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United States President Donald Trump is set to impose 25 percent tariffs on two key US allies, Japan and South Korea, beginning on August 1 as the administration’s self-imposed deadline for trade agreements of July 9 nears without a deal in place.

On Monday, the Trump administration said this in the first of 12 letters to key US trade partners regarding the new levies they face.

In near-identically worded letters to the Japanese and South Korean leaders, the US president said the trade relationship was “unfortunately, far from Reciprocal”.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has said that he “won’t easily compromise” in trade talks with the Trump administration.

The US imports nearly twice as much from Japan as it exports to the country, according to US Census Bureau data.

Currently, both Japan and South Korea have a 10 percent levy in place, the same as almost all US trading partners. But Trump said he was ready to lower the new levels if the two countries changed their trade policies.

“We will, perhaps, consider an adjustment to this letter,” he said in letters to the two Asian countries’ leaders that he posted on his Truth Social platform. “If for any reason you decide to raise your Tariffs, then, whatever the number you choose to raise them by, will be added onto the 25% that we charge.”

Trump also announced the US will impose 25 percent tariffs each on Malaysia and Kazakhstan, 30 percent on South Africa and 40 percent each on Laos and Myanmar.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said earlier on Monday that he expected several trade announcements to be made in the next 48 hours, adding that his inbox was full of last-ditch offers from countries to clinch a tariff deal by the deadline. Bessent did not say which countries could get deals and what they might contain.

In April, the White House said it would have 90 trade and tariff deals established within 90 days. That did not happen, and since that time, the administration has solidified two agreements — one with Vietnam, and the other with the United Kingdom.

“There will be additional letters in the coming days,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, adding that “we are close” on some deals. She said Trump would sign an executive order on Monday formally delaying the July 9 deadline to August 1.

BRICS tensions 

Trump also put members of the developing nations’ BRICS group in his sights as its leaders met in Brazil, threatening an additional 10 percent tariff on any BRICS countries aligning themselves with “anti-American” policies.

The new 10 percent tariff will be imposed on individual countries if they take anti-American policy actions, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters news agency.

The BRICS group comprises Brazil, Russia, India and China and South Africa along with recent joiners Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Trump’s comments hit the South African rand, affecting its value in Monday trading.

Russia said BRICS was “a group of countries that share common approaches and a common world view on how to cooperate, based on their own interests”.

“And this cooperation within BRICS has never been and will never be directed against any third countries,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

European Union at the table

The European Union will not be receiving a letter setting out higher tariffs, EU sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.

The EU still aims to reach a trade deal by July 9 after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Trump had a “good exchange”, a commission spokesperson said.

It was not clear, however, whether there had been a meaningful breakthrough in talks to stave off tariff hikes on the largest trading partner of the US.

Adding to the pressure, Trump threatened to impose a 17 percent tariff on EU food and agriculture exports, it emerged last week.

The EU has been torn over whether to push for a quick and light trade deal or back its own economic clout in trying to negotiate a better outcome. It had already dropped hopes for a comprehensive trade agreement before the July deadline.

“We want to reach a deal with the US. We want to avoid tariffs,” the spokesperson said at a daily briefing.

Without a preliminary agreement, broad US tariffs on most imports would rise from their current 10 percent to the rates set out by Trump on April 2. In the EU’s case, that would be 20 percent.

Von der Leyen also held talks with the leaders of Germany, France and Italy at the weekend, Germany said. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has repeatedly stressed the need for a quick deal to protect industries vulnerable to tariffs ranging from cars to pharmaceuticals.

Germany said the parties should allow themselves “another 24 or 48 hours to come to a decision”. And the country’s auto company Mercedes-Benz said on Monday its second-quarter unit sales of cars and vans had fallen 9 percent, blaming tariffs.

Markets respond

US markets have tumbled on Trump’s tariff announcements.

As of 3:30pm in New York (19:30 GMT), the S&P 500 fell by 1 percent, marking the biggest drop in three weeks. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index was down by a little more than 1 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average also fell by more than a full percentage point.

US-listed shares of Japanese automotive companies fell, with Toyota Motor Corp down 4.1 percent in mid-afternoon trading and Honda Motor off by 3.8 percent. Meanwhile, the US dollar surged against both the Japanese yen and the South Korean won.

WASHINGTON — President Trump’s decision to hike tariffs once again on some of America’s largest trading partners rattled markets on Monday, dashing hopes on Wall Street that the White House would cut any significant trade deals, as it had promised, by the middle of this week.

In a series of letters sent to foreign leaders, and promptly posted by the president to his social media platform, Trump said the new rates amount to the cost of doing business with “the extraordinary Economy of the United States, The Number One Market in the World, by far.” Under the new policy, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Kazakhstan will face 25% import duties starting Aug. 1, while goods from Laos and Myanmar will face a 40% tariff, according to the letters.

South Africa’s president also received a letter, stating goods from the country imported to the United States would face duties of 30%.

Markets recoiled at the news, with the Dow Jones industrial average dropping 1.4%, the Nasdaq falling 1.2% and the Standard & Poor’s 500 sinking 1.2%.

The move essentially returns U.S. tariff rates on those countries to those Trump first announced on April 2, on what he called Liberation Day, but that he ultimately abandoned over widespread Wall Street panic that began spooking the bond market.

Trump hit pause on the crisis by announcing a 90-day suspension of the higher tariff rates, a period set to expire Wednesday. But the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said Monday that Trump would extend the deadline to the end of the month.

Several senior officials in the Trump administration had promised a slew of trade deals would follow the April episode — “we’re going to run 90 deals in 90 days,” said Peter Navarro, the president’s top trade advisor. Yet the administration has failed to secure a single detailed trade deal, instead announcing three frameworks of understanding with the United Kingdom, China and Vietnam.

“The president is taking a very deliberate approach to correcting this wrong of many decades, of many past presidents — I think he should be commended for the time and the effort that he’s putting into this,” Leavitt told reporters at a press briefing.

“The fact that he has announced a framework with China, a trade deal with the U.K., a trade deal with Vietnam and many others to come in just six months is truly historic, and it’s a testament to this president and his trade team,” she added.

In his letters to foreign leaders, Trump warned that any effort by their governments to retaliate would be met with escalation.

“If for any reason you decide to raise your Tariffs, then, whatever the number you choose to raise them by, will be added onto the 25% that we charge,” he wrote.

Leavitt said more letters would be sent in the coming days. She also stated that additional trade deals could be announced soon. “We are close,” she said.

Scott Bessent, the Treasury secretary, told CNBC in an interview that his inbox was “full last night with a lot of new offers” for trade deals ahead of the now-defunct Wednesday deadline.

“We’ve had a lot of people change their tune in terms of negotiations,” Bessent said. “So it’s going to be a busy couple of days.”

The stock market reaction to Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs, which hiked rates on countries all around the world, was an historic rout, eviscerating trillions of dollars in value, with the Standard & Poor’s index bleeding 12% in just four days.

Markets recovered within weeks, after Trump reversed course, with the S&P hitting a record high on July 3.

TikTok is preparing to release a new app in the U.S. as it awaits a potential sale that would maintain its presence for millions of users in the country, according to media reports.

The popular video app, owned by Chinese technology company ByteDance, is under pressure to sell its U.S. operations by Sept. 17 or face a nationwide ban, due to security concerns raised by U.S. government officials over the firm’s ties to China.

TikTok is planning to make the new app available on Sept. 5, according to tech news site The Information. The existing app could stop working in March 2026 and when that happens, American users would need to download the new app in order to continue to use TikTok, the publication said.

TikTok did not respond to a request for comment.

Analysts expect that the new app will attempt to address the government’s security concerns. Officials have raised the specter of TikTok sharing user data with the Chinese government, which the company denies.

Ray Wang, principal analyst and founder of Constellation Research, said he believes TikTok will remain popular in the U.S. even after a sale. TikTok is used by more than 170 million Americans as a way to entertain and educate themselves by watching videos on the app. Small businesses, influencers and major corporations also post content on TikTok to market products.

“There will be a transition period from the old app to the new app,” Wang said. “The question is how will data be migrated, and I’m sure they will have a solution for that.”

President Trump last month gave a 90-day extension until Sept. 17 to ByteDance to divest its U.S. operations. The original deadline was Jan. 19, after a law was signed by Trump’s predecessor, President Biden, last year, but the deadline has since been extended by Trump several times. TikTok has said that the law “offers no support for the idea” that its Chinese ownership poses national security risks.

Potential buyers of ByteDance’s TikTok U.S. operations include Oracle Corp. (co-founded by billionaire Larry Ellison), Amazon and an investment group led by Frank McCourt, a former Dodgers owner whose bid includes “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary, analysts said. San Francisco artificial intelligence company Perplexity said in March that it wants to “rebuild the TikTok algorithm.”

Any deal would need the approval of the Chinese government. Analysts said it is unlikely a sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations would include its algorithm — seen as one of the most valuable parts of TikTok — which surfaces videos of interest to its users.

Trump on Friday told reporters that he planned to discuss a TikTok deal with China this week, but declined to name the potential buyer, according to the New York Times.

“I think the deal is good for China, and it’s good for us,” Trump said. “It’s money, it’s a lot of money.”

Trump’s first administration pushed for a TikTok ban, but the president since had a change of heart. He has met with TikTok executives at Mar-a-Lago, mused about TikTok’s popularity with young people and bragged online about his significant following on the platform.

During his campaign for a second term, Trump positioned himself as a TikTok advocate, saying “those who want to save TikTok in America, vote for Trump.”

Several TikTok creators told The Times that they have diversified where they post their content and believe their fans will follow them to other platforms if TikTok were to be banned.

Leaders of the BRICS bloc have sharply rebuked the United States and Israeli bombardments of Iran in June, calling them a “blatant breach of international law” while voicing strong support for the creation of a Palestinian state.

But their joint declaration on Sunday, issued at a summit in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, was largely silent about another major war that is now in its fourth year and in which a founding BRICS member – Russia – is the aggressor: the conflict in Ukraine. Instead, it criticised Ukrainian attacks on Russian soil.

The carefully worded declaration, released amid escalating trade tensions with the US, condemned aggressive economic policies without directly naming US President Donald Trump. Almost all 10 members of BRICS, a bloc of emerging world economies, are currently engaged in sensitive trade talks with the US and are trying to assert their positions without provoking further tensions.

However, the BRICS statement did take aim at “unilateral tariff and non-tariff barriers” that “skew global trade and flout WTO [World Trade Organization] regulations”, a clear, though indirect critique of Trump’s protectionist agenda, before a deadline on Wednesday for new US tariffs to potentially kick in.

Trump responded to the BRICS declaration within hours, warning on his social media platform, Truth Social, that countries siding with what he termed “anti-American policies” would face added tariffs.

“Any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff. There will be no exceptions to this policy,” he wrote.

Which countries are part of BRICS, and who attended the summit?

The first BRICS summit was held in 2009 with the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India and China coming together. South Africa joined in 2010, and the bloc has since become a major voice for the Global South.

Last year, Indonesia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates joined the group, expanding its influence further and turning the bloc into a 10-nation entity.

There is growing interest from emerging economies to join the bloc with more than 30 nations queueing up for membership. Argentina was expected to join but withdrew its application after ultra-conservative President Javier Milei, an ally of Trump, took office in December 2023.

The Rio summit was led by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Most other member countries were represented by their leaders with three exceptions: Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian were absent.

Xi had attended all previous BRICS summits since taking office in 2013 while Putin has avoided most international trips since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against him over his role in the war on Ukraine in March 2023. Brazil is a member of the ICC and would have been required under the Rome Statute, which established the court, to arrest Putin if he visited.

Russia and Iran were represented by their foreign ministers and China by Premier Li Qiang.

This was the first summit attended by Indonesia after its induction into the bloc this year.

The BRICS statement also welcomed Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Nigeria, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Uganda and Uzbekistan as new BRICS partner countries – a status that places them on a perch below full membership and allows the bloc to increase cooperation with them.

Condemnation of US-Israel strikes on Iran

In their declaration, member states described the recent Israeli and American attacks on Iran as a “violation of international law”, expressing “grave concern” about the deteriorating security situation in the Middle East.

The conflict began on June 13 when Israel launched air strikes on Iranian military, nuclear and civilian sites, killing at least 935 people, including top military and scientific leaders. Iran’s Ministry of Health reported 5,332 people were injured.

Tehran retaliated with missile and drone strikes on Israel, killing at least 29 people and injuring hundreds more, according to figures from Israeli authorities.

A US-brokered ceasefire came into effect on June 24 although the US had supported Israeli strikes just days earlier by dropping bunker-buster bombs on Iranian nuclear facilities on June 21.

The BRICS statement underscored the importance of upholding “nuclear safeguards, safety, and security. … including in armed conflicts, to protect people and the environment from harm”.

Gaza war and Palestinian statehood

As Israel’s 21-month-long war on Gaza continues, BRICS denounced the use of starvation as a weapon of war and rejected the politicisation or militarisation of humanitarian aid.

The bloc threw its support behind UNRWA, the UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees, which has been banned by Israel.

In late May during its blockade on aid for Gaza, Israel allowed the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a private US organisation, to provide food to the people in the enclave. The move has been widely criticised by global rights bodies, especially since hundreds of Palestinians seeking aid have been shot and killed while approaching the GHF’s aid distribution sites.

BRICS also reaffirmed its position, one that is widely held globally, that Gaza and the occupied West Bank are both integral parts of a future Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

On October 7, 2023, nearly 1,200 people were killed in Israel in Hamas attacks, during which Palestinian fighters also took more than 240 people captive. Since then, Israel has waged a war on Gaza, killing more than 57,000 Palestinians, the majority of them women and children, and destroying more than 70 percent of Gaza’s infrastructure. In that same period, Israel has also killed more than 1,000 people in the West Bank.

Opposition to unilateral sanctions

The BRICS declaration strongly condemned the imposition of “unilateral coercive measures”, such as economic sanctions, arguing that they violate international law and harm human rights.

BRICS members Iran and Russia have been targets of longstanding US sanctions.

After the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the attack on the US embassy in Tehran, Washington imposed a wide range of sanctions. Those were ramped up in the 2010s as the US under then-President Barack Obama tried to pressure Iran to negotiate a nuclear deal in exchange for sanctions relief. But two years after that deal came into effect, Trump, who succeeded Obama as president, pulled out of the agreement and slapped tough sanctions back on Iran. Since then, the US has imposed more sanctions on Iran, including a set of measures last week.

Russia, formerly the US’s Cold War rival, has also faced repeated waves of sanctions, particularly after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Trump tariffs called a ‘threat’

With the global economy in turmoil over Trump’s trade policies, BRICS voiced concern over his tariffs regime.

Trump has set Wednesday as a deadline to finalise new trade agreements, after which countries failing to strike deals with Washington will face increased tariffs.

The BRICS bloc, a major force in the global economy, is projected to outpace global average gross domestic product growth in 2025.

According to April data from the International Monetary Fund, the economies of BRICS countries will collectively grow at 3.4 percent compared with a 2.8 percent global average.

The world’s top 10 economies by size include the wealthy Group of Seven nations – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and US – and three BRICS nations – Brazil, China and India.

The group warned that protectionist trade policies risk reducing global trade, disrupting supply chains and heightening economic uncertainty, undermining the world’s development goals.

Pahalgam attack condemned

Two months after the Pahalgam attack in India-administered Kashmir, in which gunmen killed 26 civilians, BRICS condemned the incident “in the strongest terms”.

But even with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi present, the statement did not mention Pakistan, which New Delhi has accused of supporting the attackers in April.

The two countries fought a four-day war in May after Indian strikes inside Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Pakistan has denied involvement in the Pahalgam attack and called for a “credible, transparent, independent” investigation.

The BRICS statement urged “zero tolerance” for “terrorism” and rejected any “double standards” in counterterrorism efforts.

Silence on Ukraine war

The lengthy statement made no direct mention of Russia’s war in Ukraine except to call for a “sustainable peace settlement”.

However, it did condemn Ukrainian strikes on Russian infrastructure in May and June, citing civilian casualties and expressing its “strongest” opposition to such actions.

Jennifer Geerlings-Simons to lead the impoverished Latin American country through crisis before oil wealth arrives.

Suriname has elected Jennifer Geerlings-Simons as its first female president, with parliament backing the 71-year-old physician and lawmaker to lead the crisis-hit South American nation.

Her election came after a coalition deal was struck in the National Assembly, which voted by a two-thirds majority on Sunday.

The move followed inconclusive May polls and mounting pressure to replace outgoing President Chandrikapersad Santokhi, whose tenure was marred by corruption scandals and harsh austerity.

Geerlings-Simons, leader of the National Democratic Party, ran unopposed and will take office on July 16.

“I am aware that the heavy task I have taken on is further aggravated by the fact that I am the first woman to serve the country in this position,” she said after her confirmation.

She will be joined by running mate Gregory Rusland, as the pair inherit a country struggling under the weight of economic hardship, reduced subsidies, and widespread frustration. While Santokhi’s government managed to restructure debt and restore macroeconomic stability with IMF backing, it also triggered mass protests over deep cuts.

With Suriname expected to begin producing offshore oil in 2028, Geerlings-Simons has promised to focus on stabilising state finances. She has previously pledged to boost revenues by tightening tax collection, including from small-scale gold miners.

Economists warn she faces a rocky road ahead. Winston Ramautarsingh, former head of the national economists’ association, said Suriname must repay about $400m annually in debt servicing.

“Suriname does not have that money,” he said. “The previous government rescheduled the debts, but that was only a postponement.”

Geerlings-Simons will now be tasked with steering the Dutch-speaking country of 646,000 people through a fragile period, balancing public discontent with the promise of future oil wealth.

As Suriname prepares to mark 50 years since gaining independence from the Netherlands this November, the small South American country is pinning its hopes on a new era driven by oil wealth and deepening ties with China.

In 2019, it joined China’s Belt and Road Initiative, becoming one of the first Latin American states to sign on to the vast infrastructure project.

Suriname is one of the continent’s poorest nations, despite its rich ethnic tapestry that includes descendants of Africans, Indigenous groups, Indians, Indonesians, Chinese, and Dutch settlers.

July 6 (UPI) — The 14th Dalai Lama, the head of Tibetan Buddhism, marked his 90th birthday Sunday with a celebration attended by thousands in the city of Dharamshala in India. The event included politically charged remarks subtly referencing China from U.S. and foreign officials.

The website for the Dalai Lama said in a statement that the celebration was organized by the Central Tibetan Administration, the Tibetan government-in-exile, formed after the Dalai Lama fled the 1959 failed uprising against Chinese rule.

The Dalai Lama did not lead the uprising, but rumors of Chinese plans to kidnap him fueled the resistance, and he was forced to flee to India for his safety — where he established the CTA. Tibet remains tightly controlled by Beijing despite its classification as an “autonomous region,” as does the majority of the population following Tibetan Buddhism.

Since his exile in 1959, the Dalai Lama’s relationship with China has been marked by decades of tension as Beijing condemned him as a separatist while he advocates for Tibetan autonomy through nonviolence and dialogue.

Last week, the aging Dalai Lama signaled that China should refrain from interfering in the process for his succession, while China has increasingly begun to warn off what it views as interference by India and reinforce its position that the succession of the spiritual leader should be held in accordance with Chinese law.

Bethany Nelson, Deputy Secretary of State for India and Bhutan, read a statement on behalf of Secretary of State Marco Rubio during the birthday festivities.

“The United States remains firmly committed to promoting respect for the human rights and the fundamental freedoms of the Tibetan people,” Nelson said. “We respect efforts to preserve their distinct linguistic, cultural and religious heritage, including their ability to freely choose and venerate their religious leaders without interference.”

Former presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama also delivered video messages that were shown during the celebrations, praising the Nobel Laureate as a voice for peace. The CTA particularly noted that Lai Ching-te, the president of Taiwan, which China views as a wayward province, had extended birthday wishes to the Dalai Lama.

The birthday celebration also comes days after the administration of President Donald Trump decided to walk back cuts to aid for Tibetans in exile. Penpa Tsering, the Sikyong or, political leader, of the CTA, addressed the cancellation of those cuts in a statement from the celebrations.

He mentioned that a “substantial delegation” from the U.S. State Department and staff from the U.S. Embassy in Delhi worked diligently with the CTA to restore some of the funds.

Cultural performances mark the occasion, while messages from global leaders are read out during the ceremony.

The Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, has turned 90 to cap a week of celebrations by followers during which he riled China again and spoke about his hope to live beyond 130 and reincarnate after dying.

Dressed in his traditional yellow and burgundy robe, the Dalai Lama arrived at a Buddhist temple complex to smiles and claps from thousands of monks and followers who had gathered on a rainy Sunday morning in the north Indian hill town of Dharamshala, where he lives.

He waved and greeted them as he walked slowly to the stage with support from monks.

“As far as I am concerned, I have a human life, and as humans, it is quite natural for us to love and help one another. I live my life in the service of other sentient beings,” the Dalai Lama said, flanked on the stage by longtime supporters, including Western diplomats, Indian federal ministers, Hollywood actor Richard Gere, and a monk who is expected to lead the search for his successor.

Fleeing his native Tibet in 1959 in the wake of a failed uprising against Chinese rule, the 14th Dalai Lama, along with hundreds of thousands of Tibetans, took shelter in India and has since advocated for a peaceful “Middle Way” to seek autonomy and religious freedom for the Tibetan people.

A Nobel Peace Prize winner, the Dalai Lama is regarded as one of the world’s most influential religious leaders, with a following that extends well beyond Buddhism – but not by Beijing, which calls him a separatist and has sought to bring the faith under its control.

In a sign of solidarity, Taiwan’s President William Lai Ching-te, leaders of Indian states bordering Tibet, and three former United States presidents – Barack Obama, George W Bush, and Bill Clinton – sent video messages which were played during the event.

In the preceding week of celebrations, the Dalai Lama had said he would reincarnate as the leader of the faith upon his death and that his nonprofit institution, the Gaden Phodrang Trust, had the sole authority to recognise his successor.

China has said the succession will have to be approved by its leaders, and the US has called on Beijing to cease what it describes as interference in the succession of the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan Buddhist lamas.

Show of solidarity

Guests gathered at the ceremony took turns to speak, including Indian Parliamentary and Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, a practising Buddhist, who had earlier made a rare statement contradicting China by backing the Dalai Lama’s position on his successor.

He later clarified that the statement was made in his personal capacity as China warned New Delhi against interfering in its domestic affairs at the expense of bilateral relations.

On Sunday, Rijiju said the Dalai Lama was India’s “most honoured guest”. “We feel blessed for his presence here in our country,” he said.

Cultural performances were held throughout the morning, including from Bollywood playback singers, while messages from global leaders were read out.

“I join 1.4 billion Indians in extending our warmest wishes to His Holiness the Dalai Lama on his 90th birthday. He has been an enduring symbol of love, compassion, patience and moral discipline,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on X.

French officials allege China’s foreign embassies leading charge to undermine Rafale sales after India-Pakistan conflict in May, says report.

French military and intelligence officials claim China has deployed its embassies to spread doubts about the performance of French-made Rafale jets following the aerial combat between India and Pakistan in May.

The Associated Press news agency, quoting French officials, reported on Sunday that Beijing is working to harm the reputation and sales of France’s flagship fighter aircraft.

French officials say they have found that the Chinese embassies are trying to undermine Rafale sales by persuading countries that have already ordered the jets, notably Indonesia, not to buy them and instead choose Chinese-made fighters.

The AP report said the findings were shared by a French military official on condition that they should not be named.

Four days of India-Pakistan clashes in May were the most serious confrontation in years between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, which included air combat involving dozens of aircraft from both sides.

Military officials and researchers have since been digging for details of how Pakistan’s Chinese-made military hardware – particularly warplanes and air-combat missiles – fared against weaponry that India used in air strikes on Pakistani targets, notably French-made Rafale fighters.

Sales of Rafales and other armaments are big business for the French defence industry and help Paris to strengthen ties with other nations, including in Asia, where China is becoming the dominant regional power.

India confirms losses

Pakistan says its air force downed five Indian planes during the fighting, including three Rafales. French officials say that prompted questions about their performance from countries that have bought the fighter from French manufacturer Dassault Aviation.

India acknowledged aircraft losses but did not say how many. French air force chief General Jerome Bellanger said he has seen evidence pointing to just three aircraft losses – a Rafale, a Russian-made Sukhoi and a Mirage 2000, which is an earlier generation French-made jet.

It was the first known combat loss of a Rafale, which France has sold to eight countries. “Of course, all those, the nations that bought Rafales, asked themselves questions,” Bellanger said.

French officials have been battling to protect the plane from reputational damage, pushing back against what they allege was a concerted campaign of Rafale-bashing and disinformation online from Pakistan and its ally, China.

They say the campaign included viral posts on social media, manipulated imagery showing supposed Rafale debris, AI-generated content and video-game depictions to simulate supposed combat.

More than 1,000 social media accounts newly created as the India-Pakistan clashes erupted also spread a narrative of Chinese technological superiority, according to French researchers who specialise in online disinformation.

French claims

Military officials in France say they have not been able to link the online Rafale-bashing directly to the Chinese government.

But the French intelligence service said Chinese embassy defence attaches echoed the same narrative in meetings they held with security and defence officials from other countries, arguing that Indian Rafale jets performed poorly and promoting Chinese-made weaponry.

The defence attaches focused their lobbying on countries that have ordered Rafales and other potential customer nations that are considering purchases, the intelligence service said. It said French officials learned of the meetings from nations that were approached.

The French Ministry for Armed Forces said the Rafale was targeted by “a vast campaign of disinformation” that “sought to promote the superiority of alternative equipment, notably of Chinese design”.

“The Rafale was not randomly targeted. It is a highly capable fighter jet, exported abroad and deployed in a high-visibility theatre,” the French ministry wrote on its website.

Asked by AP to comment on the alleged effort to dent Rafale’s appeal, the Ministry of National Defence in Beijing said: “The relevant claims are pure groundless rumours and slander. China has consistently maintained a prudent and responsible approach to military exports, playing a constructive role in regional and global peace and stability.”

Dassault Aviation has sold 533 Rafales, including 323 exported to Egypt, India, Qatar, Greece, Croatia, the United Arab Emirates, Serbia and Indonesia. Indonesia has ordered 42 planes and is considering buying more.

Leaders expected to decry US President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs while presenting the bloc as a defender of multilateralism.

Leaders of the growing BRICS group are gathering in Brazil for a summit overshadowed by United States President Donald Trump’s new tariff policies while presenting the bloc as a defender of multilateralism.

The leaders, mainly from the developing world, will be discussing ways to increase cooperation amid what they say are serious concerns over Western dominance at their two-day summit that begins in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday.

The BRICS acronym is derived from the initial letters of the founding member countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The bloc, which held its first summit in 2009, later added Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as full members. It also has 10 strategic partner countries, a category created last year, that includes Belarus, Cuba and Vietnam.

But for the first time since taking power in 2012, Chinese President Xi Jinping will not be attending in person, instead sending Prime Minister Li Qiang.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will also miss in-person attendance as he is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for his role in the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Brazil, as a signatory to the Rome Statute, would be required to enforce the arrest warrant.

The notable absences are raising questions over the group’s cohesion and global clout.

Now chaired by Brazil, leaders at the BRICS summit are expected to decry the Trump administration’s “indiscriminate” trade tariffs, saying they are illegal and risk hurting the global economy. Global health policies, artificial intelligence and climate change will also be on the agenda.

The BRICS countries say they represent almost half of the world’s population, 36 percent of global land area, and a quarter of the global economic output. The bloc sees itself as a forum for cooperation between countries of the Global South and a counterweight to the Group of Seven (G7), comprised of leading Western economic powers.

However, behind the scenes, divisions are evident. According to a source quoted by The Associated Press news agency, some member states are calling for a firmer stance on Israel’s war in Gaza and its recent strikes on Iran. The source requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the discussions. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Egypt’s Abdel Fattah el-Sisi will be attending the Rio summit.

But Al Jazeera’s Lucia Newman, reporting from Rio, said the group’s aim remains clear.

“The BRICS goal is to exert pressure for a multipolar world with inclusive global governance to give a meaningful voice to the Global South, especially in the trading system,” she said.

“It’s not super organised, nor does it have a radical global impact,” Newman added. “The real question is, can an expanded BRICS whose members have very different political systems and priorities form a sufficiently unified bloc to have any significant impact?”

China is a popular travel destination in Asia and one tourist visited a busy city in the country and shared everything that blew him away during his three-day trip

China, one of the world’s most populous and powerful nations, is a magnet for tourists thanks to its booming economy, vast military, status as a manufacturing powerhouse, and cutting-edge technology. The country’s iconic attractions like Beijing’s Great Wall and Forbidden City are major draws for tourists.

With its deep historical roots, stunning natural scenery, and dynamic culture, not to mention the delectable Chinese cuisine, China continues to draw visitors from all corners of the globe. Riyan Ruparelia, a content creator known as Bearded Travels, took to TikTok to share his travel experiences in Chongqing, one of China’s major central cities. Chongqing is celebrated for its rugged terrain and has earned the nickname ‘Mountain City’, nestled near the confluence of the Yangtze and Jialing rivers.

In his TikTok video, Riyan exclaimed: “China is living in the future so here’s everything that blew my mind on my most recent three-day trip to Chongqing.

“Starting off with the hotels, the majority of which have smart rooms where you can control pretty much everything from the click of a button, including this huge projector screen and they literally have smart toilets everywhere.”

He stayed at the ISEYA Panoramic Hotel, where room service is delivered by “an entire robot“, which he was amazed by.

The tourist was amazed by the city’s “insane” engineering feats, noting that Chongqing was “built on a mountain” and has a population of over 30 million people.

Riyan remarked: “You can be in a main square with shops and restaurants all around you and then realise you’re on the 22nd floor and if that’s not enough, the engineers actually built an entire train track into a residential building which then proceeds to wrap around a mountain, and believe it or not the train doesn’t make any noise whatsoever.”

The travel content creator was also impressed by the prevalence of electric cars in China, many of which were unknown brands that offered “super luxurious” features and “absolutely incredible performance”.

Riyan continued: “And if you’re in two minds you can get a bike slash car but what blew my mind most was the skyline at night time. This city lights up and it feels like you’re in some sort of sci-fi movie.

“The drone shows every Saturday are next level so if you want a taste of the future then make sure to pay China a visit because it will really surprise you.”

According to travel experts at China Discovery, tourists flock to Chongqing mainly for the Yangtze River cruise which offers breathtaking views of the majestic Three Gorges Dam.

Besides the inspiring landscape, Chongqing is renowned for its local cuisine, most notably, the spicy hot pot.

The clip on TikTok by Riyan has racked more than up over 80 comments. One user said: “Omg I can’t get my head over this! This is crazy! I do want to visit China!”

Another user was floored by the advancement, saying: “They are so far ahead it’s amazing.”

The Dalai Lama has announced that there will be another spiritual leader for Tibetan Buddhists.

As the Nobel Peace Prize laureate approaches the age of 90, attention has turned to the sensitive issue of his successor.

Each Dalai Lama is considered a “Living Buddha”. The current one fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese communists in Tibet and says his next reincarnation could be born among his followers there.

But Beijing considers the Dalai Lama a separatist and insists it has a veto over the choice, while the United States supports the Dalai Lama’s right to determine his own reincarnation.

So how will the selection process balance religion and regional politics?

And if it fails, what is the likelihood of having two Dalai Lamas?

Presenter: Adrian Finighan

Guests:

Robbie Barnett – Writer and researcher on modern Tibetan-Chinese history and politics, and a professor at SOAS University of London

Andy Mok – Geopolitical analyst and senior research fellow at the Center for China and Globalization

Dibyesh Anand – Political analyst and professor of international relations at the University of Westminster

A British woman named decided to travel all the way to Foshan in China in order to buy all the furniture she’d need for her future home after hearing it was cheaper than the UK

As the USA issued new trade tariffs on products from across the world at the start of 2025, with China being hit with a 20% tariff, which was an increase from the 10% tariff it had been before, Chinese wholesale sellers took to social media to urge people to shop with them directly.

While these tariffs didn’t directly affect the UK, it didn’t stop British social media users to see the videos that Chinese sellers were making about being able to by luxury products to a fraction of brands’ prices directly from the factories and wholesalers. This includes everything from designer clothes to furniture and home goods.

Doctor Shirley Bekker was one of many viewers who saw these videos on TikTok, and decided to book a spontaneous shopping trip to China in May 2025 in order to buy all the furniture she’d need for her future flat.

As she arrived in Foshan in China, a city known for its high manufacturing output to the world, having 30 towns specialised in particular industries, including furniture, machinery, and beverages, Shirley decided to document her shopping trip on TikTok to show people the big savings she was making.

While Shirley herself hadn’t been convinced that travelling all the way to Foshan to buy furniture would be worth it, she quickly changed her mind when she found her ‘dream’ coffee table.

“It’s built on a solid wood platform, real glass on top, it’s really heavy, really durable, and just looks so luxe,” she said as she showed off the table, which also included wooded geometric details under the glass.

While it looked luxurious and expensive, she revealed that she’d only paid £150 for it, saying it cost her less than her HD frontal weave.

In her next video, she shared that she’d gotten a wooden dining table for £80, as well as customised chairs to go with it that matched the luxurious sofa she’d gotten for £340. She also made sure to get lamps and art to decorate her future how with as well.

While all of these sums do add up quickly, as she got home, Shirley decided to make a presentation to share how much money she’d saved after finding similar items sold in shops around the UK.

Starting off with the £80 wooden dining table she’d bought in China, she’d found an almost identical table being sold in B&Q for £349.99. While the import costs aren’t included in this comparison, Shirley saved £269.99 just from the table alone. Meanwhile, the two chairs she’d gotten for £65 each cost a whopping £990 each if she’d bought them in the UK.

Shirley continued to go through the comparisons for all the different items she’d bought, only to come to the conclusion to how much she’d save.

“So in conclusion, you flew to all the way to China with nothing but a Monzo, Google Translate, and praised hands. You ran around for six days and bought enough stuff to furnish a bedroom, balcony, renovate a bathroom, and have enough dinnerware to host the royal family,” the voiceover said.

It continued: “Had you stayed in the UK and bought all the same things, this little venture would have cost you a grand total of £21,800. But all because you took the plunge and bought it all in China instead, you spent a grand total of £3,690.56.”

While these calculations did not include the shipping costs to get her furniture from China to the UK, Shirley still saved herself a whopping £18,109.04, which will most likely be more than enough to cover the shipping costs.

Weather warnings come as Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing urges officials in Hebei province to up their evacuation efforts.

Northern and western China remain on high alert as torrential rain threatens to bring more flash flooding and landslides, following weather-related deaths in other parts of the country.

Red alerts were in force on Thursday as rains made their way to Gansu province in the northwest and then up to Liaoning province in the northeast.

The weather warnings came as more than 1,000 rescue workers were sent on Wednesday to Taiping, a town in the central Henan province, where five people died and three were declared missing after a river burst its banks, according to state media.

Another state media report confirmed that two people were killed by a landslide at a construction site in Gansu after heavy rain on Wednesday and Thursday.

Meanwhile, a record summer downpour hit the city of Xianfeng in China’s central province of Hubei, bringing more than a month’s rain in just 12 hours, with local videos showing torrents washing away cars.

On Tuesday, the authorities there evacuated 18,000 people, closed schools and suspended bus services.

During a two-day trip to the northern province of Hebei, China’s Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing urged local officials to ramp up the scale of evacuations.

Although China has a nationwide system to forecast and monitor severe weather, scientists say it is hard to make localised predictions, especially in rural communities that lack forecasting capabilities.

“Accurately forecasting the intensity and exact location of heavy rain remains challenging, especially with climate change and the complex terrain of rural areas,” Meng Gao, a climate modelling specialist at Hong Kong Baptist University, told the Reuters news agency earlier this week.

Last July, the “plum rains”, which coincide with the plum-ripening season, caused more than $10bn in economic losses in China.

WASHINGTON — President Trump announced a trade deal with Vietnam on Wednesday that would allow U.S. goods to enter the country duty-free.

Vietnamese exports to the United States, by contrast, would face a 20% levy.

On his Truth Social platform, Trump declared the pact “a Great Deal of Cooperation between our two Countries.’’

In April, Trump announced a 46% tax on Vietnamese imports — one of his so-called reciprocal tariffs targeting dozens of countries with which the United States runs trade deficits. Trump promptly suspended the reciprocal tariffs for 90 days to allow for negotiations like the one with Vietnam. The pause expires Tuesday, but so far the Trump administration has reached a trade agreement with only one of those countries — the United Kingdom. (Trump has also reached a “framework’’ agreement with China in a separate trade dispute.)

“Vietnam has been very keen to get out from under this,’’ said Mary Lovely, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. “This is forcing a smaller country to eat it, basically. We can do that. It’s the big countries that everybody’s keeping their eyes on.’’ She doubts that Trump will be able to impose such a lopsided agreement on big trading partners such as the European Union and Japan.

The United States last year ran a $122-billion trade deficit with Vietnam. That was the third-biggest U.S. trade gap — the difference between the goods and services it buys from other countries and those it sells them — behind the ones with China and Mexico.

In addition to the 20% tariffs, Trump said the U.S. would impose a 40% tax on “transshipping’’ — goods from another country that stop in Vietnam on their way to the United States. Washington complains that Chinese goods have been dodging higher U.S. tariffs by transiting through Vietnam.

A February study in the Harvard Business Review found that there was “much less rerouting than previously believed.’’

In May, Vietnam approved a $1.5-billion project by the Trump Organization and a local partner to build a massive golf resort complex near Hanoi, covering an area roughly the size of 336 football fields.

Vietnam was a beneficiary of American efforts to counter China’s influence. Companies looking to diversify supply chains away from China flocked to Vietnam.

In 2023, it became the only country to host both former President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping on state visits. That year, the U.S. upgraded Vietnam to its highest diplomatic status — comprehensive strategic partner — placing it on par with China and Russia.

Wiseman and Ghosal write for the Associated Press. Ghosal reported from Hanoi, Vietnam.

Talks lay groundwork for a summit between EU and Chinese leaders in Beijing on July 24 and 25.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief has urged China to end restrictions on the export of rare earth elements and warned that Chinese firms’ support for Russia’s war in Ukraine posed a serious threat to European security.

The statement from Kaja Kallas came on Wednesday after a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Brussels.

The EU is seeking to improve its relations with China amid United States President Donald Trump’s tariff war, which has rocked major trading powers.

But instead of improvements, a trade spat has only deepened between Brussels and Beijing over alleged unfair practices by China. The 27-nation bloc is also railing against the flow of vital tech to Russia’s military through China.

On Wednesday in her meeting with Wang, Kallas “called on China to put an end to its distortive practices, including its restrictions on rare earths exports, which pose significant risks to European companies and endanger the reliability of global supply chains”, a statement from her office said.

On trade, Kallas urged “concrete solutions to rebalance the economic relationship, level the playing field and improve reciprocity in market access”.

She also “highlighted the serious threat Chinese companies’ support for Russia’s illegal war poses to European security”.

China says it does not provide military support to Russia for the war in Ukraine. But European officials say Chinese companies provide many of the vital components for Russian drones and other weapons used in Ukraine.

Kallas called on China “to immediately cease all material support that sustains Russia’s military industrial complex” and support “a full and unconditional ceasefire” and a “just and lasting peace in Ukraine”.

Wednesday’s discussions were to lay the groundwork for a summit between EU and Chinese leaders on July 24 and 25. European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will travel to China for the summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang.

Earlier in the day, Wang also met Costa as part of those preparations.

In that meeting, Wang called on both sides to respect each other’s core interests and increase mutual understanding, adding that “unilateralism and acts of bullying have seriously undermined the international order and rules”, according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement.

Besides discussions on improving bilateral ties, Kallas and Wang also discussed the situation in Iran.

While both leaders welcomed the de-escalation between Israel and Iran, Kallas said she had “urged Iran to immediately restart negotiations on its nuclear programme and that Europe stands ready to facilitate talks”, according to a statement from her office.

Kallas and Wang also “agreed on the importance of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as the cornerstone of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime”.

The EU, the United Kingdom, France and Germany are parties to a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran that the United States abandoned in 2018, which they hope to revive. Iran has always said its nuclear programme is peaceful and denies seeking a weapon.

China and the European Union are marking 50 years of diplomatic relations this month. At the core of their partnership is trade.

They are the second and third biggest economies in the world after the United States.

The Chinese foreign minister is visiting EU headquarters this week as he seeks closer ties in what he has called a “volatile” world.

Under President Donald Trump, the US has increasingly turned to sweeping tariffs to get what it wants.

Although Beijing and Brussels are hoping to improve their economic ties, they have disagreements on a number of issues.

So what will that mean for global trade and the economic order?

Presenter: Adrian Finighan

Guests:

Karel Lannoo – CEO, Centre for European Policy Studies

Victor Gao – vice president, Center for China and Globalisation

Raffaele Marchetti – director, Center for International and Strategic Studies at LUISS University in Rome

The Dalai Lama confirmed on Wednesday that he will have a successor to carry on the role of spiritual leadership to Tibetan Buddhists, in a statement issued during continuing celebrations to mark his 90th birthday.

He said that leaders of Tibet’s spiritual traditions, members of the Tibetan parliament and government in exile, both of which are in the Indian district of Dharamshala, and Buddhists from around the world, including mainland China and Tibet, had written to him, requesting that the institution continue.

“In accordance with all these requests, I am affirming that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue,” he said.

His statement, issued at a time when Buddhist scholars and revered monks from around the world have converged on McLeodganj town in Dharamshala, where the Dalai Lama lives, to participate in the 90th birthday celebrations. The town, also known as “Little Lhasa” because it is in effect the capital of Tibetan Buddhists in exile, will also host an intense three-day religious conference that the Dalai Lama will preside over.

But the occasion isn’t only religious. How the next Dalai is chosen, and by whom, carries deep geopolitical significance.

For centuries, Tibetan Buddhist leaders have chosen and enthroned a new Dalai Lama only after an intense quest and subsequent schooling after the incumbent passes away. If the current Dalai Lama, the 14th, offers any more details in the coming days about how his successor might be chosen, or whom it might be, that would represent a dramatic break with tradition.

What he says, and doesn’t say, will be closely watched in Washington, New Delhi and Beijing.

The Dalai Lama, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who fled Tibet for India in 1959, is seen as a separatist by Beijing. India, as his host for 66 years, has deep stakes in the future of the institution of the Dalai Lama, who has known every Indian prime minister since the country gained independence. And the United States, which has long cited the Tibetan movement in exile as evidence of China’s human rights excesses, will want to make sure that the glue that binds it all – the institution of the Dalai Lama – continues.

So, who will choose the next Dalai Lama? Can the incumbent Dalai Lama stump the Chinese government? And could there be two Dalai Lamas?

How is a Dalai Lama chosen?

Choosing the next Dalai Lama, who will be enthroned as the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, is a process rooted in centuries-old traditions, spiritual beliefs, and rituals.

Traditions consider the Dalai Lama as the reincarnation of Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, and each Dalai Lama is believed to be the successor in a line of reincarnations.

Traditionally, the search for the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation typically begins after a period of mourning. 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.

After a candidate is chosen, the child begins a rigorous education in Buddhist philosophy, scriptures and leadership responsibilities, preparing them to assume the role of both a spiritual and, historically, political leader of the Tibetan people.

Who is the current Dalai Lama and how was he chosen?

Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th and current Dalai Lama, was born as Lhamo Dhondup on July 6, 1935, to a farming family in a region now in Qinghai province. He was identified as a reincarnation when he was barely two years old.

After the death of the 13th Dalai Lama, the search party concluded a four-year-long quest after the toddler identified belongings of his predecessor with the phrase, “It’s mine, it’s mine.” While the majority of Dalai Lamas have been born in Tibet, one was discovered in Mongolia, and another in a region that today lies in northeastern India.

In March 1959, after a failed Tibetan uprising against Chinese control, the Dalai Lama fled Lhasa in disguise, crossing the Himalayas on horseback and foot, eventually reaching India on March 31 that year. Nearly 100,000 Tibetan refugees live in different parts of India today, the community’s largest exile population.

His escape marked the end of traditional Tibetan governance and the beginning of a life in exile, from where he led the Tibetan struggle for autonomy.

What has the 14th Dalai Lama said about his successor?

Addressing a beaming crowd of followers and monks in McLeodganj on Monday, June 30, the Dalai Lama, clad in his traditional red robes and yellow scarf, said: “As far as the institution of the Dalai Lama is concerned, there will be a framework for it to continue.

“I think I have been able to serve the Dharma and sentient beings and I am determined to continue to do so,” he added, noting that at 90 years old, he feels “physically healthy and well”.

He has also hinted about where to look for the next Dalai Lama. Noting that the purpose of a reincarnation is to carry on the work of the predecessor, the 14th Dalai Lama wrote in his book, Voice for the Voiceless, published in March 2025, that “the new Dalai Lama will be born in the free world”.

In effect, that has meant that the Dalai Lama has decreed that the reincarnation would not be in China or China-controlled Tibet. He had earlier said that his incarnation could be found in India.

For Tenzin Jigme, a 39-year-old who lives in McLeodganj and works with the Tibetan government-in-exile, the mere thought of the Dalai Lama passing away is heavy. His voice broke as he said, “We live in a free world because he led us here.”

“For all of us, living as refugees, His Holiness Dalai Lama is a fatherly figure,” Jigme told Al Jazeera. “We need his reincarnation; look at the world, we need someone to teach us compassion.”

Was there a risk that there wouldn’t be a successor?

The 14th Dalai Lama has suggested in the past that there may not be a successor at all.

In 2011, he said that when he turned 90, he would consult his fellow lamas and the Tibetan public and “re‑evaluate whether the institution of the Dalai Lama should continue or not”.

In 2014, during a visit to the 14th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates in Rome, the then-79-year-old spiritual leader said that whether another Dalai Lama would be enthroned after him would depend on the circumstances after his death and was “up to the Tibetan people”.

“The Dalai Lama institution will cease one day. These man-made institutions will cease,” the Dalai Lama said in an interview with the BBC. “There is no guarantee that some stupid Dalai Lama won’t come next, who will disgrace himself or herself. That would be very sad. So, much better that a centuries-old tradition should cease at the time of a quite popular Dalai Lama.”

Dibyesh Anand, a professor of international relations at the University of Westminster and the author of Geopolitical Exotica: Tibet in Western Imagination, said the institution of the Dalai Lama will face immense uncertainty in the coming decades.

But, he said, “the history shows that this institution has been more protean and resilient than politically power-based states.”

Subsequent exiled Dalai Lamas “will not have political power in conventional sense”; however, the institution will remain “symbolically the heart of the Tibetan nation and the most respected authority in Tibetan Buddhism,” he said.

What is China’s position on this?

China insists that only its government has the authority to approve the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, treating it as a matter of national sovereignty and religious regulation. This position was cemented in a 2007 law, which mandates that all reincarnations of Tibetan “living Buddhas” must be approved by the state and must follow Chinese laws, religious rituals and historical precedent.

Chinese officials have repeatedly stated that the next Dalai Lama must be born inside China, and any foreign-born or exile-appointed successor would be considered “illegitimate”.

A key element of China’s proposed process is the Golden Urn system, an 18th-century Qing Dynasty method in which the names of candidates are placed in a golden vessel and one is selected by lot.

The current Dalai Lama doesn’t favour this method, arguing that it lacks “spiritual quality”.

In March 2015, then Tibet Governor Padma Choling accused the Dalai Lama of “profaning religion and Tibetan Buddhism,” adding that the Dalai Lama was trying to usurp Beijing’s right to decide.

“If he says no reincarnation, then no reincarnation? Impossible. Nobody in Tibetan Buddhism would agree to that,” said Choling.

While talks over finding the next Dalai Lama traditionally occur after the death of the incumbent one, the Chinese position has left monks and Tibetans in exile worried that Beijing might try to hijack the institution.

The centrality of the Dalai Lama to the Tibetan national movement and his stature as a global icon is an irritant for Beijing, said Anand, the professor.

“This is a battle over legitimacy and not actual rule over territorial Tibet. Beijing seeks to win that battle of legitimacy but faces an institution and person in the 14th Dalai Lama that is beyond its control,” he told Al Jazeera.

Robert Barnett, a scholar of modern Tibetan history and politics and founder of Columbia University’s Modern Tibetan Studies Program, said that some “Chinese strategists see the succession issue purely as an opportunity to frustrate the exile project”.

Another reason could be the Chinese leaders’ anticipation of another plausible Tibetan uprising. It helps Beijing to “have a ‘tame’ Dalai Lama to dissuade Tibetans from protest,” Barnett told Al Jazeera.

Has China hijacked a selection before?

Yes. In 1995, the Dalai Lama recognised a young boy in Tibet as the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama – the second most important figure in Tibetan Buddhism. He was a six-year-old, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the son of a doctor and a nurse from the Tibetan town of Naqchu.

Soon after, Chinese authorities took the boy into custody and relocated the family. Their whereabouts are not known since.

In his place, Beijing appointed its own candidate, a move widely rejected by Tibetan Buddhists in exile and many inside Tibet, who view the Chinese-selected Panchen Lama as illegitimate.

The disappearance of the Panchen Lama in 1995 was a turning point in Chinese-Tibetan political history, said Barnett.

“The Chinese side decided that it has to control not just which child should be chosen, but whether a lama can reincarnate, where he or she can reincarnate, who should search for them,” he said. The Chinese were clear that the Dalai Lama needed to be excluded from the process.

That episode is a key reason why the current Dalai Lama and Tibetans in exile are opposed to the selection of any future reincarnation inside China, including Tibet. The chosen child might simply be abducted, as happened 30 years ago.

Anand said that China’s goal is to dishearten and divide Tibetans. “If [China] cannot achieve it through winning hearts and minds, they’d do it through divide and rule, and this is how we should see the battle over reincarnation,” he told Al Jazeera.

A case of two rival Dalai Lamas

Tibet observers and scholars believe that after the 14th Dalai Lama’s death, Tibetan Buddhists might well find a scenario where two rival successors jostle for legitimacy – an exiled leader, appointed by the lamas faithful to the incumbent Dalai Lama, and one appointed by the Chinese government.

It would be unprecedented in the history of Tibetan Buddhism, but “is highly likely to occur,” said Barnett.

While the reality of two Dalai Lamas may not matter to exiled Tibetans from a religious perspective, it “makes life very difficult for Tibetans inside Tibet who will be forced in huge numbers to publicly declare their loyalty to China over and over again”.

Barnett noted that Beijing could also use the succession issue as leverage to get foreign governments to marginalise organisations of Tibetans in exile in those countries.

Anand said that Beijing’s insistence on its candidate “will be a source of instability in China-Tibetan relations” and “may come back to haunt the Chinese Communist Party”.

In an interview in March 2019, the Dalai Lama acknowledged that following his death, there could be two rival Dalai Lamas. “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],” he said.

“So that’s an additional problem for the Chinese! It’s possible, it can happen,” the Dalai Lama added, laughing.

Is the selection also a geostrategic issue?

It is, mainly for India and the United States.

For India, which hosts the Tibetan government-in-exile, the succession of the Dalai Lama intersects with national security and its fraught border relationship with China.

New Delhi will want to carry on giving hospitality and refuge to the Dalai Lama and his followers, said Anand. He added that the “Tibetan exiles in India offer a leverage and buffer to India vis-a-vis China’s influence in the Himalayan region”.

The US’s interest in Tibet dates back to the Cold War era, when the CIA backed Tibetan resistance against Chinese occupation, in the 1950s, including after the Dalai Lama’s exile.

Washington has long shown bipartisan support for the religious autonomy of Tibetan Buddhists, including in choosing the next Dalai Lama.

In 2015, when China claimed authority to select the next Dalai Lama, US officials publicly rejected this, asserting that Tibetan Buddhists alone should decide. The most forceful position came in 2020 with the passage of the Tibetan Policy and Support Act (TPSA) under President Donald Trump.

The new US position explicitly supported the Dalai Lama’s right to determine his own reincarnation and authorised sanctions on Chinese officials who interfered in the process.

The international support for the Tibetan right to decide on the institution of the Dalai Lama, Anand said, “is going to play out in geopolitical rivalry between the US and China as well as China and India in the future”.

Courtney Allan hitchhiked from Guangzhou in China to the Russia-Mongolia border – a journey which took 50 days – and has described her method as “such a great way to see the world for free”

A young woman has travelled 5,000 miles without spending a penny – by hitchhiking.

Courtney Allan grabbed lifts from strangers to get from Guangzhou in China to the Russia-Mongolia border, a journey which took 50 days. Courtney, 26, says she feels “incredibly blessed”, having seen some “beautiful countries” for free.

‘It’s (hitchhiking) becoming more common though, and it’s such a great way to see the world for free… I feel incredibly blessed. Hitchhiking was so not normal for so long, it didn’t even seem like an option,” Courtney said.

The Canadian native first experienced hitchhiking in the UK as, in late 2023, she found public transport too expensive to get around during a holiday here. During her three-week visit to the UK, Courtney was able to persuade a driver to give her a lift from Bath, Somerset into Wales.

And she since used this method during a trip to Africa – travelling from Morocco to Cape Town – a distance of more than 8,000 miles, and has now completed the 5,000-mile trip – for free – in Asia.

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Courtney, from Toronto, said she has “not yet felt in danger”. She continued: “When I think of who I am now, it’s an exponential growth from who I was when I first visited the UK two years ago.

“When you’re hitchhiking, you’re with the people who live in that country. You get a much more intimate experience. It’s such a good way to meet local people and get the best things to do in a place. This isn’t the stuff you see on TripAdvisor.”

Courtney, who documents her trips on her Instagram page @hitchhikercourtney, travelled through 16 countries to reach Cape Town on her African adventure. In that time, she said she spent less than $20 (£15) on transport, of which more than half was spent on a single ferry across the Congo River.

But she didn’t have to pay a penny on transport during her Asian journey, which saw her catch rides through China, north through Mongolia to the border of it and Russia. The journey started in May this year, ending this week. The social media influencer continued: “My budget would have gone up by thousands if I had been paying for transport.”

She added: “Women are often scared of going out into the world because of the risks. But there is a risk everywhere, every day, no matter what you’re doing. You can’t let them get the better of you. For me, the benefits of being able to explore the world outweigh those risks.”

Beijing’s remarks come after Ottawa announced it would cease all Canadian operations of the company.

Canada’s request for Chinese surveillance equipment firm Hikvision to close local operations will “damage” bilateral trade, complicating recent efforts to improve ties between the countries, China’s Ministry of Commerce has said.

Beijing’s remarks came on Monday after Canadian Industry Minister Melanie Joly announced last week on the social media platform X that Hikvision Canada Inc had been ordered to cease all operations due to concerns their continuation would be “injurious” to the country’s security.

Her statement on Friday did not provide details on the alleged threat posed by Hikvision products, but said departments and agencies would be prohibited from using them, and that the government is “conducting a review of existing properties to ensure that legacy Hikvision products are not used going forward”.

China’s Commerce Ministry responded by accusing Ottawa of “over-generalising national security”, stating: “China is strongly dissatisfied.”

“This not only undermines the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies and affects the confidence of companies from both countries in cooperation, but also disrupts and damages the normal economic and trade cooperation between China and Canada,” the statement read.

“China urges Canada to immediately correct its wrong practices,” it added.

Hangzhou-based Hikvision is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of security cameras and other surveillance products, but it has faced scrutiny abroad for its role in Beijing’s alleged rights abuses against the Muslim minority Uighur population.

The United States included Hikvision in a 2019 blacklist of Chinese entities it said were implicated in human rights violations and abuses in the implementation of China’s campaign of repression, mass arbitrary detention, and high-technology surveillance against Uighurs and other Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang.

The latest disagreement represents an early test for China-Canada relations after Prime Minister Mark Carney surged to electoral victory in April.

China said in response to the election result that Beijing was willing to improve ties with Ottawa, a relationship rocked in recent years by a range of thorny issues.

The arrest of a senior Chinese telecom executive on a US warrant in Vancouver in December 2018 and Beijing’s retaliatory detention of two Canadians on espionage charges plunged relations into a deep freeze.

Ties were further strained over allegations of Chinese interference in Canadian elections in 2019 and 2021, charges Beijing has denied.

Joly had said the decision to ban Hikvision had been reached following a “multi-step review” of information provided by the Canadian security and intelligence community.

Hollywood’s relationship with artificial intelligence is fraught, as studios balance the need to cut costs with growing concerns from actors, directors and crew members. But in China, efforts to use AI in entertainment are taking a more no-holds-barred approach.

The China Film Foundation, a nonprofit fund under the Chinese government, plans to use AI to revitalize 100 kung fu classics including “Police Story,” “Once Upon a Time in China” and “Fist of Fury,” featuring Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Bruce Lee, respectively. The foundation said it will partner with businesses including Shanghai Canxing Culture & Media Co., which will license 100 Hong Kong films to AI companies to reintroduce those movies to younger audiences globally.

Chow Yun-fat stars in director John Woo’s “A Better Tomorrow” in 1986.

(Cinema City)

The foundation said there are opportunities to use AI to tell those stories through animation, for example. There are plans to release an animated version of director John Woo’s 1986 film “A Better Tomorrow” that uses AI to “reinterpret” Woo’s “signature visual language,” according to an English transcript of the announcement.

“By empowering cultural storytelling with technology, we can breathe new life into the classics and tell China’s stories farther and louder,” said Zhang Pimin, chairman of the China Film Foundation, at the Shanghai International Film Festival earlier this month.

The project raised eyebrows among U.S. artists, many of whom are deeply wary of the use of AI in creative pursuits.

The Directors Guild of America said AI is a creative tool that should only be used to enhance the creative storytelling process and “it should never be used retroactively to distort or destroy a filmmaker’s artistic work.”

“The DGA strongly opposes the use of AI or any other technology to mutilate a film or to alter a director’s vision,” the DGA said in a statement. “The Guild has a longstanding history of opposing such alterations on issues like colorization or sanitization of films to eliminate so-called ‘objectionable content’, or other changes that fundamentally alter a film’s original style, meaning, and substance.”

The project highlights widely divergent views on AI’s potential to reshape entertainment as the two countries compete for dominance in the highly competitive AI space. In the U.S., much of the traditional entertainment industry has taken a tepid view of generative AI, due to concerns over protecting intellectual property and labor relations.

While some Hollywood studios such as Lionsgate and Blumhouse have collaborated with AI companies, others have been reluctant to announce partnerships at the risk of offending talent that have voiced concerns over how AI could be used to alter their digital likeness without adequate compensation.

But other countries like China have fewer guardrails, which has led to more experimentation of the technology by entertainment companies.

Many people in China embrace AI, with 83% feeling confident that AI systems are designed to act in the best interest of society, much higher than the U.S. where it’s 37%, according to a survey from the United Nations Development Program.

The foundation’s announcement came as a surprise to Bruce Lee Enterprises, which oversees legal usage of Lee’s likeness in creative works.

Bruce Lee’s family was “previously unaware of this development and is currently gathering information,” a spokesperson said.

Woo, in a written statement, said he hadn’t heard from the foundation about the AI remake, noting that the rights to “A Better Tomorrow” have changed hands several times.

“I wasn’t really involved in the project because I’m not very familiar with AI technology,” Woo said in a statement to The Times. “However, I’m very curious about the outcome and the effect it might have on my original film.”

David Chi, who represents the China Film Foundation’s Special Fund for Film and Urban Development, said in an interview that Chan is aware of the project and he has plans to talk with Chan’s team. A representative of Chan’s did not respond to a request for comment.

“We do need to talk … very specifically how we‘re using animated or AI existing technology, and how that would combine with his image rights and business rights,” Chi said. Chi did not have an immediate response to the DGA, Bruce Lee Enterprises and Woo’s statements.

AI is already used in China for script development, content moderation and recommendations and translation. In postproduction, AI has reduced the time to complete visual effects work from days to hours, said He Tao, an official with the National Radio and Television Administration’s research center, during remarks at the festival.

“Across government agencies, content platforms, and production institutions, the enthusiasm to adopt and integrate AI has never been stronger,” He said.

During the project’s announcement, supporters touted the opportunity AI will bring to China to further its cultural message globally and generate new work for creatives. At the same time, they touted AI’s disruption of the filmmaking process, saying the “A Better Tomorrow” remake was completed with just 30 people, significantly fewer than a typical animated project.

China is a “more brutal society in that sense,” said Eric Harwit, professor of Asian studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. “If somebody loses their job because artificial intelligence is taking over, well, that’s just the cost of China’s moving forward. They don’t have that kind of regret about people losing jobs and there are less opportunities for organized protest against the Chinese government.”

A scene from the movie “Once Upon A Time In China.”

(Golden Harvest)

Hollywood guilds such as SAG-AFTRA have been outspoken about the harm AI could have on jobs and have fought for protections against AI in contracts in TV shows, films and video games. The unions have also pushed state and federal legislators to create laws that would give people more protections against deep fakes, or videos manipulated to show a person endorsing an idea or product that they don’t actually support. There is no equivalent of that in China.

“You don’t have those freestanding labor organizations, so they don’t have that kind of clout to protest against the Chinese using artificial intelligence in a way that might reduce their job opportunities or lead to layoffs in the sector,” Harwit added.

U.S. studios are also going to court to challenge the ways AI companies train their models on copyrighted materials. Earlier this month, Walt Disney Co. and Universal Pictures sued AI startup Midjourney, alleging it uses technology to generate images that copy the studios’ famous characters, including Yoda and Shrek.

In China, officials involved in the project to remaster kung fu films said they were eager to work with AI companies. They said that AI will be used to add “stunning realism” to the movies. They are planning to build “immersive viewing experiences” such as walking into a bamboo forest duel and “feeling the philosophy of movement and stillness.” In areas such as animation, new environments could be created with AI, Chi said.

“We are offering full access to our IP, platform, and adaptation rights to partners worldwide — with the goal of delivering richer, more diverse, and high-quality AI enhanced film works to global audiences,” said Tian Ming, chairman of Shanghai Canxing Culture & Media Co. in his remarks earlier this month. Tian said there is no revenue-sharing cap and it is allocating about $14 million to co-invest in selected projects and share in the returns.

The kung fu revitalization efforts will extend into other areas, including the creation of a martial arts video game.

Industry observers said China is wise to go back to its well of popular martial arts classics out of Hong Kong, which have inspired U.S. action movies for decades.

There’s also not as much risk involved for China, said Simon Pulman, a partner at law firm Pryor Cashman.

“They’ve got very little to lose by doing this,” Pulman said. “If it can potentially enhance the value of those movies, there’s very little downside for them.”

China’s film industry has grown significantly compared to decades ago, boosted by the proliferation of movie theaters, including Imax screens, in the country.

In the past, China’s box office relied heavily on U.S. productions like movies from the “Fast & Furious” and Marvel franchises, but now local movies dominate the market. The Chinese animated movie “Ne Zha 2” grossed $2.2 billion at the box office globally.

But those Chinese productions generally don’t draw large U.S. audiences when they’re released in the States. The classic martial arts movies, however, have a global following and enduring legacy.

“People love martial arts movies, because action travels,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. “It doesn’t matter what language it’s in, if you have a great action sequence and great fighting sequences.”