People's Daily Tonight: Podcast News (7/11/2019 Thur.)
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This is People’s Daily Tonight, your news source from China.  

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US waives tariffs on 110 Chinese products

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The Trump administration said it would waive high tariffs on 110 Chinese products. 

This would give relief to some US companies that had said the tariffs were hurting their profits.

The US market is paying close attention to the latest progress of trade negotiations between the two largest economies in the world.

Over the past year, trade frictions with China have brought significant blows and great uncertainty to the US business community, disrupting US manufacturers’ supply chains in China, hampering agricultural exports and putting consumers at risk of higher commodity prices. (People's Daily app)

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Train collision kills 13, injures over 70 in eastern Pakistan

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A passenger train rammed into a freight train in Pakistan's eastern city of Rahim Yar Khan on Thursday morning, killing at least 13 people and injuring over 70 others, officials said.

District Police Officer said that women and children were among the deceased.

The official said that apparently the accident happened when the signal went wrong on the track, leading the passenger train to go on to the loop line where the freight train was parked.

Following the accident, police and rescue teams rushed to the scene and shifted the injured to nearby hospitals. Doctors said the death toll might further rise as twelve of the injured were in critical condition.

The engine and three carriages of the passenger train were completely destroyed in the collision. (Xinhua)

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Ecuador denies spying on Assange at London's embassy

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Ecuador on Wednesday denied again having spied on WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange during his seven years' stay in the Ecuadorian Embassy in Britain. 

The denial follows fresh allegations that the anti-secrecy activist was the target of spying at the embassy.

Ecuador's Foreign Ministry said it was under no obligation to respond to unsubstantiated claims, adding that it was Assange who violated the rules at the embassy. (Xinhua)

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China's banking, insurance regulator approves set-up of Dajia Insurance Group

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Dajia Insurance Group, set up recently with 20.36 billion yuan ($2.96 billion) of registered capital, will take over the operations of Anbang Insurance Group, according to a statement published by the country’s banking and insurance regulator on Thursday.

Approved by China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC), the new insurer is jointly funded by China Insurance Security Fund, China Petrochemical Corporation and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation.

The new group will legally take Anbang's life insurance, pension, asset business, and part of Anbang's property insurance. Anbang will not launch new insurance businesses after completing reorganization of its existing business.

The annoucement says the move marks the stage achievement to transfer Anbang’s business operations. (People’s Daily app)

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China ready to participate in triangular cooperation in UN peacekeeping operations: envoy

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A Chinese UN envoy said Wednesday that China attaches great importance to and is ready to actively participate in triangular cooperation in UN peacekeeping operations.

Noting that China is an important participant in UN peacekeeping operations, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN Wu Haitao said more than 2,500 Chinese peacekeepers are implementing mandates in eight mission areas.

China has established a peacekeeping standby force of 8,000 troops and two standby peacekeeping police units. (Xinhua)

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Japan's Hayabusa2 probe makes second touchdown on asteroid: space agency

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Japan's Hayabusa2 probe landed successfully Thursday on a distant asteroid for a final touchdown, hoping to collect samples that could shed light on the evolution of the solar system.

"The touchdown is successful," a spokesman from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said.

The brief landing Thursday is the second time Hayabusa2 has touched down on the desolate asteroid Ryugu, some 300 million kilometres from Earth.

The complex multi-year mission has also involved sending rovers and robots down to the surface.

Thursday's touchdown was intended to collect pristine materials from beneath the surface of the asteroid that could provide insights into what the solar system was like at its birth, some 4.6 billion years ago. (AFP)

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Chinese courts blacklist over 14.5 mln defaulters

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And more than 14.5 million people have been placed on a credit blacklist for defaulting on their court orders.

Defaulters have been prevented from purchasing about 27.3 million plane tickets and nearly 6 million train tickets.

The Supreme People’s Court has cooperated with airlines and railway companies to bar those who default from purchasing tickets, based on ID card information and their passports. (Xinhua)

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

(Produced by David Nye and Zhan Huilan)