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Kalsang Dhondup says his players are like "crumbs gathered after wiping the table cover". Selecting and managing a football team from amongst the exiled can be an interesting and challenging experience, the Executive Secretary of the Tibetan National Sports Association points out.

Photographer: F. Spencer Chapman, 1936 -1998.131.632

Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, was the dream destination for Western explorers during the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Only the lucky few managed to reach Tibet, inspired by the remoteness of its location on the "roof of the world" and the romance of Shangri-La.

Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi indicated Monday that Japan has not yet decided whether to allow the Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader, to enter Japan, despite a request from China to prevent his entry, a Japanese official said.

The Australia Tibet Council (ATC) is urging the public to write to Prime Minister John Howard to encourage China to begin dialogue on Tibet during his meetings with Chinese leaders in Beijing from August 17 to 19, 2003.

The Dalai Lama has given an interview to Kaifang (Open), a monthly magazine published in Chinese from Hong Kong, in which he responds to Chinese concerns and suspicions on the issue of Tibet.

Nepal and China are hoping to boost trade and tourism through the possible opening up of two ancient Himalayan crossings and allowing helicopters to travel from the kingdom to a major Hindu pilgrimage site in Tibet.

Former speaker of the Lok Sabha, Shri Rabi Rai has come out strongly against the stand of Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee on Tibet on Joint Sino India declaration in Beijing and then his clarification on the floor of the Parliament.

China has expressed regret over the cancellation of a visit by the US government's religious rights monitor, which said it was protesting what it called "unacceptable" restrictions imposed by Beijing.

Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Joseph Biden (D-DE) have introduced a resolution welcoming His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Washington, D.C., in September and recognizing him for his lifelong commitment to non-violence and human rights.