• The Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation approved the country’s law ‘On Amendments to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation to strengthen responsibility for anti-doping rule violations’ on 16 November. The measures within the law are outlined in this article.

• Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), reportedly told delegates at the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) General Assembly in Doha that he could envision Qatar as a candidate city for the Olympic Games. “The procedure for the next Olympic Games is underway and I can imagine one day Qatar would be a candidate for hosting the Olympic Games,” said Bach, reports AFP. Bach said that the IOC could move the Games to later in the year if any forthcoming bid were successful. Qatar is hosting the 2019 International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships and recently indicated that it may be interested in bidding for the Olympics.

• Singapore’s High Court has upheld an appeal by the wife of ‘Dan’ Tan Seet-Eng, reducing her jail sentence from two months to three weeks, reports The Straits Times. Guan Enmei, 41, was judged to have given false evidence to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), after she admitted lying to them about two laptops in May. It is understood that the laptops were already held by CPIB and contained no useful information. Dan Tan was arrested and detained in December last year on match-fixing charges under the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act (CLTPA). He remains under arrest.

• The Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) has provisionally suspended Bulawayo City FC Chairman Jerry Sibanda and club manager Philani Ncube over allegations that they attempted to manipulate an August match against Border Strikers, reports The Chronicle. The newspaper quoted a ZIFA statement saying they would be sentenced in due course.

• The International Biathlon Union (IBU) has issued a one-year ban to Olga Abramova, almost a year after she tested positive for meldonium on 10 January. The IBU decided to issue the ban despite finding that the Ukrainian had ‘used the prohibited substance non-intentionally’ and that there were ‘exceptional circumstances in the form of no significant fault or negligence’, it said in a statement. For an up to date table of athletes sanctioned for meldonium, click here. To view analysis of meldonium’s addition to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) Prohibited List, click here.

• The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has issued an updated list of athletes serving a sanction for doping as of 10 November 2016. To view the list, click here.

• A Brazilian judge has ruled that Pat Hickey, the President of the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) who is currently under police detention in Brazil due to allegations of ticket touting at Rio 2016, can return to Ireland for medical treatment, reports the BBC. Earlier this week, the Irish government opened a public consultation regarding allegations that Pro10 Sports Management, the Irish Authorised Ticket Reseller (ATR) based in Dublin, may have been set up by the OCI as a method of acquiring tickets for THG Sports, which was the OCI’s ATR prior to Rio. To follow the timeline of this story, click here.