Fresh Start: Podcast News (4/11/2018 Wed.)

Welcome to Fresh Start.

This is People’s Daily app.

Here are today’s picks from our editors.

China unveils policies to further open its economy

Chinese President Xi Jinping unveiled policies to further open China's economy, as he delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia on Tuesday.

A more attractive investment environment will be created, and transparency will be enhanced, Xi said.

“China will speed up the opening-up of the insurance sector and ease restrictions of establishing new foreign financial institutions in China and expand their business scope,” Xi said. “The limits of foreign capital on the automobile sector will also be reduced.”

China established new organizations, including a state market regulatory administration, and has made big adjustments to government departments and agencies, in a bid to overcome institutional drawbacks which restrict the decisive roles played by the market and limit functions carried out by the government, Xi noted in the speech. (People’s Daily app)

Satellite system pushes billion-dollar commercial opportunity

The BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) is predicted to generate revenue of more than 400 billion yuan (roughly $64 billion) in 2020, and its market share will increase to more than 60 percent. 

BDS is already widely used for public security, transportation, fishing, electricity, forestry, and disaster alleviation. The company’s improvements will provide cutting-edge technology to applications such as autonomous vehicles, smart logistics and the Internet of Things. (People’s Daily app)

Poisoned Yulia Skripal discharged from British hospital

Yulia Skripal has been discharged from a British hospital, the BBC reported on Tuesday, just over a month after being poisoned with a nerve agent along with her father Sergei, a former Russian spy.

The Skripals were found unconscious on a bench on March 4 in the English city of Salisbury. They had been in critical condition until their health began to improve rapidly last week.

The UK, citing the use of a military-grade nerve agent, has blamed Russia for the attack. Moscow has denied any involvement in the incident. (People’s Daily app)

Russia backs US-North Korea contacts, sending top diplomat to Pyongyang

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held talks with his North Korean counterpart, Ri Yong-ho, on Tuesday, and said afterwards that Moscow supported contacts between North Korea and the US.

Lavrov told reporters he had also accepted an invitation to visit Pyongyang at an unspecified date and that he and Ri discussed the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and peace talks with the US.

High-ranking North Korean officials have been engaged in a flurry of international meetings in the recent weeks ahead of a possible meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. (People’s Daily app)

Zuckerberg apologizes for Facebook mistakes

Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg met with US lawmakers on Monday to apologize for misusing the data of some 87 million Facebook users, before undergoing two days of congressional hearings this week.

He will likely face questions concerning ads, posts placed by Russian operatives, and how political consulting group Cambridge Analytica may have used Facebook user data to influence the 2016 US presidential election. (People’s Daily app)

Saudi Arabia seeks French help for music, opera and cinema

Saudi Arabia will use French experts to set up a national opera and orchestra under an agreement signed Monday that stressed the modernizing agenda of the kingdom's crown prince as he began his official trip to Paris.

The deal is a further sign of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's desire to change the image of his homeland.

The prince has already announced lifting the ban on women drivers, the re-opening of movie theaters, and allowing mixed-gender concerts. (People’s Daily app)

Syria invites investigators to probe recent chemical weapons incident

The Syrian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday it has invited the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to investigate claims of chemical weapons use in Damascus' eastern district of Douma, according to state news agency SANA.

The suspected chemical weapon attack on Saturday killed at least 60 people and injured more than 1,000 others according to the Union of Medical Care Organizations.

The Syrian government and its ally Russia have both denied involvement in the attack. (People’s Daily app)

Domestic films take lead at China’s 2018 box office

China’s film market has had a record breaking first quarter for 2018, with its box office taking in more than 20 billion yuan (roughly $3 billion), rising by nearly 40 percent compared with last year's 14 billion yuan (roughly $2 billion).

The new year saw several broken box office records for single-day, week, month and the first days of the Lunar New Year and the Spring Festival. Domestic films earned 15 billion yuan (roughly $2 billion) during this time and accounts for some 74 percent of China’s total box office.

The first quarter’s big winner was "Operation Red Sea" directed by Dante Lam, which is based on the real evacuation of Chinese nationals from Yemen in 2015 during the country's civil war. It made 3.6 billion yuan (roughly $570 million) overall. (People’s Daily app)

Thanks for listening and be sure to catch us tomorrow.

Today’s quote is from English actress and singer Julie Andrews: 

“Behaving like a princess is work. It’s not just about looking beautiful or wearing a crown. It’s more about how you are inside.”

(Produced by Nancy Yan Xu, Ryan Yaoran Yu, Ziyi Zeng, Raymond Mendoza, and Terry Guanlin Li.)