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Here are today’s picks from our editors.

Chinese president arrives in Spain for state visit

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Spain on Tuesday for a three-day state visit to consolidate traditional friendship and strengthen cooperation between the two countries.

Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, were greeted by senior Spanish officials at the airport. They were also presented with flowers by Spanish children. It is the first visit by a Chinese head of state to the European nation in 13 years.

Upon arrival, Xi said China and Spain have a long history of exchanges thanks to the ancient overland and maritime Silk Road trade routes.

Xi said he looks forward to having extensive and in-depth exchanges of views with King Felipe VI, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and other leaders of Spain on bilateral relations and issues of common concern, so as to kick-start a new journey for the China-Spain comprehensive strategic partnership. (Xinhua)

China hopes for positive results from China-US leaders' meeting: FM spokesperson

China hopes the United States will meet it halfway and push the upcoming meeting between the two heads of state to achieve positive outcomes, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said on Tuesday.

When answering a question about Trump's remarks on China, in which he said it was "highly unlikely" that the United States would accept China's request to hold off on the tariff increase, Geng said that China has repeatedly stressed that the essence of China-US economic and trade cooperation was mutually beneficial and a win-win option.

China is ready to resolve economic and trade issues through dialogue and consultation on the basis of seriousness, equality and integrity, Geng said, pointing out that China will resolutely safeguard its legitimate rights and interests. (Xinhua-China Plus)

May rebukes Trump as she bids to sell Brexit deal

Theresa May rebuked Donald Trump and insisted Britain could strike trade agreements outside the EU as she launched a nationwide tour on Tuesday to whip up support for the contested Brexit divorce deal.

Trump suggested May had made a mistake by signing an agreement that might impede a future trade deal between London and Washington.

Starting her tour in Builth Wells in central Wales, May insisted Trump had not rained on her parade.

"We will have an independent trade policy and we will be able to negotiate trade deals with countries around the rest of the world," said May. (AFP)

Trump takes aim at Mueller as Russia probe moves forward

US President Donald Trump lashed out at special counsel Robert Mueller on Tuesday, a day after prosecutors accused his former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, of violating a plea agreement.

In a series of tweets, Trump called Mueller a "conflicted prosecutor gone rogue" who is "only looking at one side" in the inquiry while accusing him of causing "tremendous damage" to the nation's criminal justice system.

Mueller, who was appointed in May 2017, is looking into the alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election and any potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow, among other matters that may arise from the investigation. (Xinhua)

Scientist under fire following claims of human genetic engineering

China's National Health Commission has demanded a thorough investigation into the recent claim by a scientist in China that they genetically engineered twins to make them immune to HIV infection. A joint statement issued by 122 scientists strongly condemned the lax ethical review of the study.

Researcher He Jiankui claimed on Monday that he and his team used the CRISPR gene editing technology to remove a gene from the zygote that they believe allows a HIV infection to take hold.

The announcement regarding the experiment, which has so far not been subject to peer review by a scientific journal, has shocked the world scientific community. (China Plus)

Chinese names abundant on NASA Mars probe

Around 200,000 people from China now have a small piece of themselves on Mars.

NASA's InSight spacecraft has safely touched down on Mars after six months travel from Earth. While designed for studying the interior of the planet, InSight also carries a silicon microchip which includes the names of 2 million people from Earth on it. 200,000 of those names are from China.

The "Send Your Name to Mars" promotion was launched by NASA in 2015 as a way to generate more public interest in space exploration. (China Plus)

SpongeBob creator Stephen Hillenburg dies at 57

SpongeBob SquarePants creator Stephen Hillenburg has died at age 57.

Nickelodeon says Hillenburg died Monday of Lou Gehrig’s disease, also known as ALS.

Hillenburg conceived, wrote, produced and directed the animated series that began in 1999 and went on to spawn hundreds of episodes, movies and a Broadway show. (AP)

Thanks for listening and be sure to catch us tomorrow.

And now for the Question of the Day:

What is the hardest natural substance found on Earth?

(Answer: Diamond is the hardest naturally occurring substance found on Earth. But it is not the hardest substance.)

Today's quote is from English dramatist William Shakespeare (1564-1616).

“The course of true love never did run smooth.”

(Produced by Nancy Yan Xu, Ryan Yaoran Yu, Lance Crayon and Brian Lowe.)