Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived in New Delhi on November 20th for talks on trade with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and was met with protests in the three cities he visited: New Delhi, Agra and Mumbai. Approximately 200 protestors were arrested during the four day visit. [read full article>]

Everyone wants to ‘protect the environment’. But what does it mean, this environment? Well. for most of us. the environment is somewhere out there. It’s the forests, the rivers and streams. It’s nature.
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The Chinese entered Tibet in 1949 “to liberate the downtrodden masses from imperialist aggressors”. There had not been any foreign army in Tibet since the Manchu army in 1912 and there were only a handful of foreigners in the entire country. The United States entered Iraq “to find weapons of mass destruction”. When they didn’t find any, the rhetoric gradually morphed into “to remove Saddam Hussein and bring peace & democracy”.[read full article>]

(A brief report on the outcome of the wildlife awareness campaign since January 2006)

In January 2006, H.H. the 14th Dalai Lama gave his 31st Kalachakra empowerment at an important Buddhist holy place called Amarvati, in Andra Pradesh, South India. There were over 100,000 devotees who came to receive the teaching.[read full article>]

It is around two o’clock on the day of the annual picnic and I feel my brain is a bit loaded with impressions. Parades and dances and now Tibetan opera. It is sung in Tibetan, which I don’t understand, so it’s a bit hard to keep up the concentration. Luckily, my Tibetan friend has said that he is not too fond of opera either, so I don’t feel I’m doing anything wrong as I pull back from the crowd and start to read a magazine about the Tibetan’s Children’s Village instead.[read full article>]

Dharamsala - As the first survivors of the Nangpa Pass shooting arrive in Dharamsala Tibetans and their supporters have protested at China’s attack on the refugees and ongoing occupation of Tibet. Video footage shot by foreign mountaineers at Cho Oyo advance Everest Base Camp shows the Chinese border guards opening fire on a group of c. 70 Tibetans attempting to cross through the Nangpa Pass into Nepal on Sep. 30th. [read full article>]

by Colette Davidson

Laden with white scarves and ostrich-feathered gold plated dorjes, Tibetan Buddhists of the Sakya faith met with friends and family in a small gathering on Sunday, September 10th in St. Paul, Minnesota to wish a happy birthday to His Holiness Sakya Trizin. The event was presented by Sakya Thupten Dargye Ling (Minnesota Sakya Center) and was hosted by the Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota, which was amply decorated for the day. Large drapes depicting Tibetan landscapes hung from the community room walls alongside bright thangka paintings, wall hangings, and obligatory photo shrines for both H.H. Dalai Lama and H.H. Sakya Trizin. The floor was lined with intricately designed, carpeted mats in long, monastery-style rows for participants to rest upon during meditation and mantras. [read full article>]

by Ian Cantwell

While working on Earthquake Relief in Pakistan I had the opportunity of attending a mountain festival at Broghill, N.W.F.P. in July. This area, Upper Yarkun Valley, source of the Kabul River is adjacent to the Wakhan Corridor, Afghanistan and is probably one of the most undeveloped parts of Pakistan. It’s settled by Tajik Ismaelis who are recent migrants having moved from Tajikistan 100-200 years ago The area was not settled at the time, possibly due to the onset of colder weather in Medieval times. In an earlier period it was part of the Silk Road economy with wealthy and vibrant communities who were subject to invasion and conquest by many different kingdoms over time. [read full article>]

The air is crisp and fresh, there is not a cloud in the sky and visibility to the hills and mountains is unobstructed by mist, rain or smog – it reminds me of Tibet. Is this real?

The surrounding area, when disembarking the aeroplane appears unusually quiet, almost giving a surreal feeling, but in reality it is not,[read full article>]