World headlines – 18 June 2008

In the latest wrap-up from news outlets and bloggers across the globe:

TIGHT SECURITY AS OLYMPIC FLAME STARTS XINJIANG LEG
AFP – Police imposed a security lockdown as the Olympic torch Tuesday started its run through China's mainly Muslim region of Xinjiang, seen as one of the most sensitive legs on its nationwide journey …

IOC: SOME PROGRESS ON TV COVERAGE AFTER MEETING
International Herald Tribune – International Olympic Committee officials say they have made progress resolving complaints about Chinese security measures which threaten TV coverage of the Beijing Games for billions of viewers …

ANONYMOUSE, COMEDY CENTRAL BLOCKED IN CHINA
Shanghaiist Blog – It's finally happened: Anonymouse.org, the proxy service that many of us use to access blocked websites and surf the Internet anonymously, has been blocked …

HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP SLAMS LHASA LEG OF OLYMPIC TORCH RELAY
ABC Australia – A leading human rights group has slammed plans to take the Beijing Olympics torch through Tibet's riot-torn capital as "irresponsible" and "reckless" …

A CHINESE BOOKWORM OR CENSORSHIP?
MSNBC – It wasn’t until moving permanently to Beijing that I realized how much of a "shu daizi" the Chinese might consider me. "Shu daizi" literally means "book idiot," and is the Mandarin-language phrase for bookworm …

REBELS COULD HIT CHINESE OIL INTERESTS IN SUDAN: US ACTIVIST
AFP – A US human rights activist on Tuesday warned China that it risked rebel attacks against its oil interests in Sudan unless it put pressure on its ally Khartoum to end the violence in Darfur and south Sudan …