A Spanish court has cleared four of the 21 people charged with the deadly Madrid train bombings of 2004.

The court overturned a previous ruling which found three of the men guilty of being members of the radical Islamist cell that carried out the bombings killing 191 people and injuring more than 1,800.

The court also upheld the acquittal of "Mohamed the Egyptian", Rabei Osman Sayed Ahmed, who was accused of being one of the masterminds behind the bombings.

Yuan on the up

The central bank set the yuan's mid-point against the US dollar at 6.8 on Wednesday.

The Chinese currency hit a new post-revaluation high for the fifth straight day.

The yuan has risen about 7 percent this year, more than the margin for the whole of last year, while the weakened US economy has held back the greenback.

Late night booms in Beijing

Beijing residents who heard loud booming noises on Wednesday found out they were coming from the National Stadium, or Bird's Nest.

Fireworks exploded over the stadium, during a rehearsal for the opening ceremony of the 29th Olympiad.

The much anticipated event, still shrouded in secrecy, kicks off at 8pm on August 8.

Olympic Court in session

The Olympic Games Village People's Local Court opened earlier this week.

Located in the Olympic Village, this temporary court will hear about 70 percent of cases related to the Olympics.

The court will hear civil cases, like house rental, labor disputes and personal injury.

Painful prisoner swap

The bodies of two Israeli soldiers were exchanged for five Lebanese prisoners held by Israel on Thursday.

Extremist group Hezbollah views the deal as a victory, while Israelis see it as a painful necessity.

The swap comes two years after the soldiers' capture, which sparked a month-long war between the groups that killed 1,200 in Lebanon and 159 Israelis.

It will end a dispute that has motivated repeated Hezbollah attempts during the past 25 years to capture Israelis for use as bargaining chips.

Bon voyage for quake victims

President Hu Jintao brought smiles to the faces of 88 students from quake-hit areas at Zhongnanhai park near Beijing.

The children toured the capital before starting a three-week visit to Russia, fulfilling an invitation from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who invited a thousand children from quake-hit regions to visit Russia.

Another 570 primary and middle-school students from Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi provinces will visit Russia next year.

President Hu said Russia's invitation reassures the deep friendship and partnership between the two countries.

Blaze of glory

Chinese athletes will light up the winners' podium at the Games next month clad in red and yellow track suits.

Beijing designer Wang Li was chosen from more than 2,000 national and international submissions to create the suits, making it the first time Chinese Olympiads' attire has been created by a Chinese designer.

Production of the outfits took more than six months, as they were specifically tailored by Adidas for each competing athlete.

Seventeen different sizes were made for the 613 athletes that have qualified for the Games.

Great Wall dragon

In celebration of Augusts' Olympic Games a dragon was let loose on China's Great Wall.

The Olympic Dragon Trail is a 13 km long banner representing all the nations competing at this year's Games.

Volunteers unfurled the art installation at the Juyongguan section of the Wall on the outskirts of Beijing.

Pride of Germany

Rare white lion cubs have been born at the Schloss-Holte Stukenbrock safari park in Germany.

Both of the park's white lionesses gave birth simultaneously to a pride of seven cubs.

Three of the newborns are being hand-fed after their mother rejected them but all the cubs are said to be happy, healthy and enjoying the attention.

Two more tots for star-couple

Hollywood golden couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are the proud parents of new-born twins.

The twins, a boy named Knox Leon and a girl, Vivienne Marcheline, were born at a maternity clinic in Nice on the French Riviera at the weekend.

The star couple now have six children making the home of 'Bradgelina' a very busy one.

About the broadcaster:

" style="WIDTH: 120px; HEIGHT: 120px" title=""/>Bernice Chan is a foreign expert at China Daily Website. Originally from Vancouver, Canada, Bernice has written for newspapers and magazines in Hong Kong and most recently worked as a broadcaster for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, producing current affairs shows and documentaries.

 

 

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Marc Checkley is a freelance journalist and media producer from New Zealand. Marc has had an eclectic career in the media/arts working on various projects in theatre, television, radio, print, film and online. Marc spent three months with the China Daily last year leading the online video news initiative. Marc returns to chinadaily.com.cn as Senior Editor and Producer for the website's Olympic media news coverage.