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This is an exclusive shot of a Tibetan monk called Sangha Tenzin found mummified inside a tomb at Ghuen village in Spiti, Himachal Pradesh. Professor Victor Mair, consulting scholar at the University of Pennsylvania, Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, who has researched on the mummy, says it is at least 500 years old. "He died around the time that Colombus discovered America." (I had taken Mair to see the mummy while he was visiting India as part of a team studying Asian mummies.) Apparently, the monk had given up his life while meditating in the position he was found...

Russia's foreign ministry says it has denied a visa to the Dalai Lama. In a statement, the ministry says that while the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader is a respected figure in Russia, the Kremlin is required to consider Russia's national interests when considering the possibility of a visit. The ministry's statement says Russia was taking into account China's negative view of the Dalai Lama's political activities. This is the third time Russia's foreign ministry has refused to allow the Dalai Lama to enter the country. Last month, the head of Russia's mostly Buddhist Kalmykia republic invited the Dalai Lama to...