Lympick games

Host cities are no longer selected in a bid process, which was subject to well-reported corruption by some rank-and-file IOC members. The IOC leadership now picks the venues with rubber-stamp approval from members. IOC sponsors have come under pressure from human rights advocates and some members of the U. Congress, who have called for moving the Olympics or a full-fledged boycott.

Last month an unofficial body set up in Britain concluded that the Chinese government committed genocide and crimes against humanity. The five U. Most dodged pointed questions, said they had to follow Chinese law, had nothing to do with choosing Beijing as the venue, and focused on the athletes no matter the Games.

Intel's Steven Rodgers, an executive vice president and general counsel, was the only one of five to say he believed the conclusions of the U. State Department that China was "committing genocide against the Uyghur people. Olympic sponsors and NBCUniversal, the broadcast rights holder for the United States, were asked in a letter from Human Rights Watch to be aware of the rights climate in China, and to scrutinize supply chains. President Joe Biden signed a bill last month that bans goods made in northwestern China's Xinjiang region, unless companies can show forced labor was not involved.

It has begun promoting the Olympics in the United States but minimizes references to Beijing. Four years ago in the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Bach aggressively promoted his bid to drive talks between the two Koreas. Late last year, the United Nations General Assembly approved the Olympic Truce Resolution by a consensus of the member states; co-sponsored the resolution. Bach has declined to condemn the alleged genocide or speak out on human rights in China.

He seldom mentions the Uyghurs by name. The rest is politics. Copyright The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. The legendary TV star was cremated and her remains were given Friday to Glenn Kaplan, the man in charge of White's advanced health care directive. The death of a star is one of the most dramatic and violent events in space -- and astronomers had an unprecedented front-row seat to the explosive end of a stellar giant.

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Researchers from Oregon State University published a study suggesting cannabis compounds known as hemp can prevent coronavirus from entering human cells. See the surveillance video that was used to identify an year-old New Mexico woman accused of abandoning her newborn baby in a dumpster.

The Supreme Court is hearing arguments over Biden's vaccine-or-test rules for large employers and a separate vaccine mandate for health care workers. Listen here. So Johaug could play a big role in helping Norway rack up medals at the Games. As part of the punishment the nation received from the World Anti-Doping Agency, Russian athletes will again be competing under the name of the Russian Olympic Committee in Beijing.

That was also the case at the Winter Games and the Summer Games. The ROC ranked tied for sixth with 17 total medals in , but it could have a much better showing this year. Gracenote is even projecting the Russians to finish second with 32 total medals, behind only Norway. If that happens, they would set the record for most medals won by a team representing Russia or the Soviet Union at a Winter Games. One athlete to watch will be cross-country skier Alexander Bolshunov.

The year-old has never won an Olympic gold medal, but he came away with three silvers and a bronze in He won the gold in the kilometer skiathlon at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, so he could be poised to win Olympic gold for the first time in Natalya Voronina, a year-old speed skater, is another athlete who has a good chance to win an Olympic gold medal for the first time in Beijing.

She won the bronze in in the 5,meter race, an event in which she now holds the world record. While several countries are boycotting the Olympics because of these allegations, the major sponsors have reportedly stayed committed to the event. Five of the U. Most of the companies avoided directed questions but said they had to follow Chinese law.

Steven Rodgers, an executive vice president with Intel, was the only company spokesperson who said they believed that China was "committing genocide against the Uyghur people.

A person in touch with the sponsors, who wanted to remain anonymous, said the general frame of mind was not to mention Beijing and to "work around the edges," the Associated Press reported. The International Olympic Committee's so-called TOP sponsors are being squeezed by a diplomatic boycott led by the United States, the economic power of 1.

The IOC created the strain by returning to a country whose rights abuses were well documented in the runup to the Beijing Summer Olympics. They now rival the pandemic for attention with the Winter Games opening on February 4. The rights violations committed against Muslim Uyghurs and other minorities clash with the lofty principles in the Olympic Charter.

The Charter speaks of putting "sport at the service of the harmonious development of humankind, with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity. It further adds: "The enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in this Olympic Charter shall be secured without discrimination of any kind, such as race, color, sex, sexual orientation, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

The Associated Press contacted most of the major Olympic sponsors, but was met largely with silence about their plans, or told the focus was on the athletes. One sponsor that replied, German financial services company Allianz, said it was "in regular contact with the IOC" and stood behind ideals of the Games.

Retaliation is a concern. The NBA experienced it in when a Houston Rockets executive sided in a tweet with democracy protests in Hong Kong, Last month, Olympic sponsor Intel had to apologize after publishing a letter on its website that asked suppliers to avoid sourcing from China's Xinjiang region.