With only 11 days to go until the start of the Beijing Olympics, this was the smoggy scene in the Chinese capital yesterday. Visibility was down to half a mile in some parts, including the National Stadium, while the Athletes' Village complex could not be seen from the nearby Olympic Green. The city's notoriously polluted air has cast a cloud over the Games, with organisers threatening to postpone events if it is bad. City officials confidently - and possibly unwisely - predict that air quality will be good for the Games. Their efforts to curb pollution include taking half of...
