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IOC’s pursuit of Chinese money is hardly fair play | Sean Ingle

A billion-dollar deal with Alibaba is just the latest incident in which the International Olympic Committee appears to be violating its own principlesSometimes when they interrogated Xie Yang they sat him on top of a stack of plastic stools. And then, between threats to turn him into an “invalid”, they kicked, punched and head-butted him, blew cigarette smoke in his face and suggested that his wife had better take care when driving. “If you move, we can consider that you attacked a police officer, and we can take whatever steps to deal with you,” he was warned.Xie, a prominent Chinese lawyer who was among around 300 human rights activists detained in July 2015, was also hung from the ceiling and...

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West Ham’s Olympic Stadium deal explained: from Water City to the London Stadium

After London’s mayor Sadiq Khan ordered an inquiry into the inflated cost of the stadium, a look at how the Hammers got there, and who’s footing the billThe total cost of converting the Olympic Stadium from an athletics stadium into a multi-use venue has soared to £323m, taking the overall cost of West Ham United’s new home to £752m – largely borne by taxpayers. How did we get here? Related: London mayor Sadiq Khan orders inquiry into West Ham stadium costs Continue reading...

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