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Tenying Yangsel was born in Tibet, but her country is little more than a state of mind. Her mother fled to India with 1-month-old Tenying and her brothers, then 2 and 4. Five years ago, she left her children with her sister in Nepal to come to New York City to work as a nanny.

China is likely to find it easier to resolve the problem of Tibet than that of Taiwan, the Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, said in France.

Tales of astral flying, monks who meditate until their heads bleed and gurus who leave handprints in a rock pop up regularly in Mick Brown's The Dance of 17 Lives. Yet, unlike the author's 1999 The Spiritual Tourist

Forget the Dalai Lama's photo ops and repeated grip 'n' grins with celebrities, writes RON GRAHAM, because the mission at the heart of his much-hyped visit to Canada was something even greater than the campaign for a free Tibet.

"He is coming down; His Holiness is on his way. If you would take your seats." Suddenly, the wood-panelled Library Room on the mezzanine level of the Royal York Hotel becomes quiet.

Human rights groups yesterday accused the government of restricting their right to protest at next week's trip to London by the Chinese premier, Wen Jiabao, by wrapping the official visit in a cloak of secrecy.

In an implied acknowledgement of Sikkim's status as Indian territory, China has quietly stopped listing the Himalayan border state as a separate entity. The Chinese move came on the eve of the elections in Sikkim

GOODBYE, DALAI. The exiled Tibetan leader ends his 19-day Canadian visit today after drawing thousands of faithful to teachings that were a mix of Buddhist tradition and Hollywood glamour.

Tony Blair is to hold talks next week with Chinese premier Wen Jiabao, Downing Street announced today. The two leaders will meet for talks in Downing Street as part of a European tour by the Chinese prime minister

Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao is visiting the European Commission in Brussels today. EU officials stress that, coming less than a month after Commission President Romano Prodi visited Beijing, Wen's trip highlights the rapidly growing rapprochement between the bloc and China.