Beijing  - China on Saturday accused the Dalai Lama of making unrealistic demands that go beyond his public commitment to greater autonomy for Tibet, rather than independence, in the latest reflection of the gulf between the two sides.

"The Dalai side still insists on establishing a so-called greater Tibet on a quarter of Chinese territory," Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi told reporters in Beijing.

"They want to drive away Chinese troops from Chinese territory," Yang charged.

Beijing  - China has placed Tibet under "de facto martial law" ahead of the 50th anniversary uprising against Chinese rule on March 10, 1959, activists said Friday.

The troop presence was to prevent protests like those that swept across Lhasa and other Tibetan regions last year, the London-based Free Tibet Campaign said.

Witnesses in Tibet reported strong army presence, military convoys, deployment of paramilitary police and roadblocks ahead of the anniversary, the group said.

However, protests increased "noticeably" despite the security measures, Free Tibet Campaign said.

Beijing  - A Tibetan Buddhist monk set fire to himself on Friday after Chinese authorities prevented him from observing a traditional prayer festival, the London-based Free Tibet Campaign reported.

The monk poured petrol over himself and set light to it after walking from the Kirti monastery into the nearby centre of Aba town in the south-western province of Sichuan, said Matt Whitticase of the Free Tibet Campaign.

Shanghai, Feb. 26 : China has closed the Tibetan side of Mount Everest to climbers as it exerts total control over the region in the run-up to the 50th anniversary of the Dalai Lama's exile, reports The Telegraph.

The closure of Everest's northeast ridge came after China told tourist agencies in Tibet to cancel all tours until April and stopped issuing entrance permits for Tibet to foreigners.

Tensions in Tibet are running high ahead of the anniversary of the Dalai Lama's flight into exile on March 10. Many Tibetans have chosen not to celebrate Tibetan New Year, or Losar.

Varanasi, Feb 26 : Tibetans exiles here marked their New Year by staging protest and candlelight vigil a year after the region erupted in deadly riots and protests against Chinese rule.

Protesters held placards and Tibet flags as they marched along the bank of river Ganga to express solidarity towards the people who have lost their lives fighting for the country's freedom.

China - Tibetans in north-western China's Qinghai province gave a mixed response on Wednesday to calls to boycott New Year celebrations by Tibetan exile groups and counter-demands by the government to mark the day as normal.

Hundreds of ordinary Tibetans celebrated the day by partying at the famous Ta'ersi Monastery (Kumbum in Tibetan) near the provincial capital of Xining, but some Tibetan Buddhist monks said they would not mark the traditional New Year.

A monk from the remote prefecture of Guoluo (Golok in Tibetan) laughed nervously when asked if he was marking the New Year, which began on Wednesday.