CHINA. MASS SENTENCING AND EXECUTIONS MARK INTERNATIONAL ANTI-DRUG DAY

China used International Anti-Drug Day to confirm its approach to the problem, with state media reporting the execution of a series of traffickers. Three men were sentenced to death for drug trafficking at a court in the central city of Changsha and immediately sent to the execution ground, Xinhua news agency reported. In the southern city of Guizhou, 24 drug traffickers were convicted this weekend. Five of them received the ultimate penalty followed by immediate execution, the China Youth Daily said. This followed at least 20 other executions reported in state media two days previously, in the run-up to International Anti-Drug Day.