CRITICS ROUNDED UP IN BEIJING

Ahead of the Olympic Games, Beijing is being emptied of political critics, underground Christian organizers, and ordinary Chinese who come to the capital to protest local government injustices. Officials in charge of security have denied they are rounding up peaceful critics and have defended their actions as necessary, given global terrorism’s scope and the publicity attacking the Olympics would bring. To squelch any threat, they are mobilizing an army of security many times greater than previous Olympics — 110,000 police, riot squads, and special forces, augmented by more than 300,000 Olympic volunteers and neighborhood watch members.

Associated Press

ECONOMIST: CHINA WILL WIN MOST GOLDS

China stands to win more gold medals than any other country at the Summer Games, according to an economic model created by an economist at Colorado College, Daniel Johnson. John Hawksworth of PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLC projects it to win the most gold, silver, and bronze medals combined. Chinese athletes will win 44 gold medals this year, ending America’s gold-medal dominance it has had since the 1992 Games in Barcelona, Mr. Johnson’s model projects. America will take home 33 gold medals this year, he estimates.

Bloomberg News

GROUP: CHINA RENEGED ON RIGHTS PLEDGES

China failed to meet pledges it made when Beijing was awarded the Olympic Games to end persecution of human rights activists and lift restrictions on journalists, Amnesty International said 10 days before the opening ceremony. The report finds that in preparation for the Olympics, Chinese authorities locked up, put under house arrest, and forcibly removed individuals perceived as threatening the image of “stability” and “harmony” that officials want to present. The Foreign Ministry in Beijing declined to comment before seeing the report.

Associated Press

IRAQI OFFICIALS TO MEET WITH IOC

Senior Iraqi government officials will meet with the International Olympic Committee today to try to salvage the country’s participation in the Beijing Games. A delegation will discuss reinstating the National Olympic Committee, which was dissolved by the Baghdad government in May, and led to the IOC suspending Iraq from the Olympics for political interference. Iraq also has verbally committed to a compromise by holding free elections to its national committee under IOC observation.

Associated Press