Erinome: Hello everyone, and welcome back to our daily news update! I'm Erinome.
Enceladus: And I'm Enceladus. We've got some really interesting things to talk about today. Let's get started.
Erinome: Okay, first up, some exciting news for everyone who loves holidays. The 2026 holiday schedule has been announced!
Enceladus: Oh, really? Tell me more!
Erinome: Get this, the Spring Festival holiday will be nine days long, the longest ever! It starts from the 28th of the last lunar month. And both the day before New Year's Eve and New Year's Eve are holidays.
Enceladus: Wow, nine days! That's amazing. And what about the National Day holiday?
Erinome: For the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day, if you take six days off, you can get a super long 17-day holiday.
Enceladus: That's a lot of time for travel! Speaking of holidays, I have some good news for students in Sichuan.
Erinome: Oh? What is it?
Enceladus: Sichuan province is going to give primary and middle school students spring and autumn holidays. Usually, they will be about three days long.
Erinome: That's a great idea. They can connect the holidays with weekends to make them longer. More rest for the kids.
Enceladus: Exactly. Now, let's look up to the sky. The Shenzhou-20 astronauts have finished all their tasks in space.
Erinome: You know that? That's fantastic news. When are they coming home?
Enceladus: They are scheduled to return to the Dongfeng landing site on November 5th in the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft. We wish them a safe journey back.
Erinome: For sure. And here’s some news about science. China is now number one in the world for the number of "hot papers".
Enceladus: "Hot papers"? What does that mean?
Erinome: It means research papers that are very popular and talked about right after they are published. China has 53.2% of them. Also, for "highly-cited papers"—papers that are very important and used by other scientists—China's share is now 37.41%, very close to the United States.
Enceladus: Wow, that's a huge achievement for Chinese scientists.
Erinome: It is! And in business news, the 138th Canton Fair, or Guangjiao Hui, just ended. It was a big success.
Enceladus: How successful?
Erinome: Over 310,000 buyers from 223 countries and regions attended. That's a 7.5% increase from last time and a new record.
Enceladus: That’s great for business. But now for some bad news. This story is quite sad.
Erinome: Oh no, what happened?
Enceladus: In Shanxi, 57 savers lost over 11.8 million yuan. They bought financial products from a fake "salesperson" right inside the bank hall.
Erinome: Inside the bank? That's terrible. They must have trusted him. I hope the police can help them.
Enceladus: Yes, a special team has been created to investigate the case.
Erinome: Good. Here's something a little strange. In some places, people needed a work certificate or even a no-crime certificate just to get a phone card.
Enceladus: Really? That sounds very difficult.
Erinome: It was, but the government in Jiangxi made a public notice about it. Now, the telecom companies have changed those rules.
Enceladus: That's a relief. Now, for some news about an app many people use. Have you noticed a change with "Ele.me"?
Erinome: Um, I don't think so. What changed?
Enceladus: The app's name has been changed to "Taobao Shangou". And the delivery riders have new orange and black uniforms.
Erinome: Oh, I'll have to look for that next time I see them. Interesting. And speaking of big companies, Starbucks has a new plan for its business in China.
Enceladus: What are they doing?
Erinome: Starbucks announced that it has formed a new company with a partner called Boyu. Together, they will operate Starbucks' retail business in the Chinese market.
Enceladus: I see. A new partnership. Now, this next story is very shocking. It's from Hong Kong.
Erinome: What is it?
Enceladus: The ashes of several famous people, including the director Lau Kar-leung, were stolen.
Erinome: What? That’s awful! Why would anyone do that?
Enceladus: Some of the families received phone calls demanding millions of Hong Kong dollars to get the ashes back. The police have already arrested one person.
Erinome: That is just so disrespectful. I hope the families are okay.
Enceladus: It's very sad. And finally, some serious crime news from near the border with Myanmar. The case of the Bai crime family in Northern Myanmar has a result.
Erinome: What was the result?
Enceladus: Five members, including Bai Suocheng and Bai Yingcang, were sentenced to death. The case involved more than 29 billion yuan from fraud and gambling.
Erinome: Wow, that's a huge case. It's good to see justice.
Enceladus: Indeed. Okay, that's it for today. A lot of different kinds of news.
Erinome: Yes, it was. Thanks for tuning in, everyone. Let's talk again next time.
