world briefs

CHINA The Chinese anti-corruption agency said yesterday it is investigating one current and one former manager at Volkswagen’s main joint venture in China. A former deputy general manager of First Auto Works-Volkswagen, Li Wu, and a deputy sales manager of the venture’s Audi division, Zhou Chun, are suspected of “serious violations,” according to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said.

CHINA An official was confirmed dead after “falling” from a government building in eastern China’s Shandong Province, the local authority said yesterday. Police identified the man as Sun Zhongcheng, deputy head of the finance bureau of Zaozhuang City. Sun left a note in his office, before falling to his death on Monday night. Police have ruled out the possibility of murder. Further investigation is underway.

AUSTRALIA Mining magnate turned lawmaker Clive Palmer has apologized to China over an extraordinary tirade on national television in which he called the Chinese “bastards” and “mongrels” and accused Beijing of trying to take over Australia.

INDONESIA A closed-door trial begins for the first of five janitors accused of raping a kindergartner in a bathroom at a prestigious international school in Indonesia’s capital that is facing a storm of controversy following allegations of more abuse. The custodians contracted to work at Jakarta International School were arrested in April and included five men and a woman. Police said one other man committed suicide while in custody by drinking bathroom cleanser.

AFGHANISTAN An adviser to a leading Afghan presidential contender, Abdullah Abdullah, says the candidate is threatening to boycott the country’s ballot audit, which has been mired in obstacles. The complicated, U.N.-supervised audit of the 8 million votes from the June presidential runoff has been underway in Kabul for weeks.

MALAYSIA Families of passengers who were on the Malaysia Airlines plane shot down over Ukraine are starting to sort through the long process of gaining compensation for their loss. Officials in the Netherlands, where the majority of Flight 17 victims lived, say that Malaysia Airlines has been making USD50,000 payments to the families without admitting any wrongdoing in the crash.

UKRAINE The presidents of Russia and Ukraine met face-to-face yesterday for the first time since June to talk about the fighting that has engulfed Ukraine’s separatist east. From their opening remarks, it appeared unlikely that Vladimir Putin and Petro Poroshenko would find common ground. The meeting in the Belarusian capital of Minsk came as Ukraine said it had captured 10 Russian soldiers in eastern Ukraine and shelling spread to a new front in the country’s southeast.

SOUTH SUDAN The U.N. mission in South Sudan says one of its helicopters has crashed, and a U.N. official told The Associated Press that it appears the aircraft was shot down. The U.N. mission said on Twitter that an Mi-18 cargo helicopter crashed yesterday near Bentiu, which is hotly contested between the government and rebels. The U.N. said it is deeply concerned about the fate of its crew. A search and rescue team has been sent to the crash site.

SYRIA  The U.S. begins surveillance flights over Syria after President Barack Obama gives the OK, a move that could pave the way for airstrikes against Islamic State militant targets.