Police began an unprecedented security crackdown in Australia’s national capital, Canberra, on Wednesday to protect the Olympic flame from protests during the latest leg of the torch’s troubled journey around the world. China had hoped the torch’s progress would be a symbol of unity in the run-up to the Beijing Games.
Australian police were left red-faced by a handcuffed man who escaped in a patrol car on Tuesday while two officers were inspecting evidence outside. The man, wanted over a series of break-ins, escaped custody in Brisbane, in the northern state of Queensland, just minutes after he was handcuffed and placed in the back of the unmarked police car.