This is People's Daily Tonight, your news source from China.
——
US announces repatriation of 361 pieces of Chinese relics, artifacts
The United States announced the repatriation of 361 pieces of Chinese relics and artifacts to China at a ceremony on Thursday.
The repatriation will bring back to China the largest batch of relics and artifacts from the US since 2009, when the two nations signed a memorandum of understanding to enhance cooperation in this regard, according to Chinese officials.
Also at the event, officials from China's National Cultural Heritage Administration and US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) signed and exchanged Certificate of Transfer, which formalizes the transfer of custody from the US to China regarding these cultural relics and artifacts.(Xinhua)
——
Chinese scientists find gene-editing tool highly likely to cause off-target mutations
Chinese scientists found that a popular gene-editing tool may lead to wide off-target mutations, warning of serious clinical safety risks of the gene-editing technique.
The study published on Thursday in the journal Science showed that a type of base editor used to convert DNA base pairs caused high numbers of off-target mutations in the genomes of mouse embryos.
CRSIPR-Cas9 is a revolutionary genome editing tool developed in recent years that enabled researchers to edit parts of the genome by removing, adding or altering sections of the DNA sequence.
It is a simple, versatile and precise method of genetic manipulation but it may introduce errors outside of the target locations, causing concerns of leading to cancers if being carelessly applied clinically. (Xinhua)
——
Democrats eye new inquiries, witnesses after Cohen testimony
After three days of grilling Michael Cohen, US President Donald Trump's former lawyer, Democrats are quickly using his words as a roadmap to open new lines of investigation into the president's ties to Russia and summon additional witnesses.
Cohen completed a third day of testimony on Capitol Hill Thursday, one day after publicly branding his former boss a racist and a conman who lied about business dealings in Russia and directed him to conceal extramarital relationships. He was interviewed behind closed doors by the House Intelligence Committee for more than eight hours.
As he left the House intelligence interview, Cohen said he would be returning to Capitol Hill on March 6 for another round of questioning with that panel. (AP)
——
Chang'e-4 probe switches back to working mode
After "sleeping" through long lunar night, solar-powered Chang'e-4 probe independently switches back to working mode on Friday morning as sun returns, CCTV reported.
The moon rover Yutu-2 had also woken up earlier on February 28 and is functioning normally too.
China's Chang'e-4 probe, launched on December 8, 2018, landed on the far side of the moon on January 3, 2019.
A lunar day equals 14 days on Earth, and a lunar night is the same length. The radioisotope heat source, a collaboration between Chinese and Russian scientists, will support the probe through the lunar night when the temperature falls. (People's Daily app)
——
MSCI to significantly increase weight of China A-shares in global indexes
Global index provider MSCI plans to increase the weight of China A-shares, or Chinese mainland shares denominated in yuan, in the MSCI indexes, by raising the inclusion factor to 20 percent in three stages this year, MSCI announced late Thursday.
The move is expected to spur investment in the A shares listed in the Chinese mainland equity market as the MSCI indexes are a benchmark and often the underlying basis of numerous financial products worldwide.
Estimates by financial institutions show they expect the change to lead to an inflow of around $60 billion in the A shares.
The announcement came after an initial inclusion of China A shares since mid-2018, with the inclusion factor currently capped at 5 percent.(Xinhua)
——
China's second aircraft carrier sets sail for fifth sea trial
China's second aircraft carrier reportedly set sail from the Dalian Shipyard Wednesday afternoon for its fifth sea trial, three days after the country's first carrier, the Liaoning, left the same shipyard. Experts believe it indicates a further step toward the final delivery of the second carrier.
The domestically made Type 001A aircraft carrier left the shipyard in Northeast China's Liaoning Province under the assistance of multiple tug boats Wednesday afternoon, according to photos and accompanying captions released by IC, a Chinese image and photo provider, on Wednesday evening.
The testing of carrier-based aircraft could be the focus of this sea trial, an IC photo caption reads.
Photos taken by local residents and uploaded to the internet last week show guide lines and possibly a non-skid coating were being painted on the Type 001A's flight deck, which are considered necessary for the takeoff and landing of aircraft.(Global Times)
——
S.Korea's export falls for 3 months on weak chip demand
South Korea's export fell for three straight months through February, posting a double-digit decline last month on weak demand for locally-made semiconductor, a government report showed on Friday.
Export, which account for about half of the economy, declined 11.7 percent over the year to 39.56 billion US dollars in February, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
The downward trend continued, after sliding 1.2 percent in December last year and 5.8 percent in January. It marked the first time since July 2016 that the outbound shipment kept falling for three months in a row.
The daily average export stood at 2.08 billion US dollars in February, up from 1.93 billion US dollars in January.
Import shrank 12.6 percent to 36.47 billion US dollars, sending the trade surplus in February to 3.09 billion US dollars. (Xinhua)
——
And that's People's Daily Tonight. Thanks for joining us.
(Produced by Han Xiaomeng and Wang Zi)