IN BRIEF (Page 8)

DPRK

Missile test was 'solemn warning' to Seoul

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea has fired two projectiles on Thursday, promoting expressions of concern from Seoul and Washington. In a report released on Friday, the official Korean Central News Agency said the missile test was meant as a warning to the Republic of Korea as Seoul is trying to introduce advanced weapons to the Korean Peninsula and making preparations for military drills. KCNA said that "the fire of the new-type tactical guided weapon" was to "send a solemn warning" to the ROK's "military warmongers who are running high fever in their moves to introduce the ultramodern offensive weapons" into the ROK and hold military exercise in defiance of repeated warnings.

European Union

EU defies Johnson's push for Brexit rewrite

The European Union on Thursday flatly rejected an aggressive push by the United Kingdom's new Prime Minister Boris Johnson to rewrite the Brexit agreement. Chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier warned EU member states that Johnson was trying to divide them by amping up the threat of a damaging "no-deal" divorce. Earlier, in a pugnacious parliamentary debut as leader, Johnson had urged the EU to "rethink" its opposition to reopening the current deal.

United States

Govt set to resume federal executions

The Justice Department said on Thursday the federal government will resume executing death-row inmates for the first time since 2003, ending an informal moratorium even as the nation sees a broad shift away from capital punishment. Attorney General William Barr instructed the Bureau of Prisons to schedule executions starting in December for five men, all accused of murdering children. Although the death penalty remains legal in 30 states, executions on the federal level are rare.

Xinhua - Agencies

(China Daily 07/27/2019 page8)