This is People's Daily Tonight, your news source from China.
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China, Kazakhstan to forge comprehensive strategic partnership
China and Kazakhstan have agreed to develop a permanent comprehensive strategic partnership.
The decision came in a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Kazakh counterpart, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
Xi said such a process of moving forward has never been smooth, and stressed that no matter how the external situation changes, China will unswervingly take care of its own business regardless of outside factors.
He said China is willing to deepen all-round cooperation with Kazakhstan, seek synergy between the Silk Road Economic Belt and Kazakhstan's Bright Path new economic policy, and strengthen connectivity. (China Plus)
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Chinese mainland hosts top two universities in Asia: global rankings
The Chinese mainland for the first time hosts the top two universities in Asia in Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2020 published Wednesday.
Currently in its 16th year, THE reviews over 1,300 institutions across 92 countries based on 13 calibrated indicators that measure performance across teaching, research, citations, industry income and international outlook.
The Chinese mainland once again expands its representation with 81 institutions in the table, which is nine more than last year and solidifies its fourth-place position in the table.
In all, the Chinese mainland has seven universities in the top 200 (the same as last year), equivalent to the representation of Canada and Switzerland combined. (Xinhua)
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18 years later, America vows to ‘never forget’ 9/11
People who were too young on 9/11 to even remember their lost loved ones, and others for whom the grief is still raw, paid tribute with wreath-layings and the solemn roll call of the dead Wednesday as America marked the 18th anniversary of the worst terror attack on US soil.
President Donald Trump laid a wreath at the Pentagon.
Nearly 3,000 people were killed when terrorist-piloted planes slammed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and an open field in Pennsylvania. (AP)
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WHO provides Libya with essential medicines
The World Health Organization (WHO) said Wednesday that Libyan hospitals have been provided with essential medicines with the support of the German government and the US Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance.
"Libya's hospitals and clinics need a steady supply of medicine to treat chronic diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure and asthma. Support from the government of Germany ensures that contingency stocks are available in Libya's east, south and west during emergencies," WHO tweeted.
The U.S. Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance is also funding essential medical supplies needed by hospitals and clinics that would help thousands of patients for 3 months, WHO said.
Due to years of armed conflicts and economic instability, Libyan authorities have been struggling to provide proper healthcare and education and other basic services for the people. (Xinhua)
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Trudeau launches campaign for October 21 Canada election
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau kicked off a challenging six-week re-election campaign and immediately came under fire over a nagging ethics scandal and other controversies.
Polls showed Trudeau in a tight race with Conservative Andrew Scheer, who launched his bid for leadership by accusing the Liberal prime minister of lying "to cover up scandals."
Last month, a top watchdog ruled the prime minister had breached ethics rules by pressuring the former justice minister to ensure a major construction firm avoid a corruption trial. (CGTN)
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Yahoo Japan to acquire online fashion firm Zozo
Yahoo Japan said Thursday it will acquire a majority stake in the online fashion retailer Zozo founded by billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, known for buying pricey art and his space travel plans.
The Japanese IT giant, a subsidiary of telecoms giant and investor SoftBank Group, aims to buy up to 152.95 million shares or a 50.1 percent stake in Zozo.
The cost of the acquisition will be as high as 400.7 billion yen ($3.7 billion), with Yahoo Japan offering a 21 percent premium over Zozo's Wednesday closing price.
The deal includes an agreement to acquire 92.7 million shares from Maezawa, equivalent to the 30.37 percent he owns in Zozo. (AFP)
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China launches three new satellites
And China sent a resource satellite and two small satellites into planned orbits from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in North China's Shanxi province on Thursday.
The resource satellite will provide observation data for natural resources asset management, ecological monitoring, disaster prevention and control, environmental protection, urban construction, transportation and contingency management.
One of the two small satellites belongs to Beijing Normal University, and the other belongs to a Shanghai-based private space technology company. (Xinhua)
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And that's People's Daily Tonight. Thanks for joining us.
(Produced by David Nye and Wang Zi)