2008 Summer Olympics

Seats at one of London's new Olympic venues are being widened to accommodate spectators' bulky backsides. Stadium designers warned that the 20,000 seats at the Aquatic Centre wouldn't be able to handle expanding British buttocks, so organizers widened the chairs by 4cm (1.5 inches), the Sun reports. The new specs call for seats 50cm (almost 20 inches) wide. More »

The man tipped to be Australia's next prime minister has scored a major diplomatic coup at this week's APEC summit in Sydney, upstaging PM John Howard. Opposition leader Kevin Rudd spoke to delegates in fluent Mandarin and so impressed Hu Jintao that the Chinese president issued a personal invitation to the Beijing Olympics, The Age reports. More »

President Bush yesterday called on Chinese officials to demonstrate a commitment to "greater openness and tolerance" before the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In a speech to business executives in Sydney on the eve of the Asia-Pacific summit, Bush emphasized the need for greater freedoms throughout Asia and warned China that the world will watching during the international games. More »

President Bush accepted an invitation today from China’s president to attend next summer’s Olympics, a gesture that will likely anger human rights activists but may increase pressure on Beijing, the Times reports. In a 90-minute meeting in the eve of the APEC summit, Hu Jintao and Bush also discussed climate change and recalls of Chinese-made toys. More »

Top travel time between London and Paris should be at least 20 minutes faster thanks to track improvements that allowed a Eurostar train to set a record this morning. The test journey from Paris to St. Pancras Station, London, a 306-mile trip, took 2:03:39, the BBC reports. Regular service, priced to compete with flying, begins in November. More »

As a Dominican native, Fernando Guerrero had to fight for US citizenship. This week, the middleweight boxer is saving his jabs for the ring, where he hopes to earn a spot on the US Olympic squad headed for Beijing. The 20-year-old champ, whose career detoured because he wasn’t a naturalized citizen, is within striking distance of his dream. More »

The USA Gymnastics team is rolling out a new megastar for Beijiing 2008: Shawn Johnson, a 4'10" 15-year-old who's been racking up gold medals at national and international championships even while finishing high school. But Johnson has only been on the national team for 10 months, and she's still getting used to being in the spotlight, the Washington Post reports. More »

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 »

Oscar Pistorius, the South African double amputee fighting to run in the 2008 Olympics, finished seventh in a British 400m trial yesterday, and was then disqualified for running out of his lane. But his performance, substantially off his best, wasn't what was bothering him afterwards. Pistorius lashed out at the IAAF for standing in the way of his Beijing dream. More »

The 2014 Winter Olympics will be held in the Black Sea resort of Sochi — thanks in part to personal intervention by Russian Premier Vladimir Putin, reports Reuters. Putin addressed a session of the International Olympic Committee in Guatemala City in English, French and Spanish, helping Sochi win a 51-47 vote victory over Pyeongchang, South Korea. More »

Some marquee events at the 2008 Beijing Olympics will air live during US prime time, and the schedule is giving international TV execs a scorching case of jet lag. But complaints from outside North America are falling on deaf ears, the Wall Street Journal reports, because money talks: NBC paid $894 million for broadcast rights; Australian TV paid $64 million. More »

Capital punishment is on the decline in China, a country responsible for more than half of the world's executions. Beijing doesn't release figures, but human rights watchers say death penalty cases are down as much as 40% over the last six years. Sinologists reckon much of that drop represents an image manicure as the Beijing Olympics approach. More »

Londoners loathe the logo unveiled Monday for the 2012 Olympics so much that 30,000 have already signed a petition demanding a new one. The jagged pink-and-orange rendition of 2012  took a brand-consultancy firm $800,000 and more than a year to design; Olympics organizers, calling it "dynamic" and "vibrant," say people will "get used to it," reports the Daily Mail. More »

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 »

In an unlikely win, Sandberg’s city of big shoulders muscled out glitzy and glamorous Los Angeles to represent the U.S. in the bid for the 2016 Olympics. The once reluctant host, Mayor Daley, whooped with glee as the announcement was made. More »

China is finally joining the international outcry over genocide in Darfur—and it’s down to Hollywood clout, not Washington’s. Long one of Sudan’s closest protectors, China is suddenly calling on the government to accept UN peacekeepers. The reason, reports the Times : Mia Farrow and Steven Spielberg are leading a charge to tie the Beijing Olympics to the country's policies on Sudan. More »

South Korea has a kidney shortage, and the Beijing Olympics are to blame, Der Spiegel reports. China, attempting to clean up its human rights reputation in preparation the 2008 games, has banned organ trafficking and cut down on the state executions that used to create supply. Now countries that used to rely on this most controversial of Chinese exports are feeling the pinch. More »