RIO DE JANEIRO -- IOC president Thomas Bach issued another defense of his handling of the Russian doping scandal Monday, saying the decision not to exclude the entire Russian team from the Rio de Janeiro Olympics was based on human rights and justice.Bach used his speech at the opening ceremony of the IOCs general assembly to address the continuing criticism of the Olympic bodys response to evidence of state-sponsored doping in Russia, declaring that individual athletes cannot be punished for the wrongdoing of their government.This decision is about justice, Bach said. Justice has to be independent from politics. Whoever responds to a violation of the law with another violation of the law is destroying justice.Rejecting calls from anti-doping bodies for a total ban on Russia, the IOC instead gave international sports federations the authority to rule on the entry of individual Russian athletes. The IOC also ruled that any Russian athletes with prior doping sanctions could not compete in the Rio Games, which open Friday.While more than 100 Russians -- including the track and field team -- have been banned from the games, more than 250 have so far been cleared to compete by the federations.We had to take the necessary decisions, Bach said. Because of the seriousness of the allegations, we could not uphold the presumption of innocence for Russian athletes. On the other hand, we cannot deprive an athlete of the human right to be given the opportunity to prove his or her innocence.You cannot punish a human being for the failures of his or her government if he or she is not implicated. These principles are now being implemented.The IOCs rejection of a full ban has been harshly criticized by many anti-doping bodies, athletes groups and Western media.Calls for a blanket ban grew after Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren, who was commissioned to investigate by the World Anti-Doping Agency, issued a report accusing Russias sport ministry of orchestrating a vast doping scheme involving athletes in more than two dozen winter and summer sports.If proven true, such a contemptuous system of doping is an unprecedented attack on the integrity of sport and on the Olympic Games, Bach said. With the Olympic Games just a few days away, we had to take action even though the McLaren report is not yet finished and the Russian side has not been heard yet.We took immediate measures to shed full light on the allegations. and more actions and sanctions will follow if necessary.Bach spoke at a ceremony ahead of the IOCs 129th session, a three-day assembly starting Tuesday.He expressed support for South Americas first Olympics, whose build-up has been overshadowed by Brazils political and economic crises and concerns over Zika, water pollution, crime and budget cuts.It has been a long and testing journey to get to this point, Bach said. It is no exaggeration to say that the Brazilians have been living through extraordinary times. The political and economic crisis in the country is unprecedented. It goes without saying that this situation has made the final preparations for the Olympic Games challenging.In a time when the country is divided politically, economically and socially, the transformation of Rio de Janeiro is truly historic. Rio de Janeiro would not be where it is today without the Olympic Games as a catalyst. Swell Water Bottle 17 Oz .S District Court against Major League Baseball, the Office of the Commissioner and his own union, the MLBPA. Buy Swell Water Bottle Australia . PAUL, Minn. http://www.swellbottleaustralia.com/liberty-swell-bottle-australia.html . Westbrook has missed 27 games since having a procedure on Dec. 27 to deal with swelling in his injured right knee — the third operation on the knee in nine months. Cheap Swell Bottles . The team also announced Tuesday that the Braves will wear a commemorative patch on the right sleeve during the season. The patch, shaped like home plate, carries the number 715, Aarons autograph and a "40th Anniversary" banner. Swell Bottles Australia . Klitschkos management company says the bout will be the Ukrainian fighters 25th world championship fight. The 1.83-meter (6-foot) Leapai defeated the previously unbeaten Denis Boytsov in November to become the WBOs mandatory challenger. The first Test between New Zealand and Pakistan at Hagley Oval is expected to go ahead as scheduled on November 17, despite Christchurch having suffered a 7.5 magnitude earthquake, just after midnight on Monday.The Pakistan mens team, who were in Nelson when the quake occurred, reported being a little shaken by the experience, but will prepare for Thursdays Test as usual.Preparations for the Test are going ahead, but we are continuing to monitor the situation, a New Zealand Cricket spokesperson said. Its just a case of staying in touch with authorities.Both teams arrived in Christchurch on Monday and have training sessions scheduled for Tuesday. The area continued to be hit by aftershocks, however. A 6.3 magnitude quake was felt at around 1.30pm on Monday, and these are expected to continue through the next week.Pakistan team manager Wasim Bari said NZC had assured his side of their safety, in the team hotel and at the ground. The cricketers had spent a largely sleepless night in Nelson. They had evacuated their hotel when the quake hit, and most had not returned to their rooms for the remainder of the night, electing instead to remain in the reception area.For us it was something new because we dont have many earthquakes in Pakistan, Bari said. This was a prettty strong one.dddddddddddd Wed just finished watching the India-England match and the doors and windows were going from one side to another as if they were made of paper. There was some trauma as well for the boys. Back home, the families had felt disturbed.The Pakistan womens team, meanwhile, had ridden out the quake in the upper floors of a Christchurch hotel. Their manager Basit Ali told Geo News that the team was safe, though still scared.The New Zealand mens squad had only assembled in Christchurch on Monday morning, but fast bowler Matt Henry - a Christchurch native - had been in the city overnight. He described the experience as a bit scary, but was pleased the Test would go ahead.It always brings the community together - provides a brief moment of normality, Henry said. Its probably good timing to have the Test match this week. Hopefully the weather plays its part.The epicentre of the earthquake was at a depth of about 5km, about 40km from the town of Amberley, which is only about 90km north-east of Hagley Oval. Hagley Oval had become a Test venue after the previous Christchurch ground was devastated by an earthquake in 2011. ' ' '