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.

More than 400 athletes, who were recipients of organ donations, will compete in Windsor, Ontario in the fourth Canadian Transplant Games. This was the first time that the biennial Transplant Games has been held in the in the province. Opening ceremonies were held at the Dieppe Park.

Thailand has pulled copies of Grand Theft Auto IV after a teenager allegedly killed a tax driver trying to emulate the violent video game, police said. New Era Interactive Media, the video game's regional publiisher, yanked the software from shelves after an 18-year old teenager car-jacked a taxi, allegedly killing the driver when he resisted.

Aug. 8, 2008, will not only mark the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics here but also the wedding day of about 9,000 Chinese couples. The number is a new record because it is twice more than the previous single-day marriage record in Beijing, according to China's state-run news agency Xinhua.

A janitor at the Ottawa-Carlton District School board won the top prize in the July 16 Lotto 6/49. Kevin Frost, 39, picked up his $7. 379 million check Thursday. Being persistent finally paid off for Frost, who has been betting on the lottery since he was 18. Frost said he plans use his winnings to pay his mortgage, buy a house and travel to Scotland to play golf.