The Dalai Lama has announced that he intends to reincarnate, paving the way for a successor to take on a mantle stretching back 500 years after his death.

The Dalai Lama has announced that he will have a successor after his death, continuing a centuries-old tradition that has become a flashpoint in the struggle with China’s Communist Party over Tibet’s future.

The statement puts to rest speculation that the Dalai Lama may be the last of Tibet's spiritual leaders, ending a line that stretches back centuries.