Fresh Start: Podcast News (4/1/2019 Mon.)
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Welcome to Fresh Start.

This is People’s Daily app.

Here are today’s picks from our editors.

Chinese president sends congratulations on 30th Arab League Summit

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Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday sent a congratulatory message to Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi, the rotating president of the Council of the Arab League (AL), on the 30th Arab League Summit in Tunis.

He also noted that the AL has been advocating political solutions to pressing issues and contributing to the unification and self-improvement of the Arab world.

China is willing to work with the AL to enhance strategic mutual trust, promote practical cooperation, strengthen people-to-people exchanges and implement the Declaration of Action on Sino-Arab Belt and Road Cooperation, said Xi. (Xinhua)

Major museums in Beijing to join exhibition in Xiong'an New Area

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Three major museums in Beijing, including the Palace Museum and the National Museum of China, will take part in an exhibition held at a cultural festival in Xiong'an New Area, Hebei Province, in April.

The museums will display cultural relics and creative cultural products at the festival, scheduled from April 26 to 28.

The festival will feature performances showcasing the intangible cultural heritage of Xiong'an, Beijing Daily reported. (Xinhua)

China launches new data relay satellite

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China sent a new data relay satellite into orbit from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Southwest China's Sichuan Province late Sunday night.

The Tianlian II-01 satellite was launched just before midnight by a Long March-3B carrier rocket.

As the first satellite to constitute China's second-generation data relay satellite network, the Tianlian II-01 will provide data relay, measurement and control, transmission services for manned spacecraft, satellites, carrier rockets and other non-spacecraft users. (Xinhua)

State of emergency announced in Iran's flood-hit southwestern province

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Iran's southwestern province of Khuzestan on Sunday announced a state of emergency amid heavy rains and the likelihood of flooding through Monday, official IRNA news agency reported.

Iranian authorities have also issued alerts to the residents living in rural areas in the western provinces to stay away from all river banks.

In the past week, floods and landslides killed at least 44 people and injured 265. (Xinhua)

Bangladesh arrests owners of blaze-hit Dhaka tower

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Police in Bangladesh said Sunday they had arrested the owners of an office tower in Dhaka that caught fire earlier this week, killing 26 people.

Police said they had detained two men, S.M.H.I. Faruque and Tasvir Ul Islam -- who is district leader of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) -- in the capital, after filing charges against them for criminal negligence.

The arrests came as a senior minister called the fire an act of murder amid growing public clamor for better building safety standards. (AFP)

China's new national standards on electric bicycles to be implemented in April

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China will start implementing the new national standards for electric bicycles beginning April 15.

Market regulators across the country are asked to step up management of compulsory certification for electric bicycles, according to a document jointly issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Ministry of Public Security.

They are also asked to check businesses for manufacturing or selling products that do not comply with the new standards and prevent such products from being certified or entering the market, the document said. (China Daily)

Teenager migrants charged with hijacking ship

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Three African teenagers rescued at sea have been charged with hijacking a commercial tanker to force it to change course to Malta.

The Turkish tanker, the El Hiblu 1 was seized by a group of migrants of a larger group of 108 whom it rescued at the sea within Libya's search and rescue zone on Wednesday.

The migrants reportedly threatened the crew and forced it to change direction once they realized they would be returned to Libya.

The three teenagers, aged 15, 16 and 19, appeared in court Saturday to face charges for unlawfully seizing control of the ship, a crime under Maltese law that is punishable by a jail term between seven and 30 years. (Xinhua)

Thanks for listening and be sure to catch us tomorrow.

And now for the Question of the Day:

What is Bryology?

(Answer: Bryology is the study of nonvascular complex plant, like mosses.)

Today’s quote is from American musician Duke Ellington (1899-1974). 

"A problem is a chance for you to do your best."

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