Flags at half-mast as China mourns late premier

BEIJING, China: Flags flew at half-mast in Beijing on Thursday as China prepared for the funeral of its late ex-premier Li Keqiang, a reform-minded bureaucrat who was once tipped as the country's future leader but was eclipsed by the rise of Xi Jinping.

Li, an economist and fluent English speaker, died from a sudden heart attack in Shanghai last week at the age of 68, just months after stepping down as the country's second-ranked leader.