Tibet man self-immolates to protest China rule

BEIJING The Tibetan government-in-exile said Sunday that a man died after setting himself on fire in the latest self-immolation protesting Chinese rule.

The exile government based in Dharamsala, India, said the Tibetan self-immolated on Sunday morning in Tongren, a monastery town in western China's Qinghai province. A photo on its website showed a burned body surrounded by monks.

It had no other details.

Dozens of ethnic Tibetans have set themselves on fire in heavily Tibetan regions since March 2011 to protest what activists say is Beijing's heavy-handed rule in the region. Many have called for the return of their exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

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A man at Tongren county government said he couldn't hear clearly and asked the AP to call back. Calls then rang unanswered, as did calls to police.