Thailand grieves in farewell to late king

BANGKOK - With solemn faces and outright tears, millions of black-clad Thais said farewell to their king and longtime father figure on Thursday, capping a year of mourning with funeral ceremonies steeped in centuries of tradition.

Global measles deaths show historic decline

GENEVA - The annual death toll from measles dropped below 100,000 worldwide for the first time last year, to 90,000, the World Health Organization and other international agencies said on Thursday.

Marawi gradually returning to normal routine

MARAWI CITY, Philippines - After five months of crippling conflict, there are slow signs of life returning in battered Marawi City.

IN BRIEF (Page 8)

US releases files of JFK assassination

WASHINGTON - The US government on Thursday released a mammoth, long-awaited trove of secret files on the 1963 assassination of president John F. Kennedy, but withheld others for further review on national security grounds.

Heart surgery? Slate it for the afternoon

PARIS - The risk of serious heart problems after open heart surgery nearly doubles when the operation is performed in the morning rather than the afternoon, researchers said on Friday.

Cosmic mat welcomes aliens

ADELAIDE, Australia - It may look like an ordinary door mat, but its creators insist the conceptual art piece could encourage alien life to visit Earth - and help create a new kind of space archaeology.

Dinosaur used colors for protection

WASHINGTON - A small feathered dinosaur whose fossil was discovered in China used its different colors for protection, a study published on Thursday said, helping to dispel stereotypes about the long-extinct creatures.

Blueprint Meets With International Optimism

Foreign leaders, political parties and organizations around the world have sent congratulatory messages to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. They speak highly of the CPC's leadership as well as China's socioeconomic development and global contributions, and express full confidence that the Party will lead China to even greater prosperity. The following is an edited version of some of these messages.

China will open further in new era to benefit all

In the report he delivered at the opening of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, announced that socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era.

Keep local rules up to date

Four labor law experts have suggested the Legislative Affairs Commission of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, China's top legislature, review a clause that appears in the regulations of seven provinces, which stipulates that couples having more children than the family planning law allows must be fired from their jobs as punishment.

Promotion of cultural consumption is a positive effort to enrich lives

THE GOVERNMENT OF CHENGDU, capital of Sichuan province, has published a work plan for 2017-20 in which it says it will subsidize residents for their cultural consumption. If the measure is implemented, local residents will gain points when they purchase books, go to the cinema or theater, and visit museums, exhibitions and sightseeing spots, which will then entitle them to a reimbursement of some of the money they have spent. Legal Daily comments: