Olympic torch

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Olympic Flame Lit Atop Everest
 Olympic Flame Lit Atop Everest 
May 7, 2008 11:04 PM CDT

Olympic Flame Lit Atop Everest

Display designed to counter protests

(Newser) - Chinese and Tibetan climbers lit an OIympic torch at the top of Mount Everest today, the BBC reports. The climbers unfurled Chinese and Olympic flags and chanted slogans for TV cameras beaming their images live onto the nation's TVs. The Chinese hope the elaborate stunt will counter the damage from...

Sky-High Internet Caf&eacute; Opens
 Sky-High Internet Café Opens 
May 6, 2008 4:36 PM CDT

Sky-High Internet Café Opens

Everest office built to ensure communications as Olympic torch passes

(Newser) - The Olympic torch is bringing more than controversy on its round-the-world trek—it’s also responsible for the world’s highest Internet café, the People's Daily reports. China Mobile built the communications center at Mount Everest's 17,000-foot-high base camp to ensure communications for relay teams as the torch scales...

Torch Embarks on Calmer China Tour

Citizens vow not to protest as stars carry flame

(Newser) - The Olympic torch flickered in mainland China today in what will likely be a respite from its troubled worldwide tour. Security measures are in place for the relay, but Chinese citizens aren't in a protesting mood, the AP reports. “Even if no police were here, we would protect the...

Torch Gets Huge Welcome in Hong Kong

But cheers drown out protests in first Chinese leg of relay

(Newser) - Thousands of people waving the Chinese flag cheered the Olympic torch on its relay through Hong Kong, shouting down scattered Tibetan protesters in their midst, the BBC reports. There were a few scuffles as the torch wound its way through the streets in the first leg of the torch relay...

Mia Farrow Quizzed at Hong Kong Airport

Activist granted entry ahead of tomorrow's Olympic relay

(Newser) - Activist actress Mia Farrow was allowed into Hong Kong today after authorities questioned her and told her not to disrupt tomorrow's Olympic torch relay, AP reports. Farrow is an outspoken critic of China's policy on Darfur and plans a speech tomorrow night on the issue. Several activists have been barred...

Torch Back in China After Tumultuous Tour

No protests, but advocates deported and barred ahead of Friday's Hong Kong relay

(Newser) - There were no protests in Hong Kong today as the Olympic torch returned to Chinese soil. But reports were rampant of advocates and would-be protesters being deported or barred from entering the country, the New York Times reports. China says it’s dedicated to allowing peaceful demonstrations, but yesterday deported...

Nepal Boots Pro-Tibet US Climber

American banned from Everest for two years over protest banner

(Newser) - Nepal deported an American climber yesterday, the Times of India reports, after police at a Mount Everest base camp found a pro-Tibetan banner in his backpack. Nepal, staunchly pro-China, has enacted restrictions—and authorized security forces to use guns—to prevent protests when the Olympic torch ascends the world's tallest...

Thousands Cheer Torch in N. Korea

Olympic flame hailed with songs and dancing for a change

(Newser) - Tens of thousands of North Koreans took to the streets to herald the arrival of the Olympic torch today, marking a radically different greeting for the often-harried flame, Reuters reports. People waved North Korean and Chinese flags, danced, cheered, and sang military songs. The welcome contrasted sharply with waves of...

Torch Protests Continue in S. Korea

Anti- and pro-China factions face off

(Newser) - The Olympic torch again met with a clash of protesters today as it arrived in South Korea, Reuters reports. Some South Koreans are angered by Beijing’s human rights record, but the majority are pro-Chinese, wearing their country’s flag and chanting, “No politics, only Olympics.” Despite 8,...

Torch Relay Fires Up Thousands in Japan

Riot police block flame as protesters pepper pro-China crowd

(Newser) - A pro-China crowd peppered with protesters welcomed the Olympic torch relay in Japan today, BBC reports. Japan's national baseball manager kicked off the run in Nagano with 40 riot cops on each side, mostly blocking the view of thousands of onlookers. Cops nabbed one protester for trying to grab the...

Australia Spirits Away Torch Ahead of Relay

Protesters do their thing anyway

(Newser) - The Olympic torch arrived Down Under today, but was immediately whisked off to a secret location to avoid protesters, the AP reports. Tomorrow’s torch relay in Canberra will be open to the public—unlike those in Jakarta and New Delhi—but the route will be lined with yard-high fences...

Indonesia Torch Run Stays Inside Stadium

15-mile relay scaled back to a few laps before hand-picked crowd

(Newser) - The Olympic torch passed through Indonesia today with little incident and less fanfare, the BBC reports. What was originally supposed to be a 15-mile relay was abbreviated to a few laps around a Jakarta stadium before a crowd of 5,000 carefully credentialed spectators. Outside, police broke up a pro-Tibet...

Sarkozy Acts as Chinese Mount Anti-French Protests

President apologizes to Paralympian fencer

(Newser) - Two weeks after the Olympic torch relay in Paris, anti-French backlash in China is gaining steam. Rare demonstrations on the streets of Chinese cities, seemingly with the government's tacit approval, have seen French flags burned and defaced with swastikas. As the nations' relationship deteriorates, Nicolas Sarkozy has been forced to...

Nepal OKs Deadly Force Against Torch Protesters

Flame will ascend Everest next month

(Newser) - Nepal has plans for protesters intent on disrupting the Olympic flame's ascent up Mount Everest, the AP reports. An official today authorized the use of deadly force "to stop any protest on the mountain using whatever means necessary." Climbers are scheduled to reach the summit in the border...

Public Barred From Delhi Torch Run

Torch route shortened; few can attend

(Newser) - The Olympic torch was carried through New Delhi today, escorted by 15,000 police on a route shortened to less than two miles through a locked-down city center, the AP reports. Some 70 runners each held the torch for just seconds before handing it off. Only a few hundred, sitting...

Delhi Melee Rocks Torch Arrival
 Delhi Melee Rocks Torch Arrival 
Apr 17, 2008 4:16 AM CDT

Delhi Melee Rocks Torch Arrival

Downtown locked down

(Newser) - The Olympic torch was greeted with furious protests as it arrived in Delhi today, and 15,000 security forces have locked down the heart of the city ahead of the relay, Reuters reports. Members of India's large community of Tibetan exiles have vowed massive protests to highlight China's human rights...

Blogs Vent China's Anti-West Ire

Chinese see outcry over Tibet, torch as effort to sap newfound strength

(Newser) - The Chinese Internet is aflame with vitriol at Western governments and news organizations for “insults” over Tibet and recent Olympic torch incidents, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Chinese authorities, usually quick to censor the Web, have let the sentiment flow, believing "the West is trying to humiliate them...

India Steels for Torch Protest Showdown

Tibetans pour in for New Delhi high noon

(Newser) - Security protecting the Olympic torch will face its toughest test yet as thousands of Tibetan protesters converge on New Delhi for the Indian leg of the relay tomorrow. Hunger strikes, relay disruptions and attempts to grab the torch are all being planned. One Indian television station is referring to the...

China Protests Singe Torch Sponsor Lenovo

Computer maker invested $100M; 'didn't anticipate' brouhaha

(Newser) - Lenovo execs were hoping for some major branding momentum from winning the Olympic torch design competition—not to mention from plunking down some $100 million as sponsors of the 2008 Beijing Games. What they got was anti-China vitriol that has accompanied the torch around the globe, and a marketing campaign...

Torch Untroubled in Argentina
 Torch Untroubled in Argentina 
Apr 12, 2008 5:59 AM CDT

Torch Untroubled in Argentina

Heavy security but relatively few protesters for Buenos Aires leg of torch tour

(Newser) - A few water balloons were the worst threat to the Olympic flame yesterday in Buenos Aires, where the torch relay enjoyed an uninterrupted run, the BBC reports, after major disruptions in London, Paris, and San Francisco. Groups of pro- and anti-China protesters gathered along its route, guarded by some 5,...

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