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Who will be the next Dalai Lama? Succession plan uncertain ahead of his 90th birthday

Who will be the next Dalai Lama? Succession plan uncertain ahead of his 90th birthday

SBS Australiaa day ago

Who will be the next Dalai Lama? Succession plan uncertain ahead of his 90th birthday
Published 30 June 2025, 12:58 am
The Dalai Lama is set to mark his 90th birthday this week with the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism having said he will reveal details about his 'reincarnate', or successor, around the July the 6th date. Tensions continue to surround a succession plan. The Dalai Lama has said his reincarnate would be born 'in the free world'. A notion at odds with China, with Beijing insisting it will choose its own successor.

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Penny Wong in Washington for key talks amid US alliance concerns
Penny Wong in Washington for key talks amid US alliance concerns

The Australian

time4 hours ago

  • The Australian

Penny Wong in Washington for key talks amid US alliance concerns

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Penny Wong in Washington for key talks amid US alliance concerns
Penny Wong in Washington for key talks amid US alliance concerns

News.com.au

time8 hours ago

  • News.com.au

Penny Wong in Washington for key talks amid US alliance concerns

Australia's chief diplomat has touched down in Washington for a key meeting with her Quad counterparts as the Trump administration looks to ramp up pressure on China. The Quad, made up of Australia, India, Japan and the US, is a partnership broadly seen as a check on China's economic and military might. 'Fantastic to arrive in Washington DC ahead of the Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting,' Foreign Minister Penny Wong posted on social media, along with a photo of her and Australian ambassador Kevin Rudd. 'Thank you (State Secretary Marco Rubio) for hosting our second meeting in six months. 'Looking forward to discussing how we continue to support a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific.' Fantastic to arrive in Washington DC ahead of the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. Thank you @SecRubio for hosting our second meeting in six months. Looking forward to discussing how we continue to support a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific. — Senator Penny Wong (@SenatorWong) July 1, 2025 The meeting comes as pressure mounts on the Albanese government to bolster Australia's alliance with the US. Six months have passed since Donald Trump's inauguration and Anthony Albanese is yet to secure an in-person meeting with the US President. Australian producers have been slugged with tariffs on most exports to the US, including duties of up to 50 per cent on steel and aluminium, and doubts loom large about the Trump administration's commitment to AUKUS after it launched a snap review of the defence pact. The Albanese government has also refused to budge after Washington's call to hike defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP amid alarm over China's military build-up. Unless the Prime Minister books a Washington trip, his next most-likely opportunity to meet Mr Trump is at the Quad leaders summit tipped for September. In a statement announcing the trip on Sunday, Senator Wong said the US 'is our closest ally and principal strategic partner'. 'Our alliance contributes to the peace, prosperity and stability of our countries and the region we share,' she said. 'We will continue to work together to further our important economic and security partnership and advance our mutual interests.' Former US president Joe Biden was last year caught on a hot mic telling his fellow Quad leaders that China was 'testing' them, giving a rare glimpse into the candid nature of talks between some of the region's key players. 'We believe (Chinese President) Xi Jinping is looking to focus on domestic economic challenges and minimise the turbulence in China's diplomatic relationships, and he's also looking to buy himself some diplomatic space, in my view, to aggressively pursue China's interest,' Mr Biden said. 'China continues to behave aggressively, testing us all across the region, and it's true in the South China Sea, the East China Sea, South China, South Asia and the Taiwan Straits. 'It's true across the scope of our relationship, including on economic and technology issues.' Mr Biden's bluntness was a stark contrast to how other Quad leaders have tried to frame the strategic four-way dialogue, often deflecting suggestions that it exists to counter China. The hawkish approach to Beijing has been adopted by the Trump administration, with US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth earlier this month warning of an 'imminent' threat to the Indo Pacific. Mr Hegseth said China could invade Taiwan as early as 2027.

Online memorial for children dead in Hiroshima, Nagasaki
Online memorial for children dead in Hiroshima, Nagasaki

News.com.au

time8 hours ago

  • News.com.au

Online memorial for children dead in Hiroshima, Nagasaki

A Nobel Prize-winning anti-nuclear group launched an online memorial Tuesday for the 38,000 children who died in the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ahead of the 80th anniversary next month. It features more than 400 profiles with details of the children's lives, "their agonising deaths and the grief of surviving family members," said the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) in a statement. "By sharing their heart-wrenching stories, we hope to honour their memories and spur action for the total abolition of nuclear weapons -- an increasingly urgent task given rising global tensions," it said. The United States dropped an atomic bomb on each Japanese city on August 6 and 9, 1945 -- the only times nuclear weapons have been used in warfare. Japan surrendered days later. Around 140,000 people died in Hiroshima and around 74,000 others in Nagasaki including many who survived the explosions but died later from radiation exposure. Out of around 210,000 victims, around 38,000 were children, said the ICAN, citing Hiroshima and Nagasaki officials. Washington has never apologised for the bombings. Clicking a crane icon, visitors to the online platform can read the children's profiles, with photos of 132 children out of 426, ranging in age from infants to teenagers. Among them is Tadako Tameno, who died in agony aged 13 in the arms of her mother two days after the Hiroshima atomic bombing. Six children in the Mizumachi family were killed in the Nagasaki atomic bombing. Only one girl, Sachiko, 14, survived. The initiative comes after US President Donald Trump last week likened Washington's strike on Iran's nuclear facilities to the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs. "Actually, if you look at Hiroshima, if you look at Nagasaki, you know that ended a war too," Trump said in The Hague. This prompted anger from survivors and a small demonstration in Hiroshima. The city's assembly passed a motion condemning remarks that justify the use of atomic bombs. Israel's ambassador to Japan, Gilad Cohen, will attend this year's ceremony in Nagasaki, local media reported. Cohen, together with the envoys of several Western nations including the United States, boycotted last year's event after comments by the city's mayor about Gaza. Russia's ambassador will attend the Nagasaki ceremony, the first time its representative has been invited since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, NHK reported. However, Nikolay Nozdrev will not attend the 80th anniversary event three days earlier on August 6, the broadcaster said, citing the Russian embassy. ICAN won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017. Last year, it was awarded to Nihon Hidankyo, a grassroots movement of Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors.

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