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NEWS ABOUT: Olympic torch

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Olympic Cops Need Therapy After Games End

Guards for Olympic torch will receive psychological debriefings

(AP) - As an officer for the Scotland Yard, this assignment sounds like a dream come true: Forget your regular duties for 70 days and travel throughout Britain with the Olympic torch in the run-up to the 2012 London Games. But the officers hand-picked for the once-in-a-lifetime assignment will receive psychological counseling... More »

Identity of Torch Bearer Remains a Mystery

Mother of marathoner, Wayne Gretzky on short list to light Olympic fire

(Newser) - Speculation is running wild in Canada about who will light the Olympic cauldron at tonight's opening ceremony. Wayne Gretzky is a popular, if obvious, guess, but many hope the honor will fall to Betty Fox. Fox is the mother of Terry Fox, the late marathon runner who ran across Canada... More »

2010 Olympic Torch Looks Familiar ... to Potheads

Winter sports design looks like a joint to many

(Newser) - The 2010 Olympic torch gets attention wherever it goes, much of it from people who look at the sleek metal shape and see a joint, the Toronto Star reports. The resemblance is probably unintentional——the design is supposed to look like the tracks skis and skates leave on snow... More »

Why the Chinese Need Olympic Glory

(Newser) - Those shocked by China’s bristly response to Olympic protests and criticisms would do well to remember some history, Orville Schell writes for the New York Review of Books. After what the Chinese call a "century of humiliation" at the hands of the West and Japan, the nation has... More »

China Reopens Tibetan Tourism

Torch relay demonstrated stability, state media says

(Newser) - China is allowing foreign tourists to enter Tibet for the first time since March protests, sources tell the BBC. The Olympic torch’s smooth reception in Lhasa over the weekend means "Tibet is safe,” a Tibetan tourism director tells state media. "We welcome the domestic and foreign... More »

Olympic Torch Arrives in Tibet

Amid heavy security, China slams Dalai Lama

(Newser) - Under tight security, the Olympic torch made its way through Tibet’s capital in the most controversial leg of its worldwide journey—a jaunt that ended with Chinese criticism of the Dalai Lama, Reuters reports. “We will be able to totally smash the splittist schemes of the Dalai Lama... More »

China Orders Muslims to Stay Home for Torch Relay

Beijing blames community for independence attacks

(Newser) - Chinese officials have told China's Muslim Uighur to stay in their homes and watch the Olympic torch on TV when it winds its way through the troubled western region of Xinjiang, Reuters reports. Beijing blames the Uighur for a series of attacks that are part of a push for an... More »

China Orders 3 Days of Mourning, Will Halt Torch

Toll hits 32,500 dead, more missing as search continues

(Newser) - As the death toll in Monday's 7.9 magnitude earthquake hit 32,500, China declared 3 days of national mourning beginning tomorrow, reports Reuters. The Olympic torch relay will pause for the duration. Rescue efforts are still under way in devastated Sichuan province, but hopes are waning of recovering any... More »

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... More »

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... More »

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... More »

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... More »

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... More »

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... More »

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... More »

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... More »

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,... More »

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... More »

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... More »

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... More »

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