China's former Vice Premier Liu Yandong dies at 80

Liu Yandong, former Vice Premier of China and a former member of the elite Politburo, passed away aged 80 in Beijing on Wednesday, state-run Xinhua reported. She was ​regarded as the most ​prominent and highest-ranking female official in China during much ​of her tenure. Liu was among the few women to serve as a full Politburo member since 1949.