Once-reclusive China commandeered the world stage Friday, celebrating its first-time role as Olympic host with a stunning display of pageantry and pyrotechnics to open a Summer Games unrivaled for its mix of problems and promise. Now ascendent as a global power, China welcomed scores of world leaders to an opening ceremony watched by 91,000 people at the eye-catching National Stadium and a...

A pro-Tibet group says three American activists have been detained after trying to protest near the venue for the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony. Students for a Free Tibet executive director Lhadon Tethong says the trio were grabbed by police as they traveled to the Beijing National Stadium. They had planned to hold Tibetan flags Friday during the opening.

Eager for the Olympics to begin, President Bush gave a pep talk to U.S. athletes Friday and then settled in for the opening ceremonies, after starting his day with another swipe at China's human rights record. "It's gotta be really exciting, thinking about marching in that stadium and representing our country, "an enthusiastic Bush told the cheering American contingent gathered in the Olympic...

Police shut down the bustling bazaar in the capital of China's restive Muslim region of Xinjiang on Friday amid threats from an Islamic group that attackers might target buses, trains and planes during the Olympics. A sign at the entrance of the bazaar in Urumqi did not explain why the area, surrounded by mosques with minarets, was off limits as the country prepared to kick off the Summer Games...