Fresh Start: Podcast News (5/14/2019 Tue.)
People's Daily app
1557780998000

15041802izmu.jpg

Welcome to Fresh Start.

This is People's Daily app.

Here are today's picks from our editors. 

China to increase tariffs on imported US products

China to increase tariffs.jpg

China on Monday announced that it will raise the rate of additional tariffs imposed on some of the imported US products from June 1.

China had earlier imposed additional tariffs on $60 billion worth of US imports, the rates of additional tariffs on some of the products will now be increased to 25 percent, 20 percent, and 10 percent, according to a statement by the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council.

The decision came after the US move to increase tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods from 10 percent to 25 percent as of May 10.

To defend multilateral trade mechanisms and safeguard its own rights and interests, China had to adjust its additional tariffs on some of the goods imported from the United States in response to the US act of unilateralism and trade protectionism, the statement noted. (Xinhua) 

China allocates nearly 2 billion yuan for training of rural teachers

China allocates.jpg

The Ministry of Finance has allocated 1.9 billion yuan ($292 million) in a special fund to support the training of village teachers in middle and primary schools and kindergartens.

The ministry urges educational departments to make proper use of the funds to better support training programs in poverty-stricken regions.

Various training including off-site and online courses will be used to enhance the teaching faculty in central and western China, the ministry said. (Xinhua) 

Sweden reopens rape case against Assange

Sweden reopens.jpg

Swedish prosecutors are reopening a rape case against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange after he was removed from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.

Swedish prosecutors filed preliminary charges against Assange after he visited the country in 2010.

Seven years later, a case of alleged sexual misconduct was dropped when the statute of limitations expired. That left a rape allegation, which couldn't be pursued while Assange was living at the embassy. The statute of limitations on that case expires in August 2020. (AP) 

Amazon to employees: We'll pay you to quit and haul packages

Amazon to.jpg

Amazon, which is racing to deliver packages faster, is turning to its employees with a proposition: Quit your job and we'll help you start a business delivering Amazon packages.

The offer, announced Monday, comes as Amazon seeks to speed up its shipping time from two days to one for its Prime members.

Amazon says it will cover up to $10,000 in startup costs for employees who are accepted into the program and leave their jobs. The company says it will also pay them three months' worth of their salary. The offer is open to most part-time and full-time Amazon employees, including warehouse workers who pack and ship orders. (AP) 

China reports major growth in sales of new energy vehicles

China reports major.jpg

The new energy vehicle (NEV) market in China posted vigorous growth in the January-April period amid a sluggish broader automobile sector.

About 360,000 NEV cars were sold in the first four months of 2019, surging by 59.8 percent from the same period a year earlier, data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed Monday.

Sales of pure electric vehicles rose 65 percent during the period to 277,600 units, and sales of plug-in hybrid vehicles jumped 43 percent to 82,200 in the same period, the association said. (Xinhua) 

Egypt discovers oldest Pharaonic military castle in Sinai

Egypt discovers.jpg

An Egyptian archeological mission has discovered remnants of a military castle dating back to Psamtik era from 664-610 BC in North Sinai Province, the country's Ministry of Antiquities said in a statement on Monday.

The 11-meter-wide castle has 16 towers, said Hesham Hussein, chairman of the North Sinai archeological site, adding that during the excavation work, some rooms for the soldiers who were tasked with securing the castle were unearthed.

Hussein explained that the castle, which was the main gate for protecting the eastern border of Egypt, has encountered serious attacks that destroyed most of its buildings. (Xinhua) 

Legendary actress and singer Doris Day dead at 97

Legendary actress.jpg

Doris Day, the honey-voiced singer and actress whose film dramas, musicals and innocent sex comedies made her a top star in the 1950s and '60s and among the most popular screen actresses in history, has died. She was 97.

The Doris Day Animal Foundation confirmed Day died early Monday at her Carmel Valley, California, home. The foundation said she was surrounded by close friends.

Day was a top box office draw and recording artist known for such films as "Pillow Talk" and "That Touch of Mink" and for such songs as "Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera)" from the Alfred Hitchcock film "The Man Who Knew Too Much."

She never won an Academy Award, but Day was given a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004. (AP) 

Thanks for listening and be sure to catch us tomorrow.

And now for the Question of the Day:

How many teeth should an adult human have?

(Answer: Thirty-two.)

Today's quote is from Greek historian Herodotus (484 BC - 425 BC).

"Force has no place where there is need of skill."

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