Chinese authorities have executed a man for murdering his associate, billionaire gaming tycoon Lin Qi.

In 2020, a Xu Yao poisoned Lin for sidelining him shortly after he helped him land a Netflix deal, local media reported.

Lin’s Yoozoo Games holds the film adaptation rights for the Chinese science fiction trilogy which Netflix made into the series 3 Body Problem.

Xu Yao was convicted in 2024 and his execution, which reportedly happened on May 21, was confirmed on Tuesday by his company in a statement, adding “justice has ultimately been served”.

“We deeply mourn Mr. Lin and extend our heartfelt condolences to his family,” the statement said.

“As colleagues who fought alongside him, all members of the company are grateful for the impartiality of the judicial process.”

The science fiction trilogy 3 Body Problem is based on Chinese author Liu Cixin’s Remembrance of Earth’s Past. First published in Chinese, the books have been translated into nearly 30 languages and inspired multiple adaptations.

The Netflix adaptation in 2024, quickly became one of the streaming platform’s most-watched shows. Lin was posthumously credited as one of its executive producers.

That same year, Xu was convicted of Lin’s murder, with the court describing his plot as “extremely despicable”.

Lin’s death came as a shock to the gaming industry in China and beyond. Lin is the founder of Yoozoo Games, the Shanghai-based developer best known for the Game of Thrones: Winter Is Coming strategy game.

In 2018, Lin appointed Xu to lead Three-Body Universe, a subsidiary to manage projects related to the science fiction franchise.

But they fell out in 2020 when Lin decided to put other executives in charge of business operations, local reports said.

After that, Xu disguised lethal substances as probiotic pills and gave them to Lin.

In December 2020, Lin went to the hospital after feeling unwell. He died nine days later, at the age of 39.

At the time, he was believed to have had a net worth of around 6.8 billion yuan (£745m; $941m), according to the Hurun China Rich List.

Police arrested Xu days after Lin was hospitalized.

The US said it launched new strikes on southern Iran, targeting Iranian missile sites and boats attempting to place mines.

The strikes were taken in “self-defense” and were designed “to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces”, US Central Command said in a statement.

Central Command spokesperson Capt Tim Hawkins said the US military “continues to defend our forces while using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire” between the two countries.

Iran is yet to respond to the US attack. However, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baqai earlier said that while some progress had been made in talks to end the war, a deal “is not imminent”.

It is unclear what impact the strikes will have on any potential peace agreement between the US and Iran.

Following the strikes, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said a deal was still possible and pointed to talks on Tuesday between Iran’s top negotiator and foreign minister and Qatar’s prime minister.

“We’ll see if we can make progress. I think it’s a lot of talking back and forth going on about specific language in the initial document, so it’ll take a few days,” Rubio told reporters during an official visit to India.

He said President Donald Trump had “expressed his desire to make it”.

“He’s either going to make a good deal or no deal,” Rubio said.

Asked again later about Monday’s strikes, Rubio said: “The straits have to be open. They’re going to be open one way or the other, so they need to be open. What’s happening there is unlawful, it’s illegal, it’s unsustainable for the world, it’s unacceptable.”

Capt Hawkins said the US strikes targeted an area near Bandar Abbas, a southern port city and home of an Iranian naval base that sits on the Strait of Hormuz, according to the New York Times.

Iranian state media had earlier reported that local officials in Bandar Abbas were investigating after explosions were heard.

Earlier in May, a clash between Iranian and US destroyers in the Strait of Hormuz – for which each side blamed the other – led Trump to insist a ceasefire was still in place.

At the weekend, Trump had suggested the sides were close to a deal, but later said he had instructed negotiators “not to rush into” one, while Rubio had said an agreement could possibly be reached on Monday.

But Baqai responded: “It is correct to say that we have reached a conclusion on a large portion of the issues under discussion… But to say that this means the signing of an agreement is imminent – no-one can make such a claim.”

Iran says a deal with the United States is “not imminent” despite reports of progress in ongoing indirect negotiations aimed at reducing regional tensions and ending the current conflict.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran and Washington had reached understandings on “many topics” being discussed in a possible memorandum of understanding, but warned that differences remain and no final agreement is close yet.

The comments came after U.S. President Donald Trump said he had instructed negotiators not to rush into an agreement, saying “time is on our side.”

According to reports, the talks involve:

• Extending and stabilizing the current ceasefire,
• Reopening the Strait of Hormuz,
• Easing some sanctions and trade restrictions,
• And broader regional security arrangements.

Iranian officials say changing U.S. positions and disagreements over key issues are slowing progress. Washington has continued insisting on major limits to Iran’s nuclear activities and regional military influence, while Tehran wants guarantees against future military action and sanctions pressure.

Despite the cautious tone, both sides appear to be keeping diplomatic channels open through intermediaries including Oman and Pakistan. Analysts say neither Tehran nor Washington currently wants a return to full-scale escalation, especially with global energy markets sensitive to instability around the Persian Gulf.

During the press conference, Baqaei insisted that the framework being drafted “is focused on ending the war” across the region, including in Lebanon.

He reiterated that details on Iran’s nuclear programme — a key sticking point for Washington — were not included and that the issue would only be discussed after the two sides agree on the framework.

Clauses on ending the US naval blockade on Iranian ports, in place since April 13, and arrangements on the strategic Strait of Hormuz were included, he said.

“US actions under the title of a naval blockade must be stopped, and at the same time, the Islamic Republic of Iran will take the necessary measures for safe transit in the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.

Iran, which has only allowed a trickle of ships to pass through the strait, has insisted that vessels obtain permission from its armed forces before transiting the waterway.

Baqaei said Iran was not imposing tolls on ships transiting the strait but rather collecting fees for “navigational services”.

“The services that are provided — navigational services in addition to the measures necessary to protect the environment of the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman — require the collection of certain fees,” he said, adding that Iran was “not seeking to collect tolls”.

The death toll from the collapse of a nine-storey building under construction in the Philippines has risen to four, while 17 people are still missing as rescue teams continue searching through the rubble in Angeles City, north of Manila.

Authorities said most of the missing are construction workers who were sleeping inside the unfinished hotel building when it collapsed early Sunday after severe thunderstorms. Rescue crews have managed to pull at least 26 people from the site alive so far.

One of the victims was a Malaysian tourist staying at a nearby budget inn that was struck by falling debris when the structure came down. Emergency teams are using K9 dogs, thermal scanners, heartbeat detectors, and manual digging because unstable concrete slabs and twisted steel make heavy machinery dangerous to use.

Officials said the building had previously faced safety concerns. Labor inspectors reportedly halted construction in 2024 over violations including missing safety gear and unsafe working conditions before work later resumed after compliance measures were introduced.

Police and local authorities have opened an investigation into possible violations of building and construction regulations, including reports that an unapproved tenth-floor swimming pool was being added to the project.

One of the victims had a pulse when he was retrieved but later died while another suffered cardiac arrest while still trapped, Maria Leah Sajili, an information officer at the Bureau of Fire Protection, said in a phone interview.

Crews pulled the body of another person from the rubble, but it was not immediately clear if the unidentified body belonged to a person listed among the missing, rescuers said in an updated toll.

Sajili said: “Rescue in [a] building collapse is very challenging since any sudden shift triggered by the movements of our rescuers can cause areas to move and people under can get crushed.”

Sudden movements “may also bury our responders”, she said, explaining why this phase of the operation has to be done mostly manually.

If no more survivors are found, mechanical diggers and other heavy equipment will be brought in to clear debris and recover bodies, she said, but gave no timeline.

The cause of the collapse was not immediately clear.

Angeles Mayor Carmelo Lazatin told reporters that authorities were trying to locate the building owner to get answers, including clarity on the number of workers at the site.

A large-scale Russian missile and drone assault on Ukraine has killed at least four people and injured dozens more, with Kyiv suffering some of the heaviest damage in recent months. Ukrainian officials said Russia launched around 90 missiles and 600 drones overnight in one of the biggest aerial attacks of the war this year.

The strikes hit residential buildings, schools, markets, water infrastructure, and commercial areas across Kyiv and surrounding regions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said about 100 people were injured nationwide, while emergency crews battled fires and searched damaged buildings for survivors.

Russia reportedly used its Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile during the assault, marking another rare deployment of the nuclear-capable weapon. Ukrainian officials said the missile struck the city of Bila Tserkva south of Kyiv.

Moscow said the bombardment was retaliation for a Ukrainian drone attack on a student dormitory in Russian-controlled Luhansk that Russia says killed civilians. Ukraine denies deliberately targeting civilians and says it struck a military drone command facility.

The attacks come as peace negotiations remain stalled and international concern grows over further escalation. European leaders condemned the strikes, while NATO countries reportedly increased air-defense readiness near the alliance’s eastern borders.

Both French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz condemned the reported use of the weapon, while EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas described it as a “political scare-tactic and reckless nuclear-brinkmanship”.

UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper lamented the “awful scenes” in Kyiv and vowed to “keep up pressure on Russia”.

Vitali Klitschko, Kyiv’s mayor, said two people had been killed in the capital and 56 wounded, while the head of the surrounding Kyiv region said two people had also been killed there, and nine wounded, based on preliminary estimates.

Klitschko said damage had been recorded in every district of Kyiv, adding that an attack on a school had started a fire and another on a business centre led to people being trapped in a shelter.

Svitlana Onofryichuk, a Kyiv resident who had worked for 22 years in the market that was hit, told the Associated Press: “It was a terrible night and there has never been anything like it in the entire war.