June 18, Tuesday, 2019 (2:00 p.m.) Read by Ms. Fumiko Konoe and Ms. Hiroko Kitadai

1. At least 12 people are dead and many more are injured after a powerful earthquake struck China’s Sichuan province late Monday.

2. China’s Communist Party says the country’s president, Xi Jinping, will make an official visit to North Korea on Thursday and Friday.

3. U.S. Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan says he has authorized the deployment of about 1,000 additional troops to the Middle East.