In Brief
Group in Olympia torch protest to be in HK for Games relay
Members of rights group Reporters Without Borders who disrupted the Olympic torch-lighting ceremony say they will come to Hong Kong three months ahead of the Games. A spokesman for the group was quoted by Cable TV as saying the Hong Kong visit would provide a good chance to stage peaceful protests to air their concerns about human rights conditions on the mainland. Meanwhile, a police source said the force would field its elite VIP protection unit to safeguard the torch during the relay. The torch arrives on May 2. Two days earlier, the 100-day countdown to the Games' opening begins.
Three members of the group briefly interrupted the torch-lighting ceremony on Tuesday when they rushed to the centre of the ancient stadium in Olympia, Greece, as the head of the Games' organising committee, Liu Qi , was giving a speech before the flame was lit. One approached Mr Liu and waved a black banner on which the Olympic rings had been replaced by five interlocked handcuffs. The protesters were arrested.
New chief information officer
Jeremy Godfrey, an IT business consultant, was appointed the government's chief information officer yesterday. Mr Godfrey, who will take up the appointment on April 7, has served in senior positions in the telecommunications industry. He graduated from Cambridge University.
Call to give tour guides more
Service charges for tour guides, drivers and tour leaders for trips to the mainland should be increased by 20 per cent, the Alliance for Travel Industry Workers said. A spokesman said the appreciation of the yuan had affected the industry.
