Fresh Start: Podcast News (1/30/2020 Thu.)
People's Daily app
1580335752000

FS LOGO.jpg

8



Welcome to Fresh Start.

This is People’s Daily app. 

Here are today’s picks from our editors.

Xi orders military to contribute to winning battle against epidemic

military.jpg

President Xi Jinping has ordered Chinese military to keep its mission firmly in mind and shoulder responsibility to make contributions to winning the battle against the novel coronavirus epidemic.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks in a recent instruction to the military on the prevention and control of the outbreak of pneumonia caused by the coronavirus.

The military resolutely implemented the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee after the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan of Hubei Province, Xi said, adding that the armed forces rapidly initiated the joint prevention and control mechanism and sent elite medical teams to combat the epidemic at the frontline.

Xi ordered military hospitals engaged in the epidemic control to treat patients with all-out efforts and military research institutions to step up scientific research to contribute to winning the battle against the epidemic. (Xinhua)

Brexit deal cleared by EU Parliament; UK set to leave Friday

brexit.jpg

Britain’s departure from the European Union was backed by European lawmakers Wednesday.

The European Parliament overwhelmingly approved Britain’s departure terms from the EU — the final major decision in the four-year Brexit saga. 

After Britain’s departure on Friday, the UK will remain within the EU’s economic arrangements until the end of the year though it won’t have a say in policy as it will not be a member of the EU anymore. (AP)

Trump signs new trade deal with Canada, Mexico

USMCA.jpg

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed the revised United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in an outdoor ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House.

US House Democrats and the administration had negotiated for months over issues including labor and environmental enforcement, as well as pharmaceutical provisions before finally reaching an agreement in December 2019. 

Mexican lawmakers have already approved the deal, but it still needs to be ratified by Canada's parliament before it can take effect. The deal is set to replace the 26-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). (Xinhua)

China delays stock market opening until February 3

stock.jpg

China's stock market will remain closed until next Monday after authorities extended the Lunar New Year holiday by three days to halt the spread of the coronavirus.

In separate statements, the Shenzhen and Shanghai stock exchanges said trading is now scheduled to resume on February 3. Both markets have been closed since January 24 for the holiday and had initially planned to reopen on January 31. (CGTN)

Boeing posts first annual loss in over two decades amid 737 Max crisis

boeing.png

Boeing has reported its first annual loss of $636 million in over two decades, as costs from two Boeing 737 Max crashes continue to climb. 

Boeing expects nearly $19 billion in costs related to the grounding of its 737 MAX jets, the US plane maker said on Wednesday while posting a surprise loss and indicating it would cut production of its bigger 787 Dreamliner aircraft.  (CGTN)

Bryant's helicopter lacked terrain warning system

kobe.jpg

US investigators said Tuesday that the helicopter carrying basketball superstar Kobe Bryant did not have a terrain awareness and warning system (TAWS) installed, which could've provided information to the pilot on what terrain he was flying in.

According to National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) spokeswoman Jennifer Homendy, the aircraft also did not have a flight data recorder (FDR) and a cockpit voice recorder (CVR), as recommended by the organization. (Ecns)

Historians unveil rare photos of Sobibor death camp

camp.jpeg

Hundreds of newly discovered photographs, including some taken at the Sobibor death camp, represent a "quantum leap" in research into Nazi crimes against humanity, historians at Berlin museum Topography of Terror said Tuesday.

Historians said 361 black-and-white photos and several written documents provided unprecedented insights into the Sobibor camp in German Nazi-occupied Poland, about which little is known even 75 years after the end of World War II.

Around 1.8 million Jews died at Belzec, Treblinka and Sobibor in Poland as part of "Operation Reinhard," yet knowledge of the latter camp is scant. (AFP)

Thanks for listening and be sure to catch us tomorrow.

And now for the Question of the Day:

What is a baby shark called?

(Answer: pup.)

Today’s quote is from French philosopher Albert Camus (1913-1960).  

"The only real progress lies in learning to be wrong all alone."

(Produced by Nancy Yan Xu, Ryan Yaoran Yu, Brian Lowe, and Elaine Yue Lin. Music by Eugene Loner.)