Fresh Start: Podcast News (1/18/2019 Fri.)
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Welcome to Fresh Start.

This is People’s Daily app.

Here are today’s picks from our editors. 

Chinese vice premier to visit the US this month for trade talks

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Chinese vice premier Liu He will visit the US from Jan. 30 to 31 at the invitation of US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Ministry of Commerce spokesperson Gao Feng announced on Thursday, for talks on China-US trade issues.

The two sides will work to facilitate the implementation of the two presidents' consensus, Gao said.

The latest round of trade talks between the two countries was a vice-ministerial level meeting held in Beijing January 7-9. (People's Daily app) 

Chinese universities dominate emerging economies rankings

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Chinese universities dominate this year's rankings of emerging economies universities, according to data published Wednesday afternoon.

China enjoyed its best year yet in the Times Higher Education (THE) Emerging Economies Rankings, claiming four of the top five university rankings and seven out of the top 10 institutions.

The 2019 tables take in nearly 450 universities across emerging economies around the globe, and covering 43 countries in four continents.

China remains the most represented nation in the annual listing, with 72 institutions in total, up from 63 in last year's rankings. (Xinhua) 

Trump says US will develop space-based missile defense

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Declaring that space is the new warfighting domain, President Donald Trump on Thursday vowed the US will develop an unrivaled missile defense system to protect against advanced hypersonic and cruise missile threats from competitors and adversaries.

Trump said in a Pentagon speech that the US will do what it takes “to ensure that we can detect and destroy any missile launched against the United States anywhere, any time, any place.”

Trump did not mention Russia, China or North Korea in his roughly 20-minute speech. But the Pentagon’s new strategy makes clear that its plan for a more aggressive space-based missile defense system is aimed at protecting against existing threats from North Korea and Iran and countering advanced weapon systems being developed by Russia and China. (AP) 

UN health chief orders probe into misconduct

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The head of the World Health Organization has ordered an internal investigation into allegations the UN health agency is rife with racism, sexism and corruption, after a series of anonymous emails with the explosive charges were sent to top managers last year.

Three emails addressed to WHO directors complained about “systematic racial discrimination” against African staffers and alleged other instances of wrongdoing, including claims that some of the money intended to fight Ebola in Congo was misspent.

The author of the anonymous WHO emails also charged there were “crooked recruitment and selection” processes that were “tantamount to fraud, corruption and abuse of authority.”(AP) 

Life expectancy of Chinese extends by half-year thanks to improved air quality: research

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Life expectancy of Chinese has increased by half a year thanks to improved air quality, according to statistics recently published by the Energy Policy Institute of Chicago University (EPIC).

China's war on air pollution in recent years has paid off. In 2016, concentration of PM2.5 has dropped by 12 percent compared with 2013, EPIC Director Michael Greenstone said on Wednesday.

According to EPIC's research, Chinese people's lifespan would increase by three years if the country met WHO guidelines. (China Daily) 

Hundreds of robot servants sacked in Japan

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A total of 243 robots have lost their jobs after the world’s first robot hotel, the Henna-na Hotel in Japan, pushing the robots onto the unemployment rolls just like human beings.

The Hena-na Hotel - translated as Strange in Japanese - started operation in 2015 and has attracted attention as the first all-robot hotel in the world acknowledged by the Guinness Book of World Records. Devices of different models and forms served as administrators, cleaners, porters and assistants. 

However, some of the problems stemmed from creative ideas that didn’t pan out, and complaints and problems came soon after. For example, the two robot velociraptors at the reception could not make copies of passports and other documents, and the small robot assistants in each room kept waking guests’ up with the phrases “How can I help you” after mistaking their snoring for requests. (People's Daily app) 

Thanks for listening and be sure to catch us tomorrow.

And now for the Question of the Day:

What country is often described as being shaped like a boot?

(Answer: Italy.)

Today's quote is from English poet William Wordsworth (1770-1850).

"Come forth into the light of things, let nature be your teacher."

(Produced by Nancy Yan Xu, Ryan Yaoran Yu, Lance Crayon, Elaine Yue Lin, and Chelle Wenqian Zeng.)