Fresh Start: Podcast News (12/17/2018 Mon.)
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Welcome to Fresh Start.

This is People’s Daily app. 

Here are today’s picks from our editors.

Xi to attend conference celebrating 40th anniversary of reform, opening-up

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President Xi Jinping will attend a conference celebrating the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening up, scheduled for Tuesday morning in Beijing.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, will deliver a speech at the conference, to be held at the Great Hall of the People at 10 am on December 18.

The event will be broadcast live by China Media Group and on Xinhua News Agency's website (xinhuanet.com). The event will also be rebroadcast simultaneously on major news websites including people.com.cn, cctv.com and china.com.cn as well as on news apps run by the People's Daily, Xinhua News Agency and China Central Television. (Xinhua)

Emergency response activated for earthquake in Southwest China

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China's emergency regulator on Sunday initiated a national emergency response for a magnitude 5.7 earthquake in Southwest China's Sichuan Province.

The Ministry of Emergency Management activated a Level-IV emergency response, and work teams have been dispatched to guide and assist emergency rescue efforts.

Early Sunday afternoon an earthquake struck Yibin in Xingwen County, Sichuan Province, with a depth of 12 km, according to local government officials.

By 5:30 pm, 16 people had been reported injured, the ministry said.

378 people were evacuated and more than 300 rescuers were sent to the site, according to local authorities. (Xinhua)

DPRK criticizes US for imposing new sanctions against its officials

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A research institute with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) issued a statement Sunday criticizing the US for imposing sanctions against DPRK officials.

"Recently, the US is resorting to an anti-DPRK human rights plot in such a way that it carries a deliberate provocation by adding high-ranking government officials of the DPRK" to its unilateral sanctions list, while taking issue with a non-existent "human rights issue," the statement pointed out.

The statement also said that it would be a miscalculation if the high-ranking politicians within the US administration wished to drive North Korea into giving up nuclear weapons by way of increasing anti-DPRK sanctions and pressure. (Xinhua)

Dozens injured in pub explosion in Japan's Sapporo

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Dozens of people were injured Sunday in an explosion at an izakaya, a Japanese-style pub, in the city of Sapporo in Japan's Northern Hokkaido prefecture.

The explosion occurred at around 8:30 pm.  

At least 42 people were injured, including one that sustained severe injuries, said the Kyodo News, quoting local police sources.

Police are investigating the cause of the incident, and residents nearby were cautioned to stay away from the site as another explosion could still occur. (Xinhua)

UN climate conference adopts rulebook for implementing Paris deal

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Negotiators from nearly 200 countries on Saturday agreed on a package of  implementation guidelines, or a common rulebook, for the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement. 

The 24th Conference of the Parties (COP 24) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), stretched beyond official closing time Friday evening, running deep into Saturday in Katowice, Poland.

The agreed "Katowice Climate Package" includes guidelines that will operationalize the transparency framework, setting out how countries will provide information about their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) that describe their domestic climate actions.

The rulebook spells out mitigation and adaptation measures as well as details of financial support for climate action in developing countries. (Xinhua)

'One of a kind' 4,400-year-old tomb discovered in Egypt

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Egypt unveiled a well-preserved 4,400-year-old tomb decorated with hieroglyphs and statues south of Cairo on Saturday.  

Officials expect more discoveries when archaeologists excavate the site further in the coming months. 

The tomb was found in a buried ridge at the ancient necropolis of Saqqara. 

It was untouched and had not looted, Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, told reporters at the site. He described the find as a "one of a kind in the last decades."

The tomb dates back to the rule of Neferirkare Kakai, the third king of the Fifth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom. (AP)

Chinese scientists find 100 million-year-old feathers

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Chinese scientists have discovered strange-shaped tail feathers in 100 million-year-old ambers which do not belong to any existing or known birds, and they believe the streamer-like feathers could have served a social function.

The 31 examined ambers contain feathers as long as 5 centimeters, suggesting the birds would be at least 10 centimeters long.

The report said the feathers could have belonged to birds transitioning from dinosaurs as they were preserved in ambers formed in today's North Myanmar about 100 million years ago. (Global Times)

Thanks for listening and be sure to catch us tomorrow.

And now for the Question of the Day:

Colombo is the largest city of which Asian country?

(Answer: Sri Lanka.)

Today’s quote is from Greek philosopher Plutarch (46-120).

"The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled."

(Produced by Nancy Yan Xu, Ryan Yaoran Yu, Lance Crayon, and Chelle Wenqian Zeng.)