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

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China to launch new-generation retrievable satellite in 2019

China will launch a reusable retrievable satellite next year, with its recoverable module capable of being used 15 times over the next decade.

That's according to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

The satellite would make China the world's third country to develop retrievable satellite technology.

The 3,500-kilogram satellite will be offered in short-term and long-term configurations, with the former running on battery power alone and the later carrying solar arrays.

The company said It will be capable of carrying up to 500 to 600 kilograms in recoverable payloads. (China Daily)

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Evergrande chairman becomes richest person in China

With personal wealth of $36.7 billion, Hui Ka Yan, chairman of real estate developer Guangzhou Evergrande Group, has become the richest man in China.

Hui's fortune puts him ahead of Alibaba chairman Jack Ma ($35.4 billion) and Tencent founder Pony Ma Huateng ($35.3 billion), according to the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List.

China's three richest men currently rank respectively 20th, 21st and 22nd in global ranking.

It's attributed to changes in share price, China Securities Journal reported. Shares of Evergrande continued to rise over the past month.

The valuation of Evergrande will jump by 8 times in 2018, with price target of HK$33.42, Southwest Securities added and maintained its "buy" rating on the company. (China Daily)

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UK PM faces fight for her political life in Brexit deal vote

British Prime Minister Theresa May faces a fight for her political life this week in a parliamentary vote that will decide the fate of her Brexit divorce deal.

Her splintered government appears to be facing a heavy defeat in parliament on Tuesday on the draft withdrawal agreement she signed with Brussels last month.

The text, which defines terms on which the island nation leaves its main trading partner after 46 years, is the most important to face the House of Commons in years.

A big loss could spark immediate challenges to May from both within her Conservative Party and the opposition Labour party. (AFP)

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S. Korean delegation leaves for DPRK for forestry cooperation talks

 

A South Korean delegation, composed of 10 government officials and forest experts, departed Monday for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to hold talks on forestry cooperation.

The delegation departed for Beijing earlier in the day from an international airport in South Korea's eastern port city of Incheon.

From Beijing, the delegation was scheduled to fly to Pyongyang Tuesday for a three-day stay.

During the stay, the South Korean delegates planned to tour a tree nursery and a factory, which produces forestry tools and materials, in Pyongyang, while reviewing the distribution of the pesticides that South Korea sent last month to help the DPRK fight forest diseases and pests. (Xinhua)

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Paris cleans up after another day of violence

Paris tourist sites reopened, workers cleaned up broken glass and shop owners tried to put the city on its feet again.

This, a day after running battles between yellow-vested protesters and riot police left 71 injured and caused widespread damage to the French capital.

A French minister said more than 1,200 people were taken into custody around France, and 135 people were injured nationwide.

The movement was sparked by anger over a proposed carbon tax to curb climate change by French President Emmanuel Macron's government.

But it had spread to other issues, especially income inequality and high living costs. (China Daily)

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Ex-Nissan chief Ghosn charged, may face new allegations

Japanese prosecutors have formally charged Carlos Ghosn with financial misconduct for under-reporting his salary, local media reported on Monday, three weeks after the auto tycoon's arrest stunned the business world.

Former Nissan chairman Ghosn, 64, has been in detention since his November 19 arrest on suspicion of under-declaring his income by some five billion yen between 2010 and 2015.

Authorities are also widely expected to re-arrest him later Monday over separate allegations that he also under-reported his income by a further four billion over the past three years.

Under Japanese law, suspects can be re-arrested several times for different allegations, allowing prosecutors to question them for prolonged periods. (AFP)

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Nanjing Massacre Victims Monument launched in Canada

And a Nanjing Massacre Victims Monument was launched in Ontario, Canada.

It was launched by the Confederation of Toronto Chinese Canadian Organizations and Chinese Freemasons of Canada.

The book-shaped monument will cover an area of 90 square meters, and will be made of black marble.

The Nanjing Massacre was an episode of mass murder and rape committed by Japanese troops against Nanjing residents during World War II. (Xinhua)

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

(Produced by David Nye and Wang Xiangyu)