Lama in Germany for start of Western tour

The Dalai Lama arrives in Germany on Thursday at the start of a tour of Western powers, two months after China's crackdown on violence in Lhasa sparked international condemnation. The visit will keep the issue of Tibet centre-stage until the Olympic Games start in Beijing in August. After Germany the Tibetan spiritual leader will also visit the United States, Australia, Britain and France. The Tibetan government-in-exile based in Dharamshala in India, where the Dalai Lama fled in 1959, says 203 Tibetans were killed and 1,000 injured in Beijing's crackdown following anti-Chinese riots in March in Tibet.