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Here are today’s picks from our editors.

Hong Kong airport resumes operation after halt

The Hong Kong International Airport resumed operations on Wednesday after chaos and flight cancellations caused by protesters.

Passengers are now able to check-in after tickets or purchase vouchers are checked by airport staff. A demonstration area has been marked out at the arrival hall.

Many of the passengers, who had their flights delayed or changed, are still waiting at the airport for confirmation of their departure time.

As one of the busiest in the world, the Hong Kong International Airport handled an average of 200,000 travelers each day in 2018. (Xinhua)

Chinese journalists association denounces severe violence against reporter

The All-China Journalists Association (ACJA) Wednesday voiced strong indignation and condemnation over the besieging and assault of a mainland reporter by some violent protesters at the Hong Kong International Airport Tuesday night.

The association issued a statement and denounced the rioters' unjustified obstruction of normal news reporting by Fu Guohao, a reporter with the Global Times, and their severe violent acts of besieging, assaulting and forcibly holding the reporter.

It also expressed deep solicitude to the reporter and paid high respect to his courage as he voiced his support for Hong Kong police even in danger.

Journalists' personal rights and their rights in news reporting shall not be infringed upon, said the statement. (Xinhua)

Pakistani PM visits Pakistan-controlled Kashmir amid tension with India

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday visited Pakistan-controlled Kashmir amid the ongoing tension with India after the latter scrapped the special status of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

During his visit, Khan said in an address to the legislative assembly of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir that his country will move the United Nations and the International Court of Justice to win rights for the people of Indian-controlled Kashmir. (Xinhua) 

Ex-Blackwater contractor sentenced to life in Iraq shootings

A former Blackwater security contractor was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison for his role in the 2007 shooting of unarmed civilians in Iraq that left 14 people dead.

Federal judge Royce Lamberth issued the sentence after a succession of friends and relatives requested leniency for Nicholas Slatten, who was found guilty of first-degree murder by a jury in December.

Prosecutors charged that Slatten, of Sparta, Tennessee, was the first to fire shots in the September 2007 massacre of Iraqi civilians at a crowded traffic circle in Baghdad. In all, 10 men, two women and two boys, ages 9 and 11, were killed. (AP) 

IWF provisionally suspends five Russian weightlifters

The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) has provisionally suspended five Russian weightlifters for potential doping violations. The governing body of the sport took the decision based on data retrieved from a Moscow laboratory.

IWF President Tamas Ajan said in a statement, "We can be satisfied, however, that the IWF has shown once again our determination to protect clean sport and promote clean athletes." (CGTN) 

Zoo Berlin getting ready to welcome newborn panda cubs

Zoo Berlin, dubbed the most species-rich zoo worldwide, is getting ready to welcome one or two newborn panda cubs as experts say it's very likely that the 6-year-old panda Meng Meng is pregnant.

Meng Meng's altered behavior hinted at pregnancy, and ultrasound images and hormone tests have also provided extra reasons to expect a panda cub in a few weeks' time, said Zoo Berlin, known as Germany's oldest zoological garden, home to almost 20,200 animals of around 1,380 species. (Xinhua) 

Plants 'eat themselves' to resist drought: research

A protein in some plants can promote autophagic degradation under drought stress to help improve drought tolerance of the plants, Chinese scientists have found.

Dehydrin is a multi-family of proteins present in plants that is produced in response to cold and drought stress.

According to Prof. Wang Tao at the China Agricultural University, in face of drought, the plants cannot move, but can reduce proteins they no longer need through autophagic ways, just like "eating themselves".

The research result has been published in the journal Autophagy. (Xinhua) 

Thanks for listening and be sure to catch us tomorrow.

And now for the Question of the Day:

Zorro is Spanish for which animal?

(Answer: Fox.)

Today’s quote is from English poet John Dryden (1631-1700).

"Pains of love be sweeter far than all other pleasures are."

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