KATHMANDU—Three Tibetans protesting Chinese rule in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) have been beaten and detained by police amid rising tensions in the run-up to politically sensitive anniversaries in the Himalayan region.



Separately, police officials in the same part of Tibet confirmed an explosion earlier this month at a government building near the Jan. 20 protest. Sources said no one died in the blast.



Tensions in the Tibetan region are expected to escalate around… Continue

KATHMANDU—Small, sporadic protests against Chinese rule in Tibetan areas of China’s Sichuan province persist despite a widespread crackdown on dissent in the wake of massive anti-China unrest less than a year ago, according to sources in the region.

“On Jan. 5, a Tibetan man protested in front of police headquarters in downtown Kardze [in Chinese, Ganzi] at around 12 p.m.,” said a local Tibetan woman, who asked not to be named.



“He… Continue

Burmese blogger in running to win "Best Asian Blog" by Solomon

Friday, 09 January 2009 22:27



New Delhi (Mizzima) - The Weblog of a veteran Burmese Buddhist monk, Ashin Mattacara, which contains writings on Burma, has been selected among the finalists for the 'Best Asian Bolg' Award for 2008.



The Weblog, (www.ashinmettacara.org), has garnered 870 votes in an online poll conducted since November of last year, currently ranking… Continue

Living and working in Burma is tough. Writing stories and poetry, telling jokes or criticising the military regime risks a Draconian jail sentence. In early November a prison court sentenced 14 activists to 65-year jail sentences.



One Burmese man has made it his life's work to ensure these prisoners will not be forgotten.



In a small wooden house inside a tree-lined compound in the Thai border town of Mae Sot a group of men and women tap computer keyboards, talk on cell… Continue

May all beings everywhere plagued

with sufferings of body and mind

quickly be freed from their illnesses.

May those frightened cease to be afraid,

and may those bound be free.

May the powerless find power,

and may people think of befriending

one another.

May those who find themselves in trackless,

fearful wilderness–

the children, the aged, the unprotected–

be guarded by beneficent celestials,

and may they swiftly attain… Continue

Berkeley, CA (USA) -- On Nov. 28 my brother, Thet Zin, a Burmese journalist brave enough to remain in his country, was sentenced to seven years in prison by the military junta there. His crime? Possession of a U.N. report about the military's crackdown on demonstrations by monks and democracy activists in September 2007 -- known around the world as the "Saffron Revolution."



He's not alone. In the past two months the junta has sentenced more than 230 political detainees to lengthy… Continue

A Burmese political prisoner, Maung San, committed suicide in Pegu Prison in central Burma on Dec. 19, according to sources in Pegu Division.



Maung San, who was about 35 years old, was serving a two-year prison term.



He committed suicide in a prison restroom, following the refusal of prison authorities to provide proper medical treatment outside the prison. He suffered from intestinal problems and liver disease, sources said.



A source said Maung San’s decision… Continue

WASHINGTON — Some of China's favorite adjectives for Rebiya Kadeer, an exiled leader of China's ethnic Uighur minority, are "terrorist" and "separatist monster."



The name-calling only seems to fire up Kadeer, who sometimes works these days from a small office about a block from the White House. She sees her job as being a thorn in China's side on behalf of her ethnic Muslim brethren in China's resource-rich far west.



Kadeer is little known to the outside world. Yet she's a… Continue

"Loving-kindness and compassion are the two cornerstones on which the whole edifice of Buddhism stands," says the Dalai Lama.

Compassion is among the core teachings of Mahayana Buddhism wherein you sacrifice yourself in order to attain salvation for the sake of others. The Buddha said that you must, however, never neglect your own welfare or attha, which you must understand to know what the other's welfare means. One must then progress from the limited love of family to the larger love of… Continue

(CNN) -- Chinese authorities have arrested 59 people in Tibet accused of spreading rumors and inciting sentiment against the state and public safety, state-run media reported.



Xin Yuanming, deputy director of the Lhasa City Public Security Bureau, announced the arrests Tuesday, saying police had uncovered 48 cases of planning and instigating violence against authorities in Tibet, Xinhua news agency reported Thursday.



The Public Security Bureau deployed a group of 108… Continue