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Dalai Lama apologizes

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The Dalai Lama has apologised after footage showed him asking a boy if he wanted to suck the Tibetan spiritual leader’s tongue.

His office said he wanted to apologise to the child and his family “for the hurt his words may have caused”.

The video also shows the Dalai Lama kissing the child on his lips.

“His Holiness often teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way, even in public and before cameras. He regrets the incident,” his office said.

The footage has sparked widespread criticism, with many social media users saying it was inappropriate and disturbing.

The incident appears to have taken place at the Dalai Lama’s temple in Dharamshala on 28 February. He had interacted with around 120 students who had completed a skills training programme organised by the M3M Foundation, the philanthropic arm of real estate company M3M Group.

The foundation uploaded photos from the event on social media in March – in one of them, the Dalai Lama is seen hugging the boy from the viral video.

In the video which has circulated online, the boy is seen asking if he can hug the Dalai Lama. The leader motions to his cheek, saying “first here” and the boy kisses his cheek and gives him a hug.

Then, while holding the boy’s hand, the Dalai Lama motions to his lips and says “I think here also”, and kisses the boy on the lips.

The leader then puts his forehead to that of the boy’s, before sticking out his tongue, saying “and suck my tongue”. As some people laugh, the boy sticks his tongue out before withdrawing a little, as does the Dalai Lama.

There are then more hugs, as the spiritual leader speaks to the boy for a while longer, telling him to look to “good human beings who create peace and happiness”.

Sticking one’s tongue out can be a form of greeting in Tibet.

The Dalai Lama has been living in exile in India since fleeing Tibet in 1959, following an uprising against Chinese rule there.

In 2019, the Dalai Lama’s office apologised after the spiritual leader told the BBC in an interview that any future female Dalai Lama should be “attractive”.

(BBC News)

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Joe Biden ‘fine’ after fall on stage in Colorado

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President Joe Biden is “fine” after tripping and falling over at an event in Colorado, White House officials say.

He stumbled on a sandbag while handing out diplomas at a graduation ceremony for the US Air Force Academy.

Mr Biden, who is the nation’s oldest serving president at 80, was helped back onto his feet and appeared to be unhurt after Thursday’s fall.

“I got sandbagged!” the president joked to reporters as he arrived back at the White House that evening.

He had been standing for about an hour and a half to shake hands with each of the 921 graduating cadets.

Footage shows Mr Biden appearing to point at one of two sandbags used to prop up his teleprompter as he was helped up by an Air Force official and two members of his Secret Service detail.

He was seen walking back to his seat unassisted and later jogging back to his motorcade when the ceremony ended.

“There was a sandbag on stage while he was shaking hands,” White House communications director Ben LaBolt wrote on Twitter. “He’s fine.”

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Mr Biden had boarded the plane flashing “a big smile”, although one reporter noted that he did not take questions before the flight.

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Elon Musk becomes the world’s richest man again

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Elon Musk has reclaimed his position as the world’s wealthiest person.

That’s according to a Bloomberg Billionaires tally, which estimated the Tesla (TSLA) CEO’s net worth is now about $192 billion, compared to LVMH (LVMHF) CEO Bernard Arnault’s $187 billion.

The two centibillionaires, a term used to refer to people with fortunes of more than $100 billion, have been neck-and-neck for the top spot for months.

This week, Arnault’s wealth slid after a drop in LVMH’s stock Wednesday, according to Bloomberg calculations.

Arnault surpassed Musk in December, as his wealth climbed due to a boom in luxury goods sales that helped drive up LVMH’s stock price. LVMH, one of the world’s biggest conglomerates, is home to brands including Louis Vuitton, Dior and Celine.

Musk, meanwhile, has enjoyed a meteoric rise up the world’s rich lists in recent years as his fortunes are directly linked to those of Tesla, the electric automaker. His biggest asset is the company’s stock, of which he owns about 13%, according to Bloomberg.

Outside of Tesla, Musk is also CEO of SpaceX, the space exploration firm, and the owner of social network Twitter (TWTR).

LVMH’s shares are up 19.7% this year, while Tesla’s have risen 65.6% in the year to date.

(CNN)

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Turkish President elected for a 3rd term

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Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s supporters celebrated well into the night after Turkey’s long-time president secured another five years in power.

“The entire nation of 85 million won,” he told cheering crowds outside his enormous palace on the edge of Ankara.

But his call for unity sounded hollow as he ridiculed his opponent Kemal Kilicdaroglu – and took aim at a jailed Kurdish leader and pro-LGBT policies.

The opposition leader did not explicitly concede victory.

Complaining of “the most unfair election in recent years”, Mr Kilicdaroglu said the president’s political party had mobilised all the means of the state against him.

President Erdogan ended with just over 52% of the vote based on near-complete unofficial results – almost half the electorate in this deeply polarised country did not back his authoritarian vision of Turkey.

Ultimately Mr Kilicdaroglu was no match for the well-drilled Erdogan campaign, even if he took the president to a run-off second round for the first time since the post was made directly elected in 2014.

But he barely dented his rival’s first-round lead, falling more than two million votes behind.

(BBC News)

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