English Listening Practice — October 5, 2026

📰 Bolsonaro favourite to win: What Brazil’s first round of elections tells us

Challenger Bolsonaro upended opinion poll projections in Brazil’s first-round presidential election.

Bolsonaro secured 47 percent of the vote, outpacing incumbent President Lula, who finished with 45.1 percent.

Neither candidate reached the crucial 50 percent threshold to clinch an outright victory.

As a result, both contenders will advance to a decisive runoff slated for October 25.

This stronger-than-expected showing provides Bolsonaro with significant campaign momentum.

It may also bolster domestic financial markets on prospects of a business-friendly challenger.

📰 Russia puts lives at risk across Europe with hybrid attacks: EU foreign policy chief Kallas

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has sounded the alarm over a sharp escalation in Russian hybrid warfare across Europe.

Speaking in Brussels alongside Moldovan Prime Minister Vasile Tofan on October 5, Kallas warned that these operations actively imperil civilian lives.

She pointed to a marked surge in sabotage attempts and reckless airspace violations.

Over the weekend, Russian missiles and drones repeatedly breached Moldovan sovereign airspace.

Kallas condemned these incursions outright, characterizing Moscow's provocative cross-border actions as completely unacceptable.

📰 Imran Khan supporters march in Pakistan to demand his release after talks failed

More than 5,000 supporters of Pakistan’s imprisoned former Prime Minister, Imran Khan, have mobilized for a dayslong march toward Islamabad.

The demonstration follows a complete breakdown in negotiations between the federal government and the opposition.

Traveling in a vast convoy of buses, trucks, and cars, the demonstrators departed from the northwestern district of Lakki Marwat.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi is spearheading the procession.

The marchers have scheduled overnight stops as they advance toward the capital to demand Khan’s release.

🇨🇳 China shuts hundreds of banks as Beijing moves to shore up its financial system

Beijing is accelerating a sweeping overhaul of its financial sector to shore up stability.

A policy-driven consolidation saw a record 670 lenders shuttered in 2025.

This wave of closures represents roughly one-quarter of the nation's banks, according to Fitch Ratings.

Authorities are orchestrating mergers and dissolutions to forge better-capitalized institutions.

Fitch highlighted small and rural commercial lenders as the system's most vulnerable links.

These institutions grapple with poor asset quality, inadequate capital buffers, and corporate governance deficits.

Consequently, Beijing aims to tighten oversight, eliminate regulatory loopholes, and bolster market transparency.

⚡ Saudi Aramco chief says replenishing global oil stockpiles could take two years

Replenishing depleted global oil inventories could take up to two years.

Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser delivered this warning at an industry summit in London.

He cautioned that supply strains will intensify until maritime traffic through the vital Strait of Hormuz fully recovers.

The U.S.-Iran conflict has severely disrupted this waterway, which typically handles roughly 20 percent of world oil and LNG supplies.

Nasser’s forecast follows a G7 agreement to release 100 million barrels of emergency crude and diesel.

🏛️ Trump reiterates pledge to send $5,000 checks, and hands out smaller payments, as midterm elections loom

With the midterm elections fast approaching, Donald Trump has reaffirmed a high-stakes campaign pledge.

He promised direct $5,000 payments to every adult American citizen.

However, this windfall remains contingent on Republicans maintaining control of Congress.

Trump has yet to delineate funding mechanisms or authorization for the proposal.

In the interim, smaller federal disbursements are actively underway.

These include $90 payments earmarked for 20.8 million Medicare beneficiaries.

Furthermore, roughly 950,000 marketplace healthcare customers are slated to receive $500 refunds.

🤖 Internet Watch Foundation reports huge rise in AI child sexual abuse material

The Internet Watch Foundation has reported a dramatic proliferation of AI-generated child sexual abuse material online.

During the first half of 2026 alone, the UK-based monitoring body assessed 6,310 photorealistic images meeting legal abuse definitions.

That total already marks a 40 percent surge compared to the entire previous year's count of over 4,500 images.

Analysts observed that this alarming upward trajectory spans several consecutive years across digital channels.

Citing these mounting volumes, the watchdog underscored an urgent need for comprehensive statutory regulation governing artificial intelligence.

🚀 This mysterious hole on the Moon may open into a giant cave

NASA has greenlit an ambitious mission to probe an enigmatic lunar pit for subterranean caverns.

The initiative, dubbed GIMLI, is spearheaded by Than Putzig of the Planetary Science Institute.

Partnering with Honeybee Robotics and the Norwegian Space Agency, the team will deploy specialized instruments via NASA's PRISM program.

A commercial lander and rover will deliver the payload directly to the lunar surface.

If validated, this underground expanse could provide future astronauts with crucial natural shielding against harsh cosmic radiation and extreme thermal swings.

🏛️ Trump chooses top spy boss to run new AI taskforce

Donald Trump has tapped former SEC chair Jay Clayton to spearhead a new federal artificial intelligence taskforce.

Dubbed the Super Intelligence Force, the body will coordinate federal engagement with commercial developers, consumer groups, and critical infrastructure providers.

Federal Trade Commission head Andrew Ferguson and undersecretary of defense Emil Michael will round out the panel's leadership.

The group will report directly to Trump and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.

🎵 Sass Jordan, Canadian rock singer-songwriter, dies aged 65

Acclaimed Canadian rock singer-songwriter Sass Jordan has died at age 65.

Her family announced she passed away on October 2, though no cause of death was disclosed.

Jordan first rose to prominence in the 1990s rock scene with hit albums like Racine and Rats.

Later, she reached wider audiences as a judge across six seasons of Canadian Idol.

In an online statement, her family remembered the Juno Award-winning artist as an inimitable force of nature.

🎬 Matthew Rhys takes Best Actor at Bafta Cymru for performance in Netflix thriller

Matthew Rhys has secured the Best Actor accolade at the Bafta Cymru Awards for his performance in the Netflix thriller The Beast in Me.

This triumph marks his second Bafta Cymru award, arriving 29 years after his initial win for the Welsh-language film Bydd yn Wro.

It extends an extraordinary streak of critical acclaim for the actor this awards season.

Last month, Rhys made history at the Emmys by becoming the first person to claim two lead acting prizes in a single night.

📰 The 'Shot Heard 'Round the World' turns 75

Baseball history marked the seventy-fifth anniversary of the iconic "Shot Heard 'Round the World."

In 1951, the New York Giants mounted a dramatic comeback from thirteen and a half games back.

They tied the Brooklyn Dodgers to force a decisive three-game playoff for the National League pennant.

Trailing four to two in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 3, the Giants had two runners on base.

Bobby Thomson stepped up to the plate.

He launched pitcher Ralph Branca's second pitch into the left-field seats to clinch the pennant.