Olympic torch arrives in Australia, quickly whisked away

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Meanwhile in Nepal, authorities forced a mountain climber with a "Free Tibet" banner in his bags off Mount Everest, which Chinese climbers carrying the Olympic torch plan to ascend next month.

Criticism of China's human rights record has turned the torch relay into one of the most contentious in recent history. Anti-Chinese protests have dogged stops in Greece, Paris, London and San Francisco. Many countries, including Australia, have responded by modifying routes and boosting security.

Yard-high fences were being erected along the route through the Australian capital, Canberra, where 80 runners will carry the torch on Thursday. The torch will thread along a 10-mile route that passes Parliament House and within 200 yards of the Chinese Embassy.

Hundreds of police will guard the torch to prevent the type of interruptions that have marked the relay in other cities in the flame's global journey to the Beijing Olympics in August.

The flame arrived at an air base in Canberra from Indonesia and was greeted by government and Olympic officials and Aboriginal elder Agnes Shea, who said she hoped the torch's stay would symbolize "good will for all mankind."

A group of four people waved Chinese flags outside the gate of the base; there was no sign of protesters.

Officials said the flame's location was being kept secret between its arrival and the relay Thursday because of the threat of protests.

"I don't know, and I don't want to know," Australian relay organizer Ted Quinlan told reporters. "Originally, it was going to a hotel but there's a distinct possibility it's going to go to the embassy."

The climber on Mount Everest, whose identity has not been released, was caught with the banner at Everest's base camp, said mountaineering officials in Nepal's capital, Katmandu. The officials did not want to be named because they are not authorized to speak to reporters.

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