Fresh Start: Podcast News (5/28/2019 Tue.)
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Welcome to Fresh Start.

This is People's Daily app.

Here are today's picks from our editors. 

China appoints supervisors for child protection

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China has appointed supervisors and directors for children in an effort to strengthen child protection and offer better services to those in need.

So far 45,000 child supervisors and 620,000 child directors have been appointed at the township and village levels respectively, said Ni Chunxia with the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) at a press conference on Monday.

The supervisors are responsible for making regular visits to children left behind by parents who have migrated to work in cities and children in difficult situations.

They also should collect and update the information of children in need and help them get social assistance, according to Ni. (Xinhua) 

Austria's lower house passes no-confidence vote against Kurz

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Lawmakers in Austria's lower house parliament, commonly known as the National Council, on Monday approved a no confidence motion against Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and his cabinet.

Kurz is the first chancellor to be toppled by a no-confidence vote in parliament in post-war Austria.

The motion against Kurz is a result of the government crisis which started on May 17 with the so-called Ibiza video.

The secretly recorded video shows former Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache, also the former leader of FPO, talking with a supposed Russian investor about infrastructure contracts. (Xinhua) 

Japan, US vow to expedite talks on trade deal, deescalate tensions in Persian Gulf

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The leaders of Japan and the US on Monday said they were on the same page about a number of pertinent issues after concluding summit talks in Tokyo.

Speaking at a joint press conference, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the two countries would expedite talks which began in April, towards achieving a bilateral trade deal and a "win-win relationship".

The US, for its part, wants greater access to Japan's sensitive agricultural sector, which includes beef, wheat, and pork.

On the issue of rising tensions between the US and Iran over a nuclear deal the former pulled out of, Abe said that Tokyo and Washington would work together to try and deescalate tension, with Trump, for his part, stating the US is not looking for a regime change. (Xinhua) 

French police arrest four over Lyon package bomb blast

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French police arrested four people Monday over a package bomb explosion in the heart of the southeastern city of Lyon last week which injured 13 people, authorities said.

A police raid was under way in the Oullins suburb just south of the city, a few hours after the arrest of the suspected bomber, a 24-year-old Algerian IT student.

The man's parents were later arrested and taken in for questioning, as was a second student of Algerian nationality who is a family relation, according to the Paris prosecutor's office. (AFP) 

Sri Lanka on alert after attacks by militants disguised in uniforms

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Sri Lankan security officials have warned that the Islamist militants behind Easter Sunday's deadly suicide bombings were planning more attacks, using a van and bombers disguised in military uniforms.

Authorities suspect members of two little known groups – National Thawheedh Jamaath (NTJ) and Jammiyathul Millathu Ibrahim – of carrying out the attacks, though IS has claimed responsibility.

Sri Lanka's government lifted the curfew Sunday for the first time since the bombings, but in the capital city of Colombo police conducted random body checks and searches. (CGTN) 

Invasive species list issued in Yunnan Province

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The provincial government of Yunnan Province has published a new list of alien invasive species. 

It includes 441 alien species and 4 variants, such as Fushou snails, Blattella Americana as well as crayfish, 50.1 percent of which originated from the American continent, according to a report from the Xinhua News Agency.

In an attempt to restrain the damage caused by alien invasive species, the new list categorizes the species into five columns based on the different levels of potential damage they could bring to the local environment. (Xinhua) 

China's research vessel probes seamounts in Mariana Trench

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China's research vessel KEXUE (Science) on Monday started to explore a series of seamounts south of the Mariana Trench, the deepest place on Earth.

The remote operated vehicle (ROV), Discovery, dived into the sea on Monday to record videos, collect information, and gather samples from a small seamount in the southwest region of the targeted area.

Scientists plan to investigate four seamounts in the area, which is part of the Caroline Ridge in the western Pacific Ocean. (Xinhua) 

Thanks for listening and be sure to catch us tomorrow.

And now for the Question of the Day:

How can you make seven even?

(Answer: Remove the letter 's'.)

Today's quote is from American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882). 

"Truth is the property of no individual but is the treasure of all men."

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