Learning English from the News

A lone gunman attacked tourists at Mexico's historic Teotihuacan pyramids. One person was killed and at least 13 people were injured. The shooter then killed himself. Teotihuacan is a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the most visited tourist attractions in the country. The attacker has been named as 27-year-old Julio Cesar Jasso Ramirez. On 20th April 1999, 13 people were killed in an attack...

Péter Magyar has won a historic victory in Hungary's elections, bringing to an end Viktor Orbán's 16 years in power. Orban had been a close partner of US President Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin. Whereas Magyar wants a better relationship with the rest of the EU and Ukraine. Almost 80% of people who could, turned out to vote, which broke records. Magyar’s Tisza party has won a huge major...

Astronauts on the Nasa spacecraft Artemis II are on their way back to Earth after travelling around the Moon. The spacecraft broke the record for the furthest distance humans have travelled into space, reaching 406,771km away from the Earth. While the crew did not land on the Moon, this is the first time humans have travelled to the Moon since 1972. Learn about the news in a level of English you c...

Meta and YouTube have been found legally responsible for creating addictive platforms. Meta is the company that owns Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp. Kaley, known only by her first name, started the lawsuit against Meta and YouTube in Los Angeles in the US, claiming that they had negatively impacted her mental health. She received $6m in damages. Meta argued that it’s worked over the years to fig...

Though illegal, child marriage is widely practiced in India. UNICEF’s latest estimate is that 216 million girls and women in India today have been married before they turned 18. But some girls and young women are trying to resist the practice. In this short documentary, we meet Munna, who found an unusual way out of becoming a child bride - through playing football. This episode of is based on the...

The latest report from the World Meteorological Organization, part of the UN, shows concerning statistics around climate change. Learn about the news in language you can understand with Phil and Becca. Get a free worksheet for this episode here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/learning-english-from-the-news_2026/260325 Try 6 Minute English here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learnin...

Cuba was receiving a third of its oil from Venezuela until a US operation removed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, in January. No fuel had entered the country in three months and the capital, Havana, has seen blackouts of up to 15 hours a day. Protests in Cuba come as a reaction to electricity blackouts and shortages of food, fuel and medicine, which have been worsened by a US blockade on oil....

The US-Israel war with Iran continues. The US military says it has "eliminated" 16 Iranian mine-laying ships in the area. Iran continues its strikes across the region, including in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Kuwait. People in Tehran have told BBC News Persian about heavy strikes and powercuts. Meanwhile, three commercial ships have been damaged by "unknown projectiles" in the area. Find full subti...

The US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Saturday, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Since then, at least 1,097 civilians have been killed in Iran, says a human rights organisation based in the US. The US and Israel are continuing to carry out air strikes in Iran, and Iran has responded by firing missiles at Israel and other countries in the region with links to the US. Iran has...

Nemesio Osegura Cervantes – known as 'El Mencho', head one the most important criminal organisations in Mexico, was killed by Mexican security forces on Sunday. Following his death, violence erupted across a number of Mexican states leading to the death of at least 74 people and over 9,500 troops have been deployed across the country in response to the violence. President Claudia Sheinbaum has sai...

Learn language from the news headlines about this story. Two years after opposition politician Alexei Navalny died, European scientists have tested samples from his body. They say they believe he was killed by a poison found in frogs. Russia denies it killed Navalny and says he died of natural causes, but UK foreign secretary Yvette Cooper said there was no innocent explanation for the poison bein...

People in Montana, US worry that they will lose the land the makes the place special. Nearly half of all the land in the American west is owned by the federal government. Some people want to change that and sell the land to build houses and businesses. But in Montana, a western state known for wide open spaces and cowboys, lots of people rely on the government land. They worry that their cowboy wa...

The singer Bad Bunny has made history by performing the Super Bowl half-time show almost entirely in Spanish. The 14-minute set, which invited celebrities to dance alongside him, had only one line in English: “God Bless America.” Some people have praised the performance for its message of pride and love for his home country, Puerto Rico. But others have been critical of the show, calling it "un-Am...

Men are secretly filming women on nights outs and then posting these videos online to make money in so-called 'walking tours' videos. Meanwhile, some women have been filmed without their consent by men using Meta glasses. These videos have then been posted online and attracted comments which the women have found offensive and upsetting. For more great language tips and programmes visit bbclearning...

Experts have warned that the world is the closest it has ever been to disaster. For more great language tips and programmes visit bbclearningenglish.com Find full subtitles for this episode at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/learning-english-from-the-news_2026/260128 Are you scared of speaking English? Listen to this episode of Beating Speaking Anxiety: ✔️ https://www.bbc.c...

US President Trump's latest comments about Greenland have led to criticism. For more great language tips and programmes visit bbclearningenglish.com Find full subtitles for this episode at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/learning-english-from-the-news_2026/260121 Are you scared of speaking English? Listen to this episode of Beating Speaking Anxiety: ✔️ https://www.bbc.co.uk...

More than 2,400 people have been killed after a crackdown on anti-government protests in Iran, according to a US-backed rights group. Phil and Pippa discuss this story and the vocabulary in the headlines that will help you understand it. Find full subtitles for this episode at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/learning-english-from-the-news_2026/260114 Practise your reading s...

The US military attacked the Venezuelan capital Caracas on Saturday and arrested its president Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. Find full subtitles for this episode at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/learning-english-from-the-news_2026/260107 Practise your reading skills with The Reading Room: ✔️ https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/features/the_reading_room Pract...

Neil and Pippa look at some of the biggest headlines from the year. Learn about this story and some useful vocabulary from the headlines. Find full subtitles for this episode at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/learning-english-from-the-news_2025/251231 Practise your reading skills with The Reading Room: ✔️ https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/features/the_reading_room Prac...

Japan changes the law to stop parents giving their children names considered strange. Learn about this story and some useful vocabulary from the headlines. Find full subtitles and a worksheet for this episode at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/learning-english-from-the-news_2025/251224 Practise your reading skills with The Reading Room: ✔️ https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningengl...

Australia's social media ban for under-16s has started. Find full subtitles and a worksheet for this episode at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/learning-english-from-the-news_2025/251217 Practise your reading skills with The Reading Room: ✔️ https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/features/the_reading_room Practise your listening skills with The Listening Room: ✔️ https://www...

How far would you go for love? When Czech writer Adela falls in love with artist Konstantin Zhorkin, she moves to Kharkiv, in Ukraine, to be with him. Kharkiv is just 30 kilometres from the Russian border and has been hit by some of the worst attacks of the war in Ukraine. In this short documentary, Adela tells her personal story of what life is like in Kharkiv as the war continues. Based on the B...

The 8th of December marked a year since Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad was forced to leave the capital, Damascus. Find full subtitles and a worksheet for this episode at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/learning-english-from-the-news_2025/251210 Practise your reading skills with The Reading Room: ✔️ https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/features/the_reading_room Practise yo...

Hong Kong leader orders investigation into deadly fires which killed at least 151 people Find full subtitles and a worksheet for this episode at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/learning-english-from-the-news_2025/251203 Practise your reading skills with The Reading Room: ✔️ https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/features/the_reading_room Practise your listening skills with T...

A ship that sunk in 1708 is thought to have $20bn worth of treasure on it. Hear about the expedition to recover the treasure, and learn some vocabulary from the headlines with Georgie and Phil. Find full subtitles and a worksheet for this episode at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/learning-english-from-the-news_2025/251126 Practise your reading skills with The Reading Room:...