The Dalai Lama said Wednesday there will be a successor after his death. But China insists that it alone has the authority to approve the next religious leader. AP's Sheikh Saaliq explains why the decision is consequential for most Tibetans.

The Dalai Lama has often called himself a simple monk, but millions of his Tibetan Buddhist followers have worshipped him for decades as a near deity. They also see him as the face of