Ceuta migrant crisis

**Pippa** (0:00)
From BBC Learning English, this is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines.

**Georgie** (0:06)
In this program, tens of thousands of migrants swam around the border into Ceuta, part of Spain. But what caused the crisis?

**Pippa** (0:19)
Hello, I'm Pippa.

**Georgie** (0:20)
And I'm Georgie.

**Pippa** (0:21)
In this program, we look at one big news story and the vocabulary in the headlines that will help you understand it.

**Georgie** (0:27)
You can find all the vocabulary and headlines from this episode, as well as a worksheet on our website, bbclearningenglish.com.

**Pippa** (0:35)
So, let's hear more about this story.

**Georgie** (0:45)
About 60,000 migrants managed to break through the border between Morocco and the Spanish territory of Ceuta last week.

**Pippa** (0:52)
Many of the migrants swam around the border fence, leading to chaos in Ceuta, which only has a population of around 80,000 people. At least 72 migrants died attempting to make the journey.

**Georgie** (1:04)
Spanish authorities say the majority of migrants have now been returned to Morocco.

**Pippa** (1:09)
It's thought viral social media posts declaring Spain is open encouraged so many people to try to get to Ceuta.

**Georgie** (1:16)
Let's have our first headline. This one is from AP News, an international news agency.
Runaway online rumours sparked frantic rush by migrants to the Spanish territory of Ceuta.

**Pippa** (1:29)
That headline again from AP News. Runaway online rumours sparked frantic rush by migrants to the Spanish territory of Ceuta.

**Georgie** (1:38)
This headline says that online rumours sparked migrants to travel to Ceuta. In other words, it encouraged them to suddenly take action.

**Pippa** (1:46)
We're interested in the description of the rumours as runaway.
You're probably familiar with the phrasal verb run away, which means to leave somewhere suddenly. But here we have the adjective runaway, which is one word.

**Georgie** (1:59)
Yes, in this context, runaway means out of control. For example, literally, a runaway train is a train that is travelling fast and out of control.

**Pippa** (2:09)
In the headline, runaway is metaphorical. The rumours about Ceuta spread quickly and were out of control, leading to lots of people attempting to travel there. They were runaway rumours.

**Georgie** (2:21)
We don't always have to use runaway in negative situations. We can also use it to talk about success.
A runaway success is a success beyond expectations.

**Pippa** (2:32)
Yes, for example, the director was pleased his film was a runaway hit with audiences.

**Georgie** (2:41)
We've had runaway, out of control or beyond expectations.

**Pippa** (2:48)
For example, the marketing campaign for the serial was a runaway success. So many people bought it.

**Georgie** (2:59)
This is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines. Today we're talking about the migrant crisis in Ceuta and what caused it.

**Pippa** (3:07)
The images of tens of thousands of migrants climbing up the rocks to Ceuta quickly spread around the world on social media and on news sites.

**Georgie** (3:16)
And the crisis led to disagreement between Spain and other countries in the EU.

**Pippa** (3:21)
For example, Italy's prime minister announced the country would suspend the Schengen agreement with Spain, which allows for the free movement of people between many mainland countries in the EU.

**Georgie** (3:32)
Many EU leaders also called for an urgent meeting, asking for the end of policies they believe could be pull factors to Europe. This means policies that could encourage illegal migration.

**Pippa** (3:44)
But Spain says the problems in Ceuta are not caused by its immigration policies and that Ceuta is not part of mainland Spain. So there was never a security threat to other EU countries.

**Georgie** (3:55)
Let's have another headline. This one is from BBC News. How Spain's migrant crisis created a political storm whipped up by social media.

**Pippa** (4:04)
That headline again from BBC News. How Spain's migrant crisis created a political storm whipped up by social media.

**Georgie** (4:13)
So this headline says the crisis in Ceuta created a political storm. Storm in this context means a situation where there is lots of argument and disagreement.

**Pippa** (4:23)
And the storm was whipped up by social media. What does this mean, Georgie?

**Georgie** (4:28)
Well, whipped up by means caused or made stronger by.

**Pippa** (4:31)
So in this story, the political storm, the arguments between Spain and other EU countries, were caused or made stronger by social media, according to the headline. They were whipped up by social media.

**Georgie** (4:43)
Yes, remember, videos of thousands of migrants arriving in Ceuta spread quickly, and politicians shared and commented on them on social media.

**Pippa** (4:52)
We can use whipped up to talk about arguments and controversy, but also excitement. For example, the excitement of a crowd could be whipped up by a singer at a concert.