Erinome: Hello dear listeners! Welcome back to our daily news roundup. I'm Erinome.
Enceladus: And I'm Enceladus. Let's dive into today's top stories, shall we?
Erinome: First up, holiday travel news! During the National Day and Mid-Autumn holiday, 888 million people traveled within China. That's 123 million more than last year!
Enceladus: Wow, that's a huge number! And the total tourism spending? It reached 809.006 billion yuan, up 108.189 billion yuan from last year. People really wanted to travel, huh?
Erinome: Yeah, must be a busy holiday!
Enceladus: Next, news about new energy vehicles. Three departments, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said the threshold for new energy vehicle purchase tax reduction will be higher starting January 1, 2026.
Erinome: Oh right, and another thing—two departments also said they'll治理 price disorderly competition to keep the market order good. You know, like stopping companies from selling too cheap in a messy way.
Enceladus: Makes sense to keep the market fair.
Erinome: More on new energy vehicles! The three departments also adjusted the technical requirements for tax reduction. For plug-in hybrids and extended-range EVs, the pure electric range threshold is raised to 100km. It starts January 1 next year.
Enceladus: So cars need to drive 100km on electricity alone to get the tax break now? Um, that might push companies to make better batteries.
Erinome: Big tech news from Fudan University! Their team announced they developed the world's first 2D silicon-based hybrid architecture flash memory chip. Its storage speed is 1 million times faster than traditional flash memory, and the integration yield is 94.3%!
Enceladus: Wow, 1 million times faster? That's amazing! Imagine how quick phones or computers could be with this chip!
Erinome: Sad news from Sichuan, though. A 5.4-magnitude earthquake hit Xinlong County on the 9th. But good news—no reports of injuries or deaths yet.
Enceladus: Oh no, hope everyone there is safe! And Sichuan Earthquake Bureau said the possibility of a bigger earthquake in the area in the next few days is low. That's a relief.
Erinome: Next, the Haidilao "urine incident" judgment is now effective. The parents of two 17-year-old boys will pay 2.2 million yuan in compensation. Haidilao previously asked for 23 million yuan.
Enceladus: Sad, those are young boys. Hope their parents teach them to be more responsible next time.
Erinome: Over to Microsoft. Since May 2025, the company has laid off more than 15,000 people. They're fully focusing on artificial intelligence now.
Enceladus: Hmm, big companies really are shifting to AI, huh? Must be a big change for their workers.
Erinome: University rankings are out! The 2026 Times Higher Education World University Rankings—Oxford University is number one for the 10th year in a row!
Enceladus: Wow, Oxford keeps winning! And Tsinghua University? It's 12th globally, and top in Asia for the 3rd year. Go Tsinghua!
Erinome: The 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature was announced. Hungarian writer Laszlo won! His famous books include *Satan's Tango* and *The Melancholy of Resistance*.
Enceladus: I should check those books later. Sounds interesting!
Erinome: Export control news—Ministry of Commerce and General Administration of Customs announced they'll control exports of lithium batteries, superhard materials, rare earth equipment, and more.
Enceladus: Important materials, so controlling their export makes sense for national interests, right?
Erinome: Over to the US. US media says the Senate failed to pass the funding bills needed to reopen the federal government. So the government will stay shut down.
Enceladus: Oh no, the US government still isn't working? That must be tough for people there.
Erinome: Tragic news from LA. Police arrested a man accused of intentionally setting a fire. It caused Los Angeles' most destructive wildfire ever—12 people died, and about 6,000 buildings burned down.
Enceladus: That's terrible! So many lives lost and homes destroyed. How sad...
Erinome: News from Germany. Their parliament abolished the "3-year fast naturalization" law. Now, the minimum residency to apply for citizenship stays at 5 years.
Enceladus: So you need to live in Germany for 5 years first before you can become a citizen. Got it.
Erinome: Two stories from India. First, foreign media reports Indian cough syrup with poison has killed 20 children. Many drug companies were found violating rules.
Enceladus: Oh no, poor kids... That's so sad. Hope they fix the drug safety soon.
Erinome: Second, Indian airline announced they'll start daily direct flights from Kolkata to Guangzhou on October 26. Maybe more people can travel between the two cities now.
