Government allows foreign reporters on Tibet tour

Beijing has allowed 26 overseas journalists to tour Tibet, the first group of foreign reporters allowed in the area since violence broke out two weeks ago, Bloomberg reported. Reporters from 19 news organizations set off on a three-day guided tour Wednesday, according to state media. The unrest in Tibet has prompted varied reponses from world leaders in recent days. US President George W. Bush urged Hu Jintao to open a dialogue with the Dalai Lama in a telephone call to the Chinese president, while French President Nicolas Sarkozy refused to rule out a boycott of the opening cermony of the Beijing Olympics in August. Beijing has maintained that the "Dalai Lama clique" is behind the region’s protests.