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Here are today’s picks from our editors.

Xi stresses strict criteria, fairness in appointing officials

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, has stressed the importance of applying strict criteria and fairness in the appointment of officials, expanding the way of thinking in the process and doing more to motivate them.

Presiding over a group study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on Monday, Xi said it is important to create a contingent of high-caliber officials who are loyal to the Party, have moral integrity and demonstrate a keen sense of responsibility.

Xi stressed using strict criteria to select officials on the basis of both their moral integrity and their professional competence. He said the Party has always emphasized the need for officials to have both moral integrity and professional competence, with greater priority on the former, which include political integrity, work ethics, public ethical standards, and family values. (Xinhua)

Ukrainian army on full combat alert over tensions with Russia in Sea of Azov

The Ukrainian armed forces were put on full combat alert over the situation in the Sea of Azov, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said Monday in a statement on Facebook.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Monday signed a decree approving a decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) on imposing martial law in the country for 60 days, the presidential press service said.

On Sunday, the Ukrainian Navy said that Russian forces opened fire and seized three Ukrainian ships near the Kerch Strait.

Six Ukrainian military sailors were wounded in the attack and two of them were in serious condition, the Ukrainian Navy said. (Xinhua)

Museum to unveil Confucius family mystery

A Confucius museum designed to house 690,000 cultural relics from the Confucius Family Mansion opened to the public Monday in Qufu, the birthplace of Confucius in East China's Shandong Province.

The first 2,000 relics, including a set of bronze sacrificial utensils from the Shang and Zhou Dynasties (1600-256 BC) and well-preserved imperial robes from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), went on public display for the first time during the museum’s trial operation.

The first group of relics has an estimated value of over $57.6 million. The remaining relics will be transported to the museum and displayed later. (Xinhua)

Israel arrests senior security official of leading airline over suspected cocaine smuggling

A senior security official with Israel's leading airline El Al was arrested along with three others over suspected involvement in cocaine smuggling, Israeli police said Monday.

The main suspect, Rami Yogev, serves a classified and sensitive security position in El Al, with responsibilities including coordination between Israel's Shin Bet security agency and the company's overseas missions. He has been working at El Al for 25 years.

Suspicion arose that Yogev took advantage of his position and the company's aircraft in heading a smuggling network. (Xinhua)

GM to slash 14,700 jobs in North America

General Motors will lay off 14,700 factory and white-collar workers in North America and put five plants up for possible closure as it restructures to cut costs and focus more on autonomous and electric vehicles.

The reduction includes 8,100 white-collar workers, some of whom will take buyouts and others who will be laid off.

Most of the affected factories build cars that won't be sold in the US after next year. They could close or they could get different vehicles to build. (AP)

UAE pardons British student sentenced to life for spying

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) said on Monday the country has pardoned British student Matthew Hedges who was sentenced to life in prison for spying.

Hedges will be set free and be allowed to leave the UAE, according to Emirates News Agency.

UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said the decision to grant the pardon underlies the fundamental strength of UAE-Britain ties.

The Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeals last week sentenced Hedges, a 31-year-old PhD student at Durham University, to life in jail on charges that he was spying for Britain. (Xinhua)

Dictionary.com chooses 'misinformation' as word of the year

Misinformation, as opposed to disinformation, was chosen Monday as Dictionary.com's word of the year.

Jane Solomon, a linguist-in-residence at Dictionary, said in an interview that her site's choice of "mis" over "dis" was deliberate, intended to serve as a "call to action" to be vigilant in the battle against fake news, flat-Earthers and anti-vaxxers, among other conduits.

"The rampant spread of misinformation is really providing new challenges for navigating life in 2018," Solomon said. (AP)

Thanks for listening and be sure to catch us tomorrow.

And now for the Question of the Day:

Who wrote the novel “One Hundred Years of Solitude”?

(Answer: Gabriel García Márquez.)

Today’s quote is from Spanish artist Pablo Picasso (1881-1973).

“All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”

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