China tightened its grip on Tibet today as it insisted the unrest there will not stop the Olympic torch from being taken to the top of Mount Everest.
Anti-government riots last week in the Tibetan capital Lhasa and a crackdown by communist authorities have led to calls from activist groups to stop the relay from going through the region via the mountain's summit before this summer's games.
"The Tibet leg of the torch relay will proceed as scheduled," said Jiang Xiaoyu, the executive vice president of the Beijing organising committee.
Foreigners were banned from entering ethnic Tibetan areas today and journalists were escorted away and told to get out of one potential trouble spot in next door Sichuan province.
State media reported that more than 100 people had surrendered to police in and around Lhasa.
The government says 16 people were killed and at least 300 buildings burned in the Lhasa rioting. It denies claims by overseas Tibetan groups that 80 people were killed.
Protests and unrest then spread into neighbouring provinces, where more than half of China's 5.4 million Tibetans live.
Chinese officials launched new broadsides at the Dalai Lama today, describing Tibet's exiled Buddhist leader as a "wolf" and "devil". They have accused the Dalai Lama and his supporters of organising the violent clashes in hopes of sabotaging the Beijing Olympics and promoting Tibetan independence.
In the Indian seat of his government-in-exile, the Dalai Lama asked five groups of Tibetan activists to end a confrontational march to Lhasa, worried they would clash with Chinese troops at the border.
Police said an order was issued on Monday barring foreigners from all Tibetan areas in the province for 10 days. China banned tour groups travelling to Tibet last week, hitting the region's fast-growing tourism industry.
The Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet during the 1959 uprising, has urged his followers to remain peaceful, saying he would resign as head of the Tibetan government-in-exile if violence got out of control. The 1989 Nobel Peace Prize laureate has said he favours significant autonomy for Tibet, but not independence.
The protests have focused world attention on China's human rights record ahead of the Olympics, prompting discussion of a possible boycott of the opening ceremony.
Olympic committees in other countries have spoken out against a boycott of the games, but some athletes have voiced concern.
Meanwhile, British prime minister Gordon Brown today risked incurring the wrath of China after he finally promised to meet the Dalai Lama on his forthcoming visit to London.
Mr Brown's decision to see the exiled spiritual - announced at Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons - was warmly welcomed by Free Tibet campaigners.
The Prime Minister had previously been reluctant to commit to a meeting, knowing that it was likely to infuriate the Chinese authorities.
PA