For centuries Tibet, a vast high altitude plateau between China and India, remained remote from the rest of the world with a widely dispersed population of nomads, farmers, monks and traders. Tibet had its own national flag, its own currency, a distinct culture and religion, and controlled its own affairs. In 1949, following the foundation of the Chinese Communist state, the People’s Liberation Army invaded Tibet and soon overpowered its poorly equipped army and guerilla resistance.

Tibet is important to China for strategic and economic reasons and because of the Communist Party’s imperialist ambitions. In China today, it is a serious offence to say that Tibet is separate from China.

In March 1959, Tibetans rose up against the Chinese occupiers. The uprising was brutally crushed and the Tibetan leader, His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama, escaped to India, followed by more than 80,000 Tibetans. Tens of thousands of Tibetans who remained were killed or imprisoned. Untold numbers, but at least hundreds of thousands, of Tibetans have died as a direct result of China’s policies since 1949 - through starvation, torture and execution.

The Chinese government severely restricts the rights of Tibetans to exercise human rights as provided in the Chinese constitution, including the freedoms of speech, press, association, and religion. Reading an autobiography of the Dalai Lama or talking about freedom to friends in Tibet can be classified as ‘endangering state security’.

Tibetan political prisoners endure harsh prison conditions, including torture, deprivation of food and sleep, and long periods in isolation cells.

Source: International Campaign for Tibet

4.) Drink Responsibly - In one evening of drinking, Steve Carell lost his motor skills, judgment and inhibitions — and ultimately threw up in Stephen Colbert’s car on the way home.

Bonus - Moment of Zen

3.) Bobble Head - Stephen Colbert is almost attacked by an Iraqi troll insurgent.

2.) Royal Scandal - The royal scandal is the type of story a reporter waits his entire career not to be able to report on.

1.) 9/11 - There were no openings for a man in a fetal position under his desk, so Jon Stewart had to go back to work.

Raila Odinga’s opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) has the majority of seats - but it is far from clear whether it will take them or dash for the seats on the government benches.

That uncertainty is the result of the wave of fury that has swept Kenya since the presidential election on 27 December.

Everyone knew that the presidential election would be close, but few predicted that the events that followed would herald what many are calling a “generational revolution” in one of Africa’s most stable states.

The straw that broke the camel’s back was the perception by many Kenyans and the international community that the election was rigged.

Yet could the election fiasco merely have been a trigger to ignite simmering tensions, bubbling under the surface for decades?

Source: BBC News

Burma, also known as Myanmar, is ruled by a military junta which suppresses almost all dissent and wields absolute power in the face of international condemnation and sanctions. The generals and the army stand accused of gross human rights abuses, including the forcible relocation of civilians and the widespread use of forced labour, which includes children.

Prominent pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi, has had various restrictions placed on her activities since the late 1980s. Her party, the National League for Democracy, won a landslide victory in 1990 in Burma’s first multi-party elections for 30 years, but has never been allowed to govern.

Military-run enterprises control key industries, and corruption and severe mismanagement are the hallmarks of a black-market-riven economy. The armed forces - and former rebels co-opted by the government - have been accused of large-scale trafficking in heroin, of which Burma is a major exporter.

The largest group is the Burman people, who are ethnically related to the Tibetans and the Chinese. Burman dominance over Karen, Shan, Rakhine, Mon, Chin, Kachin and other minorities has been the source of considerable ethnic tension and has fuelled intermittent separatist rebellions. Military offensives against insurgents have uprooted many thousands of civilians.

A largely rural, densely forested country, Burma is the world’s largest exporter of teak and a principal source of jade, pearls, rubies and sapphires. It is endowed with extremely fertile soil and has important offshore oil and gas deposits. However, its people remain very poor and are getting poorer. The country is festooned with the symbols of Buddhism. Thousands of pagodas throng its ancient towns; these have been a focus for an increasingly important tourism industry. But while tourism has been a magnet for foreign investment, its benefits have hardly touched the people.

Source: BBC News