Fresh Start: Podcast News (7/1/2018 Sun.)
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Welcome to Fresh Start.

This is People’s Daily app.

Here are today’s picks from our editors.

Xi underlines importance of CPC’s political building

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Chinese President Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, recently stressed the importance of the Party's political building.

The CPC must regard political building as the Party's fundamental building so as to provide an important guarantee for the Party to march from victory to victory, Xi said Friday when presiding over a group study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.

The CPC is also growing in strength as its membership increased by 117,000 to nearly 90 million in 2017 and primary-level party organizations rose to more than 4 million, the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee announced Saturday.

Membership has grown steadily improving quality as well. The growth rate was limited to 1.5 percent since 2013 when the Party implemented an enrolment rule which emphasized quality over quantity.

In 2017, the CPC enrolled nearly 2 million new members, 71,000 more than in 2016, including 1 million members working in frontline production roles, accounting for more than 50 percent of new intake. (Xinhua – People’s Daily app)

China releases revised regulation for Olympic symbol protection

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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has signed a decree to release a revised regulation for better Olympic symbol protection.

According to the regulation, obligees should submit Olympic symbols to State Council intellectual property authorities. Those who want to use the symbols for commercial purposes must sign a license contract with the obligees. 

The revision to the current regulation, which took effect in 2002, is necessary for China to prepare for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games. The new regulation will go into effect on July 31 of this year. (Xinhua – People’s Daily app)

Former NATO chief blasts Trump’s attitude toward EU

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Former NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana wrote a blistering piece criticizing US President Donald Trump’s trade and foreign policy, especially the divide-and-rule strategy against the EU on June 21.

Solana said that Trump’s tariffs will hurt not only foreign exporters, but also US workers and firms that depend on steel and aluminum inputs. To justify his self-defeating policies, Solana said Trump cherry picks information, such as Canada’s high tariffs on dairy products, and overlooks the fact that America’s weighted average tariff rate is higher than the EU, Japan, and Canada.

Solana, who served as secretary-general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization between 1995 and 1999, was later the European Union's high representative for common foreign and security policy until 2009. (People’s Daily app)

Millions to be spent on Buckingham Palace renovations

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Queen Elizabeth's main London home, Buckingham Palace, is undergoing a multi-million dollar refurbishment to minimize the risk of catastrophic events, according to an official report.

Sir Michael Stevens, whose job title is keeper of the privy purse, said urgent work needs to be done to overhaul Buckingham Palace's essential services, some of which have not been updated since the 1950s.

"These important works will help avert the very real danger of a catastrophic building failure such as a flood or fire," said Stevens. (Xinhua – People’s Daily app)

Japanese entrepreneur’s space rocket fails at blast off

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A rocket developed by a Japanese entrepreneur and convicted fraudster exploded shortly after liftoff Saturday, in a major blow to his bid to send Japan's first privately backed rocket into space.

Interstellar Technologies, founded by popular internet service provider Livedoor's creator Takafumi Horie, launched the unmanned rocket, MOMO-2, from a test site in southern Hokkaido. No injuries were reported.

Horie helped drive Japan's shift to an information-based economy in the late 1990s and the early 2000s but later spent nearly two years in jail for accounting fraud. He founded Interstellar in 2013. (AFP – People’s Daily app)

UNESCO lists Korean mountain Buddhist temples as World Heritage sites

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Seven ancient Korean mountain temples, which showcase the way Buddhism has merged with indigenous beliefs and styles, were listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites on Saturday.

The seven mountain temples were all established during the Three Kingdoms period.

"These mountain monasteries are sacred places, which have survived as living centers of faith and daily religious practice to the present," UNESCO said in a statement. (AFP – People’s Daily app)

France beats Argentina, Uruguay eliminates Portugal

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Teenager Kylian Mbappe scored twice within five minutes to help France beat Argentina 4-3, making them the first team to qualify for the 2018 World Cup quarterfinals.

The win marks a stunning upset against tournament favorite Argentina, led by Lionel Messi. Argentina was ahead going into halftime, but they could not keep up their defense and conceded three goals within the space of 11 minutes.

Uruguay beat Portugal 2-1 on Saturday with two goals courtesy of Edinson Cavani, sending his team to the quarterfinals and eliminating Portugal from the tournament.

Uruguay started with an early lead, as Luis Suarez set up an easy shot for Cavani at minute 7 of the game and then secured their victory with a final goal at the 62nd minute.

Despite Portugal losing, Cristiano Ronaldo showed a remarkable display of good sportsmanship when helped Cavani off the field after he sustained an injuring in the 74th minute of the game. (AP – People’s Daily app)

Thanks for listening and be sure to catch us tomorrow.

And now for the question of the day:

Q: What are the 16 teams that went into the pre-quarter finals in the 2018 FIFA World Cup? 

(Answer: Russia, Japan, Uruguay, Spain, Portugal, France, Denmark, Croatia, Argentina, Brazil, Switzerland, Sweden, Mexico, Belgium, England, and Colombia.)

Today’s quote is from Greek philosopher Aristotle:

“Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.”

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