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02/10/2006:

"Boos, jeers and threats as Olympic flame kindles protests across Italy"

...On its two-month, 7,000-mile journey around Italy, it has been booed and jeered. Attempts have even been made to block its path, wrestle it from torchbearers and extinguish it.

Since it arrived from Athens on December 8, it has become the focus of protest by anti-globalisation groups, those angry at a planned high-speed train link, and people bitter about the games' commercialisation. What should have been a symbol of celebration has become a sign of controversy. Even by Italian standards, with a strong anarchic tradition, the furore has been unusual.
guardian.co.uk