The Associated Press

“I think that this is an extremely big risk, and frankly a waste.” — Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin on President Barack Obama’s request to Congress for $500 million to train and equip the Syrian opposition.

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“We had elements — which I won’t detail — of our foreign policy that have been shaped around the World Cup. Phone calls, meetings, initiatives we had to think about.” — President Barack Obama in an interview with ABC.

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“Such behavior cannot be tolerated on any football pitch and in particular not at a FIFA World Cup, when the eyes of millions of people are on the stars on the field.” — Claudio Sulser, chairman of the FIFA disciplinary committee, on banning Uruguay’s forward Luis Suarez from all football for four months for biting an Italian opponent at the World Cup.

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