While the exact shape and strength of the new Freedom of Information laws will not be known until later this year when the Government releases draft legislation, Ms Bligh said a new regime would be in place by the middle of next year. Until then, the cabinet agenda and non-sensitive documents are likely to be proactively released.

Last week’s three-volume, 2700-page report on privacy by the Australian Law Reform Commission has many important recommendations, but one of the most controversial is for a law enabling people to take action “for a serious invasion of privacy”.

There were scores of critical questions posed to the organisers on Friday dealing with touchy topics such as Tibet, protest parks, ticket scalpers, the hissing of Japanese competitors by Chinese audiences, the Falun Gong and doping. Journalists have previously accused the organisers of lying and refusing to answer questions.

Central to all of the strange happenings at the Beijing Olympic Games is control. Chinese officials want to minimise anything that will affect the image presented to the Games’ 4 billion television viewers, but by doing so, have exposed themselves to enormous criticism for trying to present a falsely pristine occasion.

Russians were told over breakfast yesterday what really happened in Georgia: the conflict in South Ossetia was part of a plot by Dick Cheney, the Vice-President, to stop Barak Obama being elected president of the United States.

The rare outburst by Wang Wei matched the severe tone of the world’s media, which has been frustrated by China’s promises of media freedom while encountering continued internet censorship, internal blackouts on Chinese reporting, harassment, detention, obfuscation and, repeatedly, lies.

While a promise was made to foreign journalists, China’s media had only the cold assurance, based on bitter experience, that they would face during the Olympics the same tightening of controls that precede any event of profound circumstance in China.

Iran accused Yaghoob Mirnehad of being involved in the armed Jundallah group, which operates along the Iranian-Pakistani border. But the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said prosecutors held a secret trial and provided no evidence of Mirnehad’s links with Jundallah or involvement in any armed attacks.