Fresh Start: Podcast News (7/18/2019 Thu.)
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Welcome to Fresh Start.

This is People's Daily app.

Here are today's picks from our editors.

China to further facilitate immigration, entry-exit for foreigners

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China on Wednesday announced 12 measures to make immigration and entry-exit applications easier and more convenient for certain foreigners.

Ministry of Public Security (MPS) said the facilitation measures were part of the first batch of 60 special policies for promoting economic and social development and benefiting the public and enterprises.

From Aug. 1, the country will ease the permanent residence application for more high-level foreign talents, including foreigners with doctoral degrees, and those who have made significant contributions to the country, according to an MPS press conference in Beijing on Wednesday.

Foreign spouses and children of qualified foreigners can also join the application simultaneously, according to the MPS. (Xinhua) 

Erdogan urges Iraqi authorities to swiftly find killers of Erbil attack

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Turkey's President Recep Erdogan on Wednesday condemned the armed attack on Turkish diplomats in northern Iraq's Erbil, and urged Iraqi authorities to swiftly find the killers.

Earlier in the day, a gunman opened fire on the Turkish consulate's personnel at a restaurant in central Erbil.

According to a statement by the Kurdish security service, a Turkish consulate employee and a civilian were killed while another person was wounded. (Xinhua) 

Netanyahu calls on Europe to designate Hezbollah as ‘terrorist organization’

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday called on Europe to declare Hezbollah as a "terrorist organization."

In a statement issued by the Prime Minister's office, Netanyahu accused Hezbollah of "operating terror on European soil" and in the Middle East.

Hezbollah is a Lebanon-based political party and an armed group. Countries including Israel and the United States have designated it as a terrorist organization, while France and the European Union have blacklisted its military wing as a terror group. (Xinhua) 

Architect: Notre Dame far from safe for restoration work

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A French architect says that Notre Dame Cathedral still isn’t safe enough for restoration work to begin, more than three months after a devastating fire nearly destroyed the monument.

The chief architect of France’s historic monuments, Philippe Villeneuve, said that “we are still in extreme urgency of securing the site.”

Wooden support arches are being placed under the 28 buttresses, without anchoring them in stone. A robot was helping to clear debris on the lower level of the cathedral. (AP) 

Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman sentenced to life in prison

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The Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman has been sentenced to life behind bars in a US prison on Wednesday, a humbling end for a drug lord notorious for his ability to kill, bribe or tunnel his way out of trouble.

The sentence— life plus 30 years— was pre-ordained. The guilty verdict in February at Guzman's 11-week trial triggered a mandatory sentence of life without parole. Guzman was also ordered to pay $12.6 billion in ill-gotten proceeds— money his drug-trafficking organization made distributing cocaine and other drugs around the United States.

The 62-year-old drug lord was brought to the US to stand trial in 2017 after he twice escaped from Mexican prisons. (AP) 

Scientists unveil first-ever image of quantum entanglement

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For the first time ever, physicists took a picture of the physical phenomenon "quantum entanglement," once described by Albert Einstein as "spooky action at a distance."

Though widely-used in practical applications such as quantum computing and cryptography, it has never been captured in a single image.

Scientists from the University of Glasgow managed to capture the image of the connection – known as Bell entanglement – via a special camera. Their research results were published in the journal of Scientific Advances on Friday. (CGTN) 

China to meet Syria, Philippines in 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers

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China will face familiar opponents Syria and the Philippines in the second round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers, after the draw was made in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Wednesday.

Seeded first, China were drawn into Group A, joining Syria, the Philippines, the Maldives and Guam.

The draw witnessed a total of 40 teams allocated into eight groups of five teams, with matches to be played between September 5, 2019 and June 9, 2020. (Xinhua)

Thanks for listening and be sure to catch us tomorrow.

And now for the Question of the Day:

What is the name of Harry Potter’s pet owl?

(Answer: Hedwig.)

Today's quote is from Chinese philosopher Mencius (372 BC - 289 BC).

"Secure property in hand leads to peace in mind."

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