Main News of October 22

A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours

WORLD

*Some countries are apparently interested in fueling violence in Syria as part of a “geopolitical remapping” of the Middle East, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

*Just weeks before the National Geographic Society’s 125th anniversary, the organization plans to auction off pieces from its extensive archive collection including some of the most enduring photographic images, paintings and illustrations in its history.

*The oldest known survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp has died at the age of 108, PolskaTimes newspaper reported.

*US human rights abuses are veiled by an information vacuum, said Alexei Pushkov, head of the Russian lower house of parliament's international committee.

 

RUSSIA

*Russia’s Investigative Committee rejected claims that Leonid Razvozzhayev, an ally to opposition figure Sergei Udaltsov, was beaten and tortured into confessing to involvement in plans to organize mass disorder in an effort bankrolled by Georgian politician Givi Targamadze.

*Russia's Children's Rights Ombudsman Pavel Astakhov called for a ban on foreign foster families, including those from the United States, adopting Russian children.

*A stage version of Lolita in Russia’s second largest city has been canceled over concerns it could provoke public disorder, producer and stage director Leonid Mozgovoi said.

 

BUSINESS

*Russian oil giant Rosneft announced landmark deals to buy 100 percent of TNK-BP from British oil major BP and the AAR consortium of Russian billionaire shareholders.

 

SPORTS

*Cycling's world governing body stripped American cyclist Lance Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles Monday, saying the suspected drugs cheat "has no place in cycling."