Fresh Start: Podcast News (9/13/2019 Fri.)

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Welcome to Fresh Start.

This is People’s Daily app. 

Here are today’s picks from our editors.

China, US working groups to meet soon: MOC

Chinese and US economic trade teams have maintained effective communication and the working groups of the two sides will meet soon to conduct consultations and make full preparations for the next high-level economic and trade consultation between the two sides, an official said Thursday.

Ministry of Commerce (MOC) spokesperson Gao Feng expressed hope that the US will meet China halfway, take concrete actions, and create favorable conditions for the consultation.

"This is in the interests of both China and the US, and the world as a whole," Gao said. (Xinhua)

1.93 million daily entry, exit trips expected for Mid-Autumn Festival holiday

China's border check agencies are expected to see an average of 1.93 million inbound and outbound trips made by Chinese and foreign tourists per day during the three-day Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, the National Immigration Administration said Thursday.

The figure indicated a year-on-year increase of 1.6 percent, according to the administration.

It said the average daily trips at major airports in the cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Chengdu are expected to reach 85,000, 109,000, 54,000 and 21,000 respectively. (Xinhua)

Turkey, US hold 4th joint flight over safe zone in northern Syria

Turkey and the US held the fourth joint flight on Thursday over the planned safe zone in northern Syria.

"The fourth joint flight was carried out as planned with two Turkish and two US helicopters within the scope of Safe Zone First Phase Applications in the east of the Euphrates in Syria," said the Turkish Ministry of Defense.

On Aug. 7, Turkish and US officials agreed to set up a safe zone and develop a "peace corridor" in northern Syria which would address Ankara's security concerns about a Kurdish faction that controls the territory. (Xinhua)

Google agrees to pay 965 million euros to settle fiscal disputes with France

US tech giant Google is to pay 965 million euros to settle disputes with the French tax authorities, according to agreements announced Thursday.

"These agreements include a payment of 500 million euros announced today by a French court, as well as an amount of 465 million euros in additional taxes that we have agreed to pay," said Google in a statement.

French Budget Minister Gerald Darmanin said the settlement is "historic" and "marks the end of an era." (Xinhua)

Chinese high-speed railway wins international award

A high-speed railway in western China has won the FIDIC award for Outstanding Project of the Year, its design company said Thursday.

The 658-km-long railway that links Xi'an, the capital city of Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, and Chengdu, the capital of Southwest China's Sichuan Province opened in 2017.

The award is considered the Nobel Prize within the engineering industry and is given by the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC). (Xinhua)

Paris, four other French cities ban use of pesticides

Paris and four other French cities on Thursday banned the use of synthetic pesticides within their boundaries, as an anti-chemicals movement that began in the countryside gains momentum.

Lille in the north, Nantes in the west, Grenoble in the southeast and the central city of Clermont-Ferrand joined Paris in implementing the ban, citing the need to safeguard biodiversity and public health.

Since January, home gardeners countrywide have also been banned from using synthetic pesticides. They may use only those made with natural ingredients. (AFP)

Water, temperature right for life at another star's planet

In a tantalizing first, scientists have discovered water on a planet outside our solar system that has temperatures suitable for life.

Two research groups announced this week they've found water vapor in the atmosphere of a planet 110 light-years away in the constellation Leo. This so-called Super Earth is just the right distance from its star to conceivably harbor life.

Discovered in 2015, the planet known as K2-18b is twice the size of Earth with eight times the mass. While it's thought to be rocky, no one knows if water is flowing on the surface. (AP)

Thanks for listening and be sure to catch us tomorrow.

And now for the Question of the Day:

The kiwi is a flightless bird that lives in what country? 

(Answer: New Zealand.)

Today’s quote is from English author Samuel Johnson (1709-1784). 

"Nothing is more hopeless than a scheme of merriment."

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