English Listening Practice — August 23, 2026

📰 Congo, M23 rebels agree to peace roadmap

The Democratic Republic of Congo and M23 rebels have established a sequenced roadmap toward peace.

This breakthrough builds on a US-brokered deal signed in Doha last November.

International mediators from the African Union, Switzerland, and Qatar also helped facilitate the agreement.

Under the framework, UN MONUSCO peacekeepers will bolster an observer mission monitoring the current ceasefire.

Both parties have committed to structured timelines for forthcoming negotiations.

The initiative aims to bring a durable resolution to the conflict.

📰 Zelenskyy says wartime elections could ‘destroy’ Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has firmly rebuffed calls to hold elections during the ongoing war with Russia.

Former Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, whom Zelenskyy dismissed in July, issued the unprecedented demand earlier this week.

Ukrainian law explicitly prohibits wartime elections.

Speaking to reporters, Zelenskyy warned that staging a vote now poses immense risks.

He cautioned that an election would act as a political tsunami and could completely fracture the nation.

With the conflict now spanning more than four years, the president stressed that holding a vote could destroy the country.

🏛️ US deports 20 people to Liberia, the first of 1,200 migrants under Trump deal

An initial cohort of twenty deportees from the United States has arrived in Liberia.

This flight marks the rollout of a bilateral pact to transfer up to 1,200 third-country migrants.

According to Liberian Information Minister Jerolinmek Piah, the group will encompass nationals from Africa, the Americas, and the Caribbean.

In exchange, Washington has pledged $124 million in foreign assistance.

The US will also extend visitor visa validity for Liberian citizens from 12 to 36 months.

🤖 Alibaba to raise $10bn via new Hong Kong shares to fund AI investments

Alibaba Group has unveiled plans to raise 80 billion Hong Kong dollars, equivalent to roughly 10.2 billion U.S. dollars.

The capital will be secured through a fresh share placement targeted at investors outside the United States.

The company intends to channel the entire proceeds directly into bolstering its full-stack artificial intelligence capabilities.

This move comes as the race to build frontier models and supporting infrastructure intensifies across both China and the West.

📰 Japan to offer loan insurance to Latin America development lender

Japan’s state-backed Nippon Export and Investment Insurance will provide insurance for infrastructure loans issued by the Inter-American Development Bank.

The multinational organization is extending this financing to a southeastern state in Brazil.

Through this move, the agency, known as NEXI, will underwrite the multinational development lender directly.

Tokyo intends to use this framework to help domestic companies expand their operations across Latin America.

The initiative offers institutional support to facilitate commercial growth for Japanese enterprises in the region.

⚖️ Paramount, California AG office reportedly plan to meet Monday to discuss settling WBD lawsuit

Paramount Skydance representatives plan to meet Monday with the California attorney general’s office.

The parties aim to explore a potential settlement in the antitrust lawsuit blocking Paramount's takeover of Warner Bros.

Discovery.

Mounting pressure from prominent state officials and industry groups has spurred these talks.

However, insiders caution that meaningful progress remains far from guaranteed.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta recently emphasized that any viable deal demands robust structural remedies.

He reiterated that the state remains strictly focused on alleged violations across three specific markets outlined in its complaint.

📰 JWST finds early galaxies may be 4 times more massive than thought

Ancient galaxies may be three to four times more massive than previously calculated, according to a study in Nature Astronomy.

An international team, including Penn State researcher Joel Leja, analyzed nine mature galaxies using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope.

By splitting galactic light into distinct spectra, astronomers detected an immense, previously hidden population of faint, low-mass stars.

These findings reveal that early galaxies packed far more mass than expected.

Consequently, the discovery poses a direct challenge to prevailing models of cosmic formation and galactic evolution.

⚡ Small UK power generator shut down after cyberattack linked to Iran: Telegraph

A cyberattack linked to Iranian operatives forced a small UK power plant offline for four days in July.

The Telegraph first reported the intrusion.

A government spokesperson confirmed an incident impacted a small-scale generator, emphasizing that the wider energy grid was never compromised.

Officials declined to name the targeted facility or formally attribute blame.

Following the breach, the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero briefed energy executives and moved to update cybersecurity regulations across the sector.

📰 TikTok to pay $400m to US in one of largest child privacy settlements

TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, have agreed to a landmark $400 million settlement with the United States.

The agreement resolves a 2024 Department of Justice lawsuit regarding alleged violations of federal child privacy protections.

Regulators accused the platform of unlawfully harvesting vast amounts of personal data from millions of users under the age of 13.

This milestone penalty represents one of the steepest payouts on record under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.

📰 Man City agree £86m deal for 18-year-old Bouaddi

Manchester City have reached an agreement in principle to sign 18-year-old midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille.

The marquee deal is valued at 100 million euros, or approximately £86 million.

The Morocco international is now poised to complete his protracted transfer to England and join manager Enzo Maresca's side.

City prioritized strengthening their central midfield following the departures of both Rodri and Tijani Reinders.

This breakthrough concludes advanced negotiations between the two clubs.

📰 Australia beat Bangladesh in two days

Australia sealed an emphatic victory over Bangladesh within two days in Mackay to level the series 1-1.

The hosts secured the second Test by an innings and 51 runs.

Pacer Mitchell Starc spearheaded the demolition, claiming ten wickets for 51 runs across the match.

Australia's bowling attack bundled Bangladesh out for a paltry 64 in the first innings.

The visitors fared little better in their second turn at bat.

Starc took four wickets, while Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon captured three apiece to dismiss Bangladesh for 95.

🎵 US rapper BigXthaPlug arrested on drug and gun charges

Dallas rapper BigXthaPlug, legally named Xavier Landum, was taken into custody in Texas on Friday.

Allen County police stopped the 28-year-old musician and leveled multiple criminal charges against him.

These offenses include driving while intoxicated, marijuana possession, and the unlawful possession of a firearm.

Landum was held in the Collin County Jail before securing his release.

He currently remains on bail from a separate arrest on comparable charges roughly one year ago.