David Beckham will take centre stage when the Olympic flag is handed to London at Sunday's closing ceremony in Beijing. Beckham, whose popularity in China dwarfs that of even record-breaking swimmer Michael Phelps or sprint sensation Usain Bolt, will take part in London 2012's eight-minute slot in the Games finale designed to showcase the next host city.
Chinese President Hu Jintao officially launched the Beijing Olympic torch relay on Monday at Tiananmen Square.
A majority of athletes in Australia's largest ever Olympic team believe the Beijing Games will be tainted by drug scandals, with nearly a fifth believing an Australian could be among the cheats, a poll showed on Monday. Three-in-four of those surveyed, including high profile swimming captain and two-time gold medal winner Grant Hackett, believed athletes in Beijing would be using performance enhancing drugs.
Indians might have emerged as the new hope for the world travel and tourism industry, but they seem to be giving a miss to the month-long Beijing Olympics slated to begin next month.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday that India and China are going through a 'particularly bad patch' in their ties because Beijing has taken a set of actions in violation of agreements for which it still doesn't have a 'credible explanation' and it is for the Chinese leadership to answer where they want to take the bilateral relationship.
'As the infection source has not yet been cut off, numbers of confirmed and suspected SARS cases remain high,' Wang Qishan said.
China on Thursday said Beijing views the BRICS as an "open and inclusive" platform and it backs moves to expand the five-member grouping with "like-minded partners".
'I hope Lionel Messi gets a little percentage of the shirt sales because I've never seen so many Argentine number 10 shirts in my life!'
Former world number one Amelie Mauresmo said on Thursday she would not play in the Beijing Olympics next month to concentrate on preparing for the US Open.
Stringent visa procedures, astronomical hotel rates and a scarcity of event tickets have proved a dampener for Indian visitors to the Beijing Olympics, which began today.
Pro-Tibet demonstrators tried to hijack the Beijing Olympic torch lighting ceremony in ancient Olympia on Monday. Just before the torch-lighting ceremony inside the archaeological site that played host to the Olympics in ancient Greece, a few demonstrators tried to break a tight police cordon.
Ash Barty beat eighth seed Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(7) in Beijing to seal her spot in the final of the China Open on Saturday.
The Union health ministry has advised states to immediately review public health preparedness in view of recent reports indicating a surge in respiratory illness in children in northern China.
Prime Minister Modi and President Xi held the conversation on Wednesday on the sidelines of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) summit in Johannesburg.
Less spitting, better queuing and cleaner streets show Beijing has become more "civilised", but the city still has to fine-tune its etiquette to attain Olympic standards, Xinhua news agency said on Friday, citing a new study.
This is her first visit to Beijing after she took over the office last year.
The Indian Navy, which regards itself as the 'net security provider' in the Indian Ocean Region, has also stepped up to the plate, with a warship stationed at all times off the Gulf of Aden for counter-piracy tasks. 91 Indian warships have been deployed in the region since 2008, patrolling high risk areas where piracy was rampant.
World record holder Haile Gebrselassie will aim for an Olympic marathon title at the 2012 London Games after deciding the pollution in Beijing this year represents an unacceptable health threat. The twice Olympic 10,000 metres champion, who will be 39 in 2012, suffers from exercise-induced asthma and will not compete in Beijing unless he qualifies for the Ethiopian 10,000 team.
Prganisers will be on high alert to ensure the event goes off safely.
'Huge disappointment that we did not qualify for our third consecutive Olympics'
China's COVID-19 cases are on the rise due to the recent easing of pandemic restrictions.
In the past year, Beijing has hosted at least 70 delegations from India as part of its outreach to the Indian business community, youth leaders and Sangh Parivar affiliates
The scaling up of the India-US strategic partnership to the level of non-NATO ally with defence deals, sharing and transfer of defence technology, interoperability, joint collaboration and joint production of defence equipment has exacerbated Moscow's anxiety, notes Rup Narayan Das.
England's Chef de mission Craig Hunter said the arrangements at the Delhi Games Village are much better as compared to the Beijing Olympics.
Two of Xi Jinping's chosen officials have disappeared from view, an indication of turmoil in Xi's government, months after he installed a collection of loyalist leaders in his cabinet, observes Dr Rajaram Panda.
The United States and China on Wednesday failed to reach a consensus on how to resolve Beijing's territorial disputes with smaller nations in South China Sea, as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton held talks with top leaders in Beijing but not 'President-in-waiting' Xi Jinping who cancelled a meeting at the last minute.
The development comes a day after clashes broke out in Parliament on Sunday between pro-government MPs and opposition lawmakers over differences over the approval of four members of the pro-China President's cabinet.
COVID-19 cases have spread quickly in China after its Zero Covid policy was withdrawn.
US President Joe Biden is set to meet his Chinese counterpart on Wednesday in the San Francisco Bay Area, CNN reported, citing senior US administration officials.
There is no official word either from China or from India on who will represent Beijing at the upcoming G20 summit.
Qin, who is visiting New Delhi to attend the G20 Foreign Ministers meeting on Thursday, is expected to meet Jaishankar on its sidelines though the foreign ministry here is tight-lipped about it.
English speakers in Beijing have in the past been invited to visit "Racist Park" -- more accurately translated as the Park of Ethnic Minorities.
Her bronze medal in the London Olympics has sent India into a state of frenzy, but her shocking quarterfinal defeat in her maiden appearance at the mega event in Beijing four years ago, still rankles shuttle queen Saina Nehwal.
China on Saturday began military exercises around Taiwan to test the capabilities of its forces to 'seize control of the sea, air and information', days after a meeting between the United States House Speaker and the President of the self-ruled island in defiance of repeated threats by Beijing.
He urged China to bolster the flow of its tourists to the Maldives.
Strong winds damaged the roof of third terminal building at the much admired Beijing Capital International Airport for the second time in a year, raising doubts about the resilience and the quality of construction of the land mark structure.
Ace Indian marksman Abhinav Bindra equalled his Beijing Olympics qualification score at the International Shooting Competition in Munich on Sunday.
India and the Maldives on Friday agreed to set up a core group to further deepen their partnership as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a 'productive' meeting with newly-elected Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu and discussed ways to enhance the bilateral friendship across diverse sectors.
Trying to replicate the splendour of Beijing Olympics would be a futile exercise and London, instead, would strive to make a mark in its own way, 2012 Games chairman Sebastian Coe said in New Delhi.
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