Leander Paes

India's Davis Cup captain Leander Paes on Thursday poured his heart out, saying that he was hurt by his one-time buddy Mahesh Bhupathi's virtual refusal to play doubles with him at the Beijing Olympics.

In a no-holds-barred chat with the media on the sidelines of a promotional event, Paes appealed to Bhupathi that the two should set aside their differences, real or imaginary, and come together in the quest for an Olympic medal.

Paes, singles bronze medallist at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, said the two were the best bet at the Beijing Games, which will be held from August 8-24.

An emotionally charged Paes sounded more pained at the way Bhupathi has gone about the whole business of teaming up with him and also by the latter’s unwillingness to discuss the problems with him directly.

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Asked what prevented him from taking the initiative and talking to Bhupathi, Paes said he was after all human and he too naturally had an ego after playing for the country for 20 years. "After all the things said and written about me, how could I have called him? I am not a robot to go about doing things unmindful of what's happening around me."

Paes conceded that he was convinced about the way he handled certain things and so is Mahesh, perhaps. But if Bhupathi has a problem with him, the former should call him and not go about writing letters to the All-India Tennis Association (AITA).

Paes was referring to Bhupathi's letter to the AITA and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) in which he had cited the lack of communication between the two and not enough time to prepare for the Olympics as the reasons for backing out. He instead suggested that Rohan Bopanna should partner him at Beijing.

Paes said Bhupathi should have communicated with him directly if he had any ideas as to how the two should prepare for the Olympics. "Till today, Mahesh has not communicated with me, I get to hear everything from the e-mails of his to the AITA," said Paes.

He also said he had earlier tried communicating with Bhupathi, but didn't get any response. "Communication is a two-way process, but here it is just one way," said Paes.

Asked if Bhupathi, currently world ranked 11th in doubles, was waiting to move into the top ten so that he could nominate a player of his choice and prevent him from participating in his fifth Olympics, Paes said: "I don't want to comment on this. We all have seen Rohan's performance in the last couple of weeks and his fitness. Even when he (Rohan) is in the best of his fitness, we all are intelligent to know who is better."

What Paes didn't say is that even if Bhupathi has to suggest any name it has to be routed through the Indian Olympic Association which has already sent the names of Paes and Bhupathi as India's entry.

Paes reiterated that despite the differences, Mahesh and he are still a potent force on the court as they have performed extremely well for the country in the Asian Games and the Davis Cup despite not playing together on the ATP Tour.

"We have always done well playing for the country. We also can't forget that we played together for eight years and were the world No.1," said Paes.

Paes went on to add that the lack of practice together shouldn't be a problem for either of them because by playing on the ATP Tour their game got sharpened.

"In the 2000 Olympics, we came together two months before the competition and were very close to winning a medal. It was the same at the 2006 Doha Asian Games, where we clinched the gold. Also, of course, the the Davis Cup matches," Paes said.

The AITA has planned to hold a two-week training camp for the Olympics and the Davis Cup World Group Play-off against Romania after Wimbledon. But Bhupathi feels that they need to play more ATP tournaments in the run-up to the Olympics.

Paes, however, feels that the camp would do a world of good for them not only for the Olympics but also for the Davis Cup.

"It was a well thought out plan by the AITA to couple Davis Cup preparation with Olympic training. It will be a nice training ground for the youngsters," he said.

The Davis Cup captain said that it was high time the players went with a clean mind and a definite purpose to both Beijing as well for the Davis Cup tie.

"At the end of the day, we will be hurting ourselves by deflecting our focus from the goal, thus putting additional pressure to get a medal. There is no team better than Leander and Bhupathi to get an Olympic medal," he signed off.

Chengdu

CHENGDU -- The eight pandas chosen to entertain tourists during the Beijing Olympic Games will arrive in the capital on May 24 as scheduled, despite the killer quake which has resulted in havoc in the Wolong Nature Reserve in Sichuan province.



Eight pandas chosen for the Beijing Olympic Games wait at Chengdu Research Base of Sichuan province May 23, 2008. The bears are scheduled to arrive in Beijing at about 5 pm Saturday. [By Huang Zhiling\Chinadaily.com.cn]

The bears will leave the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in this capital of Sichuan at 11 am for the Shuangliu International Airport in the city where a charter flight will take them to Beijing at 3 pm.

After more than two hours' flight, they will land in the capital, said Wang Chengdong, deputy chief of the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.

He disclosed the bears arrived in his base before 2 am on Monday morning from Wolong after traveling by road for more than 10 hours, compared with normally some three hours.

"Because roads were blocked, they took a turnabout way and crossed the Jiajin Mountain to reach Chengdu from Ya'an, a city in western Sichuan. Four keepers from Wolong have accompanied the bears to the Chengdu base and the bears are all in good health," he told chinadaily.com.cn.

When journalists took pictures of the bears in a den in Wang's base yesterday afternoon, they were impressed with the bears devouring bamboo fed by a woman keeper.

According to Xiong Beirong, director the wildlife protection section of the Sichuan Provincial Forestry Bureau, the bears will be accompanied during the flight to Beijing by their keepers who are quite familiar to them. They will take care of the bears during their stay in Beijing and help them get over any after-quake mental problems.

Yoshie Takeshita

World bronze medallists Serbia and Japan clinched tickets for the Beijing Olympics women's volleyball when they coasted to fifth straight wins in the final qualifying round on Friday.

Serbia whipped Puerto Rico 25-12, 25-18, 25-18, while Japan outclassed archrivals South Korea 25-20, 25-19, 21-25, 25-13 to remain unbeaten in the eight-team round robin competition.

The winners of the tournament, along with the best-placed Asian nation and the two other best-placed teams from the remaining six, qualify for the Games in August.

Poland downed Thailand 18-25, 25-14, 25-19, 25-23 to move closer towards Beijing with a 4-1 win-loss record ahead of the Dominican Republic and South Korea with 2-3, Thailand and Puerto Rico with 1-4, and Kazakhstan with 0-5.

Earlier in the day, Kazakhstan's hopes of reaching Beijing fizzled out after they were beaten 25-20, 25-22, 25-17 by the Dominican Republic.

"I can't explain my feeling. I feel some pleasure that I never felt before in my life ... going to the Olympics," said Serbia's ace attacker Jelena Nikolic.

She said the team had played "with one heart," adding: "We had a lot of pressure, but we showed that we are a big team."

Since being appointed Serbia coach in 2002, Zoran Terzic pointed out that the team had qualified for every major tournament and had won silver in the European championships and bronze at the world championships.

"It was very special for us. Of course, it was a little tough at the start of the game because we were under pressure, but I really want to congratulate my players," Terzic said.

"This is the first time in the history of Serbia that the volleyball national team has qualified for the Olympic Games. We made something special and, of course, we are very, very happy because of that."

Meanwhile, Japanese captain Yoshie Takeshita steadied herself despite the jubilation in front of a partisan crowd.

"It was really tough to qualify, but we just came to the starting line for the Beijing Olympics. I'm determined to fight match by match, set by set and point by point every time," said Takeshita.

Japan coach Shoichi Yanagimoto said: "We didn't have enough time to prepare for the tournament, but each player knows her role very well and did their best together."

"We had so many difficulties in the history of the past four years. It is the result of our hard work that we are now in this position," added Yanagimoto.

Ryan Carneli

AUSTRALIAN equestrian legend Andrew Hoy has been caught up in a horse cruelty case that may affect his bid to go to Beijing to compete in his seventh Olympic Games.

Hoy, 49, and Dutch rider Madeleine Brugman, whom he trains, this week faced a disciplinary tribunal in Lausanne, Switzerland, to answer allegations of abusing a horse.

Brugman is accused of fitting her horse Sundancer 6 with spiked boots in the warm-up to the showjumping phase of a three-day event at Barroca d'Alva, Portugal, in March. Both deny the charges. The hearing will resume next week.

■Australian discus thrower Benn Harradine set the second national record of his training and competition tour of the west coast of the US when he threw 66.37 metres at Salinas, California, on Thursday.

His performance came a day after a competition in Salinas in which he threw an Olympic qualifying distance of 65.27.

Harradine has been based at the US Olympic Training centre in Chula Vista, California, with some of the world's top throwers.

He first broke the Australian record three weeks ago. If the latest result is validated, he has bettered the Olympic standard in four competitions.

■World marathon record-holder Paula Radcliffe is in danger of missing the Olympics because of a stress fracture in her left femur.

Radcliffe described learning about the injury, which has also affected her hip, as a bombshell.

"It's been a nightmare last three weeks but I'm trying to stay calm about it," Radcliffe said. "I'm thinking positive."

■The Australian women's water polo team continued its winning streak when it defeated Japan 17-4 in the first round of the FINA World League.

The win marks the third in the series for the Aussie Stingers, who beat China A and China B earlier in the week in the Asia-Oceania zone of the women's water polo competition.

"Our defence was quite good but our attack certainly needs lots of work if we are going to be a serious threat in Beijing (Olympics)," head coach Greg McFadden said.

"Today was very frustrating as we never settled into the game we wanted to play and were continually chasing our tail.

"Full credit to the Japanese, who are continually improving, and I think lady luck was on our side today and not theirs."

Australia will again play China teams A and B and Japan in the second round to cement a berth for the finals in Spain next month.

■Australia's taekwondo Olympics team is in a good position to win gold at the Beijing Games in August, according to coach Daniel Trenton.

The team of four was named yesterday at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra.

Queenslander Tina Morgan, an Athens Olympian, has been joined by Carmon Marton, Ryan Carneli and Burak Hasan, all from Victoria.

Trenton, two-time Olympian and Sydney silver medallist, is confident about the chances of his charges.

"Tina Morgan won the World Cup in 2006, Ryan Carneli had a silver from that competition and Burak Hasan has been placed in the top three to qualify for the Games," he said.

"Carmen has defeated one of two world champions in her preparation towards Beijing."

Nymex

China's plans for the Olympics and its relief efforts in the wake of the earthquake have helped push oil to its recent record highs and could contribute to further spikes this year, analysts say.
[Chart]

The country's lately soaring demand for diesel fuel, in particular, is putting pressure on crude-oil prices, which this week rose as high as $133.17 before settling Thursday at $130.81 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Year to date, crude is up 36%. The so-called light, sweet crude traded on Nymex is a high-quality grade that is sought after to make diesel.

Prices of ultralow-sulfur diesel at New York harbor have risen 48.3% so far this year, and just this month they are up 22.5%, according to Platts.

"The fundamental [issue] now is tight supply of middle-distillates, mainly coming from China," said Ken Hasegawa, manager of commodity derivatives sales at broker Newedge Japan Inc., referring to a mix of petroleum products that includes diesel, jet fuel and heating oil. "Every refiner in Japan is trying to sell diesel to China."

China's diesel demand is by no means the only culprit behind oil's rise. Among other factors are energy demands from other emerging markets, geopolitical tensions, a tight supply by an underinvested oil industry and an influx of speculative funds.

Still, analysts say the Olympics and the earthquake are playing their part. China has been stockpiling diesel and other oil products to smooth out supply hiccups during the August games in Beijing. Also, using diesel instead of coal could help lower pollution levels during the Games.

Meanwhile, the devastating earthquake that hit southwest China on May 12 hurt refining capacity and left a dire need for back-up generators in the affected area. The country's large oil companies have pledged to send hundreds of thousands of tons of diesel, gasoline and kerosene into the area, to fuel power generators, rescue vehicles and helicopters, according to government media. Meanwhile, thousands of diesel-fueled generators have been donated by machinery makers to help restore power there.

Diesel is mainly used in transportation and power generation. Middle distillates accounted for 36% of the world's total petroleum consumption in 2006, the year of the most recent data available from the BP Statistical Yearbook of World Energy.

Last month, diesel imports in China surged by more than eightfold from a year earlier, as domestic refiners have been unable to keep up with demand. To increase the flow of diesel fuels into the country, the government in November cut tariffs on diesel imports from 6% to 2%, and further halved them to 1% in January. In addition, state-run oil companies that import oil products were granted a rebate on another tax, the 17% value-added tax, which is slated to last through June.

Meanwhile, gas stations in several provinces have limited sales of diesel to drivers, as wholesale prices have come to exceed the retail prices they are permitted to charge.

Beijing Olympic medals

AUSTRALIA'S major companies -- including BHP Billiton, Qantas, ANZ, National Australia Bank, Bluescope Steel, Macquarie Group, Telstra, the Seven Network and minerals company Astron -- are combining to leverage the business opportunities from this year's Beijing Olympics.

The companies are sponsoring a hospitality suite, organised by Austrade, in Beijing during the Games. The suite will be used to promote business contacts between Australia and China.

Macquarie Group chairman David Clarke, who is chairing the roundtable advisory group for Business Club Australia Beijing 2008, said yesterday that 13 major Australian companies had combined to sponsor the Business Club.

But he said many more would be using the facilities with almost 40 different corporate events already scheduled to be held at the venue during the Games.

More than 50 small-to-medium enterprises are also expected to be involved in a series of seminars linked to the Games that will cover specialist areas such as mining, financial services, sports business and companies in the clean energy and environmental businesses.

Mr Clarke said the model of using sporting events such as the Sydney Olympics or the Rugby World Cup to promote business links between countries had been successful in the past.

"A lot of businesses use it to get together on a one-on-one basis," he said.

But he said the Beijing event would be the most ambitious attempt of its kind outside of Australia to leverage business links to a sporting event.

Mr Clarke said major Australian corporates such as BHP Billiton and Macquarie had already planned their own individual events during the Games but would also be working together with the Business Club Australia centre in Beijing to create an Australian business centre.

"What we are trying to do here is to co-ordinate the interests of quite a lot of major companies so that one and one make three," he said.

"We want to present, as much as we can, a united front (for Australian business) which is probably more important in China than it is in many other countries."

Austrade estimates that its Business Club programs, which have been tied to the Sydney Olympics, the 2003 Rugby World Cup, the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and the 2007 Rugby World Cup in Paris last year, "helped facilitate" some $1.7 billion in trade and investment opportunities for Australian companies.

Australia's business leaders are waiting on an announcement about whether the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, will attend the Olympics.

Mr Clarke said he did not think that controversy over China's policy in Tibet, which sparked protests against China's Olympic torch relay around the world, would cloud enthusiasm for the Beijing Olympics.

"Sometimes the politics in the Olympics is important," he said.

"Probably, in China, it will be a bit more political but I think it will be a pretty good experience generally.

"I don't think it will be disrupted in the way that, say, the Moscow Games was."

Mr Clarke said Macquarie which has a substantial presence in Hong Kong and China, in a range of areas from property to financial services, would use using the Beijing Olympics to entertain Chinese clients.

But he said other companies would be using the Business Club Australia centre to entertain clients brought from Australia for the Games.

Austrade chief executive Peter O'Byrne said yesterday that corporate sponsorship for the Beijing Business Club had been very strong.

"Australians are very interested," he said.

"The Business Club has some very senior businesspeople involved in its organisation and we are planning it to meet the overall needs of the community," he said. "There is a real dynamic between the companies involved."

BHP -- the only Australian company to sponsor the Beijing Olympics -- has an extensive corporate hospitality program planned for the Games.

The company is providing the metal for all the Beijing Olympic medals.

Several Australian companies, such as architectural firm PTW, which has designed the Olympic swimming centre, will also use the Games to promote their China business credentials.

Corporate executives who attended yesterday's meeting in Sydney to discuss the Beijing Business Club Roundtable included Qantas executive general manager, John Borghetti; Bluescope Steel general manager George Glover; Telstra executive Randy Lynch; Tourism Australia chief Geoff Buckley; ANZ's president for China Andrew McGregor and National Australia Bank's Asian business development manager Michael Shagrin.

Sichuan earthquake

Famous film actor Jackie Chan has said the people of China were resilient and would soon recover from the tragedy of Sichuan earthquake and his next movie will focus on the human side of the natural disaster.

Addressing a press conference at the Foreign Press Association on Friday, the 54-year-old Hong Kong-based actor spoke about the upcoming Olympics in Beijing and said this would be a successful event.

Chan is one of the best known names in kung fu and action films world wide, known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons and innovative stunts. He has acted since the 1970’s appearing in over 100 films.

He slammed those who caused trouble during the relay of the Olympic torch in Europe and said the Olympics belong to the whole world and not just only to China.

“The Olympics is just about bringing the people of the world together in the spirit of friendship and comrade and politics be kept away from it.”

He ran the Olympic torch relay in Sanya, South China. After his run, he led a lion dance and performed a moving rendition of Olympic theme song “We are ready.”

Described variously as an actor, action choreographer, film director, producer, martial artist, comedian, screenwriter, singer and stunt performer, Chan spoke about his anguish at the Sichuan earthquake.

He spoke of his visit to China following the quake and renewed his help to rebuild the many schools that have been destroyed. Chan, who has a large following in Pakistan as well because of the popularity of his movies, said his charity has donated US $ 1.4 million to the earthquake victim.

Jackie who was in Beijing filming a public service announcement for anti-piracy when the quake occurred, immediately began co-ordinating the donation. He appreciated the response of the international community in providing the humanitarian aid.

His latest movie Forbidden Kingdom topped the American office on its opening weekend with US $ 21 million in ticket sales. The movie is set for release in UK on July 9.

He also attended the 61st annual Cannes film festival to promote ‘Wushu’ a film which he produced. Chan said he is holding meeting with some leading producers for his next project which will centre around the tragedy of Sichuan earthquake.

“There are lots of human interest stories emanating from this quake and I am interested in producing a movie for charity purpose,” he told the reporters.

Chan said his charity has also donated funds for the cyclone hit victims of Burma. On the question of piracy, he said it was hurting the film industry and there was a need to further tighten measures

medal-laden Olympic

Australia's medal-laden Olympic team appealed to the government for more money to ensure it repeats its Athens performance and retains fourth place in the medal tally at the Beijing Games.

"It's not rocket science," Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates told reporters.

"They're going to have to find some more money if they want us to be there (in the top five)."

Coates warned the new Labour government of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd that it would be punished come election time if Japan or Germany finished ahead in Beijing.

"I don't think the Australian public will take kindly if we suddenly drop off again and fall out of the top 10." Coates said.

"The Australian public are very proud of the performances our athletes have been achieving, so I'm hoping that's understood."

Australia finished fourth behind the United States, China and Russia at the Athens Game with Japan fifth and Germany sixth. The team won 17 gold medals in Athens, a national record.

Coates is angling for continued lavish funding for the world-famous Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), a campus in Canberra inspired by state-supported institutions in the former Soviet Union.

Australia sent 475 athletes to Athens, the second largest contingent after that of the US.

Australia has finished in the top 10 in 11 of the 14 Olympics of the modern era. In terms of its 21 million population, Australia was the second-best per-capita performer after the Bahamas.

Analysts estimated that taxpayers paid out 5 million US dollars for each Olympic medal won in Athens.
FUZHOU, Fujian, May 10 (Xinhua) -- A chartered plane carrying the flame landed at Fuzhou Changle International Airport in the South East China's Fujian province at 8:35 pm on Saturday after the torch ended its tour in Guangdong province in south China.

The Olympic torch relay in Fuzhou, the capital city of Fujian, is the first stop in the province, and will begin at 8:10 a.m. local time at Wuyi Square on Sunday, with 208 torchbearers running through 28 kilometers.

As the relay route in Fuzhou is entitled "cultural tour" , the itinerary will snake through a number of historical sites and ancient architectures, demonstrating the coastal feature and profound historical background of the city.

After tour of Fuzhou, the Olympic torch is set to carry on its relay in port city Quanzhou, the second stop in Fujian province on MondaZara Phillips, a granddaughter of the Queen, has been selected for England's Olympic equestrian team and will compete in eventing at the Beijing Olympics.

The 26-year-old Phillips will be joined by William Fox- Pitt, a silver team medalist at the 2004 Athens Games, Sharon Hunt, Mary King and Lucy Wiegersma, the British Olympic Association said in a statement on its website. Philips will be riding Toytown, with whom she won both the individual European and World Championship eventing titles.

Phillips, 12th in line to the throne, is the daughter of Princess Anne, who took part in the eventing competition at the 1976 Montreal Games. Zara's father, Mark Phillips, won a gold medal at the 1972 Munich Games in the same event, and is the coach of the U.S. eventing team.
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"It is nice to be selected, but we still have a long way to go," Phillips said. "I am lucky in that Toytown has been to championship events before, so he knows about big occasions and has been consistent, but an Olympic Games really is special."

The Olympic eventing competition is made up of three disciplines: dressage, show jumping and cross-country.

wealth of humanity

·The Olympics is the common wealth of humanity.
·China makes "One world, one dream" the theme slogan of the Olympics.
·The Beijing Olympics will fully display the unity and friendship of the people in the world.

Photo taken on April 17, 2008 shows the night view of the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, in Beijing, capital of China.

Photo taken on April 17, 2008 shows the night view of the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua Photo)
Photo Gallery>>>

BEIJING, May 10 (Xinhua) -- The upcoming Beijing Olympics belongs not only to the Chinese people, but also to people of Asia and the world, said a commentary on People's Daily, quoting President Hu Jintao's remarks during his Japan visit.

The People's Daily, the mouthpiece of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, is to publish the commentary on Sunday.

The moment when the International Olympic Committee announced Beijing would be the host city for the 29th Olympics, the world was expecting a successful Olympics hosted by China, the commentary says.

The moment when the fire from Olympia in Greece is lit in Beijing, China becomes the new station in human's relay of common ideals.

People may see the Beijing Olympics as a glory for a country with 5,000 years of civilization, the aspiration of Asian people to host another Olympic Games, and more than that clear proof of the appeal and cohesion of the big Olympics family, it says.

The Olympics is the common wealth of humanity, and no event in the world could compare with the Games in making participants shelve their differences and bringing people together on the same race track for a common goal, the commentary says.

To humankind, the Olympics advocates the spirit of "faster, higher, stronger" and pursues the universal dream of "peace, friendship and progress", which explains why the IOC has more members than the United Nations and why the Games can light the passion of the world's people, says the commentary.

It is the hosting country's responsibility to build up a platform for the world to carry out dialogue and communicate, says the commentary.

Photo taken on April 17, 2008 shows the night view of the National Aquatics Center, also known as the "Water Cube", in Beijing, capital of China.

Photo taken on April 17, 2008 shows the night view of the National Aquatics Center, also known as the "Water Cube", in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua Photo)
Photo Gallery>>>

China makes "One world, one dream" the theme slogan of the Olympics as it deeply appreciates the Olympics spirit, identifies with the common value of humanity, and hopes to integrate itself into the world as it deepens its opening up and reform.

What China has done for the Beijing Olympics in the past seven years is to honor its solemn commitment to host "a green Olympics, a high-tech Olympics and a people's Olympics" for the international community, says the commentary.

To host a high-level Olympics with distinguishing features is a commitment China has made, and it is also in line with the expectations of the people across the globe, says the commentary.

From the increasing number of foreign experts joining the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the 29th Olympiad to the active participation of foreign volunteers in the Games, from the barefoot Tanzanian children running after the torch relay to foreign journalists actively signing up for the report of the events, all these make people see once again the power of the Olympics ideals to bring people together and that the Olympic spirit can transcend everything. They fully prove that the Beijing Olympics not only belongs to the Chinese people, but also people all over the world.

The upcoming Beijing Olympics will fully display the unity and friendship of the people in the world, the extraordinary spirit and character of humanity, the commentary says.

It will also witness more glories for the Olympic events, and unfold a new chapter for the peaceful development of humanity, it concludes.
BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese man was arrested for saying on the Internet that he planned to grab the Olympic torch during its relay through eastern China, police said Sunday.

The 28-year-old man, identified only as Tang, was detained in Zhenjiang in Jiangsu province in eastern China for alledgedly spreading rumors online and disturbing public order, said an official in the local public security bureau who would give only his surname, Zhang.

Tang was detained on May 7 and will be held for 10 days, Zhang said.

Tang is accused of writing in an Internet chat room that he wanted to organize a group to grab the torch when it arrives in Nanjing, near Zhenjiang, on May 24, state media and police said.

The official Xinhua News Agency said Tang works for a telecommunications company in Zhenjiang, and that he wrote a message in a chat room saying he was wanted by police for preparing to go to Nanjing to grab the Olympic torch.

That drew the attention of local police in Zhenjiang who began an investigation, Xinhua said. It quoted police as saying that while the rapid development of the Internet in China has allowed for more freedom of expression, users must stay within the law.

The government says the number of Internet users in China has soared to 221 million, making it one of the world's biggest online users.

Protests took place during international segments of the Olympic torch relay before the flame returned to China at the beginning of May, receiving a boisterous reception.

Police have been deployed in large numbers for the relay through southern China due to the enthusiasm of local spectators, according to Around the Rings, a Web site that monitors the event.

In Guangzhou, security officers had to extinguish the torch and alter its route because of the crush of supporters, the Web site said.

The torch is to cross every region and province of China, returning to Beijing on Aug. 6, two days ahead of the Olympics opening ceremony.

Buddhist spiritual leader

Notwithstanding what you might have heard on the street, the Dalai Lama doesn't play hardball.

The 72-year-old Buddhist spiritual leader, portrayed by the government of China as a stealthy, Machiavellian "splittist," devotes as much of his meditation to the people of China -- and their government -- as to the plight of his own people in Tibet and elsewhere.

That same compassion is what puts the Dalai Lama and his envoys at a fundamental disadvantage in their dealings with China.

Of all the ethnic, religious, political and territorial intra-national disputes of the past two decades, China's feud with Tibet begs more than most for a United Nations-appointed mediator.

Beijing was pushed into a resumption of its stalled dialogue with the Dharamsala, India-based Tibetan government-in-exile recently by the public relations disaster of the repeatedly thwarted Olympic torch relay and by growing international support for the Free Tibet movement.


China's horror at the prospect of an escalation -- athlete disruptions during medal presentations and possible boycotts of not just the opening ceremonies but of the August games themselves -- helped Beijing see the need to resume talks with the Dalai Lama's representatives, which were suspended last year after a handful of fruitless sessions. Nudging from President George W. Bush, the U.S. Congress and the International Olympic Committee didn't hurt.

BUSH FACTOR

"It's important that there be a renewed dialogue -- and that dialogue must be substantive so we can address, in a real way, the deep and legitimate concerns of the Tibetan people," Bush told a gathering in Washington last week, before the two sides met in Shenzhen, China, on May 4.

But none of the growing number of leaders from the West willing to confront China on this issue has publicly suggested mediation and China has repeatedly told the Tibetan envoys this is an internal matter, meaning they'll balk at outside interference.

The agenda on May 4 was about containing the violence in the streets of Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, where the Tibetan government-in-exile says more than 200 people have been killed and at least as many have been arrested since protests began on March 14.

The broader issues of human rights and autonomy are not yet back on the table, and China has not yet agreed that they will be.

Meanwhile, China's agreement to "resume talks" with the Dalai Lama's envoys has created the illusion of both a real negotiating process where none exists and a misleading calm before the likely storm of the Olympic torch's arrival next month in Lhasa.

The Tibetans have a unique window between now and the Olympics to ask for what they need while the world is watching, while the Dalai Lama is still alive and before an increasingly radicalized generation of young Tibetans further escalates this cause in respectful defiance of the Dalai Lama's policy of non-violence.

MEDIATION

In any other dynamic, international mediation would have already been demanded by the weaker party or leveraged by the United States and/or the United Nations as a matter of course, as was the case in disputes over Northern Ireland, Cyprus, Kosovo, East Timor, Kashmir, the Middle East and elsewhere. (The highly respected former Finnish president, Marti Ahtisaari, who just wrapped up his mandate in Kosovo, might be a good choice as envoy).

But the same overwhelming economic weight and trade power that give China a pass on other human rights files inform the international community's behaviour in this dispute.

So while the Dalai Lama is far from isolated, his popular support was worthless in pressuring Beijing until the Olympics inflated the currency of public perception.

This is why his side needs to demand a mediator now because it will never happen once the Games are over, and if it doesn't happen, the likelihood of his other demands being met is drastically reduced if not nullified.

There is a theory of political activism embraced by dissidents and writers who lived under Soviet repression called the "as if" approach.

It proposes that, when dealing with a dysfunctional, repressive regime, one should behave "as if" things are normal instead of second-guessing official insanity and anticipating neurotic intransigence.

EXPOSED

That way, the extent of the regime's corruption is exposed as a matter of course.

In the longer term, as another step in China's integration with the international community, it will be part of the Dalai Lama's legacy to have done the world's work for it.

Not only is there something fittingly Buddhist about it, it just might work.

Leipzig World Cup

Kolkata, May 10 (PTI) The Archery Association of India on Saturday finalised a four-member squad for the Beijing Olympics drafting in Reena Kumari in place of the out-of-form Chekrovolu Swuro.

Swuro, part of the Indian women's side at the Leipzig World Cup team championship, lost out in a trial to Kumari at the Sports Authority of India campus.

The trial was held to give Swuro, who had not been in her elements of late, a last opportunity to make the cut for the Olympics.

Kumari gained an Olympic berth by finishing first in the trial, where Swuro managed only a fourth spot.

The three-member womens' team also includes Dola Baerjee and L Bombaila Devi.

India had earned three women's quota for the Beijing Olympics at leipzig.

Mangal Singh Champia, who earned a continental quota for the Olympics from the Asian Championship at China's Xi'an, would be the sole men's reprentative at the quadrennial showpiece.

The AAI also announced teams for the season's third and the fourth World Cup competitions.
OSAKA, Japan (AFP) — With the Beijing Olympics three months away, all-conquering Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang demolished the field at the Japan Grand Prix -- then declared he could have run faster.

The 24-year-old Liu also said he felt no particular pressure ahead of August's Games on home soil, despite him undoubtedly being China's best hope for a gold medal in track and field at the Olympics.

Liu, who became Asia's first Olympic track gold medallist in Athens four years ago, coasted to victory in 13.19 in the 110-metre hurdles in wet and cold conditions in Osaka on Saturday in his first outdoor race of the season.

A day earlier, American David Oliver won the Qatar Super Grand Prix in 12.95 for one of the fastest times in history, but Liu said the poor weather in Osaka had held him back.

"I don't feel any pressure," he said, referring to the threat from Oliver. "I believe I could have run under 13 seconds if the weather was fine and conditions were good.

"The most important thing is to run your best performance in any conditions.

"I've been competing in this Grand Prix in Osaka every year. It's always my first outdoor race of a season. I'm really satisfied with my time of 13.19 -- I was able to get off to a good start in the Olympic year."

Liu knows that China's 1.3 billion population fully expects him to take gold in Beijing, but is confident he can deliver if he performs at his best.

"I've competed in the Athens Olympics and I've already become the champion. I just try to be positive and try to do 100 percent of what I can do at Beijing," he said.

In Athens, Liu equalled the previous world record of 12.91 seconds.

He then broke the 13-year-old world mark by clocking 12.88 in Lausanne two years ago and went on to complete his collection by winning the world outdoor title and the world indoor 60m hurdles title in Valencia in March.

"The difference from four years ago is that I am physically stronger and I run faster," Liu said earlier in comments sure to send a shiver down the spine of opponents such as Oliver.

The Chinese superstar's build-up to the Games continues with the Olympic test event in Beijing on May 22 and three more races in the United States.

4x100 meters

Wanganui cyclist Catherine Cheatley has grabbed the yellow jersey in the Joe Martin stage race in the US state of Arkansas.

Cheatley, racing for her professional American Cheerwine team, was second in yesterday's opening 4km time trial stage by one second. She was also second in the second stage, a 98km road race in Fayetteville, ahead of the time trial winner, Mackenzie Woodring, who finished sixth to concede the yellow jersey to Cheatley.

The New Zealander clocked 10m 29s in the time trial and was given the same time of 2hrs 52m 47s as teammate Laura van Gilder who won yesterday's stage.

There are another three stages - a 103km road race and a 4km time trial today. The final stage is an hour-long criterium tomorrow.

Cheatley has been in a run of good form. In early April, she was second in a round of the US criterium series in Athens, Georgia, and was fourth in the Sea Otter Classic criterium in Monterey, California.

Third in the points race at last year's track world championships in Spain, Cheatley is battling for one of three women's road racing berths in the New Zealand team to the Beijing Olympics.

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"She's hopeful of getting one of those road spots which will give her a points race ride in Beijing," her father-in-law and former national coach Ron Cheatley said. "Everything she is doing is geared towards that but she has to prove she's back in form after the setback she had."

Ron Cheatley was referring to her disappointing 21st placing in the points race followed by a 10th in the scratch race at the recent world track championships in Manchester, England.

Late last year, Cheatley underwent an operation to enlarge a vein in her left thigh and was clearly underdone in Manchester.

"Her road racing programme is filled to the end of July but she's hopeful that she will be there when they name the road team at end of the month or in early June. Then she can change her programme a bit to do some track work in preparation for a shot at the points race."

At the moment, Cheatley and Christchurch's Joanne Kiesanowski, who rides for the Cervelo Lifeforce professional team, appear to be the leading candidates for two of the road berths in Beijing.
LAGOS, May 10 (Xinhua) -- Nigerian government has concluded plans to mobilize the country athletes for the forthcoming Olympic Games to reach their optimum conditions for medals haul in Beijing in August, a top official in the National Sports Commission has said.

Patrick Ekeji, the Director of Sports Development in the NSC told local media in Abuja Friday that the government had proposed a national camp should open in Abuja on May 13 before the various teams eventually travel abroad next month for training tours.

Nigerian President Umar Yar dua had recently charged the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) to ensure that the country wins not less than eight gold medals at the Games.

The government was working round the clock to ensure that the athletes were put in proper shape for the Olympics.

The Director of Sports Development has set benchmarks for the athletes as the second national invitational relay competition holds at the Esuene Stadium in Nigeria southeast city Calabar on Saturday.

Although Nigerian sprinters, Olusoji Fasuba, and Damola Osayomi, became the fastest man and woman on the continent by winning the 100metres final races at the African Athletics Championship, the 4x100 meters relay team dropped its baton.

"All required resources for Nigeria to excel at the Olympics are underway. Very soon, the program of foreign training tours for the athletes would be announced," the Director of Sports Development was quoted saying by the Punch newspaper on Saturday.

Olympic moms

Tina Ellertson whispers through the telephone line, but her lowered voice can't contain the joy.

It's bursting through the line. Mya, just 4 days old, naps nearby. In 15 minutes, she'll be awake, ready for another feeding. Ellertson sounds so happy, it's not long before she drops the whisper. She's got two girls now, including 7-year-old MacKenzie.

She also has a dream.

The former University of Washington soccer player, known as Tina Frimpong when she led the Huskies in career scoring with 43 goals, wants to regain her spot on the women's national team in time for the Beijing Olympics in August.

That means not only healing from last Sunday's childbirth, but getting back in shape fast enough to play with the best soccer talent in the world. It means learning a new system under a new coach after not having played at an elite level since October. A comeback in two months? Ellertson knows this sounds impossible, but she's going to try anyway.

Motherhood and Olympic aspirations are no longer mutually exclusive. Olympic moms are everywhere these days, balancing workouts one minute, a kid on their hip the next.

Swimmer Dara Torres. Local weightlifter Melanie Roach, who competes in the Olympic trials starting Friday in Atlanta. Soccer players Kate Markgraf and Christie Rampone. Basketball players Lisa Leslie and Tina Thompson. Softball's Jennie Finch. All moms. All world-class athletes near or at the top of their game.

It's causing a shift in how we think about and train our Olympic athletes. For the first time, the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs is adding living space for families in its athlete residences.

But Ellertson's is no ordinary comeback attempt for a mom. Her name is not even on the 27-player national team pool this year from which the Olympic team will be chosen.

For her quest, Ellertson finds inspiration on the national team, where Markgraf calls regularly with advice on post-delivery workouts. Other teammates also have kept in touch.

She also finds inspiration in her own household. Her husband, Brad, was scheduled to graduate from WSU Vancouver this weekend. There's Mya. Especially, there's MacKenzie, "the coolest kid you'll ever meet," who has watched her mom practice and play with the national team.

"What's cool is she's always been around a group of girls, of strong women," said Ellertson, from Vancouver, Wash. "She gets to see women not hearing 'No' for an answer, pushing themselves to the highest they can do."

Like Ellertson, Seattle's Aretha (Hill) Thurmond feels the pull of the Olympic rings. She chose to give up a promising career to seek her third trip to the Olympics, her first as a mom. Her son, 11-month-old Devon, is a regular at UW's Dempsey fieldhouse, where his mother throws the discus. She parks his stroller on the sideline. If he gets squirmy, any one of a number of athletes interrupts their training to take him for a spin around the track.

About a year ago, Thurmond landed a career job as the director of the athlete alumni club at UW. But the former star at Renton High School and the UW had to choose between discus and her job when Devon came along. Juggling all three was too much. She quit the job this March.

Thurmond, 31, is in the mix to qualify for Beijing when the trials begin in June in Eugene, Ore.

"It's something he can be a part of as well," said Thurmond, whose husband, Reedus, is UW's throwing coach and will be competing in discus at the trials, too. "Kids can't really be part of a career job. I wanted to be fair to him. I also wanted to be fair to myself. I thought maybe I might be done, but I'm not. I'm not. The Olympic flame is still burning inside me. Why not give it my all? You only have a small window to be an athlete."

Ellertson is one of the swiftest defenders in U.S. team history. Her place on the national team roster was solid. So was a berth on the 2008 Olympic team. Then came Mya.

She knows the odds aren't in her favor to return in time for Beijing. She pushed the limits, continuing to work out until a scare six months into her pregnancy, when vigorous training triggered early contractions. Ellertson cut back her workouts and intensity, slowing to a walk the last three weeks before delivering.

Last week, Ellertson, 25, got the OK from her doctor to start running for the first time, five days after Mya's birth. Her plan is to work up to scrimmages with men's teams. She has had a few conversations with new women's coach Pia Sundhage during her pregnancy. Sundhage has been "awesome" and supportive, Ellertson said.

"I look at my daughter Mya and said, 'OK, she's amazing and beautiful.' Playing in the Olympics is something I will do, whether it's in August or four years from now. I feel like I'm pretty lucky."

Today, Thurmond will spend her first Mother's Day halfway around the world from Devon. She'll be at a track meet in Osaka, Japan, while her mother cares for her son.

Ellertson will spend Mother's Day at home with her two kids, celebrating Brad's graduation as her U.S. teammates recover from Saturday night's scheduled exhibition against Canada in Washington, D.C.

Both feel the tug from somewhere else. But neither would trade where they are right now.

Crew heats up

The run-up to Beijing gets serious for area rowers at the Olympic trials starting Tuesday in West Windsor, N.J.

Lake Stevens' Bjorn Larsen teams with Richard Montgomery of Batavia, Ill., in the lightweight men's double sculls. Michelle Trannel of East Dubuque, Ill., and Liz Patterson of Davis, Calif., will represent Seattle's Pocock Rowing Center in the lightweight women's double sculls.

All are vying for a berth on the U.S. Olympic team in the five-day trials. But it's a little more complicated than just winning there. Because the United States failed to qualify for Olympic berths in the lightweight men's and women's double sculls at last year's world championships, they have to fight through another layer of competition to earn a trip to Beijing.

First, the teams must win at next week's Olympic trials. That means Larsen and Montgomery have to top a nine-crew field that includes Californians Michael Aller of Santa Barbara and Gavin Frase of Orinda, who won April's national-selection regatta. Trannel and Patterson have to beat five other teams in the women's event.

First-place boats then travel to Posnan, Poland, June 15-18, where each must finish in the top two of the international field to qualify for the Olympics.

Notes

• Brush Prairie's Seth Kelsey is bound for Beijing, making his second Olympic team in fencing. Kelsey, a 2003 U.S. Air Force Academy graduate who trains in Colorado Springs, is the lone U.S. entry in epee since the U.S. failed to qualify a team in that event. The 12-member U.S. team will be represented in all individual disciplines and will compete in three of the four team disciplines — women's sabre, men's sabre and women's foil.

• A new book has relevance in the midst of Olympic torch protests and vows by world leaders to skip Beijing's opening ceremony to decry China's abysmal human-rights history. "Boycott: Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games," by Jerry and Tom Caraccioli, includes a forward written by Walter Mondale apologizing to athletes for the Jimmy Carter-led boycott by the U.S. Olympic team in 1980. The book focuses on the stories of 18 athletes, most of whom you've never heard of, who were denied their dream of competing in the Olympics because of politics. The most recognized names? Basketball players Isiah Thomas and Carol Blazejowski.

China Sex Girl

For China, a successful staging of the Olympics is a question of good grace, manners and proper etiquette. All round the country, young men and women are being trained to put China's best face forward when 500,000 foreigners and two million visitors from within China arrive for the 29th Olympiad, which begins in the city of Beijing on 8 August.

These teenagers are among 1,400 aviation students who are learning how to walk, how to talk and how to dress for their work as stewards during the Games. They are an élite squad among the 70,000 volunteers who will work at the Olympics and 30,000 who will work at the Paralympics. More than one million people applied.

They will serve in a city that has been re-invented for the Olympics. Many of the old districts have been torn down and replaced with gleaming new Olympic sites. Officially, China is spending about £20bn on the Games, building stadiums, a subway system, a new airport, a new road network, even a new sewage system.

The volunteers will meet and greet in some of the capital's signature projects designed by the world's brightest and boldest avant-garde architects, including Rem Koolhaas, Norman Foster and Paul Andreu. Many will be stewards at the fantastic Bird's Nest stadium designed by Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron.

The stewards will need to keep that poise about them in the face of complaints about pollution, or international criticism of China's crackdown on protests in Tibet, and try not to let their anger over the reception afforded the Olympic torch relay through many cities sour their smiles as they welcome the visitors.

And security has become a big part of the training. The volunteers will work closely with thousands of special recruits from the military and police academies. Just to make sure that balance is maintained.

Summer Olympics

LONDON (AFP) — The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games will boost China's rampant demand for energy, threatening to push world oil prices beyond current record heights, according to industry analysts.

Crude prices surged last week to strike a record high above 126 dollars per barrel, boosted by tightening supplies, underinvestment in global production and ongoing unrest in key producer Nigeria.

Runaway oil prices were also partly fuelled by "stockpiling in China to prevent shortages ahead of the Olympics," said Lehman Brothers analyst Edward Morse.

Asian economic powerhouse China, the world's second most voracious energy consumer after the United States, stages the Summer Olympics from August 8-24.

Industry experts reckon that China, which enjoys record-breaking economic growth, will need even more crude oil to provide the facilities, transportation and energy supplies that are required to power a successful Olympic Games.

"In the lead-up to the Games you are going to see pretty heavy spending in infrastructure -- building roads, residential property, hotels -- and this is typically energy intensive," said BNP Paribas analyst Harry Tchilinguirian.

Demand for kerosene, or jet fuel, was also expected to rocket as spectators and athletes fly in and out of the Chinese capital city along with untold numbers of tourists.

"The other aspect is increased demand for transport fuel -- jet fuel for getting people there (to Beijing), not just from the outside but also from within China," Tchilinguirian said.

China, the world's fourth-largest economy, grew at a breakneck pace of 11.9 percent in 2007 and chalked up quarterly growth of 10.6 percent in the first three months of 2008.

"China has been spending quite a bit on infrastructure to accompany its record-breaking growth but on top of that, some of this is related to the preparation of the Olympics," Tchilinguirian added.

Philip Andrews-Speed, professor of energy policy at Dundee University, said the Chinese authorities would be desperate to avoid oil shortages during the Games when the world's eyes will be on Beijing.

"They do not want China to be seen to be having shortages of supply of oil products across the country during the Olympics for a matter of image and (this is) tied to social stability because people might get a bit upset.

"They are going to make every effort to make sure that the refineries are operating to the full extent and that there are no blockages to imports," he said.

"They will use ... any reasonable tax incentives like removing taxes in oil imports to make sure there is enough oil in the country during the coming months."

According to the International Energy Agency, China is on course to become the world's biggest energy consuming nation shortly after 2010.

"China is a driver for world oil demand," said Andrews-Speed, adding that "everything is pointing to more pressure on demand."

Beijing Olympic Games

AMSTERDAM, May 10 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of Chinese students and Chinese Dutch people held a rally Saturday on the Dam Square in downtown Amsterdam to voice their support for the upcoming Beijing Olympic Games.

Their faces and arms painted with images of China's five-star red flag and Beijing Olympics symbols, and demonstrators waved Chinese and Dutch national colors and chanted: "Welcome to Beijing, Welcome to China!"

People in their 70s, as well as kids in parents' arms, joined the three-hour rally which had the theme of "Welcoming the Olympics and focusing on China."

"I'm Chinese, I feel I should come," said Mrs. Zhao, who lives in Amsterdam and is six months pregnant. Joining her were Chinese Dutch and Chinese students from all parts of the country.

"It is the first time I saw such a big gathering of the Chinese community in the heart of the capital," said a Dutch onlooker. "The Chinese community is usually very quiet and I think it's a good thing for them to speak out," she said.

The square, which is in front of the Royal Palace, is overflowing with banners like "The Dutch Are Friends of Chinese," "Great Games, Zero Politics" and "One world, One Dream."

Fu Junwei, a law doctorate candidate at the Tilburg University who helped organize the rally, said Chinese students in the Netherlands felt insulted by some Western media's slanted reports about China and decided to do something.

"We can never sit idly by. We feel we should tell the Dutch people the truth and stop the mudslinging. The most important thing is to have discussions with the Dutch and show them a complete picture," he said.

Tens of thousands of brochures, leaflets and souvenirs about China and the Beijing Olympics were handed out at the rally. Several thousand of signatures, from Chinese and other ethnic backgrounds, were collected in support of the Beijing Games.

Some enthusiastic China fans of white skin listened to speeches at the rally. Jaap Dil, a Dutch process operator in the pharmaceutical industry, said he visited China twice, in 2000 and 2007, and saw a country undergoing enormous changes.

"China is developing very fast, faster than any other country in the world. I saw huge changes in the country, a lot of improvement, in environment for instance," he said.

Dil was holding a red Chinese flag and wearing a Beijing Olympics T-shirt, which he bought in China last year. "People should go to China, see with their own eyes and then make their point," he said.

Bento Mol, a Dutch IT project manager, said he would embark on a two-month "Olympics journey" across the Eurasian continent next month.

Forty-two people driving more than 20 vehicles will leave for China on June 21 and the "Going Dutch caravan" is scheduled to arrive in Beijing on Aug. 8, the day the Olympics opens.

"The Olympics is an international event and everybody should enjoy it. I don't see any point in boycotting the Games," said Mol, who was wearing a red T-shirt to express solidarity with China and the Olympics.

Fu Junwei was happy that many Dutch people helped with the preparations of the rally, such as translation of the slogans and leaflets, and many Dutch people signed on the Olympics banner which is to be presented to the Beijing Olympics Organizing Committee.

"The rally would not be half as successful as now but for our Dutch friends' support," he said