Olympic Games

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Sochi Wins 2014 Games
Sochi Wins 2014 Games

Sochi Wins 2014 Games

Putin speech helps Black Sea resort win Winter Oympics

(Newser) - 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...

Olympic Schedule Caters to US
Olympic Schedule Caters to US

Olympic Schedule Caters to US

International broadcasters fume over odd times

(Newser) - 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...

China Curbs Executions as Olympics Loom

Executions down 40% in runup to 2008

(Newser) - 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...

'No Go to the Logo,' Say Londoners

Olympics logo is making people not only furious but physically ill

(Newser) - 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...

China Eases Up Slightly on Tiananmen Anniversary

Government allows memorials for the first time

(Newser) - 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...

The Windy City Bests LA to Represent U.S. in Quest For 2016 Olympics

(Newser) - 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.

Hollywood Shapes China's Darfur Policy

Stars use Olympics as leverage to get China to protest genocide

(Newser) - 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...

LeBron Tepid On Team USA
LeBron Tepid
On Team USA

LeBron Tepid On Team USA

He's been studying Mandarin, but may not be heading to Beijing

(Newser) - In Beijing next year, basketball's Team USA may be missing one of the sport's most familiar faces.  For flaky-sounding reasons, LeBron James has let it be known that he is "50-50" for the upcoming Tournament of the Americas, an Olympic qualifier, and Jerry Colangelo, the man putting the...

Beijing Ban Spurs Organ Shortage
Beijing Ban Spurs Organ Shortage

Beijing Ban Spurs Organ Shortage

China cleans up for Olympics—and Korean kidney patients feel the pinch

(Newser) - 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...

Bong Case 4 SCOTUS
Bong Case
4 SCOTUS

Bong Case 4 SCOTUS

A Supreme Court case weighs student's right to "glorify" drug use

(Newser) - A student glorifying illegal drug use shouldn't be protected by the First Amendment, Ken Starr argued before the Supreme Court yesterday in the case of a high school student suspended for displaying a banner reading "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" during the Winter Olympics Torch Relay in Juneau, Alaska in...

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