Fresh Start: Podcast News (7/11/2019 Thu.)
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Welcome to Fresh Start.

This is People's Daily app.

Here are today's picks from our editors. 

China launches emergency response to floods

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China's disaster relief authority launched a level IV emergency response on Tuesday evening, as continuous rainstorms swelled water levels of rivers in some provinces, the Ministry of Emergency Management said Wednesday.

The Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters dispatched four work teams to Hunan, Jiangxi, Guangxi and Guizhou to guide relief work, the ministry said.

The ministry asked local authorities to step up monitoring of weather changes and strengthen patrols on dams and dikes to guarantee the safety of the public. (Xinhua) 

China has created 10 pilot national parks

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China has created 10 pilot national parks nationwide, covering an area of 220,000 square kilometers in 12 provinces, according to the country's forestry authorities.

The country has also continued to strengthen ecological protection during the process, with efforts devoted to constructing an ecological corridor, removing alien species and restoring bare mountains, said an official with the National Forestry and Grassland Administration.

In the future, China will speed up the legislation of national parks, make clear the establishment standard and procedures and prioritize creating national parks in areas conforming to the standard, he said. (CGTN) 

Fed Chairman Powell says won't resign if Trump intends to replace him

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US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Wednesday he would not quit his job if President Donald Trump asked him to.

He made the remarks when testifying before the House Financial Services Committee on the state of the US economy.

Trump has been criticizing Powell, and the Fed under his leadership, for not adopting a looser monetary policy. The president said he didn't suggest demoting Powell but he'd be able to do that if he wanted.

During Wednesday's hearing, Powell reiterated his previous assertion that the Fed will "act as appropriate" to sustain the current economic expansion. (Xinhua) 

24 killed in Papua New Guinea tribal massacres

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Twenty-four people have died -- including two pregnant women with their unborn children -- in tribal fighting in Papua New Guinea's lawless highlands, prompting the prime minister on Wednesday to promise swift justice.

Highland clans have fought each other in Papua New Guinea for centuries, but an influx of automatic weapons has made clashes more deadly and escalated the cycle of violence.

Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister James Marape has vowed more security deployments and warned the perpetrators "your time is up." (AFP) 

Airbus confirms deliveries rose 28pct in first half of 2019

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Airbus confirmed on Tuesday that its deliveries rose by 28 percent in the first half of the year, putting it ahead of Boeing for the first time in eight years as the US planemaker sees no immediate end to the grounding of its 737 MAX.

Airbus said it delivered 389 aircraft in the first half.

Boeing reported a 37 percent drop in deliveries for the first half on Tuesday, due to the grounding of its best-selling jet in the wake of two fatal crashes. (CGTN) 

Greek find called earliest sign of our species out of Africa

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Scientists say they've identified the earliest sign of our species outside Africa, a chunk of skull recovered from a cave in southern Greece.

The fossil, from the rear of a skull, was actually found decades ago — excavated in the late 1970s from the Apidima Cave in the southern Peloponnese region of Greece and later kept in a University of Athens museum.

Its estimated age is at least 210,000 years old, making it 16,000 or more years older than an upper jawbone from Israel that was reported last year. It shows our species began leaving Africa much earlier than previously thought, researchers reported Wednesday. (AP) 

Rogue elephant brought under control in southwest China

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Police in southwest China's Yunnan Province said Wednesday that they have captured a rogue elephant that has stolen food from villagers, blocked traffic and busted into markets and schools over the past few days.

The male elephant named Nawen by the local Asian elephant monitoring center was sedated and sent to the local Asian elephant breeding and rescue center on Monday.

Wild Asian elephants are Class A protected animals in China, with a population mainly scattered in Yunnan's Dai Autonomous Prefecture of Xishuangbanna and in the cities of Pu'er and Lincang. (Xinhua) 

Thanks for listening and be sure to catch us tomorrow.

And now for the Question of the Day:

What is the name of the organ that pumps blood around the body?

(Answer: Heart.)

Today's quote is from Greek author Aesop (620 BC - 564 BC).

"Persuasion is often more effectual than force."

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