Fresh Start: Podcast News (11/23/2019 Sat.)
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Welcome to Fresh Start.

This is People’s Daily app. 

Here are today’s picks from our editors.

China standardizes civil, administrative legal aid services

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China's Ministry of Justice on Friday released a national standard for legal aid for civil and administrative cases to improve the quality of such services.

The document standardizes various aspects of legal aid services, including service principles, types of services and quality control of the services.

The document requires service providers to answer consultation letters within seven working days. For online consultations, questions by mail should be answered within 24 hours, and online questions should be answered within five hours.

The document also lists the relevant obligations of the applicants and recipients, including providing honest and necessary personal information. (Xinhua)

China starts building first 'three-in-one' bridge over Yangtze River

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China on Friday started construction of the first bridge that integrates an expressway, an ordinary highway and an inter-city railway on the Yangtze River, the world's third longest river.

The 10-km bridge links Changzhou and Taizhou, two cities in east China's Jiangsu Province.

While the top deck of the bridge is a six-lane expressway, the bottom deck juxtaposes a four-lane ordinary highway and a double-track railway, said the bridge’s designer. (Xinhua)

Massive air defense drills underway in central Iran

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Drills, codenamed Guardians of Velayat's Sky-98, entered their second day on Friday in the central Iranian province of Semnan, according to Fars news agency.

The drills aim to boost combat readiness over potential threats in the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, said the report.

Iranian air defense units started the large-scale military exercises with various types of state-of-the-art missile and radar systems, designed and built at home, boasting their counteroffensive power against different aerial threats, it said. (Xinhua)

Boeing settles half of lawsuits tied to Indonesian crash

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Boeing has settled about half of the lawsuits filed in federal court over the October 2018 crash of a 737 Max jet off the coast of Indonesia.

A Boeing spokesman said Friday that the company has settled 63 cases tied to the crash of a plane flown by Indonesia’s Lion Air.

The company did not disclose terms of the settlements.

Many of the lawsuits blame Boeing for not telling pilots about a new flight-control system that repeatedly pushed the nose of the plane down before it crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all 189 aboard. (AP)

Milan hospital displays X-rays of women attacked by men

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A hospital in the Italian city of Milan is exhibiting X-rays of women attacked by men to highlight what one doctor calls the “daily horror” of violence against women.

The San Carlo Hospital mounted the exhibit in its atrium to coincide with International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, which takes place on Monday.

Patients’ anonymity was respected in putting the five X-rays on display, including one showing the large blade of a knife lodged in a woman’s abdomen. Other X-rays show fractured limbs, including a shin bone broken in two. (AP)

NASA's InSight lander heat probe resumes working on Mars

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NASA's InSight lander has resumed its heat flow probe digging on Mars again after months of efforts, the mission team said on Twitter.

The heat probe, also known as the "mole," was designed to dig below the Martian surface and measure the heat coming from inside the Red Planet. However, the mole has not been able to dig deeper than about 30 cm below the Martian surface since February.

Using InSight's robotic arm to put pressure on the mole from the side has helped it move down about 32 millimeters, said the team. (Xinhua)

Victoria's Secret holiday fashion show canceled

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The annual Victoria's Secret fashion show will not be held this holiday season, parent L Brands Inc said on Thursday. 

The decision comes after the apparel retailer said in May the TV special was not going to be part of network television as the company evaluates its marketing strategy for the show.

The brand was once the destination for all things lingerie and has been losing customers as more women shift to cheaper bralettes and sports bras from companies like American Eagle Outfitter's Aerie and pop singer Rihanna's lingerie line, Savage X Fenty. 

Television audiences for the show also have slumped in the last few years. (CGTN)

Thanks for listening and be sure to catch us tomorrow.

And now for the Question of the Day:

Which chemical causes the burning taste sensation when eating chilies?

(Answer: Capsaicin.) 

Today’s quote is from American boxer Muhammad Ali (1942 - 2016). 

"Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee."

(Produced by Nancy Yan Xu, Ryan Yaoran Yu, Brian Lowe, and Elaine Yue Lin. Music by Eugene Loner.)