Fresh Start: Podcast News (1/11/2019 Fri.)
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Welcome to Fresh Start.

This is People’s Daily app.

Here are today’s picks from our editors. 

Chinese VP urges dialogue, consultations for healthy, stable China-US ties

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China and the United States should respect each other's sovereignty, security and development interests and properly handle and control differences through dialogue and consultations, which is key to the healthy and stable development of bilateral relations, Vice President Wang Qishan said Thursday.

The remarks came as Wang attended a reception marking the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Recently, Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump have met each other, had a phone call, and exchanged congratulatory letters on the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, pointing the way for the two sides to further promote bilateral ties, Wang said.

He called on the two sides to keep in mind the original aspirations of the establishment of diplomatic relations, and stick to the keynote of coordination, cooperation, and stability to benefit the two countries as well as the world. (Xinhua) 

China to grant temporary 5G licenses

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This year China will grant temporary 5G licenses to promote the application and development of fifth-generation mobile communication technology, said the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Thursday.

Ministry head Miao Wei said the licenses will be allocated in cities to enable large-scale 5G network development in key regions.

The ministry will also accelerate efforts to push forward the development of 5G hardware, including smartphones, Miao said. (China Plus) 

Pompeo says US to remain partner in Middle East crushing terrorism

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US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a joint press conference with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shokri on Thursday that the US will remain a steadfast partner in the Middle East to crush terrorism.

"We destroyed 99 percent of the Islamic State (IS) in Syria and will continue to eradicate it from the entire world," he added.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Pompeo asserted the depth of the longstanding strategic partnership between both countries, said Presidential Spokesman Bassam Radi. (Xinhua) 

Trump threatens emergency declaration to build border wall

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US President Donald Trump threatened on Thursday to declare a national emergency to circumvent Congress if he can’t reach a deal with Democrats to fund his promised border wall. 

"I'm not prepared to do that yet, but if I have to I will," Trump said. He contends such a declaration would allow him to direct the military to begin wall construction.

Democrats say they favor measures to bolster border security but oppose the long, impregnable walling that Trump envisions. He is asking $5.7 billion for wall construction.

Trump also said Thursday he will skip the annual international conference at Davos, Switzerland if a government shutdown caused by the row over his demand for a US-Mexico wall isn't resolved. (AP-AFP) 

German airports strike slashes hundreds flights

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On Thursday, hundreds of flights were canceled as security staff went on strike at three airports, meaning disruption for around 100,000 passengers.

Duesseldorf -- the country's third-largest airport -- said in a statement that 370 of Thursday's 580 planned departures had to be canceled.

Representing 23,000 airport security staff across Germany, union Verdi is demanding a pay increase of 20 euros ($23.08) per hour from the present rate of 17 euros or almost 18 percent.

Employers' association BDLS meanwhile is offering increases between two and eight percent. (AFP) 

HK, Macao, Taiwan residents allowed to apply for mainland teaching qualification

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Residents of Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan are allowed to sign up and sit for teaching qualification exams for primary and middle school teachers in the Chinese mainland, according to the website of the Ministry of Education (MOE) Thursday.

They are also allowed to apply for teaching qualifications for kindergarten or secondary vocational school teachers, said the website, quoting a circular jointly issued by the general office of the MOE as well as two departments under the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council.

The circular said the applicants should meet the educational background requirements stipulated in the country's Teachers Law, and there are also requirements regarding their standard Mandarin Chinese proficiency. (Xinhua) 

'Repeating' radio waves from deep space baffle scientists

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Astronomers in Canada have detected a mysterious volley of radio waves from far outside our galaxy, according to two studies published Wednesday in Nature.

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) flash only for a micro-instant but can emit as much energy as the Sun does in 10,000 years.

Exactly what causes these high-energy surges of long waves at the far end of the electromagnetic spectrum remains the subject of intense debate. (AFP) 

Thanks for listening and be sure to catch us tomorrow.

And now for the Question of the Day:

What deer is not actually a deer but a member of the caribou family?

(Answer: Reindeer.)

Today's quote is from English poet Herbert Read (1893-1968).

"Art is pattern informed by sensibility."

(Produced by Nancy Yan Xu, Ryan Yaoran Yu, Lance Crayon, Elaine Yue Lin, and Chelle Wenqian Zeng.)