U.S. senior officials meet with Dalai Lama in New York

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Senior officials from the U.S. State Department and the White House met with the Dalai Lama in New York on Wednesday and "reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to advancing the human rights of Tibetans," the State Department said.

The meeting with the 89-year-old exiled spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism will likely irritate China, which considers him a dangerous separatist and opposes contact by officials of any country with him.