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 statement puts to rest speculation, started by the Dalai Lama himself, that he may be the last of Tibet's spiritual leaders.

The Dalai Lama says he'll have a successor, after all, ending years of speculation that he might be the last person to hold the role and meaning he'd be reincarnated.