Demonstrators grabbed at the Olympic torch, blocked its path and tried to snuff out its flame Sunday in raucous protests of China's human rights record that forced a string of last-second changes to a chaotic relay through London.The biggest protests since last month's torch-lighting in Greece tarnished China's hope for a harmonious prelude to a Summer Games celebrating its rise as a global power. Instead, the flame's 85,000-mile journey from Greece to Beijing has become a stage for activists decrying China's recent crackdown on Tibetans and support for Sudan despite civilian deaths in Darfur.
Demonstrators attempted to board the bus trailing the torch shortly after British five-time gold medal rower Steve Redgrave started the relay at Wembley Stadium.
Less than an hour later, a protester slipped through a tight police cordon and gripped the torch before he was thrown to the ground and arrested.
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