As the Vancouver Winter Games draw to a close this weekend, Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson will hand the Olympic flag to IOC president Jacques Rogge, who in turn will hand it to Sochi Mayor Anatoly Pakhomov.

The Moscow City Court has sentenced former police officer Denis Yevsyukov to life in prison for murder, Interfax reports.

Judge Dmitri Fomin handed down the conviction on Friday for two counts of murder and 22 counts of attempted murder.

Residents of the Moscow Village of Rechnik are appealing to the European Court of Human Rights in Strausborg with allegations of genocide, following the deaths of 12 elderly residents since city-ordered demolitions of their houses began in late January.

According to Rechnik resident Yury Kladov, the causes of death were all directly related to the constant psychological pressure and fear resulting from the violent destruction of their homes. Before passing away, he says, some of the elderly blamed the Moscow government directly for their impending deaths.