Fresh Start: Podcast News (7/9/2019 Tue.)
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Welcome to Fresh Start.

This is People's Daily app.

Here are today's picks from our editors. 

China issues new guideline to improve compulsory education

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The Communist Party of China Central Committee and State Council on Monday published a new guideline for advancing education reform and improving the quality of compulsory education.

The guideline aims to develop an education system that will foster citizens with an all-round moral, intellectual, physical and aesthetic grounding, in addition to a hard-working spirit, according to the document.

According to the guideline, compulsory education should emphasize the effectiveness of moral education with efforts on cultivating ideals and faith, core socialist values, China's fine traditional culture and mental health.

The document stressed elevating intellectual grounding level to develop the cognitive ability and stimulate the sense of innovation of the students.

It also called for strengthening physical education, enhancing aesthetic training with more art curriculums and activities, and encouraging students to participate in more physical work to boost their hard-working spirit. (Xinhua) 

China's Chang'e-5 to take moon soil samples

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The Chang'e-5 lunar probe will make a soft-landing on the moon to collect soil samples, reports the Science and Technology Daily.

The probe is set to make four breakthroughs, including the sampling and taking off from the moon, an unmanned docking, and the return to Earth.

The Chang'e-5 lunar probe is expected to be launched into space at the end of 2019. (China Plus) 

Britain hunts for leaker of cables calling Trump 'inept'

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Britain scrambled on Monday to stem the damage to its relations with Washington by finding the leaker of diplomatic cables in which the UK ambassador called US President Donald Trump "inept.”

The confidential telegrams from ambassador Kim Darroch created a political firestorm in London after their publication in the Mail newspaper on Sunday.

One of them called Trump's White House "uniquely dysfunctional" while another characterized the US leader as "incompetent" and "insecure."

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the culprit would face "very serious consequences if and when we find out who was responsible.” (AFP) 

Saudi carrier cancels troubled Boeing 737 order for Airbus

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Boeing’s campaign to restore the reputation of its best-selling plane after two deadly crashes suffered a blow with a Saudi airline canceling an order worth up to $5.9 billion in favor of a European rival of the US manufacturer.

Flyadeal, the budget airline arm of Saudi Arabian Airlines, ordered 30 A320neo jets from Airbus and took options on 20 more, meaning that its entire fleet will consist of planes from that company.

It's a potentially troubling sign for Boeing, which has not seen customers divert orders to Airbus en masse.

A Boeing spokesman said Monday that the company does not discuss customer decisions. (AP) 

Frankfurt prepares to defuse WWII bomb, thousands evacuated

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Thousands of people have been evacuated from a district of Frankfurt that includes the European Central Bank headquarters as authorities defused a 500-kilo World War II bomb.

City officials called on some 16,500 people to leave their homes in the Ostend area Sunday morning, a few hours before the operation was scheduled to begin.

The American bomb in Frankfurt was found during construction work last month. (AP) 

China approves restructuring of two central SOEs

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The State Council, China's cabinet, has approved the restructuring of two centrally administered state-owned enterprises (SOEs), according to an official statement Monday.

China Silk Corporation, the only central SOE to produce and sell silk as its main business, will be merged into China Poly Group Corporation, said the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) in a statement on its website.

The move will bring the number of central SOEs under the direct supervision of the SASAC down to 96, sharply down from 196 in 2003. (Xinhua) 

Disney's live-action film 'Mulan,' releases first trailer

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The live-action film "Mulan," a remake of the animation film of the same name in 1998, dropped its first trailer on Sunday. According to Walt Disney’s official Twitter account, the film will greet audiences on March 27 next year.

Chinese actress Liu Yifei is in the leading role, and the film features an all-Asian cast. Jet Li and Donnie Yen, two martial arts legends, play the Emperor and Commander Tung respectively.

A new poster for the film was also released. (CGTN) 

Thanks for listening and be sure to catch us tomorrow.

And now for the Question of the Day:

What is a baby kangaroo called?

(Answer: Joey.)

Today's quote is from French philosopher Montesquieu (1689-1755).

"Peace is a natural effect of trade."

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