Xi backs Marxism for China

AFP, Beijing

Chinese president Xi Jinping yesterday pledged his country will keep following Marxism, as the world's largest communist party prepares to mark the 200th birthday of Karl Marx. China will continue to "hold high the great banner of Marxism" and the party will forever remain "guardians and practitioners" of the philosophy, Xi said during an official tribute at Beijing's Great Hall of the People.

17 killed in Myanmar jade mine landslide AFP, Yangon

A landslide at a jade mine in northern Myanmar has killed 17 people, local authorities said yesterday, the latest disaster to hit the murky multi-billion dollar industry. The accident occurred early yesterday in a mining compound near Wak Khar village in Kachin State's Hpakant township, the epicentre of the perilous work.

UK PM party fares well in local polls AFP, London

British Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative party fared better than expected in local elections in England, results yesterday showed, in her first test since losing her parliamentary majority last year. The party held on to key London councils despite a big push by the main opposition Labour party, which failed to live up to its own hype. The UK Independence Party (UKIP) was all but wiped out, while the pro-European Liberal Democrat party made gains. Full results are not expected until late on Friday.