Beijing - Beijing police on Friday morning detained five foreign tourists who were advocating "Tibet independence" near the construction site of China Central Television's new building, state media said.

The protest happened around 5:50 am (0950 GMT), Xinhua cited police officials saying.

Three of the five foreigners were from the United States, one was from Canada and the other from Britain, according to Xinhua. They came to China on tourist visas.

Paris  - The Dalai Lama on Monday began a 12-day visit to France during which the Tibetan spiritual leader was due to meet French lawmakers.

No official reception was planned, but the Dalai Lama would meet privately with members from the Franco-Tibetan interest group, officials said.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy was not due to meet the Dalai Lama. While French media have been speculating over the politically sensitive nature of such a meeting, the Elysee Palace indicated that the Dalai Lama had not yet asked for a meeting with Sarkozy.

Dharamsala, Aug 11 : Continuing with their agitation against China, Tibetan nuns and monks here staged a protest today.

Around 30 nuns and monks from the Dhomalin nunnery sat in silent protest against Chinese atrocities inside Tibet.

The protesters said they were not against Olympics as generally believed but were protesting against the human rights violation by the host country, inside Tibet.

Dharamsala , Aug 10 : Continuing with their agitation against China, the Tibetans-in-exile took out a protest march here today. Scores of Tibetans exiles and monks marched down the narrow hilly roads shouting slogans against the Chinese and demanding freedom for their homeland.

The protesters said they were hopeful that their protests would bear fruit and China would be compelled to take some concrete steps regarding Tibet.

“We are very optimistic about this. It will affect the Chinese Government. They will do something for the benefit of Tibet,” said Tenzin Norbu, a Tibetan monk.

Hong Kong - A local pro-Tibetan protester was thrown out of the Olympics equestrian events soon after the start of the competition Saturday after she unfurled a Tibetan flag.

University student Christina Chan was ejected by police and security officers for breaking rules at the two equestrian venues that ban the display of the Tibetan flag, political slogans and commercial advertising.

Chan was seated in the front row at the start of the dressage competition that began around 6:30 am in the Sha Tin district of Hong Kong.

Brussels - Around 100 protesters against China's human- rights record demonstrated outside the headquarters of the European Union on Friday as the Olympic Games opened in Beijing.

"The Olympic flag symbolizes peace, harmony and the solidarity of nations. The Beijing Games have become a nightmare for the millions of people in China who love peace," a statement issued by the Congress of Tibetan Youth in Belgium said.

"China's leaders have intensified the detention, torture and even execution of hundreds of Uighurs, Tibetans and Chinese dissidents under the pretext of 'security' and 'safe games,'" it said.