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Here are today’s picks from our editors.
Wuhan temporarily shuts down local transportation to curb virus
The local government of Wuhan, the center of the coronavirus, announced that all public transportation in the city — local buses, long-distanced buses, subway and ferry — will be temporarily closed starting at 10am on Thursday.
All flights and trains scheduled to depart from Wuhan also will be temporarily canceled to reduce the risk of spreading the new virus, the government said.
Residents in Wuhan were encouraged not to leave the city if there is no particular reason, according to the announcement.
444 cases of pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) were confirmed in Central China’s Hubei province, resulting in 17 deaths, as of 8 pm Wednesday, local officials announced at a news conference. (China Daily)
Snake might be animal reservoir of novel coronavirus: study
A study published on Wednesday in the Journal of Medical Virology showed that snake is the most probable wildlife animal reservoir for the novel coronavirus that caused Wuhan pneumonia.
Snake was one of the animals being sold in Wuhan's Huanan Seafood Market before its closure. The market is believed to be related to most of the infected cases.
Results obtained from the analyses suggested that the new virus (2019-nCoV) appeared to be a recombinant virus between the bat coronavirus and an origin-unknown coronavirus, according to the study. (Xinhua)
UK says to proceed with digital tax despite US threat
Britain's planned digital tax on tech giants will proceed as planned from April, UK finance minister Sajid Javid insisted Wednesday despite US threats of retaliatory tariffs.
Javid described Britain's tax, seen as targeting especially US giants such as Amazon, Google and Facebook, as "proportionate" and "temporary."
Addressing the annual World Economic Forum, he added: "It will fall away once there is an international solution." (AFP)
Boeing says 737 MAX return delayed until mid-2020
Boeing officially pushed back the time frame for the 737 MAX to return to the skies on Tuesday, sending shares plunging and overshadowing an earlier announcement of a first flight of the delayed 777X plane.
Boeing said it is now targeting the return of the grounded MAX "during mid-2020," the latest delay in the schedule for the troubled jet, which has been grounded since March following two fatal crashes.
On late Monday, Boeing confirmed that it has temporarily stopped building the 737 MAX. (China Plus)
Wreck of Titanic to be protected under UK-US agreement
The wreck of the Titanic is to be better protected under a new treaty between Britain and the United States, Britain's Department for Transport (DfT) said Tuesday.
The signing of the treaty, which allows the British and US governments to grant or deny licenses authorizing entry of the wreck or removal of artefacts, will help ensure the resting site of more than 1,500 people is preserved and respected, the DfT said.
On April 15, 1912, after hitting an iceberg, the Titanic sank in the icy waters of the Atlantic Ocean during its maiden voyage from Southampton. (Xinhua)
NASA identifies oldest known meteor crater on Earth
An international team led by a NASA scientist identified the oldest known meteor crater in Australia, which lends more clues to the formation of the Earth.
The study, published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications, showed that the Yarrabubba meteor crater in a remote part of western Australia was 2.229 billion years old.
The original size of the crater is believed to have been 70 kilometers across, though its remnant today is only 20 kilometers. (Xinhua)
World's oldest captive giant panda celebrates Spring Festival
The world's oldest captive giant panda Xinxing and her four "great-grandchildren" celebrated the upcoming Spring Festival at a zoo in Southwest China's Chongqing municipality Tuesday.
The 37-year-old celebrity "granny panda," her age equivalent to more than 100 human years, was treated with carrots, apples, bamboo shoots and leaves in the panda house decorated with lanterns and streamers.
Xinxing, born in Sichuan province in 1982, is the world's oldest captive giant panda. (China Daily)
Thanks for listening and be sure to catch us tomorrow.
And now for the Question of the Day:
What is the bright glow around the "head" of a comet called?
(Answer: Coma.)
Today’s quote is from French writer Madame de Stael (1766-1817).
"Love is a symbol of eternity. It wipes out all sense of time, destroying all memory of a beginning and all fear of an end."
(Produced by Nancy Yan Xu, Ryan Yaoran Yu, Brian Lowe, and Elaine Yue Lin. Music by Eugene Loner.)