Beijing Faces Glut of Hotel Rooms

Despite traffic restrictions, skies hazy as always

(NEWSER) - Beijing has just 12 days left to clear its skies before the start of the Summer Olympics and things are still looking mighty smoggy, reports the AP. Visibility was a mere half-mile in some parts of the city and the Athletes’ Village was invisible from the nearby Olympic Green, despite drastic traffic restrictions in the capital. “It doesn't really look so good,” an Olympic committee member said. More»

With exactly 1 year to go, China scrambles to reduce pollution

(NEWSER) - The air pollution in Beijing is so bad that some 2008 Olympic events may have to be postponed. IOC president Jacques Rogge is worried about participants in endurance events like cycling because air quality remains dismal despite government efforts, such as shutting down factories, to improve it. Construction for the Games has actually made the problem worse, the BBC reports. More»

Pollution, human rights, food safety issues all draw fire

(NEWSER) - As the one-year countdown to the Beijing Olympics begins tomorrow, activists and Olympic organizers alike have been vocal in their concerns about the host city. The government is under fire for press harassment: journalists were detained for several hours yesterday after a Reporters Without Borders conference, and six Free Tibet activists were arrested recently for unfurling a banner at the Great Wall. More»

Government allows memorials for the first time

(NEWSER) - As part of its campaign to attract Western visitors to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, China allowed Tiananmen Square memorials this year for the first time since the protests of June 4, 1989. The government maintains that the uprising was a counterrevolutionary riot and refuses to release details; a security crackdown in the square normally prevents citizens from commemorating the event. More»

Big room, brilliant view, fawning staff ... you name it

(NEWSER) - What's $1,000 a night, when you can keep out the riff-raff, eat high on the hog, and get tickets to American Idol? That's the thinking these days at smaller chi chi hotels, where ultra-luxurious grand-a-night rooms are becoming more common, the Wall Street Journal reports. So just how do they pamper the 1% while 99-ers are lumping it at the Holiday Inn?

• Big room, gorgeous view, and fawning 24-hour staff are givens—as are spas and top restaurants with short waiting lists.