Tibetan New Year Amid Controversy

Wary Tibetans set for muted New Year celebrations Reuters — Chinese police have discovered explosives under a bridge in restive Tibet, sources said on Tuesday, as ethnic Tibetan villages high in the grasslands of western China faced a tense traditional New Year. Almost a year after deadly riots erupted in Tibetan capital Lhasa and triggered unrest in neighboring provinces, Chinese security forces remain on high alert a day before the holiday, which varies from year to year and this year begins on Wednesday. click to read complete article

Tibetan monk shot while on fire BBC — A Tibetan monk has been shot after setting fire to himself during a protest at Beijing's rule, reports say. The incident happened in the Tibetan-populated town of Aba in southwest China's Sichuan province during a gathering of more than 1,000 monks. click to read complete article

Jubilant Tibetans embrace coming new year Xinhua — After hanging on the door strips of hada, a white long silk scarf considered as a token of blessing, Degyi Drolkar paced excitedly through her new, 198-square-meter home in Gongka Township near Lhasa as she decorated for the Tibetan New Year which falls on Wednesday. She also hung the portraits of current and former top Chinese leaders, including that of Chairman Mao Zedong, on a most conspicuous position of the wall. click to read complete article