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This is People’s Daily app.
Here are today’s picks from our editors.
China's railways see passenger trips rising amid work resumption
China's railways are seeing increase in passenger numbers in tandem with the work and production resumption amid the country's battle against the novel coronavirus epidemic, the China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. (CSR) said Thursday.
Since Feb. 20, the number of railway passenger trips has picked up with an average daily increase of 60,000, according to the company.
Meanwhile, a total 199,000 workers had resumed work at 2,817 construction sites of 90 key railway projects directly managed by the CSR. (Xinhua)
China's daily mask output exceeds 70 million units
China's daily output of masks topped 76 million units as of Tuesday, 7.8 times the figure reported on Feb. 1, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said Thursday.
As of Tuesday, the daily production capacity of masks in China more than tripled from Feb. 1 to over 72 million units, basically meeting the demand, the NDRC said.
Over 30 million medical masks were produced per day in the country while its daily production capacity reached 32 million units, data showed. (Xinhua)
Saudi Arabia suspends entry to perform Umrah among measures against COVID-19
Saudi Arabia announced on Thursday precautionary and temporary measures against the novel coronavirus, including the entry to the kingdom for performing Umrah.
The measures include suspension of visits to the Prophet's Mosque in Medina and tourist visas for nationals of countries with confirmed coronavirus outbreaks, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on the Saudi Press Agency.
Neighboring countries have confirmed multiple COVID-19 cases among people who arrived from Iran, it added. (China Plus)
UK court blocks Heathrow expansion over climate concerns
Heathrow Airport’s plans to increase capacity of Europe’s biggest travel hub by over 50% were stalled Thursday when a British court said the government failed to consider its commitment to combat climate change when it approved the project.
The ruling throws in doubt the future of the $18 billion plan to build a third runway at Heathrow, the west London hub that already handles more than 1,300 flights a day.
While Heathrow officials said they planned to appeal, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government indicated it wouldn’t challenge the ruling by the Court of Appeal. (AP)
Russia test-launches Tsirkon hypersonic missile from ship for first time
Russia has test-launched the Tsirkon hypersonic missile from a warship for the first time, TASS news agency reported on Thursday.
The missile was fired in early January from the Admiral Gorshkov frigate in the Barents Sea against a ground target over 500 km away, TASS said.
Putin said then that the Tsirkon missile fired from surface ships or submarines can reach a speed of approximately Mach 9 and strike a target more than 1,000 km away underwater or on the ground. (Xinhua)
Peru's top court rejects bid to ban cock, bull fighting
Peru's top court on Tuesday rejected a lawsuit brought by animal rights activists hoping to ban cock and bull fighting on grounds they are unconstitutional.
Peru has animal welfare laws but there is a clause that exempts cock and bull fighting as it considers them "cultural shows."
Defenders of bull and cock fighting say the livelihoods of 400,000 people involved in breeding these animals would be at risk if the activities were banned. (CGTN)
Chris Paul is willing to play for Team USA in 2020 Summer Olympics
NBC Sports had some good news for the US Basketball Men's National Team. 10-time NBA All-Star point guard Chris Paul said he's willing to play for Team USA at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Paul participated in the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics and helped Team USA win gold medals at in both basketball competitions.
Though he's already 34 years old, Paul is having one of the best seasons in his career at OKC. Having played a career-low 31.7 minutes per game, he averaged 17.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 6.7 assists. (CGTN)
Thanks for listening and be sure to catch us tomorrow.
And now for the Question of the Day:
Introduced by Edward Jenner In 1796, what was the first successful vaccine to be developed?
(Answer: Smallpox vaccine.)
Today’s quote is from French artist Paul Cezanne (1839-1906).
"The awareness of our own strength makes us modest."
(Produced by Nancy Yan Xu, Ryan Yaoran Yu, Lance Crayon, Elaine Yue Lin, and Paris Yelu Xu. Music by Eugene Loner.)