Todays News
Police banned demonstrations outside the Chinese embassy in Paris on Thursday but critics of China's human rights record stepped up protests elsewhere in the world to mark the start of the Beijing Olympics. Police in the French capital said they did not want a repeat of the "violent disturbances" that broke out in April when the Olympic torch passed through Paris, when activists angry at China's crackdown in Tibet disrupted the route. They banned any protests outside the embassy on Thursday and Friday, when the Games officially open, including a demonstration planned for Friday lunchtime by a coalition including media watchdog Reporters Without Borders. RSF is challenging the ruling in court, and a separate rally at the Trocadero plaza near the Eiffel Tower will still go ahead as planned at 1:00 pm (1100 GMT) Friday, to coincide with the Olympic opening ceremony in Beijing. China has painted the Games as a celebration of three decades of economic reforms and hopes the event will showcase a rapidly modernising country. But activists across the world are using the Games to pressure Beijing over its rule of Tibet, the arrests of dissidents, Internet censorship and concerns about Chinese foreign policy. A total of 127 athletes have called on China's President Hu Jintao to seek a peaceful solution to the Tibet issue and improve the human rights situation, according to an open letter posted online. The athletes, including more than 40 competing in the Games, urged Hu "to protect freedom of expression, freedom of religion and freedom of opinion in your country, including Tibet". In India, home to more than 100,000 Tibetan refugees including the Dalai Lama, about 1,000 Tibetans staged a march in New Delhi, carrying Tibetan flags and shouting "Say no to Beijing Olympics" and "No Olympics in China". "We will keep up our protests during the Olympics to draw attention to human rights violations in Tibet," said Dhondup Dorjee, vice president of the radical Tibetan Youth Congress. Police and paramilitary troops were deployed with fire extinguishers and buckets of water amid fears that protesters would set themselves on fire, as a Tibetan did two years ago during a visit by Hu. In neighbouring Nepal about 600 Tibetans were detained after they clashed with police while protesting in Kathmandu, police and eyewitnesses said. About 1,500 Tibetan exiles had gathered in the city to demonstrate against the Chinese crackdown in Tibet. The clashes broke out after monks and nuns praying and chanting mantras refused to disperse. In Beijing itself, three US Christians were forcefully dragged from Tiananmen Square -- scene of a 1989 massacre of pro-democracy protesters -- as they prayed publicly, according to a statement on their behalf. On Wednesday, two US and two British activists had staged a dramatic protest in the city, unveiling giant "Free Tibet" banners near the stadium where the Games will open-- a move that got them immediately deported, their group said. The two Britons, Lucy Fairbrother, 23, and Iain Thom, 24, arrived back in London on Thursday, where they said they had been treated fairly by police who arrested them after the stunt, but warned the protests would continue. "We are only a very small part of this campaign and the ongoing struggle," Fairbrother said. "We will carry on fighting and there will be more protests during the Olympic Games. "In the German capital Berlin, around 100 protesters representing Tibetan groups, Uighurs, Mongolians and the Falun Gong spiritual movement gathered in front of the Chinese embassy, waving flags and holding banners. The demonstrators tried -- and failed -- to hand over a petition signed by 10,000 people calling for greater human rights in China organised by a local non-governmental organisation. In London the Free Tibet campaign was due to hold a protest in front of the Chinese embassy on Friday. They planned to unveil Tibetan flags there at 1208 GMT -- the moment when the Olympics officially kick off. There were also protests planned in Lisbon and in Porto in Portugal, as well as candle vigils in several Swiss cities and one in Norway. In Canada, five protestors briefly chained themselves to the gates of the Chinese embassy in Ottawa on Wednesday, and were to be joined on Thursday by two lawmakers, organisers said. Worldwide protests on eve of China Olympics
Police banned demonstrations outside the Chinese embassy in Paris on Thursday but critics of China's human rights record stepped up protests elsew...more
Sports News
Robert Karlsson recovered from a shaky opening hole to seize the early lead in the first round of the 90th PGA Championship, the last Major championship of the year. The 38-year-old Swede made double bogey on the first hole but then rolled in four birdies on the next six holes. He also birdied numbers 8 and 11 to move to four-under at the Oakland Hills Country Club course. Pre-tournament favourite Phil Mickelson started his round with a pair of bogeys before making the turn at one-over 36 in the 7. 5 million dollar event. With two-time defending champion Tiger Woods sidelined after undergoing season-ending knee surgery, the door is open for someone like Mickelson to win the final major of the season. Mickelson is playing in a group with Davis Love and Rich Beem. The three former PGA Championship winners teed off from the 10th tee in the morning session. The three-time major winner Mickelson made back-to-back birdies on No. 16 and 17 but then posted a bogey on 18. His approach on 18 landed left of the green. He then chipped on to six feet but two-putted. The left-handed American has two wins this season (Northern Trust Open and Crowne Plaza Invitational) and is looking to turn a solid year into a special one with his first major win of 2008. He tied for 37th at last year's PGA Championship in Tulsa. Mickelson wasn't the only player having problems on the green at 18. Playing partners Camilo Villegas and Anthony Kim both three-putted the par-four, 498 yard 18. Kim hit a nice approach to six feet but his birdie attempt rolled another five feet past the cup. He missed another putt before tapping in for bogey. Villegas had an even rougher time. His approach landed in the first cut of rough in the back of the green. He tried to chip it on from 30 feet but couldn't get it over a hill. It rolled sideways, leaving his next shot about five feet further from the pin than the last. The early golfers teed off under sunny skies but weather forecasters are predicting scattered showers for players who have afternoon tee times. Even with the world number one not in the field, favourites Mickelson, Jim Furyk, Padraig Harrington, Vijay Singh, Lee Westwood and Kim will have plenty of tough competition. The field includes 94 of the top 100 players making it the strongest major field this year. Ben Hogan referred to Oakland Hills as the 'The Monster' after his US Open win in 1951 and the nickname has stuck ever since. It is only the fourth course to host the PGA Championship at least three times and it was given a makeover recently. "The golf course is as difficult as everybody described," reigning Masters champion Trevor Immelman said. Sweden's Karlsson takes early lead at PGA golf Championship
Robert Karlsson recovered from a shaky opening hole to seize the early lead in the first round of the 90th PGA Championship, the last Major championsh...more
Entertainment News
Oscar-winning director Jonathan Demme will chair the jury at next month's San Sebastian Film Festival as well as presenting an unfinished work on Canadian rock star Neil Young, organisers said Thursday. "The Neil Young Trunk Show: Scenes from a Concert" is a "high energy performance" documentary and a "work-in-progress" which will be shown for the first time at the festival, the organisers said. The US director's earlier documentary "Neil Young: Heart of Gold" was shown as part of the official selection for the 2006 festival. Demme, who collected an Academy Award in 1991 for "The Silence of the Lambs", will also show his latest feature "Rachel Getting Married," starring Anne Hathaway and Debra Winger, outside the official competition. The 56th edition of the San Sebastian festival, the oldest and most prestigious event of its kind in the Spanish-speaking world, takes place from September 18 to 27. The organisers announced earlier this year the films that will compete for the top Golden Shell award. They include British director Michael Winterbottom's "Genova", a ghost story starring Colin Firth; "Frozen River" by American Courtney Hunt, which won the Jury Prize at the 2008 Sundance film festival; and "Fear Me Not" by Denmark's Kristian Levring, one of the creators of the Dogme 95 movement. Iranian director Samira Makhmalbaf, a two-time winner of the Jury Prize at Cannes, will compete with her fourth feature film "Two-Legged Horse. "Other directors with films in competition include Japan's Hirokazu Kore-edam, Turkey's Yesim Ustaoglu, Argentina's Daniel Burman, France's Christophe Honore, Kim Ki-duk of South Korea and Palestinian Rashid Masharawi. The festival will also feature retrospectives of the works of British filmmaker Terence Davies, director of "Distant Voices, Still Lives", of the comedies of 93-year-old Italian filmmaker Mario Monicelli and of Japanese post-war film noir. "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas," directed by Mark Herman and based on the best-selling novel by John Boyne, will have its international premiere at this year's festival, although not as part of the official competition. Last year's Golden Shell for best film went to Hong Kong-born Wayne Wang's "A Thousand Years of Good Prayers". Jonathan Demme to chair jury at San Sebastian film festival
Oscar-winning director Jonathan Demme will chair the jury at next month's San Sebastian Film Festival as well as presenting an unfinished work on ...more
Updated 07 August 2008 at 21:48
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