English Listening Practice — October 25, 2026

📰 Brazil votes in tight runoff between leftist Lula and right-wing Flavio Bolsonaro

Brazil is heading into a high-stakes presidential runoff between leftist veteran Lula and right-wing contender Flavio Bolsonaro.

Bolsonaro led the initial round by more than 2.2 million votes.

Meanwhile, over 33 million of the nation's nearly 160 million voters abstained.

Recent polling indicates a neck-and-neck contest as Lula rapidly closes the gap.

To secure the presidency, the winning candidate must capture more than 50% of the vote.

The outcome will ultimately set Brazil's political trajectory and could reshape United States influence across Latin America.

🏛️ Algerian parliament’s upper house approves troop deployment to Niger

The Council of the Nation, Algeria’s upper legislative chamber, has authorized a military deployment to Niger during an emergency session.

The mandate requires a two-thirds majority across both houses of parliament.

The People’s National Assembly is scheduled to vote later this evening.

If ratified, the mission will task Algerian troops with securing vital oil facilities in Niger.

This intervention would mark the country's first foreign military deployment since the 1973 October War.

It follows high-level bilateral talks in Algiers with Nigerien Defence Minister General Salifou Modi.

📰 Voting under way across Brazil in tight presidential run-off between Lula and Bolsonaro

Voting is officially underway across Brazil in a razor-thin presidential run-off election.

An electorate of approximately 158 million citizens is heading to the polls to settle the contest.

The vote pits leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva against right-wing challenger Senator Flavio Bolsonaro.

Senator Bolsonaro is the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro.

Following a highly charged campaign period, opinion polls showed the two candidates locked in a dead heat.

🏛️ Trump announces Audi will build $4 billion U.S. factory in Georgia

President Donald Trump announced that Audi will invest $4 billion to construct its first U.S. assembly plant in Georgia.

The facility will be located near Macon.

It is slated to break ground next year and launch production in the early 2030s.

According to Audi CEO Gernot Doellner, the site will assemble the brand’s flagship, premium SUVs.

The factory will yield 200,000 vehicles annually and create roughly 4,500 local jobs.

The move establishes a permanent domestic manufacturing footprint for Volkswagen's premium subsidiary.

📰 Budget to include £1bn for social and affordable housing

The upcoming Budget will allocate over £1 billion toward social and affordable housing across England.

This cash injection pushes total funding for the government’s decade-long programme beyond £40 billion.

Alongside the capital outlay, regional mayors and local authorities will secure expanded decision-making powers.

Councils will also receive preferential borrowing rates to accelerate municipal house-building.

Chancellor John Healey and Prime Minister Andy Burnham emphasized that the initiative shifts crucial investment powers directly to local communities.

🇨🇳 Pressed by Chinese EVs in Southeast Asia, Mitsubishi Motors makes risky pivot

Mitsubishi Motors is fundamentally reassessing its strategic emphasis on Southeast Asia.

The Tokyo-based automaker currently faces intense competitive pressure as Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers sweep rapidly across the region.

In response, company leadership is contemplating a strategic pivot toward mature markets, most notably the United States.

However, executing this maneuver carries significant uncertainty.

Years of sustained cutbacks have eroded the firm's foothold in developed territories, leaving its competitive positioning deeply precarious.

📰 Scientists discover how pancreatic cancer rewrites its DNA to escape treatment

Researchers at NYU Langone’s Perlmutter Cancer Center have uncovered how pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma evades treatment.

By analyzing nearly half a million individual cancer cells, the team mapped distinct cellular subpopulations known as clones.

Each clone dynamically alters its DNA as the disease progresses.

Some clones acquire genetic changes to withstand therapies.

Other clones specialize in invading surrounding tissues and metastasizing elsewhere in the body.

These findings expose critical survival mechanisms in a disease where nearly 85 percent of patients die within five years.

📰 Three giant black holes discovered in a galaxy from the dawn of time

Astronomers have uncovered three actively feeding supermassive black holes coexisting within a single primordial galaxy, designated J0148-4214.

Led by Hannah Übler at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, researchers documented the first such trio in the distant universe.

Located over 12.5 billion light-years away, the system dates to just 1.2 billion years after the Big Bang.

All three behemoths are concurrently accreting surrounding matter.

Two of them lie near the galactic core, separated by a projected distance of merely 620 light-years.

🤖 AI funding fears rattle Wall Street. Here's how we're adjusting our portfolio

Mounting apprehension surrounding artificial intelligence funding has rattled Wall Street.

Heightened investor scrutiny over capital allocation has prompted market strategists to recalibrate their investment portfolios.

Financial analysts are actively reassessing risk exposure across AI-adjacent holdings.

In response to these emerging funding concerns, asset managers have initiated targeted portfolio adjustments.

These strategic reallocations reflect growing caution amid broader market volatility.

Market participants continue to evaluate risk exposure as capital dynamics shift across the artificial intelligence landscape.

📰 Golden State Valkyries beat Atlanta Dream in Game 4 of the WNBA Finals

The second-seeded Golden State Valkyries secured a victory over the fourth-seeded Atlanta Dream in Game 4 of the WNBA Finals.

This high-stakes matchup features two determined franchises contending for their inaugural league championship.

Both the San Francisco-based Valkyries and the Atlanta Dream are vying for their first WNBA title.

Golden State’s Game 4 triumph marks a pivotal milestone in the series.

Each organization remains focused on capturing a historic maiden trophy.

📰 England win cerebral palsy World Cup for first time

England have captured their maiden Cerebral Palsy World Cup title, edging out the United States 2-1 in a gripping Atlanta final.

The American hosts broke the deadlock from a corner with just three minutes remaining.

However, Sam Dewhirst promptly equalized to force extra time.

David Porcher then netted the decisive winner, converting the rebound after Dewhirst’s initial strike was saved.

Head coach Jack Rutter hailed the historic triumph, praising the squad and staff for their extraordinary sacrifices.

📰 Archdiocese of New York agrees to $800 million settlement over sexual abuse claims

The Archdiocese of New York has agreed to an $800 million settlement.

The landmark accord resolves sexual abuse claims brought by roughly 1,300 individuals against clergy members and lay staff.

Plaintiffs’ attorney Jeff Anderson confirmed that all claimants had consented to the terms.

Archbishop Ronald Hicks also announced the breakthrough in an email to local priests.

Both parties indicated that the deal was effectively finalized, with only the formal paperwork left to execute.

Hicks expressed hope that the resolution would bring a measure of healing and reconciliation to victim-survivors.