World briefs

CHINA’s legislature designated Dec. 4 as Constitution Day on Sunday amid a drive to strengthen the authority of the country’s legal system. The move by the National People’s Congress’ Standing Committee aims to increase awareness of the constitution, promote its spirit, and strengthen its implementation, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. The holiday will be marked by activities to promote the constitution around the country, Xinhua said.

CHINA A bus accident killed six people and left others injured on one of the longest cross-sea bridges in the world yesterday, the bridge’s management in Shanghai said. It was not immediately clear what caused the one-vehicle accident, said Li Hailiang, an employee at the Donghai Bridge Administration. He said six people died on the scene and that an unspecified number of injured people were taken to a hospital. The state broadcaster CCTV said more than 20 people were injured.

PAKISTAN A suicide bomber detonates explosives near a Pakistani paramilitary checkpoint near the country’s eastern border with India, killing at least 54 people in the deadliest attack to hit the country in several months. More on p12

BANGLADESH’s Supreme Court upholds the death sentence given to a senior Islamist leader convicted by a special tribunal last year for his role in mass killings and other atrocities during the country’s 1971 independence war against Pakistan. More on p12

AFGHANISTAN An Afghan official says a deputy provincial governor has been shot dead in southern Kandahar province while he was sitting in class at a university.

AFGHAN President Ashraf Ghani has decided to drop his tribal name of Ahmadzai and has asked all government departments and media to use his family name only.

SRI LANKA has confirmed that five people died and 33 remain missing in last week’s mudslide at a central tea plantation as authorities continue to struggle to determine how many people were buried.

USA Republicans are claiming new momentum before Americans vote Tuesday in a national election, attacking President Barack Obama in a final push to motivate voters to give them a Senate majority.

USA Philanthropist Bill Gates says he wants to end malaria in his lifetime and will give more money toward that goal, part of his broader fight against tropical diseases that are getting unusual public attention because of the Ebola outbreak.

USA Daredevil Nik Wallenda wowed the world with back-to-back walks on a tightrope between Chicago skyscrapers without a safety net or a harness, performing one of them blindfolded, as a crowd gasped and cheered. It took Wallenda about six and a half minutes to walk the 138-meter stretch from the Marina City west tower to the top of a building on the other side of the river.

SIERRA LEONE A doctor in Sierra Leone has died of Ebola — the fifth local doctor in the West African nation to die of the disease, authorities said yesterday. The death of Dr. Godfrey George, medical superintendent of Kambia Government Hospital in northern Sierra Leone, was a blow to efforts to keep desperately needed health care workers safe in a country ravaged by the deadly virus.

TURKEY A boat carrying suspected migrants from Afghanistan and Syria sank yesterday just north of the Bosphorus Strait off the coast of Istanbul, leaving at least 24 people dead. A further 12 were believed to be missing, while seven were rescued, Turkish authorities said.