The world in brief

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Right now I’m in

control of all the country.”

Capt. Amadou Sanogo,

leader of the coup in Mali

that ousted democratically

elected President Amadou Toumani Toure Article, 9A N. Korea summons national assembly

SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea said Saturday that its parliament would convene April 13 for a session that should give the country’s new leader, Kim Jong Un, an opportunity to further consolidate his grip on power.

The parliamentary body, the Supreme People’s Assembly, rubber-stamps official decisions and elects the chairman of the country’s top governing agency, the National Defense Commission. Kim’s father, Kim Jong Il, led the commission until his death in December. The assembly also elects the Cabinet.

Kim Jong Un will probably take over as the commission’s chairman, analysts in Seoul said, or engineer a constitutional revision so that he can leave the post permanently vacant, to honor his father, and create a new ruling agency that he would lead.

The North’s official Korean Central News Agency announced the decision to convene the assembly but offered no details of the agenda.

Chinese website slams Dalai Lama

BEIJING - A state-run Chinese website has launched an attack on the Dalai Lama, accusing the exiled Buddhist leader of “Nazi” racial policies and of inciting Tibetans to set themselves on fire.

The commentary on China Tibet Online, also carried Saturday by the official Xinhua News Agency, is one of the strongest reactions from Beijing to a string of protests in ethnic Tibetan areas of China.

About 30 Tibetan monks, nuns and lay people have set themselves on fire in the past year to protest what they say are repressive government policies toward their religion and culture. Many seek the return of the Dalai Lama.

The commentary follows other attacks by government officials on the Dalai Lama, who has praised the courage of those who engage in selfimmolation and has attributed the protests to what he calls China’s “cultural genocide” in Tibet. But he also says he does not encourage the protests.

An official of the Tibetan government-in-exile based in Dharmsala, India, said the Dalai Lama has stated that he does not support self-immolation.

Murdoch’s son quits media board

In a continuing effort to distance himself from News Corp.’s British newspaper unit, James Murdoch has stepped down from the board of Times Newspapers Holdings.

The group, established by Rupert Murdoch, chief executive of News Corp. and James’ father, was created to safeguard the editorial independence of The Times of London and The Sunday Times after the media conglomerate bought the British newspapers in 1981, according to filings with the British government.

James Murdoch, the youngest son of Rupert Murdoch and once the company’s heir apparent, has over the past several months resigned from a string of corporate boards, both with ties to the British papers and unrelated.

Earlier this month, the auction house Sotheby’s said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that James Murdoch would not return to his board position.

Earlier this month, Murdoch released a letter to lawmakers acknowledging that in 2009 when allegations of hacking came to light, he could have been more diligent in uncovering wrongdoing.

Front Section, Pages 8 on 03/25/2012

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