Explainer: How will the Dalai Lama's successor be chosen?
The choice of a successor to the Dalai Lama, the spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhists, is a matter of riveting interest not only for followers of his religion, but also China, India, and the United States, for strategic reasons.
The Nobel peace laureate, who turns 90 on Sunday, is regarded as one of the world's most influential figures, with a following extending well beyond Buddhism.
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RTÉ News
6 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Hamas give 'positive' response on ceasefire proposal, Palestinian official says
Hamas has submitted its response to a US-brokered Gaza ceasefire proposal, a Palestinian official familiar with the negotiations has said, describing the response as a positive one that should "facilitate reaching a deal." US President Donald Trump earlier announced a "final proposal" for a 60-day ceasefire in the nearly 21-month-old war between Israel and Hamas, stating he anticipated a reply from the parties in coming hours. "We have handed the mediators, Qatar and Egypt, our response to the ceasefire proposal," a Hamas official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. "The Hamas response is positive and I think it should help and facilitate reaching a deal," said the Palestinian official close to the talks. Mr Trump said that Israel had agreed "to the necessary conditions to finalise" a 60-day ceasefire, during which efforts would be made to end the US ally's war in the Palestinian enclave. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to comment on Mr Trump's announcement and in their public statements, the two sides remain far apart. Mr Netanyahu has repeatedly said Hamas must be disarmed, a position the militant group, which is thought to be holding 20 living hostages, has so far refused to discuss. Mr Netanyahu is due to meet Mr Trump in Washington on Monday. Asked early this morning if Hamas had agreed to the latest ceasefire deal framework, Mr Trump said: "We are going to know over the next 24 hours." Mr Trump has said he would be "very firm" with Mr Netanyahu on the need for a speedy Gaza ceasefire while noting that the Israeli leader wants one as well. "We hope it's going to happen. And we're looking forward toit happening sometime next week," he told reporters earlier this week. "We want to get the hostages out." Israeli attacks have killed at least 138 Palestinians in Gaza over the past 24 hours, local health officials said. Health officials at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, said the Israeli military had carried out an airstrike on a tent encampment west of the city overnight, killing 15 Palestinians displaced by nearly two years of war. The Israeli military said troops operating in the Khan Younis area had eliminated militants, confiscated weapons and dismantled Hamas outposts in the last 24 hours, while striking 100 targets across Gaza, including military structures, weapons storage facilities and launchers. Later on, Palestinians gathered to perform funeral prayers before burying those killed overnight. "There should have been a ceasefire long ago before I lost my brother," said 13-year-old Mayar Al Farr as she wept. Her brother, Mahmoud, was shot dead in another incident, she said. "He went to get aid, so he can get a bag of flour for us to eat. He got a bullet in his neck. It killed him on the spot," she said. Adlar Mouamar said her nephew, Ashraf, was also killed in Gaza. "Our hearts are broken. We ask the world, we don't want want them to end the bloodshed. We want them to stop this war." In Tel Aviv, families and friends of hostages held in Gaza were among demonstrators who gathered outside a US Embassy building on US Independence Day, calling on Mr Trump to secure a deal for all of the captives. Demonstrators set up a symbolic Sabbath dinner table, placing 50 empty chairs to represent those who are still held in Gaza. Banners hung nearby displaying a post by Mr Trump from his Truth Social platform that read, "MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THEHOSTAGES BACK!!!" The Sabbath, or Shabbat, observed from this evening to tomorrow night, is often marked by Jewish families with a traditional Friday night dinner. "Only you can make the deal. We want one beautiful deal. One beautiful hostage deal," said Gideon Rosenberg, 48, from Tel Aviv. Rosenberg was wearing a shirt with the image of hostage Avinatan Or, one of his employees who was abducted by Palestinian militants from the Nova musical festival on October7, 2023. He is among the 20 hostages who are believed to be alive after more than 600 days of captivity. Ruby Chen, 55, the father of 19-year-old American-Israeli Itay, who is believed to have been killed after being taken captive, urged Mr Netanyahu to return from meeting with Trump in Washington on Monday with a deal that brings back all hostages. "Let this United States Independence Day mark the beginning of a lasting peace... one that secures the sacred value of human life and one that bestows dignity to the deceased hostages by ensuring their return to proper burial," he said, also appealing to Mr Trump. Itay Chen, also a German national, was serving as an Israeli soldier when Hamas carried out its surprise attack on 7 October 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking another 251 hostage. Israel's retaliatory war against Hamas has devastated Gaza, which the militant group has ruled for almost two decades but now only controls in parts, displacing most of the population of more than 2 million and triggering widespread hunger. More than 57,000 Palestinians have been killed in nearly two years of fighting, most of them civilians, according to local health officials. UN says 613 killed near aid points and humanitarian convoys in Gaza The UN human rights office said it had recorded at least 613 killings both at aid points run by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) and near humanitarian convoys run by other relief groups including the UN. A spokesperson for the UN office said it is clear that Israel has "shelled and shot at Palestinians trying to reach the distribution points". The GHF uses private US security and logistics companies to get supplies into Gaza, largely bypassing a UN-led system that Israel says had let militants divert aid. The United Nations has called the plan "inherently unsafe" and a violation of humanitarian impartiality rules. "We have recorded 613 killings, both at GHF points and near humanitarian convoys - this is a figure as of June 27. Since then ... there have been further incidents," Ravina Shamdasani, the spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, told reporters in Geneva. "It is clear that the Israeli military has shelled and shot at Palestinians trying to reach the distribution points," she added. "How many killings? Who is responsible for that? We need an investigation. We need access. We need an independent inquiry, and we need accountability for these killings." The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May and has repeatedly denied that incidents had occurred at its sites. Of the 613 people killed, 509 were killed near the GHF distribution points, the OHCHR said. The OHCHR said its figure is based on a range of sources such as information from hospitals, cemeteries, families, Palestinian health authorities, NGOs, and its partners on the ground. It said it is verifying further reports and cannot yet give a breakdown of where they were killed. The GHF previously claimed it has delivered more than 52 million meals to hungry Palestinians in five weeks, and claimed other humanitarian groups had "nearly all of their aid looted". Israel lifted an 11-week aid blockade on Gaza on 19 May.
RTÉ News
11 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Trump, Zelensky discuss weapons, escalating Russian strikes
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he discussed air defences in a conversation with US President Donald Trump, and agreed to work on increasing Kyiv's capability to "defend the sky" as Russian attacks escalate. He added in his account on Telegram that he discussed joint defence production, as well as joint purchases and investments with the US leader. Ukraine has been asking Washington to sell it more Patriot missiles and systems that it sees as key to defending its cities from intensifying Russian air strikes. A decision by the US to halt some shipments of weapons to Ukraine prompted warnings by Kyiv that the move would weaken its ability to defend against Russia's airstrikes and battlefield advances. Germany said it is in talks on buying Patriot air defence systems to bridge the gap. The conversation came a day after Mr Trump said he had a disappointing call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russia pummelled Kyiv with the largest drone attack of the war across the capital, hours after Mr Trump's conversation with Mr Putin yesterday. Mr Zelensky called the attack "deliberately massive and cynical." Germany's Merz spoke with Trump about buying Patriots for Ukraine German Chancellor Friedrich Merz discussed his country's offer to buy Patriot air defence systems for Ukraine with Mr Trump by phone yesterday, according to a government spokesperson. Mr Merz initiated the call with Mr Trump to promote arms deliveries to Ukraine, particularly Patriots, after the Pentagon paused some shipments, the spokesperson told Reuters. Spiegel magazine first reported the phone call. Germany was in "intensive talks" to buy Patriots for Ukraine to help it counter some of the heaviest Russian attacks since the war began in 2022, the spokesperson said earlier at a press conference. "There are various ways to fill this Patriot gap," the spokesperson told journalists, adding that one option being considered was buying the Patriot missile batteries in the US and then sending them on to Kyiv. The US has paused shipments of certain critical weapons to Ukraine including 30 Patriot air defence missiles, sources told Reuters this week, due to low stockpiles, prompting warnings by Kyiv this would weaken its ability to defend itself. Germany has sent three of the US-made systems from its military stocks to Ukraine, and Defence Minister Boris Pistorius last month launched an initiative to chase down more of them at the Ramstein group of some 50 nations. Mr Pistorius would travel to Washington later this month for talks with his US counterpart about his initiative, as well as production capacities, said a defence ministry spokesperson. "Of course these issues will also be on the agenda," said the spokesperson. The US Embassy in Berlin was not immediately available for comment. Mr Pistorius has floated the idea of buying Patriot systems that could be freed up to bypass long industrial delivery times and ensure they get to Ukraine quickly. Germany, Ukraine's second largest donor after the US, has sought to take on more of a leadership role in ensuring backing for Kyiv as US support has been thrown into question under Mr Trump. While Europe could sustain Ukraine's resistance without US military support, according to a senior German military official, the challenges would be immense. Germany has provided a total of €38 billion worth of military aid to Ukraine, including funds earmarked for the coming years, according to the defence ministry. A Bloomberg News report said Germany was preparing a €,25-billion-euro tank order to ramp up its NATO brigades.
The Irish Sun
17 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Kate will meet Macron with Wills & King next week – just days after opening up about her ‘rollercoaster' cancer recovery
KATE will join William and the King and Queen at Windsor for the French State Visit next week - just days after opening up about her "rollercoaster" cancer recovery. The Princess of Wales, 43, described the ongoing struggle of "cracking on" and putting on a "brave face" while speaking to cancer patients this week after she 6 The Princess of Wales during a visit to the RHS's Wellbeing Garden at Colchester Hospital in Essex Credit: PA 6 The Princess of Wales described the ongoing struggle of "cracking on" and putting on a "brave face" while speaking to cancer patients this week Credit: PA 6 France's President Emmanuel Macron next to Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The Macrons are expected to have lunch with the Starmers during the visit Credit: Reuters But she will return to ceremonial royal duties as French President It is the first State Visit to be held at Windsor since 2014 when Irish President Michael D Higgins was given the honour. Buckingham Palace is out of action due to ongoing Donald Trump's expected State Visit in September is also expected to be at Windsor Castle. Read more Palace officials have confirmed William and Kate will greet the Macrons at RAF Northolt on Tuesday morning on behalf of the King and travel with them to Windsor. Charles and Camilla will formally greet their guests on a Royal Dais constructed on Datchet Road in Windsor town centre, with the castle in the backdrop as gun salutes sound in nearby Home Park. The King, the Queen, the Waleses and Macrons will then take a carriage procession through the town and along part of the Long Walk into the Castle. A ceremonial welcome will be held in the castle's quadrangle with Camilla, William, Kate and Mrs Macron watching as the King and President Macron inspect the Guard of Honour. Most read in Royals After lunch in the State Dining Room they will all view a special exhibition of items relating to France from the Royal Collection in the Green Drawing Room. The Macrons will also travel to London on Tuesday afternoon to see the Grave of the Unknown Warrior at At the Houses of The King and president will both deliver speeches at the banquet on Tuesday evening. Kensington Palace has yet to confirm whether or not the princess will attend the banquet in Windsor Castle's St George's Hall. In a personal touch, the King and Queen will, on Wednesday, take the Macrons to see Fabuleu de Maucour, a 10-year-old grey gelding which Mr Macron gifted to known horse-lover the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2022 in celebration of her Platinum Jubilee. Fabuleu de Maucour belonged to the largely ceremonial French Republican Guard and was trained to carry the standard-bearer. They will also view an elegant Charabanc carriage from the Royal Mews, which was a present to Queen Victoria from King Louis-Philippe of France in 1844. And the Macrons will privately pay their respects at the late Queen's tomb in St George's Chapel by laying flowers in tribute. Charles, Ranger of Windsor Great Park, will also invite the president to tour the Windsor Castle Gardens, including areas of nature restoration and biodiversity and the wider Great Park. Wednesday will see the president and Mrs Macron join The King and Queen paid a state visit to France in September 2023 and enjoy a warm rapport with French leader and his wife, who will stay in the castle during their trip. It is largely seen as a template for Trump's visit in the autumn. The last state visit to the UK from France was in March 2008 when the now-disgraced 6 The Princess of Wales planting a rose during a visit to the RHS's Wellbeing Garden at Colchester Hospital in Essex Credit: PA 6 The Princess of Wales during a visit to the RHS's Wellbeing Garden Credit: PA 6 The Princess of Wales at the RHS's Wellbeing Garden at Colchester Hospital Credit: PA
