Fresh Start: Podcast News (5/17/2018 Thu.)
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Welcome to Fresh Start.

This is People’s Daily app.

Here are today’s picks from our editors.

Xi meets North Korea’s WPK friendship visiting group

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Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and Chinese president, on Wednesday met with a friendship visiting group of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) of DPRK.

Xi said the current visit by senior provincial and municipal level party officials of DPRK was not only the concrete implementation of the important consensus reached between him and the DPRK leader Kim Jong Un, but also an important exchange between the CPC and the WPK.

"China supports DPRK in developing its economy and improving its people's livelihood and supports Chairman Kim in leading the Party and the people of DPRK to take a development path suitable to its own national situation," Xi said.

He said that he believed both sides would take the occasion of the visit to further advance exchange and cooperation to forge ahead with the China-DPRK friendship. (Xinhua)

Chinese vice premier arrives in Washington for economic, trade consultations

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Chinese President Xi Jinping's special envoy and Vice Premier Liu He arrived in Washington on Tuesday afternoon for economic and trade consultations with the US side at the invitation of the US government.

Liu, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chief of the Chinese side of the China-US comprehensive economic dialogue, lead the delegation whose members come from major economic sectors of the Chinese government.

Before the delegation's arrival, a Chinese working group arrived in the United States last week and engaged in intense consultations with the US side. (Xinhua)

China officially starts its own mobile communication satellite service

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China has finally started its own mobile satellite phone service two years after launching its Tiantong-1 01 mobile communications satellite into orbit.

This marks China’s first satphone system, which will help the country eliminate their dependence on foreign mobile communications satellites.

China decided to develop its own satellite after a major 2008 earthquake disabled all ground communication systems. (People’s Daily app)

US to continue preparing Kim-Trump meeting despite North Korea’s warning

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The US said Tuesday that it will continue to prepare for the meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, despite a warning from Pyongyang to withdraw from the talk.

North Korea’s state media said early Wednesday that Pyongyang would suspend high-level talks with South Korea infinitely and threatened to withdraw from a scheduled meeting with the United States over an ongoing US-South Korea joint military exercise.

Later, a senior North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said in a statement carried by state media that if the US insists on pressuring North Korea to abandon its nuclear arsenal in its dialogue with Pyongyang, North Korea is not interested and has to reconsider the meeting in the near future. (Xinhua)

Former Malaysian deputy prime minister released

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Malaysian politician Anwar Ibrahim walked out of custody on Wednesday after being pardoned over a sodomy conviction that saw him jailed for the past three years, paving the way for his return to national politics.

Smiling and looking spry in a tailored black suit, Anwar emerged from a Kuala Lumpur hospital where he had undergone surgery for a shoulder problem, giving a thumbs-up to a crowd of journalists before leaving in a car without comment. (People’s Daily app)

Beijing’s new airport to open next year

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Construction on Beijing's new international airport will be largely finished by the end of the year, and it will be ready to handle flights in September 2019.

The new airport is a large international hub which aims to take the pressure off Beijing Capital International Airport. It is located near Beijing's Daxing District and Langfang of Hebei Province.

The new airport is designed like other modern international hubs, with a transportation transfer center connected to the terminals by a series of rail links for passenger convenience. (People’s Daily app)

Lachlan Murdoch named new Fox CEO

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Lachlan Murdoch will be Twenty-First Century Fox’s new chief executive officer once the company’s TV and film assets are acquired by the Walt Disney Company, Fox announced on Wednesday.

Lachlan and his father Rupert Murdoch will serve as co-chairmen of the new Fox, while current Chief Financial Officer John Nallen will also take the role of chief operating officer.

Fox agreed last year to sell the bulk of its film and TV assets to the Walt Disney Company for more than $52 billion. (Reuters – People’s Daily app)

Cracked Qing Dynasty vase sold in UK

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A cracked vase, made during China's Qing Dynasty, was auctioned off for £87,000 (roughly $117,000) in the UK this week, according to the Daily Mail.

The final auction price was a surprise to the vase's previous owner, Anne Beck, who had intended to donate the inherited piece to a charity store since it was partially cracked. On her way to donate the vase, she stopped at an auctioneer's valuation event and was persuaded to put it up for sale.

The vase was initially advertised on the Eastbourne Auctions website with an estimated price range of £90 to £120. However, it was eventually sold to a Germany-based Chinese buyer.

The vase dates back to the 18th century and was made for Emperor Qianlong. Experts said it could have fetched up to £500 million if it hadn't been damaged. (China Plus – People’s Daily app)

Thanks for listening and be sure to catch us tomorrow.

Today’s quote is from American essayist Henry David Thoreau:

“Goodness is the only investment that never fails.”

(Produced by Nancy Yan Xu, Ryan Yaoran Yu, Raymond Mendoza, and Ziyi Zeng.)