World briefs

CHINA Action star Jackie Chan says he’s ashamed and saddened over his son’s arrest on drug charges and has apologized to the public. In a microblog posting yesterday, Chan said his actor son Jaycee Chan would have to face the consequences of his actions, but promised that the two would face the future together. “Jaycee and I together express our deep apology to society and the public,” Chan wrote.

CHINA A public bus in eastern China caught fire yesterday in what was likely arson, killing one person and injuring 19 others, a local state-run newspaper reported.

CHINA A gas explosion at a coal mine in eastern China has killed at least two miners, and rescuers searched yesterday for 25 more workers missing in the blast, state media reported. Twelve other miners were rescued from the privately owned mine in Huainan city in Anhui province after Tuesday’s blast, one of whom suffered burns, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

TIBET Chinese authorities are limiting the number of passengers aboard tour buses on mountain roads of Tibet to 20, following two fatal accidents involving such buses, two travel agencies and a man at the official Tibet Regional Tourism Bureau said yesterday.

INDIA Indian yoga guru B.K.S. Iyengar, who helped popularize yoga around the world and authored 17 books on the subject, died yesterday at age 95. Iyengar created his own brand of yoga, called “Iyengar yoga,” and established studios in 72 countries. In 2004, he was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine.

JAPAN Rain-sodden slopes collapsed in torrents of mud, rock and debris yesterday on the outskirts of Hiroshima city, killing at least 36 people and leaving seven missing, Japanese police said.

LIBERIA Liberian security forces sealed off a seaside slum in the capital yesterday in the latest effort to stop the spread of Ebola, setting off protests by angry residents.

UKRAINE Government troops fought to gain control of the rebel-held city of Donetsk and a key highway in eastern Ukraine yesterday in battles that left 34 residents and nine troops dead in just 24 hours, authorities said.

RUSSIA Protesters have scaled one of Moscow’s famed Stalin-era skyscrapers and painted the Soviet star on its spire in the national colors of Ukraine. They also attached a yellow and blue Ukrainian flag to the top of the 176-meter building early yesterday. Russian authorities were not amused by the prank in support of Ukraine. Police said they have detained four suspects and charged them with vandalism, a crime punishable with up to three years in prison.

USA A small group of protesters gathered outside the building where a grand jury could begin hearing evidence to determine whether the police officer who shot 18-year-old Michael Brown should be charged in his death, as U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder made his way to Ferguson yesterday. Outside the St. Louis County Justice Center in Clayton, where the grand jury was expected to convene, two dozen protesters gathered in a circle for a prayer, chanted, and held signs urging prosecutor Bob McCulloch to step aside.

BRAZIL The Socialist Party is preparing to formally name environmentalist Marina Silva as its new presidential candidate, replacing Eduardo Campos, who was killed in a plane crash last week.