IN BRIEF (Page 8)

Johnson extends lead in PM race

Boris Johnson, the front-runner in the race to become Britain's next prime minister, increased his support among lawmakers in the Conservative Party leadership contest on Thursday.

Moscow calls MH17 charges of Russians 'absolutely unfounded'

MOSCOW - Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that it regretted the findings of the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 crash probe and called murder charges against Russian citizens "absolutely unfounded".

UN releases report on Khashoggi case

GENEVA - A UN rights investigator said in a report on Wednesday that Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was the victim of premeditated extrajudicial execution, for which Saudi Arabia is responsible, while Riyadh rejected the report as "unfounded".

Ex-girlfriend: Christensen studied serial killers

The ex-girlfriend of the man accused of murdering Chinese visiting scholar Zhang Yingying testified on Wednesday that he asked her to read the 1991 novel American Psycho about a serial killer.

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Trump starts campaign for reelection

US President Donald Trump touted his economic record and fight against illegal immigration while heaping disdain on his political opponents in announcing his reelection bid on Tuesday in Orlando, Florida.

Joint efforts needed for new security

Senior Chinese security official Guo Shengkun on Tuesday called on the international community to make joint efforts to implement a new vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security under new circumstances.

Esper 'most likely' to run Pentagon

Mark Esper will be taking command of the Pentagon at a tenuous time in the world.

Delegation for Human Rights visits Germany, Ireland

DUBLIN - A delegation from the China Society for Human Rights Studies, or CSHRS, wrapped up a seven-day visit to Germany and Ireland on Tuesday, after having extensive exchanges with people from several circles in the two countries.

IN BRIEF (Page 11)

Enrichment, troops heighten tensions

Iran and the United States on Monday had a new round of confrontation as Teheran announced it would speed up its uranium enrichment and Washington decided to send 1,000 more troops to the Middle East.