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Here are today’s picks from our editors.

Xi arrives in Senegal for state visit

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived Saturday for the first state visit to Senegal by a Chinese head of state in nine years.

Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, were warmly received by Senegalese President Macky Sall and his wife Marieme, as well as Prime Minister Mohammed Dionne at the airport.

Sall held a grand welcome ceremony in Xi's honor.

Xi, on behalf of the Chinese government and the people, conveyed cordial greetings and good wishes to the government and the people of Senegal.

He said it is his fourth visit to Africa since he assumed office as Chinese president in 2013, and that Senegal is the first stop of his ongoing African tour and his first visit to a West African country as Chinese president.

China and Senegal are good friends and good partners, he said, adding that in recent years, bilateral relations have enjoyed rapid development with fruitful results in cooperation in various areas.

Sall extended warm welcome to Xi on behalf of the Senegalese government and the people. He said the arrangements of Xi's visit testify that the Chinese side attaches great importance to its relations with Senegal.

The visit will play an important role in promoting the development of Senegal-China relations, as well as Africa-China ties, Sall said.(Xinhua)

President Xi publishes signed article on Rwanda media 

China-Rwanda friendship is "an epitome of the friendship between China and Africa," Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed ahead of his state visit to the African country, calling on the two sides to join hands for mutual benefit and common development and for a community with a shared future. 

Xi made the remarks in a signed article entitled "China and Rwanda: A Friendship Higher than Mountains" that was published in mainstream Rwandan newspaper The New Times on Saturday, in which he called for an even brighter future for China-Rwanda relations with the joint efforts of the two governments and peoples.

At the invitation of Rwandan President Paul Kagame, Xi will pay a state visit to Rwanda from Sunday to next Monday. It will not only be Xi's first visit to Rwanda but also the very first visit to Rwanda by a Chinese president.  (Xinhua - CGTN)

North Korean, Russian officials discuss building peace-keeping mechanism 

Officials of North Korea and Russia have discussed building a peace-keeping mechanism on the Korean Peninsula, Korean state media reported Saturday.

Russian Vice Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov met with North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho and held talks with Choe Son Hui and Sin Hong Chol, vice ministers of foreign affairs, in Pyongyang.

Morgulov left Pyongyang Friday after a three-day visit. (CGTN – People’s Daily app)

Iran's top leader rejects talks with US

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday said any negotiation with the US to solve the existing mutual problem is an "obvious mistake," official IRNA news agency reported.

"The United States seeks to restore its status in Iran as they enjoyed before the Islamic Revolution (in 1979), and they will not accept less than this," Khamenei said in a meeting with the Iranian Foreign Ministry staff.

"The United States has basic and fundamental problem with the (Islamic) establishment," Khamenei said. (Xinhua)

World's largest urban wetland undergoes extensive protection

Lalu, which sits inside the capital of Tibet Autonomous Region's, Lhasa, is the world's highest and largest natural urban wetland, covering 12.2 square kilometers in total with a core protection area of 6.6 square kilometers.

Phunstok Stering, head of the Administrative Bureau of the Lalu Wetlands National Nature Reserve, said the reserve is home to wildlife which have adapted to cold-temperature wetland ecosystems including black-necked cranes, reeds, and papyrus. 

Conservation projects have seen the reserve's core protection area increase by 0.44 square kilometers from 2005 to 6.6 square kilometers at present. 

Authorities say they intend to conduct further scientific surveys and data monitoring of the species in the wetland reserve. (China Plus – People’s Daily app)

Street in NYC's Chinatown being painted into giant dragon mural

One of the oldest streets in New York City’s Chinatown is currently being painted into a grand mural of a dragon by artist Chen Dongfan.

Dongfan's work, called "The Song of Dragons and Flowers,” is in partnership with Art Bridge, the NYC Department of Transportation's Doyers Street Seasonal Street Public Art program, and the Chinatown Partnership's pedestrian plaza project.

The mural is part of the organization's efforts to boost foot traffic to Chinatown, Wellington Chen, Executive Director of the Chinatown Partnership, said Friday. (Xinhua – People’s Daily app)

Thanks for listening and be sure to catch us tomorrow.

And now for the Question of the Day:

What is the official language of Senegal?

(Answer: French)

Today’s quote is from Chinese Philosopher Zhuangzi. 

“Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free. Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate.”

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