Fresh Start: Podcast News (5/15/2019 Wed.)
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Welcome to Fresh Start.

This is People's Daily app.

Here are today's picks from our editors. 

Xi hosts banquet for guests attending CDAC

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Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan hosted a banquet Tuesday evening in honor of guests who are in Beijing for the upcoming Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations (CDAC).

When delivering a speech at the banquet in the Great Hall of the People, Xi said the CDAC is held in line with the general trend of cooperation and development in Asia and the expectations of people of all countries for exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations.

The conference, to kick off on Wednesday, will serve as an exchange and mutual learning platform for the common development of various civilizations, Xi said.

Noting that Asia is a major birthplace of human civilization, Xi said Asian civilizations have exchanged amid openness, grown together thanks to inclusiveness, and developed through innovation, to become splendid on the world stage. (Xinhua) 

China submits WTO reform proposal, identifying 4 priorities

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China is willing to work with all parties to advance reform of the World Trade Organization (WTO) so that the organization can play a bigger role in global economic governance, the Ministry of Commerce said Tuesday.

Sources with the Department of WTO Affairs said China formally submitted a WTO reform proposal on May 13.

In the document, China identifies four items that deserve major action: tackling the essential and pressing issues threatening the existence of the organization, increasing WTO relevance on global economic governance, improving the organization's operating efficiency, and increasing the inclusiveness of the multilateral trade mechanism. (Xinhua) 

No request for Putin-Trump meeting yet from Washington: Kremlin

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Washington has yet to request a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump at the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan next month, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday.

Peskov told reporters the Kremlin had noted Trump's statement on Monday that he intended to meet Putin on the sidelines of the Osaka summit.

However, in the absence of an official request, there is no understanding that a meeting between the two presidents will indeed take place, he said.

In early May, Trump spoke with Putin during a telephone call that lasted over an hour, a conversation that Trump touted in a tweet as "very good". (Xinhua) 

Sri Lanka declares nationwide curfew after anti-Muslim riots kill one

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Mobs slashed to death a Sri Lankan Muslim man despite a nationwide curfew Monday night after anti-Muslim riots spread to three districts north of the capital Colombo in a violent backlash against the Easter suicide bombings.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the curfew was issued to prevent unidentified groups from destabilizing the country through organized violence.

Residents in the North-Western Province were ordered to stay indoors after Christian-led mobs torched dozens of Muslim-owned shops, vehicles, and mosques on Sunday and Monday. (CGTN) 

May told to ditch Brexit talks with opposition Labour

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British Prime Minister Theresa May was under pressure from her own party on Tuesday to abandon a bid to find a Brexit compromise with the opposition Labour Party.

Britain was due to have left the European Union on March 29.  

May has yet to get the divorce deal approved by parliament.  

She has now turned to the Labour Party, led by socialist Jeremy Corbyn, to court his support.

13 of May's former cabinet colleagues wrote to her, asking her not to agree to Labour's demand for a post-Brexit customs union with the EU. (CGTN) 

Volkswagen to invest 1 billion euros in battery production plant

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Automaker Volkswagen AG says it is investing $1.12 billion to set up a battery production plant in Germany.

Chief executive Herbert Diess said Tuesday the factory is part of the company's effort to electrify its vehicles.

He said the plant will be built in the northern city of Salzgitter, which has ready access to vast wind power plants in the region.

The announcement comes after rival Daimler announced Monday it aims to make all of its passenger cars carbon-neutral by 2039. (AP) 

Lawsuit blames Tiger Woods for drunken driver's death

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The parents of a drunken driver who died in a car crash last year are suing Tiger Woods. They blame the golfer and his girlfriend for allowing their son to drive home from their Florida restaurant while intoxicated.

The wrongful death lawsuit filed Monday says Nicholas F. Immesberger was served excessive amounts of alcohol before the December 10th car crash.

Immesberger worked at The Woods restaurant in Jupiter that Woods owns. His girlfriend, Erica Herman, is the general manager. (AP) 

Thanks for listening and be sure to catch us tomorrow.

And now for the Question of the Day:

When is a doctor most annoyed?

(Answer: When he is out of patients.)

Today's quote is from Scottish novelist Muriel Spark (1918-2006).

"It is impossible to repent of love. The sin of love does not exist."

(Produced by Nancy Yan Xu, Ryan Yaoran Yu, Lance Crayon, and Elaine Yue Lin. Music by Eugene Loner.)