WORLD IN BRIEF

Tibet exiles not ready for China break

Hundreds of exiled Tibetan leaders meeting in northern India agree after intense debate on whether to launch a formal independence movement that they will continue to follow the Dalai Lama’s “middle path” with China. In a sign of mounting frustration, most delegates advised the Tibetan government to end the dialogue until China is willing to negotiate.

Radiation killing suspect to help

The former Russian security agent and top suspect in the radiation killing of dissident Russian security service officer Alexander Litvinenko, who was asylumed in Britain, reportedly is ready to go to London to aid authorities in the investigation. Litvinenko died two years ago today from poisoning.

Congo rebel leader assures public

Surrounded by fighters, rebel leader Laurent Nkunda held his first public rally in territory he seized during a lightning advance last month in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, telling the few thousand people who showed up: “Do not be afraid,” promising closed schools and shops in town would open Monday and criticizing the 17,000 U.N. peacekeeping force, which he said never went after Rwandan Hutu militias he said were at the heart of the conflict.

Socialist Party leader elected

France’s Socialist Party says former Labor Minister Martine Aubry, mayor of Lille and architect of the country’s 35-hour workweek, has won a runoff to head the country’s main opposition party by a razor-thin margin, prompting President Nicolas Sarkozy’s conservatives to gloat that the leading opposition party is far from united.

Iceland police, protesters clash

Police in Iceland clashed with hundreds of protesters outside a police building in the capital Reykjavik trying to free a protester arrested over a fine associated with a previous demonstration. There have been many protests in recent weeks amid criticism the government failed to adequately oversee the banking industry and caused an economic collapse.

Hezbollah protests German TV ban

The director of Hezbollah’s satellite TV station Al-Manar TV says a German ban on the network violates international laws protecting media freedom, asserting Germany acted on a request from what he called “Zionist lobbies” in Europe in deciding to ban broadcasts of the Lebanon-based Arabic-language network.

Islamic body prohibits yoga

Malaysia’s top Islamic body, which recently issued a fatwa banning tomboys, issued an edict that prohibits Muslims from practicing yoga, saying that elements of Hinduism in the ancient Indian exercise could corrupt them. The National Fatwa Council chairman said many Muslims fail to understand that yoga’s ultimate aim is to be one with a god of a different religion —- an explanation disputed by many practitioners.

Man held in attacks on bureaucrats

A man claiming to have fatally stabbed a former health official and his wife in a high-profile case that police believe is linked to the loss of millions of pension records turned himself in to Japanese police. Investigators also are questioning him in connection with another attack on a retired bureaucrat earlier in last week.