This is People’s Daily Tonight, your news source from China. 

_____

Trading stops on firm linked to world’s first genetically edited human babies

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange suspended the trading of shares of Harmonicare Medical Holdings.

The company was involved in the alleged delivery of the world's first genetically edited babies.

He Jiankui, a researcher of the Southern University of Science and Technology, claimed on Monday that he and his team altered the genes of a pair of twin girls born this month to make them HIV-resistant.

The announcement has sparked an online outcry and outrage from experts worldwide.

China' National Health Commission said it had "immediately requested the Guangdong Provincial Health Commission to investigate and verify" He's claims. (People's Daily app)

_____

China's industrial profits up 13.6 pct in first 10 months

Profits of China's major industrial firms grew 13.6 percent year on year in the first 10 months of 2018, down from the 14.7-percent expansion for the January-September period, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Tuesday.

Profit at 34 of the 41 sectors surveyed rose compared with one year earlier, unchanged from that for January-September, according to the NBS.

In October, combined profits at industrial firms with annual revenue of more than 20 million yuan (about 2.88 million U.S. dollars) rose 3.6 percent year on year to 548 billion yuan, 0.5 percentage points slower than that recorded in September.

According to the NBS, the sectors of steel, construction materials, oil and chemicals contributed 75.7 percent to the overall industrial profit increase.

By the end of October, the debt-asset ratios of major industrial firms dropped 0.5 percentage points from a year earlier to 56.7 percent. (Xinhua)

_____

NASA spacecraft lands on red planet after six-month journey

A NASA spacecraft designed to burrow beneath the surface of Mars landed on the red planet on Monday.

This, after a six-month, 300 million-mile journey and a perilous, six-minute descent through the rose-hued atmosphere.

Flight controllers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California leaped out of their seats and erupted in screams, applause and laughter as the news came in.

The three-legged InSight spacecraft reached the surface after being slowed by a parachute and braking engines.

Updates were coming in through radio signals that take more than eight minutes to cross the nearly 100 million miles between Mars and Earth. (AP)

_____

1 killed, 6 injured as vehicle ploughs into crowds in NYC

One person was killed and six others injured when a vehicle ploughed into pedestrians in New York City's Chinatown on Monday evening. 

The incident happened at around 6:45 pm local time (2345 GMT) at Canal Street and Forsyth Street, a busy junction of the Chinatown neighborhood in lower Manhattan, local police said.

One fatality was confirmed at the scene, while the injured were rushed to a nearby hospital with some said to be in critical condition. 

Police said the driver, who is still unidentified, lost control of his van while doing parallel parking. 

The exact cause of the incident remains unclear, with no further details given by authorities. 

The Chinese Consulate-General in New York is currently seeking information about whether the incident involved any Chinese nationals. (Xinhua)

_____

China’s UN vice envoy urges restraint on Russia-Ukraine tension

The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting on renewed Ukraine-Russia tensions sparked by a naval encounter in the Black Sea on Sunday.

China’s Vice Ambassador to the UN, Wu Haitao, said China hopes both sides exercise restraint to avoid further tensions.

According to media reports, the Ukrainian Navy accused the Russian military of opening fire and seizing three of its ships in the Black Sea on Sunday.

The Security Council meeting followed a procedural vote rejecting the agenda of the day’s first meeting on the issue.

That’s because Russia said Ukraine had violated its maritime borders. (People's Daily app)

_____

Beijing's work on social credit to be completed by 2020

Beijing will accelerate development of a social credit system by completing the legislative and regulatory work in the sector by 2020, a senior official said.

The platform will combine information from the governmental and social sectors and show a full picture of a person's credit status.

At the same time, residents who have good credit will be rewarded, according to the plan. In some public service areas, they will be provided with easier or faster access.

Beijing has been working on establishing the credit system for years. According to the city, it has organized a third party to supervise and monitor credit status in 12 key sectors.

China has seen clear progress in building a social credit system. In the financial sector, the authorities have published the names of 400 people said to be involved in severe fraudulent activity. The National Development and Reform Commission has signed a memorandum of agreement with more than 60 government departments to share credit information, a spokesperson for the NDRC said. (China Daily)

_____

Mueller: Ex-Trump campaign chair lied, broke plea agreement

And US Special Counsel Robert Mueller accused former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort of lying to federal investigators in the Russia probe in breach of his plea agreement.

Prosecutors said after Manafort agreed to truthfully cooperate with the investigation, he "committed federal crimes" by lying about "a variety of subject matters." 

They are asking a federal judge to set a date for his sentence.

Manafort faces multiple years in jail. (AP)

_____

And that’s People’s Daily Tonight.  Thanks for joining us.

(Produced by David Nye and Wang Zi)