China's top legislator Wu Bangguo called the Olympic Movement "a common wealth of mankind" in Beijing on Monday, while addressing the opening of the 16th general assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC)".

Recently retired swimming champion Matt Welsh has been selected to carry the Olympic torch on the Australian leg of its journey to Beijing on April 24.

Olympic chiefs will this week discuss scrapping international torch relays for future Games, following protests that have disrupted the run-up to the Beijing event.

Organisers of the Olympic torch relay in Canberra say they are braced for protests from pro-Tibet activists when the torch travels through the city on April 24.

Large protests against Chinese human rights policies have disrupted the Olympic torch relay in Paris, forcing police to extinguish the symbolic flame and transport it by bus for part of the route.

The Beijing Olympics torch was placed on a bus for safety after its relay across Paris was interrupted by pro-Tibet protestors, journalists at the scene said on Monday.

Seeking to allay Beijing's concerns over safety of the Olympic torch during its relay, India has conveyed to China that all measures will be taken to ensure success of the event next month.

Lenovo, a worldwide leader in the PC market, announced today the 18 finalists selected to compete for the chance to participate in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch Relay. Lenovo launched the torchbearer search program with the help of Google to find "new thinkers" from around the world to run the torch in China. This is the longest ever Torch Relay in Olympic history with more cities visited than any past Games.

Today the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) in the presence of the International Olympic Committee, unveiled the Lenovo-designed Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch and announced Lenovo's role as a Worldwide Partner of the Olympic Torch Relay