Erinome: Hello everyone, welcome back to our daily news chat! I'm Erinome.
Enceladus: And I'm Enceladus. Let's see what interesting things happened today, you know that?
Erinome: First, the host list for the 2026 Spring Festival Gala is out! Ren Luyu, Sa Beining, Nigmat, Long Yang, Ma Fanshu, and Liu Xinyue will be the hosts.
Enceladus: Wow, that's a strong team! Many familiar faces. I'm already looking forward to it, haha.
Erinome: Next, the top 20 Chinese cities by GDP are announced. Beijing and Shanghai both passed 5 trillion yuan. Shenzhen, Chongqing, and Guangzhou are over 3 trillion.
Enceladus: Oh, Hefei grew by 6.1%, the fastest among them! It's like a dark horse, you know that?
Erinome: Moving on, last year, the average income for farmers reached 24,000 yuan, up 6% from the year before. Also, China's grain output in 2025 was 1.43 trillion jin, and meat output passed 100 million tons for the first time.
Enceladus: That's good news! More food and meat mean better lives for people.
Erinome: Also, the number of people from poor families who have jobs has stayed above 30 million for five years in a row.
Enceladus: Keeping jobs stable is so important. It helps families a lot.
Erinome: And, over 360 million drivers in China now have electronic driver's licenses. There are 970 national standards for road traffic too.
Enceladus: Wow, that's a big number! Electronic licenses are very convenient, I use mine often.
Erinome: A report says China's energy self-sufficiency rate rose to 84.4% in 2025, up 0.8% from last year.
Enceladus: That's progress! More energy from our own country is good for safety.
Erinome: The culture and tourism department said Shanghai residents can travel to Jinmen and Mazu again soon. Searches for this grew over 70%!
Enceladus: Oh, people must be happy about that. Traveling is always fun.
Erinome: The central government's first document this year stresses again: strictly check and prevent illegal buying of farmhouses and land.
Enceladus: Um, that's to protect farmers' rights, I think. It's an important rule.
Erinome: In Shanghai, an old couple in a "lao tou le" ran a red light and hit a car. They got 360,000 yuan in compensation.
Enceladus: Oh no, that's sad. Running red lights is dangerous. Everyone should follow traffic rules.
Erinome: Now some news from other places. A Japanese politician wants to put the Self-Defense Forces in the constitution. China's foreign ministry responded, urging Japan to think deeply about its past aggression.
Enceladus: History is important to remember, you know that?
Erinome: Japanese media say the prime minister election might be on February 18. Also, heavy snow in many parts of Japan caused 35 deaths and 358 injuries.
Enceladus: That's terrible! So many people hurt by snow. I hope they stay safe.
Erinome: American media report that after SpaceX bought xAI, Elon Musk's wealth reached 800 billion dollars, a new record of 852 billion dollars.
Enceladus: Wow, 800 billion dollars! That's an unbelievable amount of money.
Erinome: The US started a plan for key mineral reserves. About 30 countries like Japan, Australia, and South Korea want to join. Also, the US House passed a spending bill, so part of the government won't shut down.
Enceladus: Good, a shutdown would cause problems. Cooperation on minerals sounds big too.
Erinome: Bill Gates first responded to new claims about Epstein. He said he never went to the island and regrets knowing Epstein. His ex-wife said justice should be spoken for.
Enceladus: Hmm, that's a complicated story. It's good he spoke about it.
Erinome: Lastly, Trump agreed to Iran's request, and talks are expected in Oman on the 6th. Also, the US military shot down an Iranian drone that came close to a US aircraft carrier.
Enceladus: Oh, tensions there. I hope talks go well and bring peace.
Erinome: Okay, that's it for today's news. Quite a mix, right?
Enceladus: Yes, from happy things to serious ones. Thanks for listening, everyone! Let's talk again next time. Bye!
