World briefs

CHINA A wall at the side of a school basketball court collapsed during a game, killing five girls and injuring two others, local officials in eastern China said yesterday. The incident happened Monday afternoon in a middle school in Huaibei city after the teams surrounded a player with a sprained ankle, according to the Anhui provincial work safety bureau. A wall at the side of the court then collapsed, burying some people under it.

CHINA set up a website to collect tips about officials who have fled with ill-gotten gains. The Communist Party’s anti-graft watchdog, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, encouraged whistle-blowers at home and abroad to report on corrupt cadres and officials, according to a statement on its website. Tips will be handled in a timely way and whistle-blowers’ rights will be protected, the agency said.

AFGHANISTAN U.S. and NATO troops close their operational command in Afghanistan, lowering flags in a ceremony to mark the official end of their combat mission 13 years after toppling the Taliban. But America’s longest war will continue for at least another two years.
INDIA The Indian capital bans taxi-booking service Uber after a woman accused one of its drivers of raping her. Transport official Satish Mathur made the announcement as the 32-year-old suspect appeared in a New Delhi court.

INDONESIAN police says that they have completed their investigation into an American couple accused of battering the woman’s mother to death and stuffing the body into a suitcase on the resort island of Bali.

USA Merchants are cleaning up broken glass and taking stock of what was looted from Berkeley stores Sunday night after protesters angered by police killings in Missouri and New York clashed with officers, vandalized stores and fought with each other, police said.

USA Prince William sits down with President Barack Obama and unveils an effort to curtail illegal wildlife trading, while his wife, Kate, makes an impression of a down-to-earth duchess on preschoolers and prominent British expats in New York. The royals’ packed schedule also includes a reception with Hillary and Chelsea Clinton and a Brooklyn Nets basketball game.

USA US Senate investigators have accused the CIA of torturing al-Qaida prisoners far beyond legal boundaries.

ZIMBABWE’s President Robert Mugabe fired the country’s vice president, Joice Mujuru, yesterday. Mugabe fired Mujuru and eight other Cabinet ministers with immediate effect, according to a statement released by the government.

FRANCE President Franoics Hollande says al-Qaida’s branch in north Africa has released a hostage held since 2011. Francois Hollande says Serge Lazarevic is in “relatively good health” despite the conditions of his captivity.