Erinome: Hello everyone! Welcome to "Today's News Bites". I'm Erinome.
Enceladus: And I'm Enceladus. Let's dive into the latest updates—simple and clear!
Erinome: First up, China's Ministry of Finance has new data. In the first 11 months, the national general public budget revenue was 200516 billion yuan, up 0.8% from last year. Oh, and stamp duty from securities trading? 185.5 billion yuan, a 70.7% jump! Wow, that stamp duty increase is huge!
Enceladus: Oh right! So the stock market must have been super active this year, huh? 0.8% for the budget revenue is steady, but 70.7% for stamp duty? That’s crazy!
Erinome: Next, the State Administration for Market Regulation says platforms that force merchants to have "the lowest price online" might be breaking rules. Like, abusing market power or making monopoly deals. Oh, so that’s not allowed now?
Enceladus: Sad, some big platforms probably did that before. But good they’re stopping it—merchants need fair competition, you know?
Erinome: Now, a birth population ranking: 31 provinces, and 14 of them had 6.968 million births last year. That’s 73% of the whole country’s total!
Enceladus: Oh, so most babies were born in those 14 provinces? Maybe they have bigger populations or better family policies?
Erinome: Education news! The Ministry of Education released 20 rules for school exams. Senior high schools must cut down exam times, and primary grades 1-2 won’t have written tests (bishi). Oh, that’s great for little kids!
Enceladus: Haha, my 7-year-old cousin will love this—no more paper tests! Senior high students need less stress too.
Erinome: From Jiangxi province: Starting 2027, they’re canceling the全省统招 (quansheng tongzhao, province-wide unified teacher recruitment). Now, schools will hire teachers at different levels.
Enceladus: Oh, so local areas can pick teachers that fit their needs? That might work better than one big exam for everyone!
Erinome: Big public health news! China’s Blood Donation Law is getting its first revision in 27 years. They want to raise the donation age to 65, and make the wait between whole blood donations at least 90 days. Wow, more people can donate now!
Enceladus: Sad the age was lower before, but 65-year-olds can help too! Shorter wait means more blood—good for hospitals.
Erinome: A serious accident update: Henan released the report on the Fangcheng Yingcai School fire. 25 people responsible got punished. Oh no, that fire was terrible. Hope schools are safer now.
Enceladus: Yeah, safety first for kids! Sad it happened, but good they found who’s to blame.
Erinome: Let’s talk silver! Spot silver price just broke $66 per ounce—new all-time high! This year, it’s up over 120%—way better than gold. Wow, silver is shining!
Enceladus: Haha, maybe people are buying silver instead of gold? 120% increase? I need to check the price later!
Erinome: Science win! "Physics World" picked 2025’s top 10 breakthroughs. A Chinese team made the first 2D metal material—so cool! It’s on the list with big international ones, like asteroid life clues.
Enceladus: Yes! 2D materials are super important for tech—better phones, batteries. Chinese scientists did awesome!
Erinome: Now, a sad but important story: Foreign media say Finland’s beauty queen and some politicians were suspected of discriminating against Asians. Finland’s Prime Minister apologized to Chinese, Korean, and Japanese people, saying racism has no place there.
Enceladus: Good they apologized, but sad discrimination happened. Everyone should be equal, no matter where they’re from.
Erinome: Last one: US media say Arctic temperatures are the highest in 125 years. And polar bears? They have gene mutations—"jumping genes" to adapt to melting sea ice. Oh no, the ice is melting, but wow, the bears are changing to survive?
Enceladus: Sad about the ice, but interesting how their genes help them. Hope we can slow global warming, though.
Erinome: Okay, that’s all for today! Thanks for listening.
Enceladus: Yeah, see you next time! Bye!
