In addition to using fake fireworks at Friday evening's grand opening of the Summer Games in Beijing, the ceremony also used the recorded voice of a young female singer who did not have impressive-enough looks to appear on the globally-broadcast show. According to the Guardian Unlimited, nine-year-old Lin Miaoke, who sang "Ode to the Motherland" merely lip-synched. Seven-year old Yang Peiyi, who was considered not photogenic enough for international stardom, was the real voice behind the song.

FBI agents arrested a Houston woman Thursday who refused to return five children victims of Hurricane Katrina to their mother and recovered the kids she allegedly kidnapped. Rhonda Tavey, 44, was at her mother's home in northwest Houston when authorities arrested her, her attorney, Dick DeGuerin, told Chron. com. She is now detained at the Harris County Jail without bail and will appear in court Friday to face charges of kidnapping.

The future of an infant born of an Indian surrogate mother is uncertain as her biological parents, a Japanese couple, divorced after conception. Abandoned by her Japanese and the Indian mother, the baby is now under her grandmother's care in a hospital in Jaipur, in western Rajasthan state.

The head of Ottawa's transportation commission, Alain Mercier, will meet soon with different commuter groups to address congestion problems on the national capital city's public buses. Rising fuel cost has lead more Ottawa residents to shift to public transport to go to work or school. To maximize space, some commuter groups have pushed for regulations on baby strollers, which take up space on public buses. One proposal is to require proper folding and stashing of the strollers inside the bus.

Tickles, an 8-year-old python, was reportedly stolen from the Forestry Farm Park and Zoo Saturday afternoon. Local Mounties and zoo officials are requesting the public help look for the reptile. Described by zoo officials as a gentle creature, the public is still forewarned to take caution if they encounter the animal.