2020年CRI 美国"毅力号"火星探测器升空 澳维多利亚州强制佩戴口罩（在线收听）

It's been announced that the fifth plenary session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China will be held in Beijing in October.

An official statement says the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau will present its work report to the fifth plenary session.

Attendees will assess the proposals for formulating the 14th Five-Year Plan for Social and Economic Development and future targets for 2035.

The CPC Central Committee Political Bureau also studied the current economic situation at Thursday's meeting and made arrangements for the economic work for the second half of this year.

China has pledged more measures to stabilize foreign trade in the face of weakening global demand and rising protectionism.

The country will provide financing support to foreign trade firms, including further expanding export credit to micro, small and medium-sized companies.

The Ministry of Commerce says China will continue to encourage foreign trade firms to tap the domestic market and support the development of new forms of business such as cross-border e-commerce.

NASA's Mars rover Perseverance has been launched atop an Atlas 5 rocket from Florida on a mission to search for traces of potential past life on Earth's planetary neighbor.

The next-generation robotic rover also is scheduled to deploy a mini helicopter on Mars and test out equipment for future human missions to the red planet.

It is expected to reach Mars next February.

This is the third launch from Earth to Mars during a busy month of July, following probes sent by the United Arab Emirates and China.

Hong Kong's retail sales declined significantly in the first half of the year as the COVID-19 pandemic dampened consumption.

Official figures show the value of total retail sales during the first six months decreased by 33 percent compared with the same period in 2019.

Retail sales came in at about 3.4 billion U.S. dollars in June, down 25 percent from a year ago, narrowing from the 30-percent fall in May.

Of all, sales of medicines and cosmetics suffered the largest year-on-year decline at 57 percent in June.

A new tally by Johns Hopkins University shows global COVID-19 cases have surpassed 17 million, with more than 667,000 deaths.

The United States suffered the most from the pandemic, with more than 4.4 million cases and over 150,000 fatalities, followed by Brazil with more than 2.5 million cases and over 90,000 deaths.

Countries with more than 300,000 cases also include India, Russia, South Africa, Mexico, Peru, Chile and Britain.

Australia recorded its deadliest day in the coronavirus pandemic on Thursday with at least 13 deaths and more than 700 new infections mainly in Victoria state.

The local government has ordered all residents to wear face-coverings outside.

Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews:

"So that is from midnight Sunday, everyone in regional Victoria, and therefore everyone across the whole state, will have to wear a mask, and I stress, or a face covering, whenever they're out of their home."

The total number of active cases within the state has surged to over 5,500.

Australia's Ashleigh Barty, the top-ranked singles player in women's tennis, says she will skip the U.S. Open and the tournament preceding it in New York due to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.

The Western and Southern Open, which is held annually in Cincinnati, has been moved to New York this year and is set to start in mid-August.

The U.S. Open kicks off on Aug. 31 and will be held in its usual home in Flushing Meadows, Queens, but will be played without fans in attendance to limit the spread of the virus.

中共第十九届中央委员会第五次全体会议将于10月在北京举行。

一份官方声明表示，中共中央政治局将向中央委员会报告工作。

与会人员将研究关于制定国民经济和社会发展第十四个五年规划和二〇三五年远景目标的建议。

在周四召开的会议上，中共中央政治局还研究了当前经济形势，并部署下半年经济工作。

面对国际市场需求低迷和贸易保护主义上升，中国承诺采取更多措施稳定外贸。

国家将为外贸企业提供融资支持，包括进一步扩大对中小微企业的出口信贷投放。

商务部表示，中国将继续鼓励外贸公司开拓国内市场，支持跨境电子商务等新业态的发展。

美国国家航空航天局（简称NASA）“毅力”号火星探测器搭载“阿特拉斯5号”火箭，从佛罗里达州升空，开始寻找地球邻居行星存在生命的任务。

下一代火星车计划将一款迷你无人直升机送上火星，以测试未来人类前往火星的任务所需要的设备。

预计探测器将于明年2月抵达火星。

这是繁忙的七月里第三次进行从地球发射到火星的任务，此前阿联酋和中国也发射了火星探测器。

今年上半年，由于新冠肺炎疫情抑制了消费，香港特区的零售额大幅下降。

官方数据显示，与2019年同期相比，今年上半年的零食总额下降了33%。

6月份的零售额约为34亿美元，同比下降25%，与5月份30%的降幅相比有所收窄。

其中，6月份药品和化妆品的销售额同比下降幅度最大，达57%。

约翰霍普金斯大学的最新统计显示，全球新冠肺炎确诊病例已超过1700万例，死亡病例超过66.7万例。

美国是疫情最严重的国家，确诊病例超过440万例，死亡病例超过15万例，紧随其后的是巴西，确诊病例超过250万例，死亡病例超过9万例。

确诊病例超过30万例的国家还包括印度、俄罗斯、南非、墨西哥、秘鲁、智利和英国。

周四，澳大利亚经历了冠状病毒疫情开始以来最致命的一天，死亡人数至少13人，新增感染病例超过700例，主要集中在维多利亚州。

当地政府已下令所居民外出时都要进行面部遮挡。

维多利亚州州长丹尼尔·安德鲁斯：

“从周日午夜开始，维多利亚地区的每一个人，整个州的每一个人，我强调一下，无论何时出门，都必须佩戴口罩或是面罩。”

该州感染总数已激增至5500多例。

澳大利亚女子网球单打排名第一的阿什格雷·巴蒂表示，出于对冠状病毒疫情的担忧，她将不参加美国网球公开赛和之前的纽约锦标赛。

每年在辛辛那提举行的西部公开赛和南方公开赛今年已迁至纽约，定于8月中旬开赛。

美国网球公开赛将于8月31日在皇后区的法拉盛草地公园举行，但比赛将没有球迷入场，以限制病毒的传播。