Beijing - China launched a 10-day torch relay for the Paralympic games on Thursday, four days after the closing of the Olympics.

Premier Wen Jiabao announced the start of the relay as he lit a cauldron at Beijing's Temple of Heaven.

"The flame will symbolize over the next 10 days the unique sporting spirit displayed by Paralympic athletes," Philip Craven, president of the International Paralympic Committee, said in a speech at the launch ceremony.

A total of 850 bearers will carry the Paralympic torch along two "ancient" and "modern" routes through 11 Chinese regions before the opening of the 13th Paralympic Games in Beijing on September 6.

Moscow  - President Dmitry Medvedev was meeting his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao and the leaders of four ex-Soviet Central Asian nations on Wednesday in a bid to secure support for Russia its standoff with the West over Georgia.

Medvedev flew to the capital of Tajikistan for two days of consultations with his partners in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) as Western leaders renewed their condemnation of Russia's diplomatic recognitition of breakaway regions of Georgia.

The SCO was formed in 2001 as a counterweight to NATO's growing influence in the region.

Beijing, Aug 27 : Over 960 million people had access to phones in China as of July, including over 600 million mobile phone users, said the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

Melbourne, August 27 : The world''s highest sightseeing spot on the 100th floor of China''s tallest skyscraper will be opened to the public on Saturday.

The observation deck is 474m above the ground in the Shanghai World Financial Centre.

Those wishing to experience a bird''s-eye view of the city will have to pay 25 dollars each, reports the Daily Telegraph.

The construction of the building finished earlier this year, but has not been opened to the public as yet.

It is the tallest building in China, and has 101 floors for a total height of 492m.

Besides the observation deck, the building also boasts a luxury hotel, shops, and 70 floors of office space.

Washington, Aug 27 : Qigong therapy, a form of traditional Chinese medical practice, including a variety of Chinese energy exercises can offer alternative treatment for people with osteoarthritis, suggest researchers.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) suggests the existence of a subtle energy (qi) circulating throughout the body and in the surrounding environment.

According to TCM, good health is the result of free-flowing, well-balance ‘qi’, while sickness or pain is the result of a blockage of the ‘qi’ flow or unbalanced ‘qi’ in the body.

London, Aug 27: British and American activists arrested by the Chinese for protesting about Tibet during the Olympics have said that they were locked to their chairs for marathon interrogation sessions and deprived of sleep.

The activists, including eight Americans, a German and Amanda McKeown, a mother of two from Bristol, were sent home on Sunday during the games closing ceremony.

They said they were kept in cells and allowed to leave only for interrogations, which dragged on for up to 16 hours at a time, The Telegraph reported.

With lights shining on them, prisoners were locked into high-backed metal chairs with bars across their laps.