Olympic Games

Olympic Games End Decade of Giant Mega-projects in Brazil

By Mario Osava
An era of mega-events and mega-projects is coming to a close in Brazil with the Olympic Games to be hosted Aug. 5-21 by Rio de Janeiro. But the country’s taste for massive construction undertakings helped fuel the economic and political crisis that has it in its grip.

Brazilian Athletes Left “Homeless” by Olympic City

By Fabíola Ortiz
With three years to go to the 2016 Olympic Games, hundreds of athletes in the Brazilian city that will host the games were evicted from the only public track field, and have had nowhere to train for the past six months.

Women Redefine Japan’s Work Culture

By Suvendrini Kakuchi
Unhappy with her employer of five years, Chikako Harada, 34, quit three months ago and has just started on a new job with a large Internet sales company. 

Cameroonian Athletes Braving the Odds

By Ngala Killian Chimtom
Victorine Fomum is Cameroon’s 2005 African table tennis champion. She often used to “train without rackets, without balls, without appropriate clothing and without good tables.” But despite this, she won gold at the 2005 African Nations Championship. And as a reward for her achievement the government handed her a cheque – for 25 dollars.

Celebrating the Olympic Ideal with a Big Mac

By Isabelle de Grave and Stephanie Parker
As the 2012 London Olympics gears up to open on Jul. 27, criticism of the longstanding partnership between the Games and sponsor McDonald’s has stolen a small portion of the limelight.

IOC in Talks with Saudi Arabia over Male-Only Team

By AJ Correspondents
The International Olympic Committee has said it is in talks with Saudi Arabia, after Human Rights Watch called for Riyadh to be barred from participating in the London Olympic Games.