Fresh Start: Podcast News (3/24/2020 Tue.)
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Welcome to Fresh Start.

This is People’s Daily app. 

Here are today’s picks from our editors.

China uses big data to block imported COVID-19 cases

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China's immigration authorities shared nearly 200,000 pieces of entry and exit information with the customs and health administrations to help find more than 100 cases of imported novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

The findings accounted for one-third of the total imported COVID-19 patients in China, said Liu Haitao, with the National Immigration Administration (NIA) at a press conference held in Beijing Monday.

The NIA also shares the information of entry and exit of personnel with provincial-level epidemic containing authorities every other hour each day to help curb the virus outbreak, Liu said. (Xinhua)

US confirms COVID-19 cases top 40,000: Johns Hopkins 

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COVID-19 cases in the US topped 40,000 on Monday, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

The fresh figure reached 40,961 with 485 deaths, the CSSE said.

New York state has become the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, with 20,875 cases reported. (Xinhua)

US Fed to buy unlimited government debt and lend to businesses

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In its boldest effort to protect the US economy from COVID-19, the Federal Reserve said it would buy as much government debt as necessary and would begin lending to small and large businesses and local governments to help them weather the pandemic.

The Fed’s announcement Monday removes any dollar limits from its plans to support credit flow in an economy that has been ravaged since the outbreak. 

The central bank’s all-out effort has now gone beyond even the extraordinary drive it made to rescue the economy during the 2008 financial crisis. (AP)

UK government takes over railways in virus outbreak

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The British government took over the railways on Monday in a bid to ensure services keep running for key workers during the coronavirus outbreak.

The transport ministry said it was suspending normal franchise agreements with private operators, taking over "all revenue and cost risk" for at least six months.

Train services are being reduced from Monday, as passenger numbers slump in the wake of government advice to avoid all non-essential travel to stem the outbreak of COVID-19. (AFP)

Japan set to accept IOC decision to delay Olympics

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The Japanese government is set to tell the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that if it decides to postpone the 2020 Tokyo Olympics amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it will accept their decision, inside sources said Monday.

The latest development comes after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hinted for the first time at the possibility the forthcoming Summer Games could be postponed if they could not be held in their "complete form” according to the current schedule and in front of spectators amid the pandemic.

So far, national Olympic committees in Brazil, Norway, and the Netherlands have called for postponements, while Canada and Australia said they will not send teams to the Games if they are held this year due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic. (Xinhua)

South Korean president calls for full probe into sex slave video case

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South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Monday called for a full investigation into a shocking Telegram sex slave video purportedly involving women, including underage girls, according to Yonhap news agency. 

"At least 74 women, including 16 minors, were sexually abused and exploited for several months," Yonhap reported, citing local police. It claimed the women were kept virtually enslaved amid threats to share photos of them in the nude and that they were forced to photograph or film themselves performing sexual acts.  

Moon also urged police to establish a special investigative team to handle the case. (CGTN)

Harvey Weinstein tests positive for COVID-19 in prison: union official

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Former movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, who is serving a prison sentence for sexual assault and rape, has tested positive for COVID-19, according to the head of New York’s state correction officer’s union.

Weinstein, 68, has been placed in isolation at Wende Correctional Facility, said Michael Powers, president of the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association.

Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison for sexually assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haleyi and raping Jessica Mann, a onetime aspiring actress. (CGTN)

Thanks for listening and be sure to catch us tomorrow.

And now for the Question of the Day:

What body parts do monkeys have that great apes do not?

(Answer: Tails.)   

Today’s quote is from Roman poet Juvenal (60 - 130).      

"Rare is the union of beauty and purity."

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