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Tibetan beauties from India and abroad will once again congregate here to vie for the Miss Tibet crown early next month. The contest, spread over five days, will begin on October 8 and draw contestants from Canada and France too

In a musty temple far outside this ancient Tibetan holy city, a young monk ushered a visitor into a dark chapel lined with statues of Buddhist gods of protection.

Life for 2.2 million farmers and herdsmen in Tibet has markedly improved since the late 1970s, but a growing population and static land holdings pose problems for future generations, a new study showed on Tuesday.

This photo released by the White House shows US President George W. Bush (R) welcoming the spiritual leader of Tibet the Dalai Lama to the White House.(AFP-White House/Paul Morse)

President George W. Bush met the Dalai Lama at the White House, in defiance of China's protests that the Tibetan spiritual leader was using US soil as a launchpad for "separatist" activity.

Video image of the Dalai Lama during an interview with the Associated Press in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2003. The Dalai Lama, who implored President Bush to avoid a violent response after the terrorist attacks two years ago, said that the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan may have been justified to win a larger peace, but it's too early to say whether the Iraq war was warranted. He calls on Americans to channel their grief from Sept. 11, 2001 "into a source of inner strength." (AP Photo/Kevin Vineys)

Once famous as the cradle of Tibetan civilization, the dusty city of Tsetang today looks more like an outpost of Chinese culture. The People's Liberation Army maintains a base here, and Chinese characters elbow out Tibetan script on signs.

The Dalai Lama, exiled spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, said he found Secretary of State Colin Powell "very sympathetic" on Tuesday when they met at the State Department in Washington.

The Dalai Lama makes remarks during his visit to the US legislature to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the US Congressional Human Rights Caucus.(Tim Sloan)

China accused the United States of allowing the Dalai Lama to conduct "separatist" activity on its soil, after the Tibetan spiritual leader met Secretary of State Colin Powell.