Olympic village opens in a haze of pollution

by SUZY AUSTIN - Sunday, July 27, 2008 A thick smog marred the official opening of Beijing's Olympic village yesterday despite a week of drastic pollution-control measures. Smoggy: Tiananmen Square yesterday The haze meant the luxury complex, which will house 16,000 athletes during next month's games, was invisible from just a few hundred metres away. Despite officials pulling half of the city's 3.3million cars off the road, closing factories and halting construction, air quality appeared unchanged. However, organising committee vice president Chen Zhili said the Chinese capital was now ready to 'welcome athletes from around the world'. She was handed a symbolic gold key at the heavily guarded ceremony, which was attended by some of the country's top sportsmen and politicians - including NBA basketball star Yao Ming. The... [read full story]