Welcome to morning news! It is December 4 (Friday). 11-19℃. Sunny.

China

1. A Chinese spacecraft carrying the country's first lunar samples blasted off from the moon late Thursday, the China National Space Administration announced.

2. Land subsidence in the intersection of Tang'an Lu(Road) and Tangde Xi Heng Lu (Road) in Guangzhou's Tianhe district caused a dump truck to sink half into the ground this morning. Fortunately no casualties were reported.

Photo/Southern Metropolis Daily

3. Sale of train tickets for the upcoming New Year's Day holiday began yesterday, with Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Wuhan among the most popular destinations. For a number of destinations, air tickets are cheaper than train tickets.

4. A one-month cooling-off period before divorce will come into effect next year as part of China's Civil Code, which takes effect on January 1st, 2021. 

5. China's total fertility rate has fallen below the warning line and the population growth has entered a critical turning point, Chinese Minister of Civil Affairs Li Jiheng said in a recent article.

6. China will raise the retail prices of gasoline and diesel from today, the country's top economic planner said Thursday.

7. Huang Yichuan, the man who killed two 10-year-olds near the gate of an elementary school in Shanghai, was executed on Thursday, the Shanghai Intermediate People's Court announced.

8. An asymptomatic case was found in Shenzhen on Wednesday, with link to an imported case of coronavirus, according to the publicity department of Shenzhen's Luohu district.

9. The Chinese mainland on Thursday registered 17 new COVID-19 cases, including two locally transmitted cases in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and 15 from overseas. 

World

1. US President-elect Joe Biden on Thursday said he had asked the government's top infectious disease specialist Anthony Fauci to remain in his post and join his Covid-19 team after he takes office.

2. Italy on Thursday announced national travel restrictions for the Christmas holidays designed to limit the spread of Covid-19 in the European country first hit by the pandemic.

3. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has revised its guidelines regarding COVID-19 quarantine period, from 14 days to seven to 10 days, depending on one's test results and symptoms.

5. Athletes competing at the postponed Tokyo Olympics next summer will be tested every four to five days even if they do not show symptoms, according to an interim report released by the organizers on Wednesday.

6. Russia registered 28,145 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, the highest number of daily increase to date, the country's COVID-19 response center said Thursday.

7. The COVID-19 vaccine will be free for all French citizens, Prime Minister Jean Castex has announced.

Editor: Liuliu

Source: Xinhua, China Daily, People's Daily APP, CGTN