Four months before the start of the 33rd Olympic Games of the modern era in Paris, the ambiguous position of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on the presence of athletes from Russia and Belarus continues to cause problems, with constant quotes and reactions from both sides.

The IOC Coordination Commission has praised the solid foundations being laid for an impressive Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Paris 2024's payroll has increased by more than a hundred million euros since the bid was submitted, reaching 584 million euros, the Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (COJOP) announced on Wednesday.

A recording of the Polish President of the World Anti-Doping Agency, Witold Banka, the victim of a prank call from someone claiming to be a senior official of the African Union Commission has been posted online. The caller asked questions about the Russian-backed multi-sport event, the Friendship Games, about which WADA had previously raised anti-doping concerns.

Beijing has been selected to host the World Table Tennis (WTT) Grand Smash until 2028 following a competitive selection process approved by the WTT Board with the support of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).

Until recently, the figure quoted for the public cost of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games was three billion euros, but Pierre Moscovici, the first president of the Court of Auditors, has admitted that the bill will rise. Speaking on France Inter on Tuesday, he suggested that the cost could rise to four or five billion euros.

The World Friendship Games (WFG) will feature competitions in 36 different sports programmes and award 283 sets of medals to the winners, said Alexey Sorokin, Director General of the Organising Committee.

French technology company Atos has confirmed significant annual losses, but assures Paris 2024 that it will not be affected.

Ingmar De Vos from Belgium is the only candidate for the presidency of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF). This matter will be dealt with at the 48th General Assembly in Birmingham on 9 April.

The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, has strongly denied reports that Brisbane is considering cancelling its bid to host the Olympic Games in 2032.

The body, which was established in 2023, said in a statement: "We want to fill the void left by the IOC's exclusion of the IBA as the governing body of boxing. World Boxing's response to the IOC's comments last Tuesday about the need for a new body "to keep boxing in the Olympic programme."

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has expressed concern over what it describes as an intensified "disinformation and defamation campaign" emanating from Russia.

The International Boxing Association (IBA) said on Thursday: "We will use all legal means to prove that we are right. The organisation criticised the IOC's decision last Tuesday to maintain its exclusion "if boxing is part of the LA 2028 programme". "There is no alternative," insisted the IBA, which also said the IOC's decisions are "politicised".

Last week, the President of the International World Games Association (IWGA), José Perurena, and the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, met at the Olympic House in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Europe's top human rights body on Wednesday called for Russian and Belarusian athletes to be banned from the Paris Olympics. Council of Europe President Theodoros Rousopoulos said it would be an "insult to Ukrainian athletes" if competitors from the two nations were allowed to compete.