2008 Beijing Olympics

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Beijing Bans Smoking in Time for Games

But earlier rules were no match for cigarette-addicted

(Newser) - China, the world's most populous country, is also home to the planet's largest number of smokers. But in the latest effort to clear the air for the Olympics, Beijing has banned smoking in government offices and public transportation, and mandated smoke-free areas in restaurants as of May 1. The penalty:...

House Speaker Calls on Bush to Snub Olympic Ceremonies

Pelosi urges move to protest 'oppression'

(Newser) - House speaker Nancy Pelosi calls on President Bush to consider skipping the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics in an interview airing today, ABC reports. Pelosi, a fierce critic of China's human rights record, isn't suggesting an American boycott of the games themselves, but. she says that it was a...

Olympic Torch Lit in Beijing
 Olympic Torch Lit in Beijing 
Mar 31, 2008 6:00 AM CDT

Olympic Torch Lit in Beijing

Security is tight as flame begins global journey

(Newser) - The Olympic torch was re-lighted today in Beijing’s Tienanmen Square in an elaborate ceremony marked by tight security, the AP reports. President Hu Jintao passed the flame to a champion Chinese hurdler in a televised event attended by some 5,000 people. Confetti floated over bright red seats and...

Protesters Disrupt Olympic Torch Exchange

Demonstrators try to block torch as it passes from Greeks to Chinese; 10 arrested

(Newser) - Protesters against China’s Tibet crackdown shook up today’s Olympic torch hand-off in Athens, the New York Times reports. Some 15 people dodged security to fly banners and shout “Free Tibet” as they tried to block Greek officials from passing the flame to Beijing authorities. Ten were nabbed...

Protesters Follow Olympic Torch to Acropolis

Demonstrations in Greece remain mostly peaceful

(Newser) - Olympic torchbearers made their way to the Acropolis in Greece today with the help of heavy security that kept protesters at arm's length, the AP reports. Activists have set up camp by candlelight outside the stadium—site of the first modern Olympics in 1896— to protest China's human rights record...

Merkel Will Skip Olympics
Merkel Will
Skip Olympics
Mar 29, 2008 7:07 AM CDT

Merkel Will Skip Olympics

German chancellor says she's not protesting, but Czech and Polish leaders are

(Newser) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other top German officials won't be going to the Beijing Olympics, the Guardian reports, joining Polish and Czech leaders who have pledged to stay away. But while Polish PM Donald Tusk and Czech President Vaclav Klaus said they'll be boycotting the opening ceremony to protest...

New Suit Shakes Up Swim World
 New Suit Shakes Up Swim World 
Mar 28, 2008 12:08 PM CDT

New Suit Shakes Up Swim World

Some complain that high-tech Speedo gives unfair edge

(Newser) - Swimmers in the Speedo LZR Racer swimsuit have been smashing records since it made its debut six weeks ago, and some athletes are beginning to grumble that the high-tech swimming gear gives wearers an unfair advantage, the Los Angeles Times reports. Of the 14 world records to have fallen in...

West Must Boycott Olympic Venues 'Stained With Blood'

Oppressed Chinese, Tibetans demand no less, French philosopher says

(Newser) - The West must take a stand against China's human-rights abuses by boycotting the Summer Olympics, French philosopher Bernard-Henry Levy insists in the New Republic. Otherwise, athletes will compete in “stadiums stained with blood.” China was supposed to cease its worst behavior, but it’s done the opposite: A...

Sarkozy Dangles Olympic Boycott
Sarkozy Dangles Olympic Boycott
Mar 25, 2008 12:35 PM CDT

Sarkozy Dangles Olympic Boycott

'Open' to skipping opening ceremonies if China-Tibet tensions don't improve

(Newser) - Nicolas Sarkozy says "all options are open" in terms of a possible boycott of the opening ceremonies of Beijing's Olympics. While his aides say that France would oppose a full boycott of the games, the French prez is signaling his discontent with China's recent crackdown in Tibet. "I...

Man Eats Man's Best Friend
 Man Eats Man's Best Friend 
opinion
Mar 24, 2008 1:10 PM CDT

Man Eats Man's Best Friend

Slate's Ted Kerasote protests animal cruelty in China

(Newser) - While you're busy worrying about human rights in China, author and journalist Ted Kerasote argues, add animal rights to the list. After a trip to a ski camp in China where he was befriended by a "dead ringer for Lassie," he was appalled to find his canine pal...

Olympic Flame Lit Amid Brief Protest

Torch lit in grand style at Olympia

(Newser) - The Olympic flame was lit this morning in Greece, in a ceremony briefly interrupted by human rights protesters. As the Chinese Communist Party secretary—also the head of the Beijing Olympics—spoke, three demonstrators evaded massive security to run onto the field at the stadium in Ancient Olympia. One managed...

Scholars Urge China to Meet With Dalai Lama

Group slams Beijing for 'fanning racial hatred'

(Newser) - A group of prominent Chinese intellectuals is challenging the government over its response to protests in Tibet, accusing Beijing of inciting ethnic tensions and demanding that it begin talks with the Dalai Lama. A petition signed by 29 writers, journalists and scholars, blasts China’s “one-sided propaganda” war and...

China Slams Pelosi's Support for Tibet

House Speaker guilty of 'double standards,' state says

(Newser) - China’s government hammered House Speaker Nancy Pelosi today over her meeting with the Dalai Lama and subsequent condemnation of China's "oppression" of Tibetan protests that turned to riots, the AP reports. Xinhua, China’s state news agency, said “human rights police” like Pelosi employed “double standards”...

China Rips Dalai Lama for Olympic 'Sabotage'

Leader plotting to hold games 'hostage,' says Beijing

(Newser) - Beijing is charging that the Dalai Lama incited recent protests in Tibet as part of a "terror" plot to ruin the Olympic games, Reuters reports. "The Dalai Lama is scheming to take the Beijing Olympics hostage to force the Chinese government to make concessions to Tibet independence,"...

China May Ban Shots of Tiananmen During Olympics

Fearing protests of Tibet policy, iconic square may go unphotographed

(Newser) - The Chinese government may ban live footage of Tiananmen Square during the coming Summer Olympics in Beijing, the AP reports. Increasingly concerned about protests,  Chinese Olympic officials this week told broadcasting organizers an earlier agreement on live shots had been canceled. If the decision stands, it would be a...

Tibet Protests Could Snuff Olympic Torch's UK Visit

April 6 stop in London will test police readiness, set tone for rest of tour

(Newser) - The Olympic torch will pass through London on April 6, meeting major protests over China's human-rights abuses in Tibet and other causes. The visit will test how disruptive political forces could be on the Summer Games—and how well British security forces are preparing for the 2012 London Olympics, the...

China Clamps Down on Tibetans
China Clamps Down on Tibetans 
Mar 20, 2008 4:33 AM CDT

China Clamps Down on Tibetans

Towns 'like armed camps' as Beijing tries to regain control

(Newser) - The Chinese government has acknowledged for the first time that  rioting has spread from Tibet into neighboring provinces, as it forcefully reasserted control, setting up roadblocks with armed police in areas with large Tibetan populations. In Gansu, hundreds of Tibetans, many on horseback, stormed a government compound, burned the Chinese...

IOC: Beijing Air Risky for Athletes

Competitors in endurance events

(Newser) - The air quality in Beijing poses a “possible risk” to athletes in endurance events, the International Olympic Committee announced today. After analyzing data collected in Beijing in August, the IOC’s medical commission concluded that most competitors won't be affected by the smog, but it will monitor air quality...

Riots Spread Outside Tibet
 Riots Spread Outside Tibet 
UPDATED
Mar 16, 2008 12:07 PM CDT

Riots Spread Outside Tibet

Protesters torch marketplace, police station in Sichuan province

(Newser) - Following violent protests against Chinese rule that left 80 dead in Lhasa, according to the exiled Tibetan government, rioting flared today in a province bordering Tibet. Ethnic Tibetans in Sichuan besieged the main government building and set fire to a police station and marketplace. "They've gone crazy," one...

Dalai Lama Calls for Tibet Probe

He says 80 protesters killed; Chinese soldiers clamp down in Lhasa

(Newser) - The Dalai Lama today called for an international investigation into China and accused it of engaging in "cultural genocide" in Tibet, the AP reports. The spiritual leader said 80 people have been killed in recent protests. Chinese soldiers and tanks patrolled the streets of the Tibetan capital of Lhasa...

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