Beijing, Aug. 9 : A Chinese man attacked two American tourists and a Chinese tour guide in downtown Beijing on Saturday shortly after noon.

The American man died while the other two, both women, were injured, reports Xinhua.

The attacker then killed himself by jumping from the second story of the Drum Tower, a popular tourist site, after the incident, which took place at about 12:20 p. m., a spokesman with the Beijing Municipal Government Information Office said.

The attacker was identified as 47-year-old Tang Yongming from the eastern city of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, according to an ID card found on his body.

London  - More than 200 noisy demonstrators gathered outside the Chinese Embassy in London Friday to voice their protest at China's human rights record.

Demonstrators from Tibet, Zimbabwe, Sudan and Burma joined forces to protest against human rights violations and China's hosting of the Olympics.

Amid drumming and chanting they held aloft large banners calling for a "free Tibet" and demanded an end to China's support for the military regime in Myanmar.

Berlin - German Chancellor Angela Merkel hopes the Beijing Olympics will be peaceful, the government press office said Friday as the opening ceremony got under way in the Chinese capital.

Brussels - Around 100 protesters against China's human- rights record demonstrated outside the headquarters of the European Union on Friday as the Olympic Games opened in Beijing.

"The Olympic flag symbolizes peace, harmony and the solidarity of nations. The Beijing Games have become a nightmare for the millions of people in China who love peace," a statement issued by the Congress of Tibetan Youth in Belgium said.

"China's leaders have intensified the detention, torture and even execution of hundreds of Uighurs, Tibetans and Chinese dissidents under the pretext of 'security' and 'safe games,'" it said.

Beijing - The opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics got underway with a fireworks display on Friday night, setting the stage for a three-hour extravaganza.

The 91,000-strong crowd in the National Stadium was due to be treated to a trip through Chinese history and culture with around 20,000 performers on a hot and sticky night.

The parade of a record 204 nations alone was due to last 1:50 hours in front of almost 90 state leaders featuring among others Chinese President Hu Jintao, US President Goerge W Bush and Russian Premier Vladimir Putin.

Hu was due to officially open the Games with the traditional formula: "I declare open the Games of Beijing celebrating the XXIX Olympiad of the modern era."

Beijing  - Brunei was excluded from the Beijing Olympics shortly ahead of Friday's opening ceremony by the International Olympic Committee because it failed to register athletes in time.