Tibetan activist Lobga Rangzen set himself on fire in New York, an act that surprised his friends and family, including his niece who learned of the incident while watching the World Cup.

Lobga Rangzen's act of self-immolation outside the United Nations served to galvanize a global Tibetan movement that had become fractured and discouraged.

Lobga Rangzen, a Tibetan activist committed to a Tibet free of Chinese control, set himself on fire in Manhattan, shocking observers despite his known intensity.