By Xinhua,
Beijing : Beijing is to standardise the city’s toilet direction plates ahead of the Olympic Games, according to Beijing Youth Daily. The plates, already in use in some places, feature white male and female characters on a blue background, the paper quoted officials with the city government.
Beijing, with 5,174 public toilets, has outpaced New York, London and Tokyo and become the world’s No. 1 metropolis as far as public toilets are concerned. The Olympic Games will be held Aug 8-24.
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Nigeria mobilises athletes for medals
Lagos: The Nigerian government has concluded plans to mobilise the country’s athletes for the Olympic Games to reach their optimum conditions for medals in August, a top official in the National Sports Commission (NSC) has said.
Patrick Ekeji, the Director of Sports Development in the NSC, said in Abuja that the government had proposed a national camp should open in Abuja Tuesday before the various teams eventually travel abroad next month for training. Nigerian President Umar Yar dua had recently asked the Nigerian Olympic Committee to ensure that the country wins at least eight gold medals.
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$149,990 donation for Green Olympics
Beijing: Siemens, Motorola, Amway and other 13 international companies donated $149,990 to support tree planting in Beijing, said the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) on its website.
Ma Xiuhong, vice minister of the MOC, said this showed those international companies’ efforts to support the Olympic Games and public services in tangible ways and also embodied their corporate social responsibilities. Official figures showed that 168 million trees were planted in the 1981-2007 period in Beijing.
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New Zealand to send 30-strong team to Paralympics
Wellington: New Zealand will send a 30-strong team to the Paralympic Games in Beijing in September, Radio New Zealand has reported.
Athens 2004 gold medallists Tim Prendergast and Matt Slade in athletics, and shooter Michael Johnson head the team. The Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games will be held in September and will use the same venues and village as the Olympic Games. A total of 4,000 athletes from 130 countries and regions are expected to compete.
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Nigerian athletes for Paralympics resume camping
Lagos: The Nigerian athletes who have been on a month’s break are back in camp at the Liberty Stadium in Southwest Nigeria Ibadan in Oyo State to intensify their preparations for the Paralympics Games in China.
“The country Paralympics bound athletes are currently preparing for the Paralympics Games in Beijing, China. Sportspersons in athletics, power lifting and table tennis are back in camp in Ibadan,” said Simon Ebhojiaye, secretary of the Nigeria Paralympics Committee.