English Listening Practice — October 2, 2026

📰 Ethiopia and Eritrea cut diplomatic ties as northern conflict escalates

Ethiopia and Eritrea have formally severed diplomatic ties amid escalating conflict in northern Ethiopia.

On Thursday, Addis Ababa announced the closure of its embassy in Asmara.

Ethiopian authorities also expelled ten Eritrean diplomats, giving them 48 hours to vacate the country over alleged national security threats.

Eritrea promptly retaliated by breaking off relations entirely, terming the expulsion astounding and framing its response as an unavoidable reciprocal measure.

This diplomatic rupture comes on the heels of overnight explosions that rocked Addis Ababa near the military headquarters.

⚔️ Ukraine war: Japan’s new sanctions on Russia target oil exports

Japan has escalated its economic pressure on Moscow with a new tranche of targeted sanctions.

The Foreign Ministry announced strict curbs on 35 vessels operating in Russia’s maritime shadow fleet.

These tankers actively circumvent trade restrictions to transport embargoed Russian oil.

Under the latest measures, Japanese entities are barred from rendering essential maritime services to the designated ships.

Crucially, these restrictions cut off vital maritime insurance and operational support.

The coordinated move reinforces multinational efforts to clamp down on sanctions evasion.

📰 Latest US jobs figures reveal weaker-than-expected growth in last report before midterm elections – live

The latest US labor data revealed surprisingly sluggish growth for September.

Employers added just 29,000 payrolls, falling significantly short of the roughly 84,000 to 90,000 forecast by economists.

Hiring decelerated sharply from August, which saw a revised gain of 133,000 positions.

Meanwhile, the headline unemployment rate ticked up by 0.1 percentage point to reach 4.2%.

This marks the final official employment snapshot before the upcoming midterm elections.

Overall, the figures point to cooling momentum across the American workforce.

🛒 GCash parent prices Philippine IPO at record $3.3bn

Mynt, the parent company of Philippine digital wallet giant GCash, has finalized the offer price for its upcoming initial public offering.

The company set the final listing price at 6.60 pesos per share.

At this price point, the offering is valued at approximately 60.9 billion pesos, equivalent to roughly 3.3 billion dollars.

Consequently, the landmark transaction remains firmly on track to become the largest public offering in the history of the Philippines.

📰 Nike shares plummet 10% after weak revenue outlook and layoff plans underway

Nike shares tumbled over 10% in premarket trading following a muted revenue forecast and impending workforce reductions.

The athletic apparel giant posted a 4% decline in quarterly revenue to $11.2 billion, with net income slipping to $712 million.

Under CEO Elliott Hill, the company unveiled a restructuring strategy dubbed "Pace."

This initiative targets $2.5 billion in cost savings by 2031 through job cuts slated for 2027.

Nike also alerted investors to anticipate a high-single-digit drop in revenue that same year.

📰 US bonds rally after weaker-than-expected jobs report shows hiring slowdown – business live

US bonds rallied following a tepid labor report that signaled a marked hiring slowdown.

Non-farm payrolls added just 28,000 jobs, falling well short of expectations, alongside downward revisions to August data.

Concurrently, annual wage growth softened to an anaemic 3.0% in September from 3.1% in August.

Former Goldman Sachs analyst Nic Puckrin observed that the cooling numbers create a difficult policy dilemma for the Federal Reserve.

Following the release, the US dollar lost ground against major global currencies.

🚀 SpaceX launches crew to ISS successfully: ‘Thanks for an amazing ride’

SpaceX successfully launched a four-person crew to the International Space Station on Thursday from Cape Canaveral.

Commander Jessica Watkins led the mission, becoming the first Black woman to captain a crew into orbit.

This marks her second long-duration mission to the orbital outpost.

The launch proceeded after a three-week delay to rectify a fuel system leak on the capsule.

Despite threatening cloud cover, weather conditions cleared in time for liftoff.

The crew was slated for an eight-hour transit ahead of a six-month deployment set to conclude in the spring.

📰 Venus' mysterious haze is actually cosmic dust

Scientists have unraveled the mystery surrounding the elusive haze in Venus' atmosphere.

A new physical model reveals that the shroud is fundamentally composed of cosmic dust.

Specifically, researchers established that a mixture of iron dust and sulfuric acid accurately generates the observed atmospheric properties.

This precise interplay between extraterrestrial particles and sulfuric acid reproduces the exact characteristics that previously puzzled astronomers.

The breakthrough provides a definitive physical explanation for the enduring Venusian haze phenomenon.

⚽ United Airlines gets aggressive in battle for top Delta, American flyers

United Airlines has launched an aggressive status-match initiative to poach high-value frequent flyers from Delta and American.

Eligible elite travelers receive reciprocal United status for a provisional ninety-day window.

To extend this tier through January 2028, customers must take a flight and meet specific spending thresholds during that period.

Requirements scale by tier.

Retaining baseline status requires spending fifteen hundred dollars on qualifying flights.

Matching United’s top-tier 1K status demands a seven-thousand-dollar outlay within the ninety-day window.

🎵 K-pop giants Stray Kids join BTS in boycotting the Grammys

Global K-pop powerhouse Stray Kids will boycott the 2027 Grammy Awards, following in the footsteps of BTS.

Their record label, JYP, confirmed the group declined to submit any work for award consideration.

Stray Kids recently secured their ninth US number-one album.

The joint pushback stems from the introduction of a contentious new Asian pop music category.

Critics caution that the separate classification will ghettoize regional genres rather than evaluate them on equal footing.

BTS previously stated that music should be celebrated on its own merits, without division by region or language.

📰 French cyclist Auge in induced coma after crash

French cyclist Ronan Auge has been placed in a medically induced coma following a severe crash at the Tour of Langkawi in Malaysia.

The 22-year-old sustained grave injuries during stage six of the UCI ProSeries event.

He was promptly transferred to a hospital for specialized care.

In an official statement, his team, Unibet Red Roses, described Auge’s condition as currently stable.

The team confirmed that his injuries, while serious, are not life-threatening.

📰 10 books we are looking forward to this fall

NPR has published a curated preview of ten highly anticipated books slated for release this autumn.

The diverse lineup covers ambitious literary projects, debut English translations, and long-awaited follow-ups arriving ahead of the winter holidays.

A key highlight is Deesha Philyaw’s The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman, published by Mariner Books on September 29.

The release follows Philyaw's breakout 2020 short story collection, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies.

The curated roundup offers readers a mix of prominent titles and under-the-radar literary gems for the upcoming season.