2008 Summer Olympics

China apparently will continue to censor the Internet during August's Olympics, but says the international press will have the access it needs to function, Jacqui Cheng writes on Ars Technica. Officials said they would guarantee as much access “as possible,” but “controls on some unhealthy websites” would continue. In defense, they said, “every country limits access to some websites.” More »

The Olympic torch is bringing more than controversy on its round-the-world trek—it’s also responsible for the world’s highest Internet café, the People's Daily reports. China Mobile built the communications center at Mount Everest's 17,000-foot-high base camp to ensure communications for relay teams as the torch scales the mountain. More »

Puerto Rico has its own Olympic team, and many residents don't want to give it up, reports  the Wall Street Journal. But if and when the island commonwealth finally makes the transition to US statehood, Puerto Ricans will likely have no option but to compete on the US team. "What will become of our recognition?" asks one resident. More »

The outbreak of a deadly virus in China hasn’t peaked yet—but it won’t affect the Beijing Games, a World Health Organization rep said. “I don't see it at all as a threat to the Olympics or any upcoming events,” he noted. Enterovirus 71 has killed 24 children and infected thousands, the Guardian reports. But the highest volume of cases is usually seen in June and July, WHO said. More »

The Olympic torch flickered in mainland China today in what will likely be a respite from its troubled worldwide tour. Security measures are in place for the relay, but Chinese citizens aren't in a protesting mood, the AP reports. “Even if no police were here, we would protect the torch with our bodies!” said one 18-year-old selling Chinese flags. More »

There were no protests in Hong Kong today as the Olympic torch returned to Chinese soil. But reports were rampant of advocates and would-be protesters being deported or barred from entering the country, the New York Times reports. China says it’s dedicated to allowing peaceful demonstrations, but yesterday deported three pro-Tibetan advocates, and over the weekend denied entry to four more. More »

Nepal deported an American climber yesterday, the Times of India reports, after police at a Mount Everest base camp found a pro-Tibetan banner in his backpack. Nepal, staunchly pro-China, has enacted restrictions—and authorized security forces to use guns—to prevent protests when the Olympic torch ascends the world's tallest mountain in May. More »

Tens of thousands of North Koreans took to the streets to herald the arrival of the Olympic torch today, marking a radically different greeting for the often-harried flame, Reuters reports. People waved North Korean and Chinese flags, danced, cheered, and sang military songs. The welcome contrasted sharply with waves of protests at other global relays that have driven the torch inside vehicles and behind walls of security guards. More »

The Olympic torch again met with a clash of protesters today as it arrived in South Korea, Reuters reports. Some South Koreans are angered by Beijing’s human rights record, but the majority are pro-Chinese, wearing their country’s flag and chanting, “No politics, only Olympics.” Despite 8,000 police officers, the rallies turned briefly violent when Chinese students kicked a South Korean protester and threw stones at anti-China demonstrators. More »

As the Beijing Olympics approach, advocates for a free Tibet and peace in Darfur are trying to hit the Games where it hurts: in the wallet. A coalition of groups has been petitioning the corporations that are sponsoring this year's Olympics to press China on their behalf. The strategy seems to be having at least modest success, writes the Guardian . More »

The Olympic torch passed through Indonesia today with little incident and less fanfare, the BBC reports. What was originally supposed to be a 15-mile relay was abbreviated to a few laps around a Jakarta stadium before a crowd of 5,000 carefully credentialed spectators. Outside, police broke up a pro-Tibet demonstration, arresting six of the roughly 100 protesters. More »

Two weeks after the Olympic torch relay in Paris, anti-French backlash in China is gaining steam. Rare demonstrations on the streets of Chinese cities, seemingly with the government's tacit approval, have seen French flags burned and defaced with swastikas. As the nations' relationship deteriorates, Nicolas Sarkozy has been forced to step in, reports the Independent . More »

Robert Cheruiyot of Kenya became the fourth man to win the Boston Marathon four times today, crossing the finish line on 2:07:46, 32 seconds slower than his own course record, the AP reports. Dire Tune of Ethiopia won the women’s race in 2:22:25, squeaking past Russian Alevtina Biktimirova by just 2 seconds in the tightest women's finish ever. More »

Nepal has plans for protesters intent on disrupting the Olympic flame's ascent up Mount Everest, the AP reports. An official today authorized the use of deadly force "to stop any protest on the mountain using whatever means necessary." Climbers are scheduled to reach the summit in the border region between Nepal and Tibet early next month. More »

Thousands of protesters demonstrated in Hollywood today over recent anti-China remarks by CNN commentator Jack Cafferty, the Los Angeles Times reports. The crowd chanted "Fire Cafferty" and sang Chinese songs outside the CNN building in Hollywood. "We understand free speech," one protester said. "But what if Cafferty said this about other racial groups? I think he would be fired." More »

Chinese demonstrators today responded to pro-Tibet protests around the world with rallies of their own, blasting Tibet’s calls for independence and demanding a boycott of French goods, Reuters reports. “Oppose Tibet independence, support the Olympics,” said banners hoisted by protesters in at least four cities. A number of protests clustered around French Carrefour supermarkets in China. More »

Vladimir Putin is said to be preparing to marry a 24-year-old star Russian gymnast, the Telegraph reports. Rumors of the 56-year-old president’s courtship to Alina Kabaeva have been swirling around Moscow for months, but were recently printed by a Russian newspaper that found a St. Petersburg event planner who said he was organizing a wedding for the couple. More »

Many US athletes aren’t swayed by winds of boycott surrounding the Beijing Olympics, the Christian Science Monitor reports. “What's going on is important and we should pay attention to it,” says a 2004 gold medalist, but “we need to be athletes first.”  Despite a 1980 boycott of the Moscow Games, "the invasion continued,” notes a wrestler of the Soviets' takeover of Afghanistan. More »

China is accelerating construction of a number of museums ahead of August's Olympics, but one is sure to cause serious consternation: the first museum in Beijing devoted to Tibet. Antiquities and historical documents will be used to underline the claim that Tibet is an integral part of China, the New York Times reports—with the Dalai Lama edited out post-1959.  More »

The Olympic torch was carried through New Delhi today, escorted by 15,000 police on a route shortened to less than two miles through a locked-down city center, the AP reports. Some 70 runners each held the torch for just seconds before handing it off. Only a few hundred, sitting in bleachers, saw the event, which was closed to the public More »