2008 Summer Olympics

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 golds—and founded the Mittal Champions Trust to identify and support promising athletes. More »

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 and gold-medal favorite in Beijing this year. More »

A, ahem, heightened push to make Britain's sports teams more competitive by the time London hosts the 2012 Olympics has added 52 new athletes to the country’s handball, rowing, and volleyball squads, the Telegraph reports. The “Sporting Giants” program sought tall applicants—over 6-foot-3 for men and 5-11 for women—from all walks of life to try their hand at a new sport. More »

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 environmental control systems to minimize energy consumption, writes the Independent . More »

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 summer Olympics. A growing number of Western rights groups have criticized Beijing's record in recent weeks. More »

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 none too happy about the snub, says the Washington Post. Reports of meat stuffed with chemical additives and bacteria-filled water have scared the US off. More »

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, the thinking goes, and Olympics backers like McDonald's are sponsoring the sponsors of the killing. More »

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 what's likely to come during this summer's games, the Guardian reports. More »

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 Sudan, selling it weapons, and supporting it at the UN while Khartoum has waged war in Darfur. More »

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 contract. Athletes who refuse to sign won't be allowed to travel to the August games, he told CNN. More »

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 fair is aimed at letting citizens experience the Games first-hand, AFP reports. More »

Chicago is serious about hosting the 2016 Olympics, and the city is doing everything possible to land the event, the Washington Post reports. The buzzword is "global": Chicago is entertaining foreign dignities, teaching new languages in its schools, and erecting public sculptures and buildings. But for the Windy City’s poor, the campaign carries a steep price. More »

The beef between John McCain and Mitt Romney has a history—it's almost 8 years old, a lifetime in politics. In 2000, McCain blasted "preposterous" pork-barrel spending on the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, which Romney headed. The two clashed publicly, reports the LA Times , and, as one expert notes, "People have long memories in politics." More »

First it was the snow, now it's the cold wreaking continued havoc in China, leaving millions stranded and millions more without power in the coldest winter in a century. President Hu Jintao chaired an emergency meeting yesterday to discuss rescue efforts in the nation where scores have died, as desperate migrant workers struggled in vain to return home to their families in time for the Lunar New Year. More »

Decorated sprinter Maurice Greene announced his retirement yesterday, ending a career that included two Olympic gold medals and several world titles. "It's a little sad for me, but I've had a great career. Because of my injuries, it's better to call it quits," said Greene. The decision leaves the racing world in shock, BBC reports. More »

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 China look like an open and free society won’t be easy. More »

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 advising they arrive at the last minute, and wear a mask when not competing. More »

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 German expert's investigation concluded otherwise, the Guardian reports. More »

Former US figure skating champion Christopher Bowman was found dead yesterday in a Los Angeles motel room, AP reports. Authorities suspect a drug overdose. Bowman, 40, won US figure skating titles in 1988 and 1992 and wowed the crowds at the 1988 and 1992 Winter Olympics. His flamboyant personality and exuberant performances won him the nickname "Bowman the Showman," but his life off the ice was troubled. More »

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 and stamina over other runners. More »