scarce materials. It's not just oil that is not getting out of the region. As we know, it's other petrochemicals and things like helium as well. The general performance was pretty strong. Metals producers were doing fairly well in Tokyo, but in Japan as well, the market is very much focused on AI stocks. And today, the gains were strong for SoftBank -- it was up almost 12 percent after a bit of a battering earlier in the week. And that SoftBank gain contributed nearly a third to the Nikkei's overall gains on Friday," said Pope.
Tokyo stocks end higher as U.S.-Iran talks fuel cautious optimism
