Even self-proclaimed "living legends" like Usain Bolt need to have a bit of fun at the Olympics.

On Friday, newly crowned repeat double sprint champion Bolt will be counting on his fellow Jamaican sprinters to get the 4x100 relay team into Saturday's final where he will be favored to clinch his sixth Olympic title spread over two games.

An Indian man escaped from al-Qaida-linked militants Friday after being held captive in the southern Philippines for nearly 14 months.

Bijo Kolara Veetil escaped before dawn Friday as his Abu Sayyaf captors were preparing breakfast, said Sulu provincial police chief Antonio Freyra.

President Hugo Chavez announced Thursday that security forces arrested a U.S. citizen and suspect he is a mercenary who could be involved in an alleged plot to destabilize Venezuela if the opposition's candidate loses the upcoming presidential election.

Chavez said the Hispanic man was detained Aug. 4 while crossing into Venezuela from Colombia. The president said the man was carrying a U.S. passport with entrance and exit stamps from countries including Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya as well as a notebook containing geographical coordinates.

Members of a Russian sect found living in an underground bunker with some 20 children, many of whom have never seen the sun, have been charged with child abuse last week.

The digging began about a decade ago and 70 followers of the sect moved into an eight-level subterranean residence of small cells with no light, heat or ventilation.

An Afghan soldier tried to gun down a group of international troops in the country's east but was killed as NATO forces fired back, NATO said Thursday.

A NATO spokesman stated that the attack happened outside a "coordination center" for Afghan and international forces in Laghman province. German Lt. Col. Hagen Messer said no one in the center was killed in the incident.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson says Arsenal is playing hardball on the sale of star striker Robin van Persie, but he remains hopeful of luring the Dutchman to Old Trafford.

Ferguson said Arsenal is negotiating with other clubs about van Persie, with a perceived preference of selling to a non-English club, but said "we just have to persevere, hopefully it will come our way."

Calling La Liga the top league in the world, Jose Mourinho predicts a more competitive season as Real Madrid defends its title and Barcelona tries to regain the crown.

Los Blancos set Spanish records with 100 points and 121 goals last season, winning by nine points and ending the Catalans' streak of three straight titles.

Allyson Felix finally won the Olympic gold medal she craved most, gliding home with her seemingly effortless stride to take the 200-meters title and break Veronica Campbell-Brown's stranglehold on the event.

Aries Merritt added to a super sprint night for the United States, dominating the 110-meter hurdles final ahead of compatriot Jason Richardson. Behind them, Cuba's Dayron Robles, the 2008 champion, was smashing a hurdle in frustration after he pulled up lame with a right hamstring injury halfway through the race. In the heats, China's Liu Xiang, the 2004 champion, also pulled out injured.

Sarah Attar became the first Saudi woman to compete in Olympic track and field, wearing a headscarf and finishing last in her 800-meter heat Wednesday.

Attar smiled broadly and waved at the crowd as her name was announced. Three minutes later, wearing a white headscarf, green long-sleeved shirt and black leggings despite the 19-degree Celsius (66-degree Fahrenheit) temperature, she drew a huge roar of approval from the crowd of about 80,000 as she strode down the home stretch.

For the past 30 years, Israeli Judaic scholar Menachem Cohen has been on a mission of biblical proportions: Correcting all known textual errors in Jewish scripture to produce a truly definitive edition of the Old Testament.

His edits, focusing primarily on grammatical blemishes and an intricate set of biblical symbols, mark the first major overhaul of the Hebrew Bible in nearly 500 years.