Learning English from the News

The World Meteorological Organization said this El Niño is likely to strengthen over the rest of 2026, driving more extreme weather around much of the globe. El Niño is the name for a natural climate event where sea water temperatures rise in the Pacific Ocean near the equator. It creates unusually hot and stormy weather. Several forecasts from national weather agencies suggest it could end up as one of the strongest ever recorded – a possible so-called ‘super’ El Niño.
Learn about this story and learn some vocabulary from the headlines with Phil and Georgie.
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A group of senior doctors in the UK compare the harms of social media to smoking, not because it has the same physical health impacts, but because they believe it’s an important health issue that people need to take seriously.
Learn about this story and learn some vocabulary from the headlines with Pippa and Georgie.
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An Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo was announced by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday. Ebola is a serious disease caused by a virus caught from wild animals and is usually found in certain parts of Africa. It spreads from person to person when you come in to contact with infected body fluids, such as blood, urine and vomit.
Officials in Uganda reported that the deadly disease had spread in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The total ⁠number of suspected cases means that this outbreak is already one of the largest on record
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All passengers have now left the Dutch cruise ship, MV Hondius after a voyage that lead to the death of three passengers from hantavirus. The virus is usually found in rats. One passenger is thought to have caught the virus while birdwatching in Ushuaia, Argentina, where the ship's journey began.
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Global food production is being threatened by an interruption to the supply of fertiliser, according to the boss of one of the world's biggest fertiliser producers. Fertiliser is something that farmers put on fields to help plants grow.
When the United States and Israel struck Iran on 28 February, the Strait of Hormuz, which is a narrow waterway between Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, effectively shut down. About one-third of the world's fertiliser trade normally passes through the strait.
Less fertiliser means less food is grown, and if there is less food available, then prices rise.
The UN World Food Programme estimates that the Middle East conflict could cause 45 million additional people to experience severe hunger in 2026.
Learn about the news in a level of English you can understand with Neil and Georgie.
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