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Here are today’s picks from our editors.

CPC Central Committee issues regulation on selection of officials

The Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee has released a revised regulation on the selection and appointment of Party and government officials, according to a CPC Central Committee circular.

Calling it an important intra-Party regulation, the regulation underlined the need to uphold and strengthen overall Party leadership, adhere to putting political standards first, and absorb the achievements made on selection and appointment of officials since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012.

The regulation, which was revised to respond to new problems under new circumstances, is of great significance to foster a contingent of competent and professional officials who were loyal to the Party, had moral integrity, and demonstrated a keen sense of responsibility, according to the circular. (Xinhua)

China steps up protection of forests, grassland

China channeled more energy into the protection of forests and grassland last year, an official report showed.

The National Forestry and Grassland Administration (NFGA) cracked down on violations such as illegal logging in 2018 as a special campaign code-named "Hurricane No.1" was launched and fines totaling almost $250 million dollars were imposed in 183,000 forests-related cases.

About 207,000 cubic meters of timber and 175,000 wild animals were confiscated in those cases, and 15,000 hectares of forests and 863 hectares of national reserves were recovered. (Xinhua)

DPRK, US do not want to go back to past confrontation, tension: South Korea's Blue House

Both the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the US did not want to go back to past confrontation and tension, South Korea's presidential Blue House said Sunday.

Both Pyongyang and Washington saw that they had moved forward so deeply that it would actually be hard to go back to the past, the Blue House said.

The Blue House noted the South Korean government will make best efforts to help resume the DPRK-US negotiations as soon as possible in close cooperation with the US while encouraging the DPRK to stay on the dialogue track. (Xinhua)

Ethiopians hold mass funeral ceremony for crash victims

Thousands mourned the Ethiopian plane crash victims on Sunday.

The service came one day after officials began delivering bags of earth to family members of the 157 victims of the crash instead of the remains of their loved ones because the identification process is expected to take such a long time.

Family members confirmed they were given a 1 kilogram sack of scorched earth taken from the crash site.

French investigators said Saturday night that they had successfully downloaded the cockpit recorder data and had transferred it to the Ethiopian investigation team without listening to the audio files. Work on the flight data recorder resumed Sunday but no additional details were given. (AP)

Paris cleans up riot debris as support fades for protesters

Business owners, city employees and construction workers dug in Sunday to clean up one of the world’s most glamorous avenues, after riots by ultraviolent yellow vest protesters trashed the Champs-Elysees in Paris to express anger at French President Emmanuel Macron’s economic policies.

Images of the destruction have shocked France and seem to be further eroding public support for the fizzling four-month-old movement.

Authorities and some protesters blamed extremists who come to demonstrations with the goal of attacking police and damaging property. (AP)

Rule of chess game's ancestor found in 2,000-year-old Chinese tomb

An ancient Chinese board game manual of liubo, ancestor of today's chess games, was first found in one of the most well-known 2,000-year-old tombs in China.

Thousands of bamboo slips, which were unearthed in 2015 from the renowned Haihun Marquis tomb from the Han Dynasty (206BC-AD220), recently confirmed to be inscribed with rules and guides of liubo chess, Beijing Youth Daily reported on Saturday.

The tomb is located in Nanchang, East China's Jiangxi Province.

Yang Jun, head of the archeological team responsible for the tomb, said that with the playing method, liubo chess can be turned into creative products open to the public. (Global Times)

'Captain Marvel' soars even higher with stellar 2nd weekend

"Captain Marvel" has continued to dominate the global box office in its second weekend in theaters, leaving newcomers in the dust.

Walt Disney Studios estimated Sunday that the intergalactic superhero fell only 55 percent from its record-breaking opening. This weekend, “Captain Marvel” earned an additional $69.3 million from North American theaters and $120 million internationally, bringing its global grosses to $760 million.

In a very distant second, Paramount’s animated family film “Wonder Park” struggled with $16 million dollars against a reported $100 million budget. (AP)

Thanks for listening and be sure to catch us tomorrow.

And now for the Question of the Day:

What nationality was the explorer Christopher Columbus?

(Answer: Italian)

Today’s quote is from Irish poet William Butler Yeats (1865-1939).

" There are no strangers here; Only friends you haven't yet met."

(Produced by Nancy Yan Xu, Ryan Yaoran Yu, Lance Crayon, and Da Hang. Music by Eugene Loner.)