News

An international coalition of Human Rights and environment groups today called on Australian mining company, Sino Gold Ltd, to cease all exploration in Tibet until Tibetans are in a position to freely express their wishes about the use of their resources.

Three Australian climbers were rescued by helicopter Monday from a mountain in Tibet, but the body of their leader, who died of altitude sickness, was left behind, Australian officials said.

Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama has declined an invitation from the Taiwanese President to visit the island to avoid damaging relations with China, an official said on Monday.

China has pledged to do what it can to assist in the rescue of three Australian climbers trapped after an accident on one of the world's highest peaks in Tibet, state press reported.

This undated photo shows a model of the Zhikong hydropower station to the northeast of Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. The State Council of China authorized to build the Zhikong hydropower station project in October, 2002, with an installed capacity of 100,000 kwh and an aggregate storage capacity of 225 million steres. After five years' scheduled construction and with a total investment of 1.337 billion yuan, the hydropower station will generate 407 million kwh annually. It is expected that the first unit will generate electricity in December 2006.

One woman's extraordinary Himalayan quest inspired an Australian documentary, writes Rebecca Urban. Many Westerners would consider living alone inside a remote Himalayan cave for 12 years to be a kind of cruel punishment.

Reports from Lhasa indicate that while Chinese and foreign tourist groups are successfully being prevented from entering the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), large numbers of individual Chinese from SARS-affected areas including Guangzhou and Beijing are arriving in the TAR

testing

China announced that Lekchog (Ch: Legqog), head of the Tibet Autonomous Region Government, has succeeded Ragdi (Ch: Raidi) as the Chairman of the TAR People's Congress and that Jampa Phuntsok (Ch: Qiangba Puncog) has replaced Lekchog as the TAR head.

Ngawang Sangdrol does not look old enough to be China's longest-serving female political prisoner, who has spent almost half her life behind bars. But she is only 26.