IOC hails sports facilities of Madrid

MADRID, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The evaluation commission from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) hailed on Thursday the work done in the sports facilities of Madrid, when beginning on Thursday the fourth date of its work visit in Madrid.

Madrid's government said on Thursday that Madrid offers economic solvency, politic unit, fiscal advantage and support from the 86 percent of the inhabitants to host the Olympic Games of 2016.

President from the Autonomous government of Madrid, Esperanza Aguirre assured the financing of the Games with 1.117 billion euro(1.485 billion U.S. dollars) and she hailed the economic and population growth in the region.

IOC former president Juan Antonio Samaranch, current member of the sport organizations, said on Thursday that Madrid can host the Olympic Games 2016 "with and without crisis because most of the investments are already done".

On Thursday it was proposed that all the profits the IOC will get in Spain for hosting in Madrid the Games 2016 will be free of taxes for the Treasury Minister.

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Mexican soccer continues close-door play

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MEXICO CITY, May 5 (Xinhua) -- Mexico's professional soccer games this weekend will continued to be played behind closed doors for the sake of containing Swine flu.

Mexico's 176 league games, from the first to third division, were shuttered last weekend, and three games around the capital were closed to fans the week before.

The Mexican Football Federation said on Tuesday the games would remain closed because government officials had not lifted all preventive measures to stop the spread of swine flu, even though other parts of the country are returning to normal following a shutdown.

Play in the regular season ends this weekend, and officials have not announced the arrangement for postseason matches.

President Felipe Calderon said high schools and universities will reopen on Thursday and younger children will return to school on May 11. Nightclubs and other events that draw large crowds will remain closed.

Two Mexican clubs playing in the final 16 of the Copa Libertadores, San Luis and Chivas, have had their home matches delayed by at least a week until venues outside Mexico can be found.

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Bryant absent from practice prior to Lakers vs. Rockets series

WASHINGTON, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Kobe Bryant stayed away from practice with a sore throat on Sunday, but set to be ready for their NBA playoff series opener against Houston on Monday.

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The Lakers host the Rockets in game one of the Western Conference semi-final series.

"We know when it's game time he's going to come out and be ready to play no matter what's going on," Shannon Brown said. "It's definitely going to take more than a sore throat.

"He's got to be missing some limbs for him not to come out there and be ready to play the game."

The Lakers have had a week off since eliminating Utah in five games in the first round, while the Rockets defeated Portland in six games to reach the second round for the first time since 1997.

Los Angeles won all four regular-season games against the Rockets, with Bryant averaging 28.3 points.

Rockets coach Rick Adelman said it might not be possible to contain Bryant, but that Houston has to at least make him work for his points.

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Shadow play

BEIJING, May 4 -- Traditional Chinese shadow puppetry took center stage during last year's Olympic Games, lead by acclaimed director Zhang Yimou's use of the puppetry in his memorable opening ceremony festivities.

Tasked with directing the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games, Zhang adopted shadow puppetry as part of his goal to use the opening ceremony to share traditional Chinese culture with the world.

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Zhang's first featured shadow puppetry in his 1994 film To Live, in which the film's protagonist Fu Gui (play by Ge You), was a skilled shadow puppeteer and which helped to reintroduce the art of shadow puppetry to audiences.

The ancient art form was also visible at the Chinese Traditional Arts and Crafts Show held during last summer's Olympic Games.Among the 27 Chinese folk artists invited to perform, shadow puppeteers from Beijing and Shaanxi were a particular hit with both athletes and visitors.

Shadow puppetry, also known as shadow play, is one of China’s historic folk arts.

Performed by three to five puppeteers, shadow puppetry is a form of storytelling that uses puppets against an illuminated backdrop to create the illusion of movement.

During a shadow play, puppeteers hide themselves behind a white curtain and move stick-mounted puppets, while also narrating the story through folk song. Performances are generally accompanied by musicians playing drums and stringed instruments.Similar to Peking Opera, characters are clearly defined, with set roles for sheng (male), dan (female), jing (painted face) and chou (clown).