Chinese badminton player Chen Hong carries the Olympic flame yesterday in Longyan City, the last leg of the torch relay in the southeastern Fujian Province. Participants in the relay are donating to the earthquakehit Sichuan Province. All the 208 torchbearers in the province have made their donations. The relay kicks off in Ruijin City in Jiangxi Province today.—Xinhua

Organizers of the Beijing Olympic Games said yesterday that a minute's silence will be observed during future stops of the torch relay to mourn the victims of the earthquake that hit Sichuan Province on Monday.

"The Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2008 Games together with local provincial governments, have made a joint decision that all participants in the torch relay will observe one minute of silence at the beginning of the relay in each of the following stops," BOCOG said.

BOCOG spokesman Li Zhanjun said there were no immediate plans to change the relay's route in Sichuan, which covers seven towns and cities from June 15 to 18.

Also yesterday, the International Olympic Committee announced to give US$1 million to aid relief efforts for the earthquake-hit areas.