English Listening Practice — September 3, 2026

🇨🇳 China's Xi visits Egypt for the first time in a decade

Chinese President Xi Jinping has embarked on an official visit to Egypt.

This milestone diplomatic trip marks his first visit to the country in a decade.

The high-level engagement unfolds directly against the backdrop of the ongoing Iran war.

Notably, it also comes at a pivotal moment when traditional United States allies are actively broadening their security ties.

These concurrent developments highlight how regional partners are seeking to expand and diversify their strategic defense relationships.

🏛️ Mexican foreign minister to meet Wang Yi in China as US demands trade ties rollback

Mexico’s foreign minister is scheduled to travel to China for bilateral talks with counterpart Wang Yi.

The high-level meeting takes place against a backdrop of mounting geopolitical pressure from the United States.

Specifically, Washington is demanding that Mexico roll back its trade ties with Beijing.

The upcoming talks underscore the growing friction surrounding these economic relationships.

Mexico now faces explicit American demands to curtail its commercial ties with China, even as its top diplomat prepares to engage Beijing directly.

📰 Spain's Sanchez says no 'solid proof' that Morocco planned Ceuta crisis

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has addressed lawmakers regarding the recent migrant influx into Ceuta.

He asserted there is no solid proof that Morocco's government orchestrated the crisis.

Consequently, Sanchez dismissed a police report that laid blame on Moroccan authorities.

His remarks come on the heels of nationwide protests.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators had gathered to criticize his administration's handling of the surge.

Sanchez acknowledged the situation remains both a pressing humanitarian crisis and an administrative challenge.

🖥️ Hugging Face approached Nvidia’s Huang weeks ahead of $12.9B acquisition, CEO tells CNBC

Nvidia has finalized an agreement to acquire open-source AI platform Hugging Face for $12.9 billion.

The transaction allows the chipmaker to expand beyond hardware and push further up the AI stack.

Hugging Face CEO Clément Delangue revealed that he proactively approached Nvidia chief Jensen Huang over the summer.

Delangue noted that open-source AI had reached a pivotal turning point requiring greater scale and resources.

Huang confirmed the platform will remain open while Nvidia bolsters its infrastructure for developers and institutions worldwide.

🇨🇳 China hits back at G20 statement on its reliance on exports, accusing them of 'promoting protectionism'

China has pushed back against fellow G20 members, accusing them of fueling protectionism.

The dispute stems from a joint statement addressing trade imbalances.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent noted that 19 members agreed to tackle an unsustainable reliance on cheap exports.

China was the sole dissenter.

Commerce Ministry spokesperson Ling Huang rejected the criticism on Thursday.

She argued that Western complaints over industrial overcapacity are merely pretexts to contain China.

Huang warned that leveraging multilateral forums to target specific nations will only destabilize the global economic order.

🏅 Dutch central bank moves 86 tonnes of gold to UK from US and Canada, citing ‘geopolitical unrest’

The Dutch central bank, De Nederlandsche Bank, has relocated 86 tonnes of gold reserves from the United States and Canada to London.

DNB cited escalating geopolitical unrest as the primary catalyst behind the maneuver.

Bank president Olaf Sleijpen noted that holding the bullion in London significantly enhances its deployability.

Assets based in London trade more fluidly than reserves parked in New York or Ottawa.

Ultimately, this strategic shift bolsters the institution's crisis preparedness, ensuring a rapid response should severe financial turmoil strike.

🔍 Google defeats US justice department bid to force ad tech sale

Google has thwarted a US Department of Justice push to dismantle its advertising technology business.

Federal Judge Leonie Brinkema in Virginia rejected regulators' demands to force a divestiture of AdX, Google’s ad exchange.

Publishers rely on AdX for real-time ad auctions, where Google collects a 20% fee.

Although Judge Brinkema previously found illegal monopolies in Google’s ad tech stack, she declined to order structural breakups.

Instead, the court adopted behavioral remedies proposed by the parties.

📰 London’s first self-driving taxis for hire hit the streets

Uber has introduced London’s first commercial self-driving taxi service in partnership with British autonomous vehicle developer Wayve.

Users can now hail modified Ford Mustang robotaxis directly through the Uber app.

The initial deployment remains modest, with Transport for London licensing just 15 vehicles.

Over 100,000 customers have registered for rides, meaning the odds of securing a trip remain slim.

Each vehicle still carries a licensed safety driver behind the wheel, ready to seize manual control if necessary.

🚀 Toyohiro Akiyama, first Japanese citizen and journalist in space, dies at 84

Toyohiro Akiyama has passed away at the age of 84.

He achieved historical distinction as the first Japanese citizen to travel into space.

Akiyama was also the first professional journalist to report from orbit.

During his mission, he transmitted firsthand dispatches regarding life in microgravity.

He memorably reported from space that only "fat" Japanese tree frogs appeared to relish the condition of weightlessness.

His coverage provided a distinctively direct perspective on the realities of space travel.

📰 Gloria Steinem, groundbreaking feminist campaigner, dies aged 92

Gloria Steinem, the trailblazing American journalist and feminist pioneer, has died at the age of 92.

She passed away peacefully at her New York City home, surrounded by loved ones.

The author of nine books, Steinem helped propel the feminist movement into the mainstream through incisive reporting, public speaking, and activism.

She spent decades confronting entrenched discrimination on a global scale.

According to a statement shared on her Instagram page, she remained a committed champion for equality until the very end.

🏀 NBA suspends Clippers owner Ballmer, fines team $30M, Kawhi Leonard $700K in cap circumvention case

The NBA has levied sweeping sanctions against the Los Angeles Clippers for circumventing salary cap regulations involving Kawhi Leonard.

Team owner Steve Ballmer received a one-year suspension.

The league also imposed a $30 million fine on the franchise and revoked five first-round draft picks.

Leonard incurred a $700,000 penalty.

Furthermore, team executives Lawrence Frank and Gillian Zucker received suspensions of six months and one year, respectively.

The Clippers continue to assert their innocence following the nearly year-long outside investigation.

📰 ‘Ruin and decay bring a chance of rebirth’: Hidetaka Miyazaki on uniting players in a damaged world

FromSoftware president Hidetaka Miyazaki has broken his customary public silence ahead of releasing his studio's new multiplayer title, The Duskbloods.

The acclaimed director pioneered the now-ubiquitous "Soulslike" genre, renowned for its punishing difficulty and cryptic, desolate worlds.

His breakout 2022 hit, Elden Ring, co-created with author George R.R. Martin, surpassed 30 million copies sold.

That landmark commercial success also prompted an upcoming A24 film adaptation by Alex Garland.

Alongside Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto, Miyazaki remains one of only two game developers ever named to Time magazine’s prestigious "most influential" list.