NEW DELHI (AP) — India and China said Tuesday they would work toward peacefully resolving their disputed Himalayan border while improving management of the region by establishing a committee. The sides agreed to look into conducting military and information exchanges along the mountainous border, which is unresolved despite 15 rounds of talks and a brief but bloody war in 1962. A joint statement, released after two days of meetings in New Delhi, says that holding to the 1993 Line of... Read more

LUCKNOW, India (AP) — Organizers of an Indian literary festival say they hope Salman Rushdie will attend despite calls by Muslim clerics to ban the British-Indian author from the event. Rushdie’s planned appearance at the Jaipur Literary Festival has sparked an outcry among some Muslims who consider his 1988 book “The Satanic Verses” blasphemous. Darul Uloom seminary leader Maulana Abdul Qasim Nomani has called for the government to bar Rushdie from the five-day event that starts Friday. Rajasthan state Chief... Read more

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — A member of Gaza’s tiny Shiite minority says followers were beaten by Hamas police during a religious ceremony last week. The man said police burst into a house of a fellow Shiite during a gathering to commemorate the suffering of the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Imam Hussein. The man says about 15 worshippers were beaten and briefly detained. He declined to be identified fearing further harassment. Interior Ministry spokesman Ihab Ghussein said... Read more

MALE, Maldives (AP) — The Maldives’ military has arrested the chief justice of the country’s criminal court after he released an opposition leader who had been detained without a warrant for allegedly defaming the government. Monday’s arrest of Judge Abdulla Mohamed has prompted all courts in Maldives to boycott sessions Tuesday, in what could become a showdown between the country’s first government chosen in free elections and the independent judiciary introduced by former pro-democracy political prisoner President Mohamed Nasheed after... Read more

MALE, Maldives (AP) — The Maldives’ military has arrested the chief justice of the country’s criminal court after he released an opposition leader who had been detained without a warrant for allegedly defaming the government. Monday’s arrest of Judge Abdulla Mohamed sparked a brief street protest in the capital of the Indian Ocean archipelago. The arrest of a judge by the military is unprecedented in Maldives, which recently became a multiparty democracy after 30 years of autocratic rule. The spokesman... Read more

BEIJING (AP) — Dozens of Tibetans in an area of southwest China have gathered around a portrait of the Dalai Lama, an act of protest that drew the attention of police. An police department official in Sichuan province said Tuesday that dozens of Tibetans — including monks — gathered Monday holding a portrait of the spiritual leader, who lives in self-imposed exile. The official surnamed Wang says police dealt with the incident, but refused to say how. Authorities are sensitive... Read more

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) — Belgian authorities are searching the administrative offices of the bishop of Bruges a day after raiding similar offices in three other cities as they investigate whether church officials protected child abusers instead of their victims. Peter Rossel, a spokesman for the church in Bruges, 60 miles (96 kilometers) northwest of Brussels, confirmed Tuesday that the searches are ongoing. He said the church was cooperating fully with the investigation. On Monday, authorities searched church offices in Hasselt,... Read more

BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgian authorities have raided the administrative offices of three bishops as part of an ongoing child abuse investigation. Church spokesman Geert Lesage says the offices cooperated during the raids and handed over requested files as much as possible. In 2010, authorities raided church offices in a move that was highly criticized by the Vatican. The June raid was declared excessive by a Belgian court, but the government said the investigation could continue. Lesage said Monday it is... Read more

NEW YORK (AP) — Parents upset by the admission policy at a parochial school. Clergy and parishioners at odds over use of their building. A priest resisting a transfer to another parish. It was once assumed that disagreements like these in the Roman Catholic Church would end one way: with the highest-ranking cleric getting the last word. But that outcome is no longer a given as Catholics, emboldened following the clergy abuse scandals that erupted a decade ago this month,... Read more

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jon Huntsman will withdraw Monday from the race for the Republican presidential nomination, campaign officials told The Associated Press on Sunday. Huntsman will endorse Mitt Romney at an event in South Carolina, the officials said. Huntsman believes Romney is the best candidate to beat President Barack Obama in November, they said. The campaign officials spoke on condition of anonymity because Huntsman plans to make the official announcement Monday. The former Utah governor placed third in last week’s... Read more