International News
Dalai Lama Says He Will Have A Successor After His Death
The Dalai Lama said Wednesday that the 600-year-old Tibetan spiritual institution would continue after his death, reassuring Buddhist followers around the globe and saying his office “exclusively” would name his successor, even as China insisted it would.
Followers of the Dalai Lama laud his tireless campaign for greater autonomy for Tibet, a vast high-altitude plateau in China about the size of South Africa.
It is a landmark decision for Tibetans, many of whom had feared a future without a leader, as well as for global supporters who see the Dalai Lama as a symbol of non-violence, compassion and the enduring struggle for Tibetan cultural identity under Chinese rule.
According to Tibetans, Tenzin Gyatso is the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama.
He and thousands of other Tibetans have lived in exile in India since Chinese troops crushed an uprising in the Tibetan capital Lhasa in 1959.
The charismatic Nobel Peace Prize-winning Buddhist had previously said the institution of Dalai Lama would continue only if there was popular demand.
He said Wednesday he had received multiple appeals over the past 14 years from the Tibetan diaspora, Buddhists from across the Himalayan region, Mongolia and parts of Russia and China, “earnestly requesting that the institution of the Dalai Lama continue”.
“In particular, I have received messages through various channels from Tibetans in Tibet making the same appeal,” he said in a video broadcast at the start of a meeting of religious leaders in the Indian Himalayan town where he has lived for decades.
“In accordance with all these requests, I am affirming that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue,” he added, according to an official translation.
The announcement was made ahead of his 90th birthday on July 6.
‘Historic’
While China condemns him as a rebel and separatist, the internationally recognised Dalai Lama describes himself as a “simple Buddhist monk”.
Many exiled Tibetans fear China will name its own successor to bolster control over a territory it poured troops into in 1950.
But the Dalai Lama said Wednesday that responsibility for identifying the 15th Dalai Lama “will rest exclusively” with the India-based Gaden Phodrang Trust, the office of the Dalai Lama.
Samdhong Rinpoche, a senior Tibetan leader from the Gaden Phodrang Trust, told reporters that the Dalai Lama was “in excellent health” and that, at this time, there were “no further instructions for succession”.
However, Rinpoche said the next Dalai Lama could be of “any nationality”, and would come from a place where there is “access to freedom”.
China said on Wednesday that the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama “must be approved by the central government” in Beijing, and that it would be carried out “by drawing lots from a golden urn”, foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters.
That urn is held by Beijing, and the Dalai Lama has already warned that, when used dishonestly, it lacks “any spiritual quality”.
The Dalai Lama handed over political authority in 2011 to an exiled government chosen democratically by 130,000 Tibetans globally.
At the same time, he warned that the future of his spiritual post faced an “obvious risk of vested political interests misusing the reincarnation system”.
In 1995, Beijing selected a Panchen Lama, another influential Tibetan religious figure, and detained a Dalai Lama-recognised six-year-old, described by rights groups as the world’s youngest political prisoner.
The Dalai Lama’s announcement about the continuation of the role was welcomed with relief by Tibetans, including by Jigme Taydeh, a civil servant with the India-based Tibetan government.
“Whilst we rejoice at this confirmation of its continuation, we stringently object to China’s interference and plans to install a puppet Dalai Lama”, he said. “Neither the Tibetans nor the world would recognise such mischief.”
AFP
German authorities deported at least 137 Nigerian citizens across five chartered flights between February and June 2026, according to migration monitoring reports.
Data from the DERS Team and Refugees4refugees.org shows the deportations occurred in phases, with 27 Nigerians returned in February, 37 in March through a joint European Union operation, 24 in April, 23 in May, and 26 in June.
The February operation departed from Stuttgart and landed at Lagos Cargo Airport, with Baden-Württemberg listed as a primary participant. The March operation represented the largest single return of Nigerians recorded over three years and was executed in collaboration with Spain, Austria, and Belgium.
The reports indicate a growing reliance on multi-national chartered flights by European states to repatriate undocumented or non-resident individuals to Nigeria.
The United States has condemned the killing of members of the family of Plateau-based cleric, Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo, describing the attack as horrific and urging Nigerian authorities to ensure those responsible are brought to justice.
In a statement shared on X on Thursday, the US Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs expressed condolences to the victims’ families and called for stronger measures to prevent further attacks on vulnerable communities across Nigeria’s Middle Belt.
“The United States strongly condemns the horrific killing of members of Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo’s family in Plateau State, Nigeria. The continued violence targeting Christian communities and other vulnerable populations in Nigeria’s Middle Belt is deeply alarming,” the bureau said
The US said it had already engaged Nigerian officials on the worsening security situation, stressing that urgent action was needed to curb recurring attacks and hold perpetrators accountable.
“As I discussed last week with Nigerian officials, we must do more to prevent violent acts. The perpetrators must be held accountable, and urgent action is needed to strengthen security and protect Christians and other vulnerable communities,” the statement added.
The bureau reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to working with the Nigerian government to combat terrorism and violent extremism, stressing that Christians and other Nigerians should be able to practise their faith without fear of violence.
The statement followed the July 12 attack on Kum community in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State, where nine members of Rev. Dachomo’s extended family, including a two-month-old baby, were killed.
According to the cleric, the attackers, believed to be armed Fulani militias, asked for him by name before opening fire on his relatives.
Dachomo, who serves as Regional Chairman of the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, said his family had repeatedly been targeted because of his outspoken criticism of the violence in Plateau State.
He recalled that his grandmother and an uncle were also killed in previous attacks, adding that days after burying his relatives, he received a written death threat from the same group, warning that he would be their next target.
Saudi Arabia has updated its tourist eVisa programme for 2026, limiting eligibility in Africa to only three countries as part of its list of 66 nations whose citizens can apply through the Kingdom’s online visa platform.
The move leaves most African countries, including Nigeria, outside the simplified entry scheme.
The electronic visa allows eligible travellers to visit Saudi Arabia for tourism, leisure activities, family visits and Umrah, excluding the annual Hajj pilgrimage. Applications are completed online, eliminating the need for embassy visits and lengthy visa processing.
Saudi authorities said the eVisa forms part of ongoing efforts to expand tourism, attract international visitors and simplify travel procedures through a fully digital application system. The visa is available only to citizens of approved countries and territories listed on the Kingdom’s official tourism portal.
Below is the list of African countries eligible for Saudi Arabia’s eVisa.
1. Mauritius
2. Seychelles
3. South Africa
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