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If you're looking for an intermediate English podcast, LanguaTalk is ideal for listening to news in slow English. It'll be perfect for you if you have a lower-intermediate level (B1), but can also help A2 and B2 learners. The podcast is free and you can find interactive transcripts on our cutting-edge software, Langua. We've created this podcast using AI.
Welcome to LanguaTalk news. Our first story today comes from France, where farmers are staging protests. Their demand is immediate action on low farm prices, green regulation, and free-trade policies. As the protests enter their second week, they present a significant challenge for new Prime Minister Gabriel Attal. Farmers are using bales of hay and tractors to block highways throughout France, the biggest agricultural producer in Europe. Their frustration stems from increasing rules and decreasing income. Imported produce has also been dumped onto highways. The farmers have given the government a list of demands. Among these are better enforcement of a law designed to protect farm prices and immediate aid for winemakers and organic farmers. This protest coincides with annual price negotiations between French retailers and suppliers. Farmers are worried that they will be further hit by lower prices. In international news, an oil refinery in southern Russia has been attacked. The refinery, owned by Rosneft, Russia's biggest oil producer, was targeted by drones in an incident believed to be connected to Ukraine. The attack took place in the town of Tuapse. It led to a fire which was quickly extinguished, and no injuries were reported. According to a Ukrainian source, the Ukrainian security service orchestrated the attack. They plan to continue targeting facilities that supply fuel for Russia's ongoing invasion. This marks at least the fourth such attack on major Russian energy infrastructure in the past week, raising concerns about global energy supplies. The Tuapse plant has an annual capacity of twelve million metric tons and primarily supplies fuel to Turkey, China, Malaysia, and Singapore. Turning to US politics, a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll has revealed that Donald Trump is leading President Joe Biden by six percentage points. The poll surveyed one thousand two hundred and fifty American adults. The results showed forty percent favoring Trump and thirty-four percent favoring Biden. The remaining participants were undecided or planning to vote for someone else. This represents a gain for Trump, as a previous poll showed him tied with Biden. The poll also indicated that sixty-seven percent of respondents were tired of seeing the same candidates in presidential elections. Over half of the respondents expressed dissatisfaction with the two-party system in the U.S. Also, seventy percent, including half of Democrats, agreed with a statement that Biden should not seek re-election. Conversely, fifty-six percent, including about a third of Republicans, said Trump should not run.In economic news, Vietnam's defense ministry has announced plans to hold an international arms fair in December. The fair, to be held at the Gia Lam airbase in Hanoi, aims to expand international defense cooperation and promote weapon production and exports. Vietnam is among the top twenty global buyers of weapons, due to its fluctuating tensions with China. The country is also working to reduce its dependence on Russian arms and boost the export of locally made weapons. In December twenty twenty two, Vietnam held its first international arms fair, attracting exhibitors from thirty different countries. The defense ministry also revealed that Vietnam spends more than two percent of its gross domestic product on military expenditure. Some of the weapons produced in Vietnam include small weapons, ammunition, drones, and armored vehicles.Our next story involves a contentious deal in Ethiopia. The agreement, signed on the first of January, allows Ethiopia to lease twenty kilometers around the port of Berbera in the region of Somaliland in Somalia for fifty years. In return, Ethiopia will give stakes in its state-run companies and may recognize Somaliland as an independent nation. Ethiopia, the second most-populous country in Africa, relies on ports in neighboring countries for over ninety percent of its trade. The Mogadishu government views Somaliland as part of Somalia, despite its effective autonomy since nineteen ninety-one. If Ethiopia acknowledges Somaliland's independence, it could encourage other countries to do the same. The Arab League, the African Union, the European Union, and the United States all support Somalia's sovereignty over Somaliland.Our final story today is from Australia, where a new robot has been designed to help protect the Great Barrier Reef. The robot, named RangerBot, can identify and kill crown-of-thorns starfish. These starfish pose a major threat to the reef. The RangerBot uses artificial intelligence to navigate through the water and can operate for eight hours without needing to be recharged. Scientists hope that the robot will help to save the Great Barrier Reef, which is suffering from the effects of climate change and pollution. The developers of RangerBot are now working to add more features to the robot, such as the ability to monitor water quality and detect signs of coral bleaching. This represents a significant advancement in the fight to protect one of the world's most important natural wonders.Thanks for listening to LanguaTalk news!