Olympic gold medalist Paul Hamm’s broken hand is healed enough that he can return to regular gymnastics, giving him five weeks to get ready for the Beijing Games.

An X-ray on Thursday showed the broken bone in Hamm’s right hand can withstand the force of gymnastics, said Dr. Lawrence Lubbers, the hand specialist who operated on Hamm on May 27.

Hamm already did some work on the high bar Wednesday, and Lubbers said he, Hamm and coach Miles Avery will meet today to determine which skills in each routine he can do immediately.



Bush heading to China

WASHINGTON—President Bush will attend the opening ceremonies of Olympics in Beijing.

While there was no question Bush would attend the Olympic games in August, the president’s plans for the opening ceremonies had not been confirmed until now. Some world leaders have said they may boycott the Aug. 8 opening event to protest the most recent Chinese security crackdown in Tibetan areas of China.

White House press secretary Dana Perino said Thursday that Bush will travel to South Korea, Thailand and China in August.

The trip is built around the Olympics, which the White House has long said that Bush plans to attend as a celebration of sports.



Dalai Lama asked for favor

BEIJING—China demanded that the Dalai Lama prove he does not support Tibetan independence and disruption of the Beijing Olympics during the latest round of talks with the spiritual leader’s representatives, state media reported Thursday.

The demands made by a top Chinese official in two days of meetings indicate there has been no apparent change in Beijing’s position toward the Dalai Lama, who is frequently demonized by the Communist leadership.

Beijing has accused the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and his supporters of fomenting anti-government protests that rocked Tibet and other Tibetan-inhabited areas of China in March.

The talks are important to China’s hopes of hosting a flawless Olympic Games. Some experts believe Beijing agreed to the talks to ease criticism that it was too heavy-handed in its response to the March violence.