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NEWS ABOUT: 2008 Beijing Olympics

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Tibet Monks Protest China Rule

Dozens arrested in biggest demonstrations since 1989

(Newser) - Tibetan monks staged the biggest protests against the Chinese government in 2 decades yesterday, reports the Times of London. The two sides clashed in Lhasa amid sporadic gunfire. Hundreds of monks and supporters marked the anniversary of a failed 1959 Tibetan uprising. Sources say police arrested as many as 60... More »

Chinese Say They Foiled 2 Terror Plots

Hijack attempt blocked while earlier raid stopped Olympic attack

(Newser) - China has thwarted two terror attacks, a top official revealed today, including an attempted plane hijacking on Friday and a January raid that captured and killed terrorists aiming to "sabotage" the Beijing Olympics, reports CNN. Both incidents were linked to regional separatists whose “goal was very clear,”... More »

Indian Athletes Aim for Gold on Billionaire's Buck

Trust seeks to boost Indian medal count

(Newser) - Young Indians are training for this summer’s Olympics with the backing of a London-based billionaire steel magnate, the Wall Street Journal reports. Lakshmi Mittal was dismayed by India’s poor showing at Athens in 2004—where the burgeoning superpower earned only a single silver, while archrival China won 32... More »

Star Gymnast Attracts Fans and Sponsors

Coke, Adidas love 16-year-old gold medal favorite

(Newser) - Corporate sponsors like Adidas and Coca-Cola are latching onto a tiny gymnast with a towering talent named Shawn Johnson, the Washington Post reports. The smiling 16-year-old shares "brand attributes" with Coca-Cola like "genuine" and "fun," one exec says. She is also the world's reigning gymnastics champion... More »

Beijing Opens Giant Air Terminal

World's largest building transforms Chinese capital's airport

(Newser) - Ahead of this August's Olympics, Beijing is set to open a new airport terminal that has been billed as the world's largest building. Designed by Norman Foster, who also designed Hong Kong's airport, the new Terminal 3 was built in only 4 years and, unlike many buildings in China, incorporates... More »

Houston's Yao Out for Season

Center has stress fracture in left foot, should return for Olympics

(Newser) - The Houston Rockets were dealt a crushing blow when it was revealed today that Yao Ming will miss the rest of the season and post-season with a stress fracture in his left foot.  The 7-foot-6-inch, Chinese center’s foot had been sore for several weeks before the diagnosis. This... More »

China Will Resume Talks on Human Rights With US

Beijing trying to improve its image before summer Olympics

(Newser) - China said today it is ready to restart a discussion on human rights with the US that has been suspended since 2004, the Washington Post reports. The move, announced by Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi after a meeting with Condoleezza Rice, comes as China looks to improve its image before the... More »

China Bristles at US' Olympic Food Snub

Beijing insists meat is safe, but Americans will brown-bag it

(Newser) - China says it's a "pity" that US athletes won't be joining their international counterparts at dinner tables during the Olympics this summer over worries about the safety of food and water. American athletes will ship in their own meat and eat at their own training center, and China is... More »

Olympic Sponsors Targeted Over China-Darfur Links

McDonald's and others supporting 'genocide Olympics,' activists say

(Newser) - Activists are preparing to plaster college campuses with posters with charges like “McDonald’s: Proud Sponsor of the Genocide Olympics,” hoping to pressure multinational corporations sponsoring the Beijing Games into doing more about Darfur, BusinessWeek reports. Buying oil from Sudan makes China a sponsor of the region's genocide,... More »

Spielberg Sparks Storm Over China's Darfur Role

Pressure mounts for pre-Olympics change

(Newser) - Human rights groups praised Hollywood's Steven Spielberg yesterday for stepping down as artistic director of the Beijing Olympics due to China's ongoing support for the Sudanese regime. His move has opened the floodgates to a deluge of criticism over China's involvement in Darfur, giving the Chinese government a taste of... More »

Spielberg Quits '08 Olympics Over Darfur

Filmmaker slams China for failing to pressure Sudan

(Newser) - Steven Spielberg stepped down today as a 2008 Beijing Olympics adviser over China’s links to the Darfur genocide, the BBC reports. “I find that my conscience will not allow me to continue business as usual,” the filmmaker said. China has been criticized for buying oil from the... More »

Brit Olympians Hit With Gag Order on China

Can't go unless they sign contract to keep mum on issues

(Newser) - British athletes headed to the Beijing Olympics are being required to sign a controversial document barring them from criticizing the Chinese government, reports Britain's Daily Mail. They must promise "not to comment on any politically sensitive issues," said a spokesman for the British Olympic Association, which wrote the... More »

Year of Rat Meets Beijing's Olympic Rings

New Year celebration showcases the Games, just 180 days away for China

(Newser) - To kick off the Year of the Rat, celebrations in Beijing let revelers try various events that will be part of the upcoming 2008 Olympics. "That's hard work. Hats off to the athletes," said a 26-year-old after trying out a rowing machine. An Olympic committee exec says the... More »

China Shines Image for Olympics

Bureaucracy in full spin mode with Games less than 200 days away

(Newser) - With less than 200 days to go before the Summer Olympics, Der Spiegel takes an in-depth look at China’s feverish preparations and finds a sprawling bureaucracy working overtime to project the perfect image to the world. But while Beijing might clean the smog, and even prevent rain, making communist... More »

Olympians Prepare Strategies for Beijing Smog

China promises clean air for Games, but teams are taking precautions

(Newser) - With the Summer Olympics set to begin Aug. 8 in one of the world’s smoggiest cities, competitors are looking for a Beijing edge. US athletes have been asking if they should train near busy highways to simulate Beijing’s noxious air, the New York Times reports, but trainers are... More »

No Olympics for Blade Runner

Prosthetics make Pistorius too speedy

(Newser) - Double amputee Oscar Pistorius won’t compete in the 2008 Olympic Games, because the runner's prosthetic legs give him an unfair advantage, the IAAF ruled this morning. The South African plans to appeal, maintaining that the “cheetah” blades he uses put him on par with the able-bodied, but a... More »

'Blade Runner' Found to Have Advantage

Amputee expected to be banned from Olympics after expert ruling

(Newser) - The double amputee who has petitioned to be included in this year's Olympic track and field events is likely to be denied his request today, the Guardian reports. A biomechanics expert concluded that the J-shaped carbon-fiber prosthetics South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius uses gives him an unfair advantage in stride... More »

Gatlin Gets 4-Year Ban

Olympic sprinter thinks vengeful massage therapist may have framed him

(Newser) - Olympic 100-meter champion Justin Gatlin won't be competing this year in Beijing—or in any other track and field meet—after receiving a four-year ban for a failed drug test in 2006. The sprinter had been arguing his case, saying, for one thing, that a prior doping charge shouldn't count... More »

They Won't Be Kung Fu Fighting

Shaolin monks will skip Beijingmartial arts fest in '08

(Newser) - Monks of central China's Shaolin Temple, renowned for their kung fu abilities, will not attend a major martial arts competition to be held alongside next year's Beijing Olympics, citing the discipline's emphasis on qi, or spirit. Their withdrawal prompted jeers from secular fighters: “We are the best wushu competitors.... More »

Jones Further Scrubbed From Olympics Books

Track star's medals formally revoked; she's banned from Beijing

(Newser) - Marion Jones had already returned the five medals—three gold, two bronze—she won at the 2000 Sydney Olympics; today, the International Olympic Committee made that disgrace official, formally stripping the admitted drug cheat of the hardware. "She is disqualified and scrapped from the results,” said the IOC... More »

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