Learning English from the News

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1. Why are young people protesting around the world?

   21 oktober 2026 · 8 min

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   Gen Zs, those are people born between the late 90s and early 2010s, are protesting different issues, such as the quality of their education, job opportunities and voter rights. There have been protests in many countries including Albania, France, Italy, India and Spain. Learn more about this story with Becca and Georgie. Lees meer

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2. Deadly Saudi airport attacks

   14 oktober 2026 · 7 min

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   14 people have been killed and over 300 injured in two attacks on Riyadh international airport in Saudi Arabia over the weekend. There were also a series of other attacks earlier in the week. The Houthis, a militant group in Yemen, said they were behind the attacks, and that they are targeting Saudi Arabia over its support for government forces in Yemen's civil war. A Saudi government minister has said the country will have a ‘serious response’ to the attacks. Lees meer

   Get the headlines, vocabulary and defenitions here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/learning-english-from-the-news_2026/261014

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3. French school protests

   7 oktober 2026 · 7 min

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   Pupils say that they are protesting because their schools are not being well funded. Since protests began, over 6,000 people have been arrested and a number of students and police officers have been hurt. Lees meer

   For all the headlines, definitions and a free worksheet to practise, head to our website: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/learning-english-from-the-news_2026/261007

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4. Young people's mental distress is real, according to the head of a new review in the UK

   30 september 2026 · 8 min

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   An independent review into mental health has found a rise in mental distress among children and young people, with anxiety, depression, self-harm and eating disorders among the most common issues. Lees meer

   Head of the review, Professor Peter Fonagy, says that accusations that young people are overly sensitive are wrong. He says it is now “harder to be young” due to challenges such as economic and employment uncertainty and problems caused by social media.

   Some are unsure about the new data as some of the sources rely on self-reporting. There is also an argument which says that the higher mental distress numbers could be because of changing attitudes and greater awareness, so more people feel able to report their problems.

   Get a worksheet for this episode to practise the vocabulary: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/learning-english-from-the-news_2026/260930

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5. AI and trade: Will US and China agree?

   23 september 2026 · 9 min

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   US President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping will meet in a summit at the White House this week for the first time since 2023, following on from a President Trump’s visit to China earlier this year in which a truce was agreed. Lees meer

   Before the truce was agreed, both the US and China had imposed high tarrifs on products coming in from the other country. The truce will end in November and many experts say that the two countries will try to extend their truce and make more agreements on trade.

   Alongside trade tariffs, there are other potential disagreements between the two leaders. For example over AI and the war in Iran. There are talks about a warning system for AI that Trump plans to share with Xi.

   Get a worksheet for this episode to practise the vocabulary: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/learning-english-from-the-news_2026/260923

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6. Humans could lose control of AI systems, AI boss says

   16 september 2026 · 8 min

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   Head of Anthropic, Dario Amodei, published an essay explaining how he feared that humans could lose control of AI systems. Following recent hacking incidents Amodei said that it is possible that AI systems could attempt to take over the entire internet. Lees meer

   Meanwhile, AI experts have raised fears that AI systems could decide in future to kill all humans. These experts have said that the risks include: cyberattacks, biological warfare and disruption to economies.

   These statements have been criticised. Some have said that the fears are exaggerated while others have suggested that AI companies are overstating the potential impact of AI, so that their companies maintain a high value. Others have suggested that they want regulators to block their competitors.

   Get a worksheet for this episode to practise the vocabulary: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/learning-english-from-the-news_2026/260916

   Learn more English about the topic of technology here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/topics/technology

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7. Man survives longest ever pig kidney transplant

   9 september 2026 · 8 min

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   A transplanted pig kidney has worked inside a patient for a record nine months. Learn about this news story in simpler English with Becca and Phil. Lees meer

   Get a worksheet for this episode to practise the vocabulary: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/learning-english-from-the-news_2026/260909

   Learn more English about the topic of health here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/topics/health

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8. Nepal recovering from impact of flash floods

   2 september 2026 · 9 min

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   More than 1,000 people have been confirmed dead after last week’s flash floods on the border of Nepal and Tibet, according to Nepal’s disaster agency. Lees meer

   Almost 4,000 people are still missing. Rescuers are trying to reach hundreds of workers who have been trapped in a large network of tunnels at hydropower sites.

   Nepalese Prime Minister Balendra Shah said on Monday that 279 people had been rescued from the sites.

   A key cause of the deadly floods is thought to be a glacier collapse in the Himalayas. A glacier is a large area of dense ice.

   Learn more about this story with Georgie and Phil. For more language-learning tips, head to bbclearningenglish.com.

   For subtitles and a worksheet for this episode head to https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/learning-english-from-the-news_2026/260902

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9. AI hacking other companies by itself, causing security fears

   26 augustus 2026 · 9 min

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   AI has been hacking other companies during tests, causing fears over safety. There’s been a series of hacks by AI software in recent months. A hack is when secure technology is broken into in order to steal data or cause disruption. Lees meer

   The AI hacks have occurred during testing of security systems which have gone wrong. For example, in July, the company OpenAI said its AI models hacked a company called Hugging Face. OpenAI said it lost control of the models during a security test.

   Many people are concerned about the recent hacks because AI has been able to get out of control and do things its creators didn’t want it to do.

   But technology companies that develop AI say that they care about security. For example, after its AI models hacked a company during security tests, OpenAI has said it’s slowing down training some of its AI software to improve security.

   Learn more about this story with Becca and Phil. For more language learning tips head to bbclearningenglish.com. For subtitles and a worksheet for this episode head to https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/learning-english-from-the-news_2026/260826

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10. Meta on trial

    19 augustus 2026 · 8 min

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    Meta, the owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has gone on trial, accused of breaking state and federal laws around child privacy. The trial is expected to last around six weeks. Lees meer

    The lawsuit has been filed by 29 US states, representing more than two thirds of the country's population. This is the largest of a number of lawsuits against Meta relating to child safety.

    This trial may require a payout of $200 billion in damages from Meta if they lose the case and the court could also force the company to make changes to its products.

    Meta denies the allegations saying that it removes child accounts and that it is taking steps to improve teenagers' wellbeing on their platforms.

    Learn more about this story with Becca and Phil. For more language learning tips head to bbclearningenglish.com. For subtitles and a worksheet for this episode head to https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/learning-english-from-the-news_2026/260819

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