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Here are today’s picks from our editors.

Xi pledges further development of China-Algeria strategic partnership

Thursday marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relationship between the two countries.

In a congratulatory message to his Algerian counterpart, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Xi said China and Algeria have enjoyed profound traditional friendship, and China is the first non-Arab country to have recognized Algeria while Algeria is one of the first African countries to establish diplomatic ties with China.

Xi voiced hope that the two sides will take the anniversary as a new starting point in a joint effort to promote their friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation so as to lift their strategic partnership to a higher level and bring more benefits to the two countries and their peoples.

Bouteflika, in his message, said Algeria is willing to further consolidate political mutual trust with China, actively participate in the Belt and Road construction, and support the building of a community of shared future for mankind so as to lift the two nations' comprehensive strategic partnership to a higher level. (Xinhua)

‘Striving’ chosen as Chinese character of 2018

"Striving" and "the 40th anniversary of reform and opening-up" have been respectively chosen as the Chinese Character and Word of the Year 2018, according to a survey released Thursday.

The survey also chose "exit" and "trade friction" as the international Chinese Character and Word of the Year for 2018.

The winning characters and words were chosen from several thousand recommendations and based on hundreds of thousands of votes by netizens. (Xinhua)

Qualcomm wins Apple case, could lead to iPhone ban in Germany: court

A German court on Thursday ruled in favor of US chipmaker Qualcomm in a patent dispute case against Apple, which could lead to a ban on iPhones sales in Germany.

"The ruling effectively outlaws the offering and placing on the market of the finished product in Germany, including the sale. The iPhones 7plus, 7, 8, 8plus and X are affected," said Munich’s regional court in a statement.

The two Californian tech giants have been locked in a long-running battle over patents and royalties that has played out in courts and administrative bodies worldwide. (AFP)

DPRK official media says no denuclearization until US removes 'nuclear threats'

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will not give up its nuclear weapons until the US has stopped making regional nuclear threats, the country's official media said Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Korean Central News Agency said the door is still open for dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington to work together to solve the nuclear issue.

It is a self-evident truth that the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula can only be realized via joint efforts by the DPRK and the US, it said. (Xinhua)

NASA astronaut, crewmates return to Earth after 197-day mission in space

Three members of the International Space Station's Expedition 57 crew, including NASA astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor, returned to Earth Thursday, safely landing at 11:02 am in Kazakhstan.

Auñón-Chancellor and her crewmates, Expedition 57 Commander Alexander Gerst of ESA (European Space Agency) and Soyuz Commander Sergey Prokopyev, launched June 6th and arrived at the space station two days later to begin their mission.

During the 197-day mission, the crew circled the globe 3,152 times, covering 83.3 million miles. (AP)

Japan considers leaving IWC to resume commercial whale hunts

Japan is considering leaving the International Whaling Commission to resume commercial hunts, the Fisheries Agency said Thursday.

Japan’s request for a resumption of commercial whaling was most recently denied at the IWC meeting in September. IWC imposed a moratorium on commercial whaling in the 1980s due to dwindling stocks.

Japan has since switched to what it calls research whaling, and says stocks have recovered enough that commercial hunts should resume. (AP)

VW chairman warns of job losses due to new European CO2 limits

Volkswagen chairman Herbert Diess on Thursday warned of job cuts due to the new tightened CO2 emission thresholds for new cars from the European Union.

Earlier this week, the EU council and parliament members agreed to lower the CO2 threshold for new cars by 37.5 percent by 2030. Germany had initially targeted a reduction of only 30 percent, while the EU parliament called for a 40 percent reduction by 2030.

"Entry mobility" would become much more expensive due to "costly batteries and CO2 fines for conventional cars" which would "cost jobs on a scale that we would not be able to reduce during this period through early retirement regulations," Diess said in an interview with German media. (Xinhua)

Thanks for listening and be sure to catch us tomorrow.

And now for the Question of the Day:

What is the world’s largest land-based carnivore?

(Answer: Polar Bear.)

Today's quote is from American clergyman Hosea Ballou (1771-1852).

"Doubt is the incentive to truth and inquiry leads the way."

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