Watchdog

CHISINAU -- Two Moldovan opposition leaders have accused the authorities of poisoning them, three days before parliamentary elections.

Maia Sandu and Andrei Nastase of the pro-European ACUM (Now) bloc said on February 21 that doctors had discovered heavy metals in their blood.

"Suspicions arise, and against the background of the attitude of the current government to those who they think are dangerous, this case should be taken seriously," Sandu told a press conference in Chisinau.

Nastase added that the authorities "want our deaths."

Vitalie Gamurari, a spokesman for the pro-Western, ruling Democratic Party, rejected the allegation, saying: "Strange accusations have been heard in the last few days and are becoming more and more fantastic."

Besides the Democratic Party, groups competing in the February 24 vote include the Socialists, who favor closer ties to Russia, and the ACUM bloc, which accuses Moldova’s leadership of rampant corruption.

Opinion polls suggest none of them will win an outright majority.

With reporting by Reuters

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) says it had cleared 21 Russian athletes to compete in coming international competitions -- albeit not under their national flag.

The world governing body for track and field’s doping review board ruled that the 21 Russians have met "exceptional eligibility criteria" to compete as neutral athletes in 2019, a statement said on February 21.

In January, the IAAF had already approved 42 Russian athletes to compete under a neutral flag this year.

Athletics' governing body banned Russia in November 2015 after a report commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency outlined evidence of systematic, state-backed doping in Russian athletics.

Another report a year later documented more than 1,000 doping cases across dozens of sports, most notably at the Winter Olympics that Russia hosted in the Black Sea resort of Sochi in 2014.

Russian athletes have had to meet strict criteria such as undergoing regular doping tests outside Russia in order to be allowed compete as neutrals.

With reporting by AFP, dpa, and AP