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

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Ten trapped hikers rescued after avalanche hits Xinjiang's Changji

All 10 people trapped by an avalanche in northwest China were rescued Tuesday morning.

Rescuers said the hikers were trapped after an avalanche struck a mountainous area in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

The hikers were carried back by two helicopters.

Two of the injured are being treated at a nearby hospital. (People's Daily app)

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China's rocket-carrying ships complete maintenance

China's two rocket-carrying ships have recently completed their first medium maintenance after trail voyages, preparing for future missions.

Docked at a port in east China's Jiangsu Province, Yuanwang-21 and Yuanwang-22 are the country's first cargo ships designed to pick up and transport Long March rockets.

According to Cao Zhiyi, head of the fleet, the ship maintenance has greatly improved the power system and safety performance and strengthened the reliability and operability of onboard equipment.

After a short rest, the two ships will carry out rehearsals of container lifting operations. (Xinhua)

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UK PM forced to delay Brexit to avoid no deal as MPs pass law

Proposals to force British Prime Minister Theresa May to delay the date of Brexit -- again -- on Monday were approved by both the House of Lords and House of Commons.

With just days to go before the Brexit deadline, April 12, the prime minister will now have to ask the European Union to extend Article 50 in order to avoid a no-deal Brexit.

The passage of the bill means the authority of May's government was further weakened as it would give MPs a chance to make legally binding changes to her requested departure date during a debate in parliament on Tuesday. (Xinhua)

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Israel kicks off general elections

Israel on Tuesday morning started day-long general elections across the country to choose its next parliament and decide the premiership.

Voting started at 7 am local time (0400 GMT) at 10,720 polling stations across the country and is due to end at 10 pm (1900 GMT) in the closely-fought elections mainly between long-serving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party and ex-army chief Benny Gantz's newly formed party.

According to Israel's Central Election Committee, about 6.34 million Israeli citizens are eligible to vote. 

Recent opinion polls show a tight race between Gantz's centrist Blue and White with about 30 seats and Netanyahu's rightwing Likud with some 28 seats. (Xinhua)

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Mexican president reiterates backing for Venezuelan dialogue

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador reiterated his willingness to promote a negotiated solution to Venezuela's political crisis.

His statement came after Venezuela's embattled government over the weekend called on the international community to renew a push for dialogue between the ruling socialist party and the US-backed far-right opposition.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza praised the Montevideo Mechanism, which was jointly proposed by Mexico and Uruguay and backed by Bolivia and the Caribbean Community as the best option so far to address the political crisis and avoid armed conflict. (Xinhua)

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Tibet Airlines opens first intercontinental route

Tibet Airlines on Monday launched its first intercontinental air route linking Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong Province, and Finnish capital Helsinki.

The first flight on the route took off from Jinan Yaoqiang International Airport on Monday afternoon, which also marked the opening of the city's first direct passenger flight to Northern Europe.

The return flight departs from Jinan at 3:30 pm every Monday (local time) and returns from Helsinki at 10:30 pm on the same day (local time). (Xinhua)

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Dongguan P2P lender investigation accelerated

And authorities in Dongguan, South China’s Guangdong Province will hasten an investigation into a peer-to-peer lending platform, which had allegedly siphoned public deposits to recover investor losses.

Dongguan’s public security bureau announced that local authorities are trying to protect the asset value of P2P lending platform tuandai.com.

The announcement came after two men who ran the online loan platform surrendered to Dongguan authorities on March 27. (Global Times)

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

(Compiled by David Nye and Zhan Huilan)