EU criticizes Briton's execution by China

The European Union condemned China on Tuesday for the execution of a British citizen caught smuggling heroin and urged Beijing to abolish the death penalty.

"The European Union condemns in the strongest terms the execution of Akmal Shaikh," the 27-nation bloc's presidency said in a statement. "It deeply regrets the fact that China has not heeded the repeated calls by the European Union and one of its member states for the death sentence passed against Mr Shaikh to be commuted," it added. (Reuters)