Dalai Lama hopes to live beyond 130 years
The Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader was speaking during a ceremony organised by his followers to offer prayers for his long life, before his 90th birthday on Sunday.
The Dalai Lama previously told Reuters in December he might live to 110.
"I still hope to live for over 130 years," the Dalai Lama told hundreds of followers from around the world who gathered in the northern Indian hill town of Dharamshala, where he has lived after fleeing Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule.
"We have lost our country and we live in exile in India, but I have been able to benefit beings quite a lot. So, living here in Dharamshala, I intend to serve beings and the dharma as much as I can," he said on Saturday, referring to the teachings of the Buddha, according to a translation of his speech.
Beijing views the Dalai Lama as a separatist and has insisted that its leaders would have to approve his successor as a legacy from imperial times.
The Dalai Lama has previously said he would reincarnate in the "free world" and this week told his followers that the sole authority to recognise his reincarnation rests solely with his non-profit institution, the Gaden Phodrang Trust.
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United Nations experts have accused Israel of carrying out "genocidal acts" against Palestinians in the conflict in the Gaza Strip, which began after militant group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. Israel has repeatedly dismissed such accusations. Palestine Action has targeted Israel-linked companies in the UK in its protests, with interior minister Yvette Cooper saying that violence and criminal damage have no place in legitimate protest and that the group's activities justify proscription. Critics of the decision, including some United Nations experts and civil liberties groups, have argued that damaging property does not amount to terrorism. At another protest on Saturday, the police arrested five pro-Palestine protesters from the Youth Demand group who threw red paint over a truck involved in London's Pride parade and glued themselves to the vehicle. The parade has since resumed. 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