Olympics torch re-lit in Beijing

Chinese President Hu Jintao yesterday officially declared open the start of a grand Olympic torch relay by re-lighting the flame in the host city Beijing, amidst tight security after pro-independence Tibetan protestors marred a similar ceremony in Greece.
The ceremony kicked off at the Tiananmen Square, the world's largest, two hours after a specially chartered Air China plane carrying the flame from Greece touched down at about 9 am local time.
At the ceremony held in front of the Great Hall of the People with the Forbidden Palace forming the backdrop to the rostrum, Hu kindled the cauldron and handed over the torch to Olympic champion hurdler Liu Xiang, kickstarting the longest-ever Olympic torch relay.
"I declare the torch relay of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games begun," Hu announced amidst a joyous atmosphere with thousands of doves and colourful balloons released into the sky.
The flame is scheduled to depart from Beijing tomorrow for the Kazakh city of Almaty, the first stop in its global tour of 135 cities, including New Delhi, India, where it will reach on April 17.
The relay, with highest number of torchbearers in its history, will cover 137,000 kilometers in 130 days before the flame finally arrives at the National Stadium in Beijing on August 8, 2008 for the opening ceremony.