Deadly Saudi airport attacks

Neil (0:00)

From BBC Learning English, this is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines.

Pippa (0:07)

In this programme, deadly attacks on airport in Saudi Arabia.

Neil (0:16)

Hello, I'm Neil.

Pippa (0:17)

And I'm Pippa.

Neil (0:18)

In this programme, we look at one big news story and the vocabulary in the headlines that will help you understand it.

Pippa (0:24)

You can find all the vocabulary and headlines from this episode as well as a worksheet on our website, bbclearningenglish.com.

Neil (0:33)

Let's hear more about this story.

Pippa (0:41)

Fourteen 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 attacks earlier in the week.

Neil (0:53)

The militant group The Houthis in Yemen said they were behind the attacks, as well as others on airports across Saudi Arabia, and warned airlines and passengers against using Saudi Arabian airports and airspace.

Pippa (1:06)

Let's have our first headline. This is from BBC News.

CCTV shows people take cover as missile hits Riyadh Airport.

Neil (1:15)

That headline again from BBC News. CCTV shows people take cover as missile hits Riyadh Airport.

Pippa (1:23)

This headline is from a news story containing a CCTV clip of one of the attacks on the airport. We're interested in this phrase, take cover.

Neil (1:33)

Yes, take cover means to move to a place where you are more protected, for example, underneath a table or behind a door.

Pippa (1:40)

You might see the phrase take cover used in stories about attacks or danger, where people need to get to safety.

Neil (1:46)

The phrase take cover isn't only used in serious situations though. We can also use take cover in more everyday contexts. For example, you might take cover during a rainstorm to protect yourself from getting wet.

Pippa (2:04)

We've had take cover– move to a place where you are more protected.

Neil (2:12)

For example, officials advise people to take cover inside during the tropical storm. This is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines. Today, we're talking about attacks on Saudi Arabia's airports.

Pippa (2:30)

A Saudi government minister has said the country will have a serious response to the attacks.

Neil (2:35)

The Houthis have said they are targeting Saudi Arabia over its support for government forces in Yemen's civil war.

Pippa (2:42)

Many countries, including the UK, have advised against travelling to Saudi Arabia.

Neil (2:47)

Let's have another headline.

Pippa (2:49)

This is from The Economist, an international news magazine, Saudi Arabia's Houthi headache.

Neil (2:56)

That headline again from The Economist, Saudi Arabia's Houthi headache.

Pippa (3:01)

This headline is from an article about the recent attacks. It describes the situation as a headache. What's going on here, Neil?

Neil (3:09)

Well, we can use the word headache metaphorically to describe a particularly difficult problem that's hard to solve or that continues for a long time.

Pippa (3:18)

In this story, there have been several attacks across a whole week, causing death, injury and major disruption in Saudi Arabia. The headline describes this problem as a headache.

Neil (3:28)

We often use headache to describe problems faced by governments which are difficult to solve. For example, politicians don't always agree on how to deal with the headache of rising prices.

Pippa (3:39)

So, in the headline, headache is used to describe a very serious situation, but you can also use headache to describe difficult problems in everyday life. For example, I'm trying to plan a family reunion at the moment, but it's a bit of a headache to organise because nobody's free at the same time.

Neil (4:00)

We had headache, problem that's hard to solve or that continues for a long time.

Pippa (4:08)

For example, spotting AI essays is becoming a bit of a headache for teachers.

This is Learning English from the News from BBC Learning English. We're talking about attacks on Saudi Arabia's airports by Houthi forces.

Neil (4:26)

As we've mentioned, there have been several attacks over the past week and multiple attacks on the same airport in Riyadh.

Pippa (4:33)

Saudi Arabia has launched an investigation into how its air defences were unable to stop the attacks.

Neil (4:39)

Our next headline is about this.

Saudis probe how defence systems failed to stop deadly Houthi attack on Riyadh airport. And that's from AP News, a US news agency.

Pippa (4:51)

That headline again from AP News. Saudis probe how defence systems failed to stop deadly Houthi attack on Riyadh airport.

Neil (5:00)

This headline says Saudis probe. Pippa, can you explain more about this verb probe?

Pippa (5:06)

Yes, probe as a verb means to gather information or investigate something.