World Briefs

CHINA As a teenager, Wang Keming felt nothing but contempt for the older peasant his village singled out for collective persecution in 1970. Stirred by Mao Zedong’s radical ideology and inured to the rampant violence of the Cultural Revolution, he beat the man bloody and saw nothing wrong with it. Decades later, Wang felt… guilt.  More on p10

PHILIPPINES Communist rebels said they plan to meet with the government of incoming President Rodrigo Duterte to discuss a resumption of long-stalled peace talks, and will demand an end to the U.S. military presence in the country.

PHILIPPINES-US U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said the American alliance with the Philippines remains “iron clad,” following the election of a new Philippines president who has said his country needs to chart a course more independent of the United States

MH17 The families of six crew members on a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet shot down over Ukraine nearly two years ago file lawsuits against the airline, accusing it of negligence and breach of contract.

JAPAN The search for a boy who disappeared after his parents reportedly left him behind in a Japanese forest as punishment pushes into a fifth day with no clues to his fate.

THAI police yesterday stopped a truck carrying two tiger skins and other animal parts as it was leaving a Buddhist temple where monks have been accused of being involved in illegal wildlife trafficking. Soon afterward, authorities found 20 jars containing young tigers at the temple — a day after 40 dead tiger cubs were found in a freezer at the temple.

VIETNAM-LAOS An explosion on a bus in southern Laos near Vietnamese border has killed eight people and injured three others. All the victims were Vietnamese returning to their home province of Nghe An in central Vietnam, a border guard official at the Cha Lo checkpoint said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

US-SINGAPORE President Barack Obama will mark 50 years of diplomatic relations with Singapore by hosting its leader at the White House. The White House says Obama will welcome Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong for an official visit and state dinner on Aug. 2.

PRINCE A law-enforcement official told The Associated Press that tests show Prince died of an opioid overdose. The 57-year-old singer was found dead April 21 at his Minneapolis-area estate. The official, who is close to the investigation, spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.The findings confirm suspicions that opioids played a role in the musician’s death.