Leaders from India, the United States and Taiwan offered their support to Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, on his 90th birthday on Sunday, a landmark anniversary raising geopolitical questions for the future. Tibetans fear China will eventually name a rival successor to the Dalai Lama, bolstering Beijing’s control over Tibet, the territory it poured troops into in 1950 and has ruled ever since. The man who calls himself a “simple Buddhist monk” celebrated in India, where he has lived since he and thousands of other Tibetans fled Chinese…
Tag: India
Buddhist rebirth v Chinese control: the battle to choose the Dalai Lama’s successor
Few celebrations have the hills of Dharamshala abuzz like the birthday of the Dalai Lama. But this year, as monks and devotees flooded into the mountainous Indian city before the Tibetan spiritual leader turns 90 on Sunday, the mood of anticipation has been palpable. For years, the Dalai Lama had promised that around his 90th birthday he would make a long-awaited announcement about his reincarnation. Finally, in a video broadcast to Tibetan monks and leaders on Wednesday, he laid out what the future would hold. It came amid fears of…
Leaders of Russia and China snub Brics summit in sign group’s value may be waning
Russia and China are not sending their leaders to a Brics summit starting in Brazil on Sunday in what may be a sign that the group’s recent expansion has reduced its ideological value to the two founding members. China’s 72-year-old leader, Xi Jinping, has attended Brics summits for the past 12 years. No official reason has been given for sending the premier, Li Qiang, other than scheduling conflicts. Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, is facing an international criminal court arrest warrant and may have decided not to travel to Rio to…
Dalai Lama outlines process for choosing his successor after he dies – video
The Dalai Lama has said the centuries-old Tibetan Buddhist institution will continue after his death, ending years of speculation after he previously suggested he might be the last person to hold the role. In a video broadcast before his 90th birthday on Sunday, he said ‘all the followers have unanimously said that the reincarnation should continue’ The Guardian
Dalai Lama says there will be search for his successor after his death, ending years of speculation
The Dalai Lama has said the centuries-old Tibetan Buddhist institution will continue after his death, ending years of speculation that started when he indicated that he might be the last person to hold the role. Speaking at prayer celebrations ahead of his 90th birthday on Sunday, the Nobel peace prize-winning spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism said in a recorded statement that the next Dalai Lama should be found and recognised as per past Buddhist traditions. The Dalai Lama has insisted that his successor would be born outside China. Beijing, which…
Peak speed: Sherpas say their traditions are at risk after record Everest ascents
There is nothing unusual about records being broken on Mount Everest. But last week, two sets of climbers turned heads with ascents that many had never thought possible: they went straight up from sea level to the world’s highest summit in less than a week. On Wednesday, a team of four UK climbers, all ex-special forces soldiers, summited Everest having landed from London just over four days earlier. The following day, US-Ukrainian climber Andrew Ushakov said he had gone from New York to the top of Everest in under four…
Trump threatens 25% tariff on iPhones if they are not made in US
Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 25% tariff on iPhones if they are not made in the United States, as he stepped up the pressure on Apple to build its signature product in America. The US president caused a pre-trading dip in Apple shares with a post on the Truth Social platform stating that iPhones sold inside the US must be made within the country’s borders. Trump said in the post: “I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhones that will be sold…
Trump says he has a ‘little problem’ with Tim Cook over Apple’s India production
Donald Trump has admonished Apple and its chief executive over the tech firm’s reported plans to source production of US-bound iPhones from India. The US president said he had a “little problem” with Apple’s Tim Cook, after reports that the company is planning to switch assembly of handsets for the US market from China to India. “I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday,” said Trump, speaking in Qatar on Thursday. Referring to Apple’s recent promise to spend $500bn (£375bn) in the US, he added: “I said to him:…
India blocks X accounts of Chinese state media over coverage of Kashmir crisis
The social media accounts of some Chinese state media were blocked inside India on Wednesday, after Indian officials accused the outlets of spreading Pakistani propaganda and misinformation. The move came as India protested over Beijing’s decision to rename some locations in a disputed border territory. The X accounts of China’s official state news agency Xinhua, and a state-backed nationalistic tabloid, the Global Times, were inaccessible inside India on Wednesday. Turkey’s TRTWorld was also blocked. Both China and Turkey are allies of Pakistan, with China providing the bulk of its weapons…
Pakistan’s use of J-10C jets and missiles exposes potency of Chinese weaponry
As India and Pakistan traded missile strikes over the weekend, and the world watched with horror as the two nuclear-armed neighbours erupted into open conflict, military analysts spotted something curious. Pakistan, it seemed, had used Chinese jets to shoot down India’s planes. Last week, India launched missiles at Pakistan, in retaliation for a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir in April that killed 26 people. The conflict escalated with mutual strikes and drone attacks. Pakistan claimed to have shot down several Indian air force fighter jets with Chinese-made missiles fired from…