Workers Plow Through Great Wall of China, Leaving a Hole

Two workers have been detained in northern China after local authorities said they plowed through a section of the country’s Great Wall with an excavator, leaving a gaping hole. The pair, a 38-year-old man and 55-year-old-woman, caused “irreversible damage” when they used the construction equipment to widen an existing gap and create a shortcut that was large enough to drive the excavator through it, the Youyu County Public Security Bureau said in a news release last week. The security bureau said it was first notified of the hole in a…

Winter Olympic Torch Relay Shrinks to ‘Prioritize Safety.’

The Olympic torch’s public journey to the opening ceremony of the Winter Games will be much more lonely and with much less fanfare. The torch relay, usually global and lasting for months, will be just three days, mostly local, and open only to select members of the public, according to organizers of the Beijing Olympics. “This torch relay will always prioritize safety,” Yang Haibin, an official from the organizing committee, said at a news briefing on Friday. The route will feature stops at the Great Wall, the Summer Palace, and…