China’s Games, the biggest ever, have ended:

“BEIJING (Reuters) - The Beijing Olympics ended with a blaze of deafening fireworks on Sunday, bringing down the curtain on a Games that dazzled the world with sporting brilliance and showcased the might of modern day China.

The sporting extravaganza failed to quell criticism of China’s human rights record, although the International Olympic Committee (IOC) gave the organizers the thumbs-up and said the Games would leave a positive legacy for future generations. …

The IOC said 43 world records and 132 Olympic records were broken in China, which spent $43 billion on the event — three times more than the budget for the 2012 Games in London…”