Up to 8 activists detained after Olympics protest

Foreign pro-Tibet activists are detained by Chinese police and security guards after they staged a protest near the main Olympics venue in Beijing Wednesday. (AP/Kyodo News)

An activist group says up to eight pro-Tibet protesters have been detained by police near an Olympics venue in the Chinese capital.

Rights group Students for a Free Tibet says two of its members hung a banner Wednesday that said "Free Tibet" in the Chinese Ethnic Culture Park near the National Stadium.

The group says another five or six members handcuffed themselves to each other and bicycles at the front gate of the park.

All have been detained by police and plainclothes security agents. A British journalist in the area has also reportedly been taken away.

Police would not immediately comment. (**)