People's Daily Tonight: Podcast News (3/22/2019 Fri.)
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This is People's Daily Tonight, your news source from China. 

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China's State Council launches investigation into deadly industrial park blast

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An investigation team has been organized by the State Council, China's cabinet, to probe the deadly explosion at an industrial park in east China's Jiangsu Province.

The team is headed by vice minister of emergency management Huang Ming and the probe is already underway.

At least 47 people were killed and 90 others seriously injured after the explosion ripped through a chemical industrial park in Yancheng City at about 2:48 p.m. Thursday.

The Ministry of Emergency Management has dispatched a team of experts to the site and urged all-out efforts in the rescue. (Xinhua)

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2 million sign petition calling for Brexit to be scrapped

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A national petition to the British Parliament calling for Brexit to be cancelled received more than 2 million signatures by Thursday night.

The petition has called on Prime Minister Theresa May's government to cancel Britain's departure from the European Union (EU) and to revoke Article 50 process.

The Article 50 had set Britain's departure date at March 29, but the EU agreed on Thursday to offer a Brexit extension until May 22 if Britain's House of Commons approves the withdrawal agreement next week. If not, the extension will last till April 12, said President of the European Council Donald Tusk.

Under parliamentary rules, public petitions almost guarantee a debate in the House of Commons if no less than 100,000 people sign on it. (Xinhua)

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Multiple investigations into Boeing crash underway

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US aviation giant Boeing, as well as its major regulator's oversight of its 737 MAX aircraft, has been under investigation by several federal agencies after two planes of this model crashed within five months.

A Boeing 737-8 (part of the 737 MAX family) operated by Ethiopian airlines crashed on March 10, the second crash of the model, after the Lion air crash in Indonesia on October 29 last year. The two crashes killed 346 people in all.

The two consecutive crashes have raised broad questions about the FAA's oversight of Boeing. The FBI has joined a criminal investigation into the Boeing 737 MAX safety certification process, a rare case for the US aviation industry, the Seattle Times reported on Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the matter. The FBI has an office near the Boeing plant in Seattle. So far, the bureau itself has neither confirmed nor denied this report.

Criminal prosecutors at the US Justice Department, who are also investigating the FAA's oversight of Boeing, have issued multiple subpoenas to Boeing in an effort to find out more about how the MAX was certified and marketed, CNN reported on Wednesday. (People's Daily app)

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China donates 200,000 USD to cyclone victims in Zimbabwe

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The Chinese Embassy and Chinese community in Zimbabwe donated food, purified water and equipment worth 200,000 US dollars to help the victims of Cyclone Idai in the country.

These donations will be sent to the disaster-stricken areas and reach the people in need as soon as possible, Chinese ambassador Guo Shaochun said at the handover ceremony on Wednesday morning.

Guo said the SinoZim wildlife foundation, an organization created by Chinese people and working on protecting wild animals in Zimbabwe, also sent three badly-needed charge boats to the affected areas to rescue the people who are still trapped.

"As a brother of Zimbabwe, China deeply feels how the Zimbabwean people are feeling and are always standing side-by-side, ready to offer maximum possible support," Guo said. (Xinhua)

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Scientists find 500 mln-year-old marine fossils

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Chinese paleontologists have discovered a trove of well-preserved fossils in China 518 million years ago, representing more than 50 previously undescribed animal species, including jellyfish, arthropods and algae.

The study published on Thursday in the journal Science showed that this new fossil assemblage with a high abundance and diversity of species might rival previously described Cambrian sites like the Burgess Shale in Canada.

The newly-found fossils have the potential to greatly inform the understanding of early animal evolution, according to the study.

Researchers from China's Northwest University in Xi'an have collected 4,351 specimens at the site in central China's Hubei Province, representing 101 different taxa. (Xinhua)

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Almost 100 dead as Iraq ferry sinks on spring holiday trip

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Almost 100 people, mostly women and children, died Thursday as a ferry packed with families celebrating Kurdish New Year sank in a swollen river in the former jihadist stronghold of Mosul, in Iraq's worst accident in years.

There was an outpouring of grief among residents who only this year resumed the annual festivities on the banks of the Tigris after the northern city's recapture from the Islamic State group.

The Prime Minister decreed three days of national mourning as he visited the site of the tragedy. He ordered a swift investigation "to determine responsibilities".

The vessel was crammed with men, women and children crossing the Tigris to go to a popular picnic area to celebrate the Kurdish New Year and a holiday across Iraq marking the start of spring. (AFP)

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DPRK withdraws from joint liaison office with S.Korea in Kaesong: Seoul

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The DPRK withdrew from the joint liaison office with South Korea in the DPRK's border town of Kaesong, Seoul's unification ministry said Friday.

The ministry said in a statement that the DPRK side notified South Korea on Friday morning of its decision to pull out of the Kaesong liaison office according to instructions from the superior authorities.

All of the DPRK officials, who had stayed in Kaesong for the round-the-clock communications with the South Korean counterparts, withdrew from the liaison office.

The joint liaison office was opened in Kaesong last September to implement the agreement reached by South Korean President Moon Jae-in and top DPRK leader Kim Jong-un during their first summit in April.(Xinhua)

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

(Produced by Han Xiaomeng and Zhan Huilan)