Welcome to Fresh Start.

This is People's Daily app.

Here are today's picks from our editors. 

China to launch Chang'e 5 mission to moon by year-end

Wu Yanhua, deputy head of the China National Space Administration said at a news conference Monday the next step in China's lunar exploration program, the Chang'e 5 mission, will take place around the end of the year.

The Chang'e 5 robotic probe is designed to collect samples and bring them back to Earth, which will make China the third nation in the world to bring lunar samples back after the US and Russia.

Wu also said the country's first Mars mission is scheduled around 2020. (China Daily) 

China opposes foreign participation in Taiwan submarine production

China on Monday expressed stern opposition to participation by the US and other countries in Taiwan's submarine production project.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying made the remarks when responding to media reports saying the US has permitted some of its military enterprises to export technology to help Taiwan build submarines.

China's firm opposition to any countries' arms sales and military relations with Taiwan in any forms is consistent and clear-cut, Hua stressed at a regular press briefing.

"We urge the United States and other relevant countries to fully understand how sensitive and harmful this matter is," Hua added.

She urged these countries to adhere to the one-China principle and not to allow their enterprises to take part in Taiwan's submarine manufacture project in any forms. (Xinhua) 

Trump rejects suggested short-term government shutdown fix

US President Donald Trump on Monday rejected the suggestion that he temporarily reopen government while negotiations continue on his proposed border wall, signaling no speedy resolution to the partial government shutdown now into a fourth week.

From the White House, Trump argued that he alone was ready to negotiate, noting that a group of House and Senate Democrats were touring hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico.

"A lot of the Democrats were in Puerto Rico celebrating something. I don't know, maybe they're celebrating the shutdown," Trump said. (AP) 

Trump says US will hurt Turkey economically if it hits Kurds

US President Donald Trump's warning that if Turkey attacks US-backed Kurdish forces in Syria, the United States will "devastate Turkey economically" has drawn a sharp response from Ankara and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman.

Turkey's presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin responded to Trump on Twitter and said, "Terrorists can't be your partners and allies." He also insisted that Turkey "fights against terrorists, not Kurds" as a people.

Trump's decision to pull American troops out of Syria has left the United States' Kurdish allies in the war against the Islamic State group vulnerable to an attack from Turkey. (AP)

ID required to buy fireworks in Beijing

Buyers must use their ID cards to buy fireworks in Beijing during the upcoming Spring Festival, a city official said recently, which is the latest measure to control fireworks after placing bans on the materials in special regions across the city.

Tang Mingming, an official from the Beijing Emergency Management Bureau, said the city will cut the retail outlets of fireworks from around 80 to 30, with no outlets within the 5th Ring Road, and sales will only take place from Jan 30 to Feb 9.

Each outlet will be equipped with special devices to identify buyers with their ID cards, and if safety problems occur, the buyers will be punished, Tang said.

Beijing has already banned fireworks within the 5th Ring Road in recent years, and some districts also have banned fireworks in certain regions.

Tang said the Tongzhou District, Beijing's sub-center, will completely ban fireworks this year. (China Daily) 

Zhangjiakou stadiums to be completed this year ahead of 2022 Winter Olympics

Major structural construction of stadiums in Zhangjiakou, a host city for the 2022 Winter Olympics, is expected to finish this year.

Xu Qin, governor of North China's Hebei Province where Zhangjiakou is located, made the announcement Monday when delivering a government work report at the opening of the local legislative session.

According to the report, the high-speed railway line connecting Beijing and Zhangjiakou will open this year, and operation of the expressway between Beijing's Yanqing and Zhangjiakou's Chongli, two major venues for the 2022 Winter Olympics, will also launch this year. (Xinhua) 

First birthday of baby giant panda celebrated in Malaysia

The second giant panda born in Malaysia celebrated her first birthday at the Malaysian National Zoo on Monday.

Members of the public cheered as zookeepers attempted to feed cake to the one-year-old giant panda, but she coyly refused and insisted on bamboo instead.

The female giant panda is with her mother, Liang Liang, at the giant panda conservation center in the zoo.

The baby giant panda, born last January, is the second offspring of her parents Xing Xing and Liang Liang who arrived in Malaysia in 2014. (Xinhua) 

Thanks for listening and be sure to catch us tomorrow.

And now for the Question of the Day:

How does a tornado start?

(Answer: Tornadoes start over very hot ground where warm air rises quickly and makes a spinning funnel.)

Today's quote is from American novelist Theodore Dreiser (1871-1945).

"Art is the stored honey of the human soul, gathered on wings of misery and travail."

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