People's Daily Tonight: Podcast News (5/13/2019 Mon.)
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This is People’s Daily Tonight, your news source from China.

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Beijing's new airport welcomes first commercial jets in test flights

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Beijing's new airport welcomed its first commercial jets.

With the arrival of a Boeing 787 Monday morning, Beijing's new airport completed a fresh round of test flights involving commercial aircraft.

Monday’s test began with the takeoff of an Airbus A380 jet from Beijing Capital International Airport.

This was followed by an Airbus A350 five minutes later.

Four major Chinese airliners, including the flag carrier Air China, used four passenger jets for the test flight.

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Ex-vice minister of finance sentenced to 15 years in prison for bribery

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A Beijing court on Monday sentenced Zhang Shaochun, China's former vice minister of finance, to 15 years in prison and fined 6 million yuan for taking bribes.

The Beijing Second Intermediate People's Court publicly announced its verdict.

The court found that from 1995 to 2018, Zhang took advantage of his positions to provide assistance to relevant organizations and individuals in business operations, job adjustments, and children's enrollment.

Zhang received property worth 67 million yuan (about $9.77 million), the court said. (People's Daily app)

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Saudi Arabia says two oil tankers damaged by sabotage attacks

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Saudi Arabia said two of its oil tankers were sabotaged off the coast of the United Arab Emirates in attacks that caused "significant damage" to the vessels.

One of them was en route to picking up Saudi oil bound for the US.

The announcement came just hours after Iranian and Lebanese media outlets aired false reports of explosions at the city's port.

The reports come as the US warned ships that "Iran or its proxies" could be targeting maritime traffic in the region, and as the US is deploying an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers to the Persian Gulf to counter alleged threats from Tehran. (AP)

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32 'gaokao immigrants' disqualified from exams in Guangdong

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Thirty-two students were disqualified from sitting this year's National College Entrance Exam in Shenzhen after they were found to fake their household registration documents.

According to investigation results released by the Shenzhen Education Bureau on Sunday, 32 students from Shenzhen Fuyuan School used dishonest means to gain qualification for taking Gaokao in Shenzhen in the coming June.

They were confirmed as "gaokao immigrants", meaning they should have enrolled in other provinces or schools where their household registration or student status had been registered. (People's Daily online)

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Sudan's military council denies attempts to disperse sit-in at army headquarters

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Sudan's military council denied attempts to disperse a sit-in by thousands of Sudanese protesters in front of the army's general headquarters in Khartoum.

But it warned some groups not to block major roads in the capital Khartoum, saying "such a matter is totally rejected as it creates a kind of chaos which needs the authorities concerned to decisively address.”

The Freedom and Change Alliance called on citizens in the capital and neighboring areas to come out in rallies and head to the sit-in area in front of the army's headquarters. (Xinhua)

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As Jakarta sinks, Indonesia revives plans to relocate capital

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Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, has another problem in addition to its traffic and pollution: The city of 10 million people is sinking.

Some researchers said north Jakarta had already sunk 2.5 meters in 10 years and predict that large swaths of the city could be entirely submerged by 2050, the BBC reported last month.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has revived plans to relocate the capital. At a recent Cabinet meeting, Widodo asked his ministers to come up with suggestions, according to a report by Jakarta Globe.

The president said there were three choices: Leave the capital where it is in Jakarta; move it to an area within a 50 to 70-kilometer radius of the city; or move the capital off the island of Java altogether. (China Daily Global)

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CDB's outstanding loans to Yangtze River Economic Belt approximates 4 trln yuan

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And China Development Bank's outstanding loans to the Yangtze River Economic Belt amounted to $590 billion by the end of March.

The bank has supported projects to control water contamination, restore water ecology and protect water resources in some provinces.

The loans also involve other projects of infrastructure connectivity and industrial transformation and upgrades. (Xinhua)

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

(Produced by David Nye and Jenny Huang)