World briefs

CHINA Education officials admonish a grade school teacher for letting a pupil hold a parasol for her.

NEPAL Rescuers were digging through piles of earth and snow on a popular trekking route in Nepal where an entire village was buried by a mudslide triggered by the earthquake that struck the region 10 days ago.

NEPAL Climbers who stayed in villages close to the Everest base camp have started packing their gear and are leaving the mountain because Sherpa guides have refused to rebuild a climbing route destroyed by an avalanche.

THE PHILIPPINES  The Philippine military chief confirmed Monday that wanted Filipino bomb-maker Abdul Basit Usman, who has links to the Indonesian-based Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist network and is a suspect in deadly bomb attacks in the south, has been killed. Usman and five others were killed in a shootout allegedly with fellow members of his group. Washington has offered a USD1 million award for Usman’s capture and prosecution.
Papua New Guinea A powerful earthquake rattled the South Pacific island nation of Papua New Guinea yesterday, generating a small tsunami near the epicenter, bringing down power lines and cracking walls, but causing no widespread damage.

BURUNDI  The ruling party in Burundi says the country’s constitutional court has validated president President Pierre Nkurunziza’s bid for a third term.

USA Baltimore’s mayor lifted a citywide curfew, six days after riots sparked by Freddie Gray’s death, and faith leaders called for continued activism until justice is achieved.

SOMALIA  Secretary of State John Kerry makes an unannounced trip to Somalia in a show of solidarity with a government trying to defeat al-Qaida-allied militants and end decades of war in the African country. More on p14

ITALY The Save the Children aid group reported another Mediterranean migrant tragedy yesterday, with survivors saying “dozens” of their fellow passengers fell out of their rubber boat and likely drowned as a rescue vessel neared.

BRAZIL Federal prosecutors in Brazil confirmed Monday that they are weighing whether to open a full investigation into former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s alleged overseas lobbying efforts for the scandal-plagued construction firm Odebrecht, the nation’s biggest builder.