Beijing - Jamaican sprint sensation Usain Bolt will go for a sprint double at the Beijing Games in a boost for Olympic athletics, it was confirmed on Sunday.

There was less good news for organizers as they were warned that rain could dampen Friday's proposed opening ceremony, while typhoons could cause a postponement of the equestrian and sailing events.

Zhang Qiang, the deputy director of the Beijing Weather Modification Office, said she expected rainfall over Beijing during the Games to be slightly more than normal.

"The temperature will also be slightly higher," she said.

Beijing - This day in Olympic history - August 4

August 4

Washington, August 3 : China is slowly and steadily becoming one of the world''s prominent scientific powerhouses, with an astonishing increase in journal papers written by scientists in the country.

It has already overtaken the UK and Germany in the number of physics papers published and is beginning to nip at the heels of the United States.

If China''s output continues to increase at its current pace, the country will be publishing more articles in physics - and indeed all of science - than the US by 2012.

Nanoscience, quantum computing and high-temperature superconductivity are three of the cutting-edge areas of physics that have seen particularly large increases.

Power generation equipment maker Thermax Ltd, ha

Beijing - The Internat

Beijing - A new 120-kilometre long train line between the Chinese cities of Beijing and Tianjin was officially opened Friday.