Fresh Start: Podcast News (1/19/2019 Sat.)
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Welcome to Fresh Start.

This is People's Daily app.

Here are today's picks from our editors. 

Xi urges new, greater progress in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei coordinated development

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Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged more efforts to achieve new, greater progress in the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks during an inspection tour of the region from Wednesday to Friday.

On Wednesday morning, Xi visited the exhibition center for the planning of the Xiongan New Area and stressed that the creation of Xiongan is "a strategy that will have lasting importance for the millennium to come."

China should remain committed to the new development concept and stick to the high-quality growth when building the new area, Xi said.

Visiting the campus of Nankai University in Tianjin Thursday morning, Xi said it is a priority to nurture patriotism among students for them to become a new generation of capable young people well-prepared to join the socialist cause.

On Friday morning, while visiting the sub-center of Beijing, Xi stressed that planning should take precedence over the construction of the sub-center while quality should be the top priority. (Xinhua) 

China expects 3 bln trips for upcoming Spring Festival

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China is expected to see an increased number of trips during the upcoming Spring Festival travel rush, Lian Weiliang, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission, said Friday.

During the 40-day travel rush from Jan. 21 to March 1, travelers are expected to make 2.99 billion trips, up 0.6 percent year-on-year, Lian told a press conference.

To enhance railway transportation capability, a total of 4,787 and 4,860 two-way train services will be scheduled daily before and after the festival respectively, up 5.4 percent and 5.2 percent compared with the same period last year, according to Lian.

At the same time, the aviation authority plans to schedule 532,000 flights during the travel rush, an increase of 10 percent year on year. (Xinhua) 

Biological experiment on moon went as planned, chief engineer says

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The biological experiment onboard the Chang'e 4 probe has ended as planned, and the data collected is "invaluable in improving the experiment and possibly making the moon habitable for humans," the project's chief engineer Xie Gengxin said on Friday.

Despite huge temperature changes, strong radiation and a vacuum on the moon, tender green shoots of cotton have sprouted in a sealed can there, marking China's successful development of the first plant growth on the lunar surface, Xie said. (Xinhua) 

2 pilots of crashed Russian fighter jets rescued: defense ministry

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Two pilots have been found and rescued at sea following a collision between two Su-34 fighter jets over the Sea of Japan, the Russian Defense Ministry said Friday.

Earlier, the ministry said the two planes of the Russian Air Force collided while maneuvering during a training flight over the Sea of Japan. It said the planes performed the flights without ammunition and the crews managed to eject safely. (Xinhua) 

Congress to probe report that Trump directed lawyer to lie

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House intelligence committee chairman Adam Schiff said he will “do what is necessary” to confirm a published report that President Donald Trump directed his personal attorney Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about negotiations over a real estate project in Moscow during the 2016 election.

The report by BuzzFeed News, citing two unnamed law enforcement officials, says that Trump directed Cohen to lie to Congress and that Cohen regularly briefed Trump on the Moscow project. (AP) 

Tesla announces 7 percent cut to workforce

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Elon Musk's electric car manufacturer Tesla announced Friday it is cutting its workforce by about seven percent as it works to meet its timetable for producing the Model 3.

Musk said Tesla is making the staff cuts as it aims to reach more customers who can afford its vehicles.

He said that currently Tesla's most affordable offering is the mid-range (264 mile) Model 3 at $44,000. (AFP) 

White House says 2nd Trump-Kim summit to happen near the end of February

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The White House said Friday that the second summit between US President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), "will take place near the end of February."

The announcement was made after Trump wrapped up a meeting at the Oval Office with Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of the DPRK's ruling Korean Workers' Party Central Committee.

"President Donald J. Trump met with Kim Yong Chol for an hour and a half, to discuss denuclearization and a second summit, which will take place near the end of February," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

"The President looks forward to meeting with Chairman Kim at a place to be announced at a later date," she said. (Xinhua)

Thanks for listening and be sure to catch us tomorrow.

And now for the Question of the Day:

What vitamin in carrots is said to aid vision?

(Answer: Vitamin A.)

Today's quote is from Lebanese poet Khalil Gibran (1883-1931).

"Yesterday is today's memory, and tomorrow is today's dream."

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