English Listening Practice — September 30, 2026

⚔️ Russia launches largest attack on Ukraine energy infrastructure since spring

Russia has unleashed its largest coordinated strike against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure since the spring heating season ended.

The overnight barrage targeted critical utility assets, including the Trypilska power station, the principal electricity supplier for Kyiv.

Official Koretskyi confirmed at least five fatalities nationwide, including a child in the Kyiv region.

The offensive caused severe disruptions across the capital's power grid.

Ukraine’s largest private energy operator, DTEK, reported that crews have already restored electricity to 8,000 affected households following a grueling night.

📰 Flydubai pilot investigated over possible attempt to crash Tel Aviv-bound flight

Aviation authorities are investigating a suspected attempt by a Flydubai pilot to intentionally crash a commercial airliner.

Flight FZ 1073, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 bound for Tel Aviv from Dubai, made an emergency landing at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia.

The aircraft abruptly plunged thousands of feet following a mid-air altercation.

Israeli media reported that the other pilot and several passengers intervened to thwart the deliberate crash.

Flydubai confirmed the plane touched down safely, with all passengers secure and accounted for.

📰 Burundi to take third-country deportees from US

Burundi has agreed to receive third-country nationals deported from the United States under President Donald Trump’s immigration policy.

Nancy Ninette Mutoni, spokesperson for President Evariste Ndayishimiye, announced the arrangement on Tuesday.

However, the government established clear parameters for admission.

Bujumbura will accept only deportees with no criminal accusations or suspected ties to terrorism.

This move aligns Burundi with several other African nations taking in US deportees.

Crucial specifics remain undisclosed, as officials omitted deportation volumes, implementation timelines, and any underlying financial compensation.

📈 Fed’s preferred gauge showed core inflation at 3.0% in August, much lighter than expected

The Commerce Department reported that consumer inflation cooled more than anticipated in August.

The personal consumption expenditures price index, the Federal Reserve’s primary inflation gauge, rose 0.3% for the month.

That lifted the annualized headline rate to 3.4%, undershooting the 3.7% forecast.

Meanwhile, core PCE—which excludes volatile food and energy costs—ticked up just 0.2%.

This pushed the year-over-year core reading down to 3.0%, well below the projected 3.3%.

Following the benign data, stock index futures rallied, Treasury yields fell, and traders trimmed expectations for an October rate hike.

⚡ Africa's richest man launches Kenya oil refinery despite land protests

Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote and Kenyan President William Ruto have officially broken ground on a landmark $16 billion oil refinery in Lamu.

Slated for completion by 2030, the facility will process 700,000 barrels of crude oil daily.

This immense throughput cements its status as East Africa’s largest industrial project by capacity.

The launch proceeded despite demonstrations by residents seeking greater compensation for their land.

However, Dangote brushed aside the pushback, insisting the project remains firmly on track.

📰 Greggs to shut four factories and cut 740 jobs

High street bakery chain Greggs plans to eliminate 740 jobs over the next two and a half years.

The restructuring entails shuttering four manufacturing facilities across the UK.

Targeted sites include North Lakes in Cumbria, Pettigrews in Kelso, Seaham in County Durham, and Enfield in Greater London.

Distribution operations will nevertheless continue at Enfield, alongside the Treforest site in Wales.

The company confirmed that its retail footprint will remain entirely unaffected by the supply-chain overhaul.

⚖️ Most powerful obesity drug yet: People lost up to 25% of weight in trial

Clinical trials have established retatrutide as the most potent obesity treatment evaluated to date.

Participants in the trial achieved remarkable outcomes, shedding up to 25 percent of their total body weight.

The experimental medication operates as an advanced triple-hormone therapy.

Specifically, the drug functions by concurrently simulating GLP-1, GIP, and glucagon.

This synchronized action across three distinct hormonal pathways underpins its substantial efficacy.

Consequently, retatrutide represents the highest benchmark yet reported for weight reduction in clinical testing.

⚖️ AI tool that copied actor’s ‘lustrous’ voice violated his rights, Tokyo court rules

The Tokyo District Court has delivered a landmark ruling on vocal likeness.

Presiding Judge Aya Takahashi affirmed that unauthorized AI voice cloning infringes on an individual's publicity rights.

The case was brought by renowned voice actor Kenjiro Tsuda against a TikTok account.

Tsuda claimed the account had cloned his baritone voice for AI-generated videos.

However, the court dismissed his formal takedown request.

The operator had already deleted the offending videos shortly after the lawsuit was filed last November.

This decision marks Japan's first legal defense of vocal identity against AI replication.

🇨🇳 China's inside man at the Fed, OpenAI debuts Dots, an IPO trend and more in Morning Squawk

OpenAI unveiled a suite of new technologies at its developer conference in San Francisco on Tuesday.

Headlining the showcase was Dots, the company’s new roster of "always-on" agents.

The firm also debuted its latest artificial intelligence model, designated GPT-6.1 Sol.

This rollout comes just days after leadership scrapped plans for GPT-6.1 Astra because the model failed safety standards.

Alongside these product debuts, a prospective initial public offering was front of mind for both company executives and investors.

🎵 Iranian singer’s 74 lashes for performing without a hijab ‘a form of torture’, say rights groups

An Iranian court has upheld a sentence of 74 lashes against 29-year-old singer Parastoo Ahmadi.

The ruling also targets eight production team members, including fellow musicians.

A court in Qom penalized the group over a viral 2024 livestreamed concert that amassed millions of views.

Judges determined that performing without a hijab violated domestic legal and cultural norms.

Human rights organizations voiced fierce outrage, denouncing the flogging sentence as a form of torture.

📰 Meet the 20 scholars and artists who've just won MacArthur Fellowships

The MacArthur Foundation has named the twenty recipients of its prestigious "genius grants."

Each fellow receives an unrestricted, eight-hundred-thousand-dollar award.

This year’s cohort spans diverse disciplines, from the arts to the hard sciences.

Honorees include labor economist Ellora Derenoncourt, organic chemist Song Lin, and sociologist Holly Jean Buck.

Forensic anthropologist Kate Spradley and visual and sound artist Christine Sun Kim also secured fellowships.

Selected through an anonymous talent-scout network, the laureates often converge on overlapping themes.

Several creators and scholars explore human connection from radically different professional standpoints.

🎵 Lady A singer Charles Kelley reveals blood cancer diagnosis

Charles Kelley, the 45-year-old co-founder of the country trio Lady A, has been diagnosed with multiple myeloma.

The musician announced the news alongside his wife, Cassie, in an Instagram video.

Kelley explained that unexpected rib fractures prompted his physician to order diagnostic blood tests.

Those evaluations ultimately detected the rare blood cancer.

Despite the diagnosis, Kelley struck a hopeful tone.

He underscored that therapeutic advancements and life expectancy have improved significantly over the past five years.