The Dalai Lama charts his succession plan

Written by: Aarthi Ramnath, Raghav Bikhchandani & Yash Budhwar

The Dalai Lama charts his succession plan

Ahead of his 90th birthday, the Dalai Lama announced that a successor will carry on the role of spiritual leadership for Tibetan Buddhists after his death—as per traditions. He also said that the official authority to recognise the successor rests solely with the Gaden Phodrang Trust in Dharamsala—a nonprofit he established in 2011 to oversee institutional matters.

What’s the tradition: It’s built over centuries—the Dalai Lama is considered “the reincarnation of Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, and each Dalai Lama is believed to be the successor in a line of reincarnations.” The first ever Dalai Lama was born in 1391—the incumbent Tenzin Gyatso is the fourteenth to assume the title, having been recognised as a reincarnation when he was a toddler.

Traditionally, the search for a successor begins only after the mourning period over the passing of the incumbent. Then there’s a conclave of sorts:

High-ranking lamas (spiritual leaders) form a search committee to identify the next Dalai Lama, based on signs such as the direction of the smoke blowing from his cremation, the direction where he was looking when he died, and oracles’ visions, including at Lhamo Latso, a lake considered holy in Tibet. Once potential candidates are identified, they undergo a series of tests to confirm their identity as the reincarnation. Candidates are usually young boys born at about the time of the previous Dalai Lama’s death. But the current Dalai Lama has said that there is no reason why a woman cannot be the next reincarnation.

Why any of this matters: The announcement is a direct challenge to the Chinese. For years, Beijing’s view has been that only its government has the authority to approve the Dalai Lama’s successor. This view was codified into law in 2007 and comes with a clear criterion: the successor must be born on Chinese soil—anyone born abroad or in exile will be seen as ‘illegitimate’. FYI: Beijing has already rebuked the Dalai Lama’s announcement and reiterated its stance.

What happens next: Expect the Dalai Lama to offer more clues on where to look for his reincarnation—so far, he’s only said his successor will be born in the ‘free world’, i.e. not China. But, but, but: the impasse between the Dalai Lama and Beijing has prompted fears that the fourteenth Dalai Lama’s death will be followed by a power struggle between two Dalai Lamas—one identified by the exiled lamas and the other by Beijing. The Dalai Lama also acknowledged this risk in 2019:

In future, in case you see two Dalai Lamas come, one from here, in free country, one chosen by Chinese, then nobody will trust, nobody will respect [the one chosen by China] So that’s an additional problem for the Chinese! It’s possible, it can happen.

FYI: Beijing has previously interfered with the Dalai Lama’s efforts in identifying the Panchen Lama—the second highest spiritual leader in Tibetan Buddhism—in 1995.

Al Jazeera has the best deep-dive on the state of play in Dharamsala.

Diddy found guilty—but not on most serious counts

The context: Sean “Diddy” Combs has been accused of multiple crimes—including rape, assault and human trafficking. They span the entirety of his 30-year career and involve up to ten lawsuits. Most of these crimes occurred during special parties called ‘freak offs’—where women were drugged and assaulted by guests. For more deets, check out our previous curation. Diddy was arrested on September 18 and he’s been denied bail multiple times. The trial began on May 12 and there were initial reports of the jury failing to make a unanimous vote.

What happened now: Diddy has been found guilty on two federal counts of transporting people for prostitution. But he was acquitted of the most serious charges against him—racketeering and sex trafficking. What this means: “The three acquittals mean that Combs… avoids 15-year mandatory minimum sentences for each of the more serious charges.”

Of course, Diddy and his lawyers counted this as a big win:

After the verdict was read in Federal District Court in Lower Manhattan, Mr. Combs put his hands together and mouthed “thank you, thank you” at the jury of eight men and four women. Later, he dropped to his knees, apparently in prayer, and started a round of applause. His supporters and family began clapping and whistling for his legal team, who embraced one another at the conclusion of the eight-week trial.

What’s next: Diddy will be sentenced on October 3. He still faces a maximum sentence of 10 years for the two counts related to prostitution. And the judge denied him bail… yet again. So he will remain in prison till he is sentenced. Point to note: Diddy faces dozens of other sexual assault lawsuits from other women and men that stretch back years. (BBC News)

Delhi’s fuel ban on older vehicles is here

What happened: Delhi has officially stopped selling fuel to older vehicles. As of July 1, petrol pumps are barred from refuelling diesel vehicles that are more than 10 years old and petrol vehicles over 15 years old. These age limits apply regardless of the car’s condition or whether it has a valid Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate.

How it's being implemented: The rule is being strictly enforced using number plate recognition cameras at fuel stations and on-ground checks by the Delhi Transport Department and police who are stationed at all pumps.

Why this is being done: The goal is to clean up Delhi’s notoriously toxic air by getting rid of aging, high-emission vehicles. The policy follows a 2018 Supreme Court order. If you try to sneak in a refill, your vehicle can be seized, fined, towed, or even sent straight to the scrapyard.

What people are saying: Many vehicle owners are rightfully furious, especially those who’ve maintained their cars well and see this as unfair. Several pointed out that a valid Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate should count for something and not the age of the car. On Day 1 itself, 80 vehicles were seized—most of them two-wheelers.

What's worse: In India, you pay road tax on a diesel vehicle for 15 years. But now in Delhi, diesel vehicles are banned after just ten, and so one must pay tax on an unusable vehicle for 5 years now.

What’s next: This is just phase one. The same policy will roll out to parts of the National Capital Region—including Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Noida, and Sonipat—in November 2025, and across the entire NCR by April 2026. Business Today has more deets on the options open to vehicle owners now. (Business Standard)

The science of being ‘cool’

What makes someone cool? A global study of nearly 6,000 people across 13 countries—from the US to Nigeria, South Korea to Chile—just nailed down six traits that define coolness and compared it to being ‘good’, no matter where you are.

The big takeaway: Cool people are seen as "more extraverted, hedonistic, powerful, adventurous, open, and autonomous." Plus, while cool people might be admired, respected, or even envied, they’re often admired for very different reasons than the ones that make someone good:

Good people were more likely to be seen as conforming, traditional, secure, warm, agreeable, universalistic (caring about all people), conscientious, and calm. Cool people, by contrast, were more willing to break from convention, seek thrills, accumulate influence, and chart their own course.

A rebellious edge: In fact, they point out that:

Cool people tend to possess characteristics that make them likely to… seek novelty, and encourage others to adopt new practices and ideas. These are exactly the qualities that prove valuable in information-based economies, where success depends more on creativity and influence than on following the norm.

Interesting point to note: Historically, coolness has roots in small, defiant subcultures—think Black jazz musicians in the ’40s or beatniks in the ’50s. But as creativity and innovation become more central to how economies function in the modern world, these once “alternative” traits are now central to what society values.

Study isn't perfect though: "Only participants familiar with the slang meaning of 'cool' were included in the study." And not everyone agrees coolness is always a good thing too—especially for teenagers, where the pursuit of cool can sometimes come with risky behavior and long-term consequences associated with drugs and alcohol. Science blog and StudyFinds have the best overviews of the study, the full version of which can be accessed here.

what caught our eye

business & tech

Wall Street Journal (splainer gift link) has a good read on how Chinese AI models are fast catching up—and chipping away at America’s global dominance in the AI race.
Microsoft is swinging the axe again—cutting 9,100 jobs, with its Xbox division reportedly taking a big hit.
Starlink is expanding its South Asian sky empire—now having launched in Sri Lanka.
A new study has revealed that one in five Indians use the same password across all their personal accounts.
Foxconn is pulling the plug on its China crew in India—sending over 300 workers home from iPhone factories.
Bad news for those who rely on cabs: Uber, Ola and Rapido can now charge up to 2X the base fare during peak hours.
In one of AI’s biggest cloud deals yet, OpenAI is leasing 4.5 gigawatts of power from Oracle—shelling out $30 billion a year to supercharge its Stargate project.
Del Monte—the 139-year-old canned food giant—is filing for bankruptcy as Americans ditch tins for fresher, cheaper bites.

sports & entertainment

India men’s head coach Manolo Marquez and the All India Football Federation (AIFF) will mutually part ways.
Over at Wimbledon, it’s record-setting carnage as numerous top-seeded players suffer early exits.
Within days of being shown at theatres before ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’, the teaser for Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ leaked online.
Shubman Gill has scored his second hundred in three innings since becoming India’s Test captain—notching up an unbeaten 114 in Birmingham.

health & environment

A poaching problem in Ranthambore: Three tigers likely killed by an interstate gang of poachers.
For the first time ever, astronomers have captured an image of a star meeting a dramatic end by exploding twice. You can see the image in Gizmodo.
Want to move more tomorrow? Hit the sack early—scientists say better sleep makes for a more active day.
The Guardian sounds alarm on the tap water ban in Paris. Is this the end of clean tap water in Europe?

meanwhile, in the world

Hamas and Israel have staked out their positions ahead of expected talks on a US-backed ceasefire proposal.
American contractors guarding Gaza aid sites are using live rounds and stun grenades on starving crowds—Associated Press has the footage, accounts, and key takeaways.
Thailand PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended amid an investigation into her phone call with former Cambodia PM Hun Sen.
With a deadline looming, Trump clinched a trade deal with Vietnam. This only marks his third big agreement before July 9 though.
20 US states have sued the Trump administration after it released private Medicaid data of millions of enrollees to deportation officials.
Sheikh Hasina has been sentenced to six months in prison in a contempt of court case—the first time she’s been sentenced in any case since her ousting from power.
Australia's first formal "truth-telling" inquiry has found that British colonists committed genocide against Australia's Indigenous population in Victoria.
Ahead of a possible ‘megaquake’, Japan has increased its risk level and updated its preparedness plan from 2014.
Scientists have, for the first time, sequenced the entire genome of an ancient Egyptian who lived approximately 4,500 to 4,800 years ago. Check out our Big Story for more on the debate behind Cleopatra’s race.

meanwhile, in India

At the foreign ministers’ meet, the Quad condemned the Pahalgam terror attack without mentioning Pakistan in their joint statement.
In April, police arrested a fake cardiologist in London who operated on and killed at least seven people in Damoh, Madhya Pradesh. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has asked the Union Health Ministry to conduct an audit of all cath labs across India.
The Indian Railways has launched the RailOne app which will function as a one-stop solution for all passenger services—from ticketing, checking PNR to booking food.
Over the past several days, 20-30 bullets were fired at the ISKCON temple in Utah.
Another murder plot? In 2023, a Sikh activist Avtar Singh Khanda died in the UK after being admitted in the hospital. The official cause of death was blood cancer but a postmortem exam has ruled that he could have been poisoned. The Guardian has the story.

Three things to see

One: Ever since the brazen assassination of Jovenel Moïse in 2021 (see: this Big Story), the power vacuum has allowed Haiti’s gangs to run amok (see: this Big Story). In recent months, warring gangs have formed a coalition called Viv Ansanm—becoming more powerful than ever. Three months ago, the Haiti government started using drones to attack the gang members who have displaced 1.3 million people from their homes. Videos of these drone attacks have flooded social media in recent days. Below is an example. The video has been verified by The Guardian which has the latest ground report.

Two: Okay this is hardly surprising but it is going viral on social media. Trump was facilitating the peace signing between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda when he created this awkward moment—calling the Angolan reporter Hariana Verás “beautiful”:

And then he tried to redeem himself with this. (The Independent)

Three: The trailer for ‘Sentimental Value’ has also dropped. Helmed by Norwegian director Joachim Trier, the movie looks at the complicated and estranged relationship between a father who is a renowned filmmaker and his daughter who is an actress—played by Stellan Skarsgård and Renate Reinsve. The movie is slated for a limited US release on November 7. See the trailer below. (Variety)