Special report:   2008 Olympic Games

    LONDON, April 6 (Xinhua) -- British police on Sunday arrested 25 persons attempting to disrupt the Olympic torch relay in London.

    The persons were arrested for public order offences, police said. One of those arrested tried to grab the torch from a relay participant, but he was immediately knocked down to the ground and taken away by the police. Another two were detained for their attempt to disrupt the relay with a fire extinguisher.

    London welcomes the Olympic Flame on Sunday as part of the global Olympic Torch Relay in the run-up to the Beijing Olympic Games. As a grand festival in London, tens of thousands people lined the route of the relay to cheer the event, far outnumbering protesters.

    Many spectators voiced disapproval of attempts to disrupt the torch relay by those who claimed they had done so for "political causes". Nick, a British university student who was watching the event in central London said that "sports should be separated from political things".

    Cathy Sing, a London resident, said that she was puzzled by the protesters who said they were supporting the "independence of Tibet".

    "Tibet has been part of China for several hundred years", she said, adding that the disruption had been well-planned to tarnish China's image.

    "Someone want to disrupt the (Beijing Olympic) Games, which is no good," she said.

    The torch is traveling through ten London boroughs from Wembley in the west to Greenwich in east London, with each borough marking its arrival with entertainment and local events, bringing London's color and vibrancy to life while showcasing the capital's famous landmarks.