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Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is 200 years old

Men sleep better than women, study finds, child's bedroom 'monster' was 60,000 bees, town to erect fence to stop mount fuji selfies, milan wants to ban takeaway food after midnight, uk leader cracks down on 'sick note culture', seafood could have higher levels of "forever chemicals", rising auto insurance premiums fuelling inflation, chechnya bans music that is too slow or too fast, rockets and planes chase the solar eclipse, gmail celebrates its 20th birthday, ai an 'extinction-level threat' says study by experts, climate change increases price of easter eggs, un warns of environmental e-waste catastrophe, human speech is 8 times older than we thought, giant blueberry smashes record for heaviest ever, dating apps are becoming less popular, it once rained for two million years, say scientists, hollywood actor says openai sora could cause job losses, airline starts to weigh luggage and passengers, cold weather exercise burns more calories, decimal point 150 years older than thought, mt everest climbers must now keep their poo, japan relaxes haircut rules to attract army recruits, climate change means category 6 hurricane needed, pizza to help relationship break-ups on valentine's day, taylor swift makes history with fourth best album win, artificial light is dangerous for insects, say scientists, french farmers cut off paris with tractors, closing toilet-seat lids may not stop spread of germs, youtuber mrbeast earns $250,000 from video on x, deadly fire ants spreading across australia, world will see first trillionaire in next 10 years, love is a drug called dopamine, say scientists, prince's 'purple rain' movie to become a musical, muggers now targeting luxury winter coats, 2024 to be biggest ever year for voting in elections, better weight-loss drugs predicted for 2024, scientists 'talk' with a whale for 20 minutes, jeff bezos wants a trillion humans in solar system, scientists say early risers have neanderthal genes, scientists make biocomputer with brain tissue, argentina's president warns of economic 'shock treatment', peach fuzz is colour of the year for 2024, scientists say dolphins have a seventh sense, new zealand u-turns on planned smoking ban, scientists hopeful of cure for itchiness and eczema, bacteria pass 'memories' to future generations, napoleon's hat most expensive ever sold at auction, nasa can send your name to jupiter's moon europa, diseases in 'factor x' could be next global threat, world population has passed 8 billion, 265-year-old love letters opened for first time, fatigue and sleeplessness are on the rise, the beatles release the last song they recorded, tai chi could slow down parkinson's disease, iceland's prime minister and women go on strike, study says fructose is a major cause of obesity, grapes are good for our eyesight, eu warns x over israel-hamas disinformation, scrolling on the toilet can damage your body, "bed poverty" on the rise in the uk, france battles to stop spread of bedbugs, spotify will not ban ai-made music, company makes booth for vertical napping, scientists find alternative to palm oil, meditation helps reduce high blood pressure, tiktok trend causes laxative shortage in usa, over-tourism threatens mt. fuji's world heritage status, store staff get body cameras to protect themselves, mystery of radioactivity of germany's wild boars, researchers find best temperature for sleeping well, fifa suspends spain coach over unwanted kiss, japan releases fukushima water into the ocean, elon musk to remove blocking feature on x, walking 4,000 steps a day linked to longer life, microplastics found in human heart for first time, raw sewage keeps swimmers away from uk beaches, irregular sleep patterns cause 'social jet lag', half the world to develop mental health disorder, 8,000-year-old ancestor of english found, 'barbie' the movie breaks box office records, ai could create thousands of jobs in gaming, un says extreme heat is the new normal, france to pay people to repair their clothes, switzerland imports more cheese than it exports, uk politician orders removal of cartoons for child asylum seekers, taiwan restaurant serves crocodile-foot ramen, microscopic handbag sells for $63,000, prince william hopes to end homelessness in uk, mark zuckerberg and elon musk to fight in a cage, multinational companies to hire 250,000 refugees, groundwater pumping by humans has tilted earth's axis, your soap might mean mosquitoes bite you more, four children survive in amazon jungle for 40 days, smiling lessons in japan after years of mask-wearing, canada to put health warnings on individual cigarettes, chinese airliner makes first commercial flight, new york city sinking four millimetres a year, new zealand loses manuka honey trademark battle, china set to become world's largest car maker, self-checkout machines asking customers to tip, pope says italians should have babies, not pets, animal testing for cosmetics to restart in u.k., internet use could lower risk of dementia, germany issues cheap public transport ticket, 2,000 near-threatened white rhinos to be auctioned, traditional english tea losing popularity in uk, uae astronaut sends ramadan greetings from space, south korea pays lonely people to leave the house, athlete spends 500 days in underground cave, car license plate sells for record $15 million, chatgpt-4 may be useful for medical diagnoses, italy's government may punish the use of english, scientists say plants 'scream' when stressed, scientists know more about how we forget, uk charity hopes to 'decolonise' english vocabulary, new orchid species found in japan, climate change extends allergy season, vinyl records outsell cds for first time since 1987, half of world population will be overweight by 2035, scientists believe dinosaurs sounded like birds, british supermarkets ration fruit and vegetables, sensitivity readers edit james bond and roald dahl books, scientists discover earth has two cores, uk king co-writes children's book on climate change, letter posted in 1916 delivered 107 years late, white house says no aliens in weather balloons, chatgpt and google bard in a.i. chatbot race, three-month state of emergency declared in turkey, pranksters target japan's sushi restaurants, car fumes can change the brain in 2 hours, urgent search for lost radioactive capsule in australia, bill gates wants to reduce methane from cow burps, australian universities to allow ai in assessments, woman runs record 150 marathons in 150 days, adidas loses three-stripe trademark battle, prince harry's book 'spare' is a bestseller, france may have to increase price of baguettes, drinking water often helps us to live longer, 35% of japanese people will never travel again, frozen food is japan's 'dish of the year', australia's christmas beetles are disappearing, south koreans to become a year or two younger, satellite launched to map earth's water, world's oldest land animal celebrates 190th birthday, morocco advance to world cup semi-finals, new iphone instantly measures a person's height, incorrect battery disposal causes needless fires, saudi arabia plans to build six-runway airport, 'hated' australian bird dealing with invasive species, work starts on beaming solar energy from space, cooking began 600,000 years earlier than we thought, our sun will die in 10 billion years from now, tunnel under egypt could lead to cleopatra's tomb, billionaires create a million times more co2, hygiene poverty on the rise in the u.k., bees like playing with balls, study finds, world record gathering of people with same name, anti-cheating exam hats used in philippines college, congo gold mining threatening endangered species, k-pop stars bts to do military service, former malaysia leader to run for office aged 97, eating late at night might be making us sick, women, girls and students protesting in iran, britain's king charles to miss climate summit, 'quiet quitting' becoming common in workplaces, nasa spacecraft hits asteroid in earth-protection test, japanese company allow pets into the office, ability to move to the beat of music is genetic, soccer star waits in line for 13 hours to pay respects to queen elizabeth, un says 50 million are in 'modern slavery', ultra-processed food linked to cancer risk, space travel changes astronauts' dna, tennis legend serena williams plays her final match, dogs cry for joy after reuniting with their owners, big rise in rates of depression among students, 'poo-nami' of raw sewage hits english beaches, airplane pilots fall asleep instead of landing, why thinking makes us feel tired, 'warm banks' spread in uk as heating costs rise, mosquitoes bite some people more than others, life expectancy in africa grows by 10 years, un says nuclear annihilation is one mistake away, ditch neckties to save energy, says spain's pm, czech police turn criminal's ferrari into patrol car, ukraine and russia sign deal to resume grain exports, australia's "shocking" decline in environment, feeling hungry can make us feel "hangry", bigger risk of being killed by falling space rocket, brad pitt says he suffers from facial blindness, eiffel tower full of rust and in need of repair, octopuses and humans share intelligence gene, people in tokyo asked to turn off lights in heat wave, five planets line up 'like string of pearls', africa museum to be one of world's greatest sights, italy's largest river experiencing drought, new zealand may tax farm animal burps, google maps now lets you find fresh air, study finds blue is the most popular colour, footballer unhurt after gunfight during mugging, tom cruise's "top gun: maverick" breaks records, japan opens to foreign tourists after two years, millionaires say 'tax us more', more cases of monkeypox detected worldwide, tonga volcano eruption was a record explosion, google translate adds 24 new languages, airlines miss most of their climate change targets, new eye drops improve vision without glasses, gardeners urged not to cut the grass, plant-based milk becoming more popular, elon musk buys twitter for $44 billion, hundreds of unpunished crimes at uk royal palaces, half the world's population get headaches, electric scooter gets speaker to sound like sports car, scientists make skin look 30 years younger, uk's help for ukraine refugees called 'a disgrace', who says 99% of people breathe unhealthy air, 'shrinkflation' now widespread in goods and services, will smith apologizes to chris rock after oscars slap, people in the uk have no money to boil potatoes, sleeping with a light on can harm our health, company makes smartphone you can repair yourself, world's largest ever cruise ship sets sail, digital detox leads to better health and lifestyle, study says plant-based diet helps heart a little, uk government gives twice-fired politician top honour, tiktok videos to be 10 minutes long, ex-world boxing champions to defend ukraine, germany closes gas pipeline amid ukraine crisis, brains do not slow down until after 60, flying taxis could be here in next three years, koala put on endangered species list, fast fashion is harming the environment, u.k. queen celebrates platinum jubilee, the new york times buys wordle, us general says invasion of ukraine would be 'horrific', australia buys copyright to aboriginal flag, pristine coral reef discovered off coast of tahiti, tonga trying to clean up after tsunami and volcano, researchers find world's largest fish breeding ground, man gets first ever pig-heart transplant, choosing pets over children is 'selfish,' says pope, china's artificial sun five times hotter than real sun, 2021 not as bad as 2020, says think tank, japanese professor invents lickable tv screen, madagascar minister swims for 12 hours after helicopter crash, fossil found of giant car-sized insect, we are as smart as rocket scientists, time names elon musk 2021 person of the year, injuries in home offices are workplace accidents, world faces maple syrup shortage, 104-year-old woman learns to read and write, scientists create living robots that can have babies, omicron coronavirus variant spreading worldwide, lobsters, octopuses and crabs feel pain says u.k., top 25 travel destinations for 2022 revealed, scorpions sting more than 500 people in egypt, portugal bans bosses contacting staff after work, going to bed at 10pm linked to lower heart disease, japan to give children under 19 $880 cash handout, jeff bezos promises $2 billion to help nature, greta thunberg "not officially" invited to cop26, squid game clothes in high demand worldwide, scientists make wooden knife that is sharper than steel, kanye west changes his name to ye, peru wins first ever balloon world cup, g20 leaders agree to help afghanistan, men lost at sea for 29 days say it was a nice break, michelin makes giant sails to make shipping greener, 2020 dubai expo opens to 'astonish the world', turtle's walk delays planes at tokyo airport, more and more people are eating insects, philippine boxing legend to run for president, france recalls its ambassadors to australia and us, scientists want to bring mammoths back to life, upside-down rhino experiment wins ig nobel prize, mercedes makes mind-control car, global semiconductor shortage hurts car industry, nike gave workers a week off to de-stress, hero mother saves son from mountain lion attack, abba to release first new music in 39 years, light pollution linked to insect loss, 2020 tokyo paralympics under way, venice set to charge tourists to enter the city, nuclear fusion test could start an energy revolution, malala yousafzai wants open borders for afghan refugees, india to launch $1.35 trillion infrastructure plan, scientists say july was hottest month ever, common flower discovered to be meat eating, smallest ever baby leaves hospital after 13 months, cuba allows people to own private businesses, taliban capture first afghan provincial capital city, global timber shortage increases house prices, new zealand apologizes for 70s immigration raids, more u.k. schools to teach latin, flavonoids can cut the risk of dementia by a third, pink offers to pay norway's handball bikini fine, printer ink one of world's most expensive liquids, naomi osaka lights flame to open tokyo olympics, woodland gives city kids better mental health, germany's merkel warns floods highlight climate dangers, u.k. considers tax on sugary and salty snacks, amazon flips to be source of co2 emissions, slower dance music only for south korea gyms, why we see faces everywhere we look, world's deepest dive pool opens in dubai, scientists warn of more extreme hot weather, uk queen honours health service for its courage, swimmers angry over afro soul cap olympics ban, flying car flies from one city to another, man breaks m&m stacking world record, scientists show the world 'dragon man', toxic workplaces increase depression risk by 300%, mouse plague in australia forces prison to close, night golf becomes a thing in south korea, a quarter of adults don't want children, world's first wooden satellite tested, car maker ferrari launches fashion brand, g7 leaders promise to build a better world, earth gets a fifth ocean, tigray on brink of famine, warns u.n., supersonic passenger jets could be flying by 2029, herd of wild elephants on the march in china, more young people suffering from 'eco-anxiety', naomi osaka withdraws from french tennis open, amazon creates 'amazen' booths for stressed workers, world's 'first war' was in sudan 13,400 years ago, bad dream stops climber's record everest climb, dating app asks 'are you sure' before hitting send, older uk farmers to get $140,000 for retiring, working long hours kills hundreds of thousands, dogs wear body armour to stop eagle attacks, record breaking 96-year-old dj retires, brain implant lets man write using thoughts, world food prize awarded to fish expert, ibm makes 'next-generation' microchip, woman gives birth to nine children, farmer accidentally moves belgium-france border, rome's colosseum to get new hi-tech floor, researchers find most 'instagrammable' bird, germany to return benin bronzes to nigeria, world sends oxygen aid for india's covid crisis, volunteers experience 40 days of isolation in a cave, tokyo motor show cancelled for first time ever, scientists make biodegradable plastic, football fan fury over european super league, scientists create human-monkey chimera, croissant terrorizes residents in poland, world's longest rabbit is 'rabbitnapped', no loss of marks for spelling mistakes at uk university, levi's says baggier 'balloon' jeans are in, titanic postcard could sell for $15,000 at auction, iran and u.s. in talks to revive nuclear deal, ocean explorers film world's deepest shipwreck, uk report on racism draws criticism, earliest cherry blossoms in japan city in 600 years, suez canal reopens after stranded ship is freed, earth safe from asteroid hit for 100 years, olympic torch relay starts in japan, stink bugs arrive in uk and threaten crops, scientists say cure for baldness could be close, pigs are intelligent enough to play video games, online romance fraud is on the increase, coca-cola tests a paper bottle, denmark to make artificial clean-energy island, world's biggest music company to invest in k-pop, 'miracle' puppy born with six legs, scientists find animal with biggest ears, iceland has 18,000 earthquakes in a week, uk criticized for cutting aid to yemen, dog theft on the rise worldwide, countries wondering whether to have vaccine passports, scientists explain video-conferencing fatigue, japan government creates a minister of loneliness, dogs may be self aware, most of world's rivers damaged by humans, university staff asked not to say 'mother' and 'father', ikea starts selling furniture for gamers, shell says it is past peak oil production, professor lectures for two hours online - on mute, london's thinnest house sells for $1.3 million, world's smallest reptile discovered in madagascar, myanmar military blocks facebook after coup, jeff bezos stepping down as amazon ceo, uae to offer citizenship to 'talented' foreigners, a full moon could give you a bad night's sleep, organizers say tokyo olympics will go ahead, fans get inside space bubbles for rock concert, job offers $30 an hour for eating and testing candy, electric-car battery charges in five minutes, biden vows to repair global alliances, wristband lets others know your mood, tennis stars enter australia ahead of stranded citizens, paris' champs-elysees to be 'extraordinary garden', free dumplings for motorists stranded in snow, harry and meghan to quit social media, identical twins are not so identical, taxi driver offers free rides for singing karaoke, man crosses rough sea on jet ski for love, 2021 to be huge for space exploration, online learning and lessons to continue in 2021, 2020 - a year we will never forget, giant antarctic iceberg a68a splits into three, early humans may have hibernated in winter, scientist finds the 'right' way to cut christmas cake, world blocks uk over new mutant virus strain, botanists find world's ugliest orchid, s. korea lantern festival on unesco heritage list, healthcare clowns help patients laugh and recover, metal detecting finds ancient treasure in u.k., india sees the biggest protest in history, japan to use artificial intelligence to match couples, lab-grown meat given green light in singapore, dog three times heavier than normal goes on diet, ecocide could become an international crime, s.korea, china clash on social media over kimchi, letters to santa show children's pandemic fears, thousands of argentinians say goodbye to maradona, childhood home of jesus christ found in nazareth, scientists say they can reverse ageing process, car-licking moose a problem on canada's roads, researchers want to 'correct' japanese english, new project to recreate smells from centuries ago, asian nations form world's biggest free trade deal, maldives resort offers $30k 'all-you-can-stay' holiday, scientists develop covid-19 vaccine, poor diet creates 20cm height gap in children, kamala harris to be first woman vice president, nintendo switch game console shatters sales forecasts, stress baking helped during u.s. election, eu says veggie burgers can be called burgers, diet drinks may be as unhealthy as sugary ones, scientists say there is water on the moon, uk government votes against free meals for poorer children, britain to return 5,000 ancient artefacts to iraq, eating jellyfish could save endangered fish, 'demon slayer' movie breaks japan's box office records, a zeptosecond - the shortest unit of time ever measured, thai protests continue despite state of emergency, lonely planet guidebook lists 500 must-see places, tech stocks lead 300-point rise on dow jones index, world food programme wins nobel peace prize, english language test suggested for australia visa, tasmanian devils reintroduced into mainland australia, dry weather affecting autumn leaves colours, caribbean islands offers 'digital nomad' work visa, two-fifths of world's plants at risk of extinction, armenia and azerbaijan fight over nagorno-karabakh, bomb-detecting rat wins medal for bravery, water seller becomes china's richest man, airbus unveils plans for zero-emission planes, afghan mothers' names allowed on birth certificates, thai parks mail litter back to tourists, photo of andromeda galaxy wins astronomy prize, mining ceo quits after destruction of ancient caves, pringles unveils new recyclable paper packaging, delivery of covid vaccine needs 8,000 jumbo jets, pope says gossiping is 'worse than covid', 52% of young adults in us live with parents, bodybuilder delivery helps sushi business in japan, r&b singer akon to build futuristic city, india and russia share chess gold medal after internet fails, brain-hacking chip could give us superpowers, black wind-turbine blade cuts bird deaths, young people say full stop is intimidating, 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes to be released, it snowed chocolate in a swiss town, transparent toilets are the place to go in tokyo, uk government u-turns over exam results fiasco, china launches 'clean plate' food waste campaign, israel and uae reach historic peace deal, bus-sized crocodiles once roamed the earth, world leaders hold aid summit to help beirut, scientists discover why shaving blunts razors, panda conservation drive harms other mammals, microsoft could buy tiktok next month, three charged in high-profile twitter hack, australia hotel bans emus for bad behaviour, scaled down hajj takes place in mecca, gorilla glass toughest ever smartphone screen, man proposes beneath once-in-6,800-year comet, basic income for poor could slow covid-19 spread, uae's historic mission to mars under way, scientists attach a camera to a beetle, ethiopia's river nile dam upsets egypt, french health workers get $9 billion pay rise, 11-year-old's ballet video goes viral, origin of our teeth dates back 400 million years, man spent five years too long in prison, huge financial rescue package for uk arts, scientists change how we calculate dog years, red light could help improve vision in old age, stop hate for profit campaign suspends social media ads, egypt jails famous belly dancer for immorality, heaviest ever sumo wrestler gives diet advice, arctic circle sees highest-ever temperatures, air bridges open to allow more people to travel, climate crisis threatens future of global sport, man fined $560 for farting at police, free rice atms installed on vietnam's streets, three baby ducks hatch from supermarket eggs, uk economy shrinks by 25 per cent, statue of belgian king taken down after protests, china and india agree to peace over border, black lives matter protests take place worldwide, scientists discover the world's cleanest air, the ford mustang mach 1 car is back, african union condemns killing of george floyd, no screaming in japanese amusement parks, cuckoo completes epic 12,000km migration, woman wins $1 million picasso in charity raffle, car rental group hertz files for bankruptcy, crucible - amazon's first major pc game released, uk colleges told to be truthful about online lessons, bored penguins visit art museum, how venus fly traps developed a liking for meat, twitter employees can work at home forever, saudi arabia to triple vat to support economy, over 19,000 pieces of stolen artwork found, scientists say cold air rises, giant hornets reach north america, game of thrones star smashes weightlifting record, aquarium asks people to video-call lonely eels, sahara was most dangerous place in earth's history, google meet video conferencing platform improved, doctors warn against disinfectant as coronavirus cure, new netflix subscribers surge during pandemic, new york allows online lockdown weddings, people want a different life after lockdown, 99-year-old man raises $25 million for health service, 50,000-year-old piece of string found, u.k. leader thanks nurses for saving his life, 1991 was the best year for music, paris bans daytime exercise, covid-19 could cut wildlife trade, manga exhibition is british museum's biggest show, u.s. to encourage use of face masks, computer translates brainwaves into sentences, astronaut pee could help build moon bases, scientists find out why dogs' noses are cold, italy mayors scold people not following lockdown, numbers of black rhino on the rise, who says young people also at risk from covid-19, canadians start 'caremongering' trend, the end of new york's pay phones, louis vuitton to make emergency hand sanitiser, coronavirus puts 50 million tourism jobs at risk, sports events cancelled, covid-19 fears over olympics, amazon starts selling cashier-less technology, panic buying sparks toilet paper shortages, men start washing hands because of coronavirus, half of world's beaches could disappear by 2100, parents angry as covid-19 shuts schools for a month, george clooney 'saddened' over child labour links, microsoft flight simulator includes all world airports, japan to start selling sliced mayonnaise, london st pancras best railway station in europe, big breakfasts help us burn double the calories, criminals have smaller brain size, says study, illegal teeth whitening could damage health, scientists start huge search for et, new york city bans cashless stores, brazil sends security force to fight deforestation, mass wedding goes ahead in korea despite coronavirus, finland gives parents 7-month parental leave, worst locust invasion in east africa in 70 years, soybean products may help you live longer, critics unimpressed by u.s. space force uniform, oxford comma missing from brexit coin, pasta is now a vegetable in u.s. schools, astronauts bake first ever cookies in space, stress really does turn your hair grey, coronavirus heightens global alarm, china plans to reduce single-use plastics, one in five deaths worldwide due to sepsis, denmark is the best country to raise kids, japan tycoon needs 'life partner' for moon visit, brake pads could harm our immune system, prince harry to leave uk to live in canada, sadio mane named african footballer of the year, japan looking at escape of ex-nissan ceo carlos ghosn, iran promises revenge after assassination of soleimani, breast cancer tests better with google health ai, the 2020s are here - happy new decade, fortnite most influential video game of the decade, satellites may obscure our views of the stars, chimpanzees love dancing, say researchers, head transplants possible by 2030, say doctors, live concerts and museums help you live longer, donald trump impeached, mariah carey xmas hit number 1 after 25 years, scientists create plastic that repels all bacteria, greta thunberg is time's person of the year, bougainville may be the world's next country, finnish woman, 34, to be world's youngest prime minister, sydney bush fires combine to form 'mega-fire', sugar overdose warning for coffee chain festive drinks, apostrophe protection society says goodbye, world champ go master quits as a.i. is too good, stretching may not prevent jogging injuries, china overtakes usa for most diplomatic posts, pope calls for global nuclear disarmament, apple removes customer reviews from online stores, rock band coldplay not touring to save environment, onion emergency in bangladesh, online shopping addiction is a mental illness, scientists warn insect apocalypse is coming, bolivian senator declares herself acting president, airlines create extra co2 by 'fuel-tankering', saudi aramco ipo starts november 17, typhoon-damaged bullet trains scrapped in japan, a 4-day work week in japan increased productivity, united nations warns world to quit 'coal addiction', chefs angry at new york foie gras ban, modern humans came from botswana, russian eagle creates huge data roaming phone bill, the climbing of australia's uluru now banned, soccer players more at risk of dementia, most of europe's most-wanted criminals are women, world's fastest ant like 580kph human, turkey rejects calls for ceasefire in syria, slow walking speed at 45 linked to faster ageing, ethiopia leader abiy ahmed wins nobel peace prize, uk might ban food on public transport, saturn now the planet with the most moons, paralyzed man walks using robotic suit, tripadvisor stops selling tickets for dolphin shows, living by the sea makes us happier, people told to avoid skin-lightening creams, saudi arabia opens up to tourism, wasabi gives woman broken-heart syndrome, eating nuts could help us to keep slim, hospitals get vintage makeover to help dementia, canada's justin trudeau apologizes for brownface photo, the word 'they' is now also a singular pronoun, oil prices rise after saudi drone attacks, giving children time-outs won't harm them, world's most electrifying eel found in amazon, asteroid rock layers reveal how the dinosaurs died, 73-year-old woman gives birth to twins, south korea wants 2020 olympics rising sun flag ban, deepfake app puts your face in famous movie scenes, vegan fashion is becoming more popular, luxury 51-country, 8-month cruise sets sail, beekeeper says bears prefer premium honey, positive thinking helps us live longer, endangered sharks and rays get more protection, amazon rainforest fires are an international crisis, parents happier after their children leave home, donald trump interested in buying greenland, stare at seagulls to stop them stealing your food, full stop seen as rude in text messages, simone biles makes more gymnastics history, united kingdom could break up, warns ex-leader, lebanon newspaper publishes 'no news' protest edition, child-sized parrot once lived in new zealand, hong kong protests 'extremely dangerous,' says leader, dentist removes 526 teeth from 7-year-old, ethiopia plants 350 million trees in 12 hours, south korea football fans' anger at ronaldo no-show, young people are not watching tv news, arctic wildfires visible from space, boris johnson becomes uk's new leader, rescuers help airlift thousands of salmon to safety, father of modern computing to appear on banknote, egypt opens ancient pyramids for first time since 1960s, big education publisher to end printed textbooks, insects really feel pain, says new research, turkey's russian missile defense system purchase angers u.s., amazon alexa to answer questions on health, uk ambassador to us says white house is inept, teenager sells her old bath water in bottles, japan begins commercial whaling after 30 years, smoking can damage the eyes, scientists 'close' to cure for baldness, dutch railway to compensate holocaust victims, kim kardashian west angers japan over 'kimono', team sport training best for all-round fitness, zero-carbon power bigger than fossil fuels in uk, 'cat-fox' found in france could be new species, facebook to launch a global crypto-currency, smartphone use could be changing shape of our skull, tensions over oil-tanker attacks in gulf of oman, anger as work starts on machu picchu airport, drones used to battle tortoise-killing ravens, 23 million men married before they were 15, china's huawei will build russia's 5g network, cartoon character ban could come to candy bars, scientists puzzled by flashes on the moon, who says burnout is a medical problem, anger at tv show with big age difference couples, scientists hope to find cure for snakebites, alabama state sued over abortion bill, japanese city asks tourists to stop 'sand graffiti', billionaire to pay off student debt for class of 2019, over a million call for game of thrones re-make, parents risk jail for raising children as vegans, san francisco bans facial recognition software, doctors give better care in the morning, cuba starts rationing food and other products, online store slammed for selling auschwitz skirts, garbage collectors start library with abandoned books, breakthrough in bio-printing of new body organs, japan university to hire non-smoking staff only, could a friendly beluga whale be a spy, japan has a new emperor, anti-vaxxers blamed for 300% rise in measles, premier league footballers earned $3.7bn last season, police arrest 1,000 extinction rebellion protestors, at least 207 die in sri lanka blasts, hero dad saves baby son from wild dingo, one billion dollars promised to rebuild notre dame, japan starts nuclear fuel removal from fukushima, name of new star wars movie announced, astronomers release first ever photo of black hole, hidden camera in hotel room films family, hip-hop is the best music to mature cheese, huge 'mission jurassic' dinosaur dig to start, saudi capital city to get $23 billion makeover, japanese women rebel against high heels, passwords to be replaced by web authentication, europe's cars to have speed limiters, paper books better than e-books for bedtime stories, head teacher has to clean school toilets, balloons deadliest plastic for seabirds, business suits and ties worn less and less, cheaper rail tickets for germany's women, anger over christchurch video on social media, boeing grounds 737 max aircraft worldwide, inventor of world wide web says it must change, dog walking can be harmful for older people, finland's government resigns, kylie jenner becomes world's youngest billionaire, scientists gave mice night vision, satellites launched to provide worldwide internet, kashmir crisis halts flights to pakistan, un in record aid appeal for yemen, school children go on strike for climate, karl lagerfeld's cat set to inherit millions, isis bride stripped of her british citizenship, japan to recognize ainu indigenous people for first time, going to bed early is better for us, airbus to end production of a380 airplane, dozens of polar bears invade russian town, statue of haile selassie unveiled at african union, man sues parents for being born, russia planning to develop more missiles, we may be able to learn vocabulary while sleeping, eu angers uk by calling gibraltar a 'colony', deadly polar vortex freezes mid-america, china's huawei rejects us criminal charges, crocodiles moved from world's tallest statue, slim people's genes help them stay slim, germany thinking about speed limit on autobahn, world's 26 richest as rich as poorer half of world, fortnite more popular than tv for young people, homes for sale in italy for one euro, china grows plants on the moon, saudi teen welcomed as refugee in canada, macedonia agrees to change its name, mastercard removes its name from its logo, eye tests available on your smartphone, china first to land on dark side of the moon, the usa and israel quit unesco, the year 2019 to be the best ever, japan chooses 'disaster' to describe 2018, us government shutdown over border wall, 'eco-warriors' blamed for uk airport shutdown, woman to catch up with men's pay in 200 years, train drivers in uk earn more than pilots, new sesame street character highlights homelessness, ninja to help promote tourism in japan, 'yellow vests' protests to continue in france, japan prepares for many foreign workers, uae passport world's 'most powerful', rare white reindeer photographed in norway, court says 'kiwi' is not a racist term, algeria is the new 'cradle of civilization', un declares reggae a world cultural treasure, work over 80 hours a week to change the world, dim the sun to limit global warming, say scientists, dna could decide whether you like coffee or tea, michelle obama's book best-selling of 2018, conception to birth sculptures unveiled in qatar, elvis presley gets presidential medal of freedom, british prime minister battles to save brexit, calls for ban on sugary 'freakshake' milkshakes, posting selfies on social media can be bad, colour photos to mark 100 years of end of ww1, disgusting food museum opens in sweden, u.s. re-imposes sanctions on iran, lie detector tests at airports are coming, babies of older fathers may be less healthy, sixty per cent of wildlife gone since 1970, french climber banned from scaling uk buildings, canada doctors using art to treat patients, huge migrant caravan heads to usa, longest sea bridge links hong kong to china, sagrada familia gets building permit 136 years late, 'mansize' tissues renamed for being sexist, mystery deepens over khashoggi disappearance, nicer people are poorer, says study, malaysia to abolish the death penalty, france wants its prisons blurred on internet maps, anger over horse race ad on sydney opera house, world-famous tsukiji fish market closes, university to replace clapping with hand-waving, restaurants forced to give all tips to staff, baghdad university gets into world rankings, french fries will be 3cm shorter, rugby players to hide tattoos in japan, restaurant bans customer for eating too much, tanzania's president advises against birth control, u.s. to spend $2 billion on artificial intelligence weapons, nike uses nfl protest player in ad campaign, astronauts plug space station hole with finger, air pollution damages intelligence, says study, honey better for coughs than antibiotics, australian muslims pray for rain during eid, new pakistan prime minister makes many promises, are countries trying to end us dollar's power, tonga prime minister challenges leaders to lose weight, french theme park uses crows to pick up litter, uk politician says burka is 'bank robber' clothing, people get surgery to look like snapchat filters, scientists solve mystery of stonehenge, france bans smartphones in schools, most british people take tea bags on holiday, sleeping with a fan could be bad for us, scientists record the sounds of the sun, doctors warn over application of suntan lotion, university ends use of mr, ms and mrs, moon landing items to be auctioned, world's oldest bread recipe found, new mexico president takes 60% pay cut, france win 2018 fifa world cup final, flying 'car' could be on sale next year, bright pink is the world's oldest colour, newly-discovered amazon wasp has giant stinger, philippines president to resign if someone proves god exists, internet fury at woman who killed giraffe, thai soccer boys cave rescue planned, tv razor ad shows real body hair for first time, china limits pay for movie stars, new nation of asgardia established in space, singer calls world leaders "cowards" over refugee crisis, birds' stomachs too full of plastic to eat, algeria turns off internet to stop exam cheats, ex-us soccer player criticized for supporting mexico, u.k. politician blocks passing of upskirting law, japan lowers age of adulthood to 18, trump and kim jong-un could get the nobel peace prize, pope warns fossil fuels threaten humanity, scientists close to turning air into fuel, women hold most government positions in spain, man aims to swim across the pacific ocean, chinese couples asked to take divorce exam, malaysians give cash to help government, hotter weather lowers exam results, korean boy band bts no.1 in us album chart, cockroach milk may be the next superfood, scientists to use dna to find loch ness monster, half of life on earth gone since humans arrived, no purchase needed to sit in starbucks cafes, humans causing big shifts in freshwater locations, scientists close to cure for the common cold, time travelers invited to stephen hawking memorial, robo-caller fined for 96 million phone calls, malaysia to have 92-year-old leader, carbon footprint of global tourism is huge, number of japanese children at record low, singapore-kuala lumpur world's busiest air route, best to learn a new language before age of 10, every indian village now has electricity, cold noodles help nuclear-free korea talks, amazon alexa to reward kids who say 'please', children are as fit as endurance athletes, get a job riding a harley-davidson all summer, swaziland changes its name to eswatini, kendrick lamar wins pulitzer prize for music, social media site reverses lgbt ban after outcry, going to bed late shortens our life, says study, japan finds enough rare-earth metals to last 700 years, france to help make saudi arabia's first opera house, former brazilian president in jail, iceland's first lady wears charity-shop jacket, seed vault now has over a million species, children lack skill in holding pencils due to ipads, robots to help us make our own furniture, men to be nfl cheerleaders for first time ever, china and russia lead race to make hypersonic missiles, facebook apologizes after data breach, fears over usa - china trade war, world's last male northern white rhino dies, stephen hawking explained multiverses in final paper, calls for everyone in england to speak english, u.s. student walkout to protest gun violence, 3d-printer homes to reduce homelessness, disease x is a 'big risk' to the world, donald trump and kim jong-un to meet, japanese robot-wolf to protect farms, thailand to close famous beach to protect coral, paris metro fines woman for walking wrong way, malnutrition goals in africa 'very far away', egypt archaeologists find large 'city of the dead', u.s. companies end ties with gun group nra, airbnb enters luxury travel market, nasa spacesuits with built-in toilet, black panther movie breaks box office records, household items as bad as cars for pollution, woman thrown off plane for shouting at crying baby, american woman wakes up with british accent, early humans were bad at drawing, parents anger at $730 armani school uniforms, monaco running out of space for millionaires, earth's magnetic poles are about to flip, chinese women spend $30 million on virtual boyfriends, all new york prisoners to get free tablet computer, japan makes banana with peel you can eat, polish climbers in heroic himalaya rescue, 'nutella riots' in france after 70% price cut, centipedes eat animals 15 times their size, japanese tourists call police over rip-off restaurant bill, adolescence now lasts from 10 to 24, two koreas to share flag for winter olympics, spain to replace usa as second most popular tourism location, writing a to-do list may help you sleep faster, trump calls immigrant nations 'sh*thole' countries, bangkok street-food chef says no to international cooking honour, nearly 600 volunteer to be absent father, japan's $3,000 wagyu beef bento lunch box, online deliveries clogging up city streets, hollywood women fight sexual harassment, 2018 to be a great year, 2017 was uk's greenest energy year ever, certain smells take you back to your childhood, too much gaming is mental health issue, singing in groups could make you happier, 'selfieccino' is the new art in making coffee, you are what you eat, say scientists, new plants can produce light in the dark, mysterious space object could be monitoring us, social media 'destroying how society works', video of starving polar bear goes viral, scientists find a bone from santa claus, trump says jerusalem is israel's capital city, un horror at slave trade in libya, environmentalists call for worldwide ban on glitter, south korea government to help people in debt, soft, robotic muscles 1,000 times stronger, france to try and end violence against women, light pollution is taking away night's darkness, man to take rocket trip to show earth is flat, uk queen celebrates 70th wedding anniversary, thousands call for zimbabwe's mugabe to resign, apology after japanese train leaves 20 seconds early, millions more have high blood pressure, where do bugs like to live in your house, lip-syncing video app sells for $1 billion, malaria breathalyzer test could help millions, screen time before bed is bad for children, australia broadband network under attack from birds, hong kong's poor live in homes smaller than prison cells, new zealand to ban foreign home buyers, japanese school 'forces girl to dye hair black', australian deputy pm disqualified over dual citizenship, uae will train a million people in coding, china ends ban on smelly cheese, pollution is the world's biggest killer, big rise in self-harm among girls, potato shortage causes 'chipocalypse', world's 'most useless' airport opens, baby talk is a world language, women stranded at airport after cosmetic surgery, study finds why children don't eat their greens, airline boss promises pilots bonus to keep flying, nobel chemistry prize for molecule photos, catalonia workers strike for independence, austria bans full-face veils, carrying the shopping makes over-65s stronger, botanic gardens 'best hope' for saving plants, "catastrophic" sleep is killing people, says scientists, london bomber buys bomb parts from amazon, hotel opens in taiwan just for gamers, today's teenagers growing up more slowly, bald men are more attractive and confident, written zero 500 years older than scientists thought, rohingya in humanitarian crisis, says un, cambridge university may end handwritten exams, new mummies found near luxor, egypt, hurricane irma slams into caribbean, putin warns of 'global catastrophe' over n korea, 16 million children in need in south asia floods, why do people yawn, irish tv station 'forced' to use queen's english, new device can smell bombs and diseases, floyd mayweather wins richest fight in boxing history, google will check to see if you are depressed, chile stops mining project to save penguins, jews in uk want to leave because of hate crimes, binge-watching television causes sleep problems, man buys 5,000 people noodles for finding engagement ring, smiley face emojis could hurt your career, man swims to work every day to beat traffic, trump fires up north korea nuclear tensions, nano-chips may heal organs with one touch, loneliness is becoming a big danger to health, charity warns against uploading photos of children, new nasa job – to protect earth from aliens, man paints own 'no parking' lines outside his house, mobile phone ban while crossing roads in honolulu, debate over us military transgender policy, london police given 1,000 acid attack kits, alternate history of singapore wins comics oscars, girl, 5, fined for selling lemonade, mechanic works 75 years to break record, dirt is good for babies, water bears will survive until the sun dies, house dust could make us fat, coffee drinkers may live longer, scientists say life on mars would be difficult, people now snorting chocolate to get high, volvo will start making only all-electric cars, bank of england staff to go on strike, starbucks opens coffee shop with tatami in kyoto, great barrier reef valued at $42.5 billion, world food prize goes to nigerian banker, world taekwondo federation (wtf) changes name, the shape of eggs helps birds fly well, strange deep-sea creatures found near australia, youtube has plan to fight online terror, jay z receives top songwriting honor, new suntan drug could prevent skin cancer, trendy names make vegetables look tastier, mixed-gender events added to 2020 olympics, sesame street and ibm make vocabulary app, indonesia attempts to count all its islands, arab nations cut ties with qatar, musk abandons trump after u.s. dumps paris agreement, the world is 0.28% more peaceful than a year ago, finland to reform education for the digital age, 'robocop' – first robot police officer starts work, fitness trackers 'poor at measuring calories burned', scientists find out how flamingos stand on one leg, author unhappy with use of the word 'meme', europe's top soccer leagues get first female referee, holland's king reveals secret life as pilot, microsoft blames u.s. spy agency for wannacry, china outlines silk road plan for global trade, maori haka and language may keep dementia away, fbi boss thought his firing was a joke, nicki minaj to pay college fees for fans, swearing can make you physically stronger, exercise pill could replace exercising, abu dhabi opens government 'happiness cafe', a third of the food we produce is wasted, plastic-eating worm could remove the world's waste, china launches first chinese-made aircraft carrier, egg freezing offered as perk to female employees, families get government help with housework, exercise is contagious because of social media, usa ends 'patience' with north korea, high school changes 'sexist' women's studies course, man dragged off plane will sue united airlines, dutch towns tell tourists how to behave, people lose money in online dating scam, jungle people with almost no heart problems, halal snack helps bring australians together, sales quotas exploit convenience store workers, no shampoo may be better for your hair, scientists list 12 new types of cloud, older mothers may raise happier children, laptop ban goes into effect in certain countries, scientists find way to mass produce blood, funeral discounts for japan's elderly who quit driving, face recognition scanner to stop toilet paper thieves, subway sues tv station for $210 million, climate changed the shape of our nose, social media sites face heavy hate speech fines, world wide web inventor worried about its future, world faces biggest humanitarian crisis since 1945, how to become a memory champion, trial of 'female' traffic signals starts in australia, scientists say there could be life on trappist-1 planets, japan attempts to ease working hours, bulgarian radio can play modern music again, mothers get less sleep than fathers, fasting may lead to health benefits, carlos ghosn to step down as nissan boss, slippery ketchup bottle helps zero-waste economy, bio-terrorism could kill 30 million in a year, zealandia – the eighth continent, marriage makes you less stressed, new, super-thin material cools buildings, director for new batman movie coming soon, world's largest refugee camp must stay open, tv maker illegally tracked and sold viewing data, size zero models have dangerous eating disorders, astronauts' brains change shape during spaceflight, starbucks plans to employ 10,000 refugees, half a million at washington d.c. women's march, scientists say end of world is 30 seconds closer, cats are just as clever as dogs, says study, worries about microplastics in our seafood, city plans to plant 3 million trees, ants use the sun to get from a to b, eating chili peppers helps you live longer, eight billionaires as rich as half the world, animal rights pressure group buys lv shares, scientists make super-strong spider web silk, weekend-only exercise enough to live longer, zombies would wipe out humans in 100 days, using cotton buds could damage your hearing, language barriers holding back global science, usa and russia in election hacking tit-for-tat, japan prime minister visits pearl harbor, smartphone toilet paper at japan airport, women are better doctors but get paid less, uk's prince harry vows to make a difference, scientists unlock secrets to seahorses, syrian refugee top student in australia school, venezuela seizes 4 million toys for its children, ivory coast gets three-word postal addresses, 1.2 million people accept birthday party invitation, new store lets you shop, walk out and pay later, oil pipeline protest joined by military veterans, thailand has a new king, christmas cards show nativity in war zone, india to be a cashless society, says prime minister, low social status bad for health, man sells firewood to pay wife's medical bills, seriously powerful weather satellite put into space, emergency junk food flown to earthquake town, scientists change plants' sunblock to grow more crops, mathematicians work out the perfect cup of coffee, israel backs bill to make mosques quieter, boys and girls react differently to stress, world leaders have mixed reactions to trump victory, india cities experiencing hazardous air quality, calls for daylight saving time to be scrapped, u.s. must be world policeman, says ex-nato boss, new uae law gives workers time off to read, broccoli and avocado slow down aging, no putting on make-up on trains, says rail company, myanmar and iraq most generous countries, three-quarters of british people commit micro crimes, dogs dream about their owners, says scientist, philippines to split from usa, shanghai ikea bans old people from dating, teen drivers most at risk of crashing, nigeria president says wife belongs in the kitchen, sweet potato scientists win world food prize, samsung: don't use dangerous galaxy note, vegetable gardens tested for mars, girls do 160 million more hours of chores than boys, the world needs 69 million more teachers, donald trump under fire for not paying tax, pakistan cinemas ban indian movies, male models earn 75% less than female models, giving babies peanuts and eggs may avoid allergies, sad movies help reduce pain, internet addiction sign of mental health problems, first all-hijab collection at new york fashion week, dolphin language may have grammar, fresh hopes as ceasefire is agreed in syria, facebook puts back censored vietnam photo, brown shoes could mean you fail a job interview, why do children go to school, swimming with dolphins may be banned, colombia and farc rebels sign peace deal, study shows there are two divorce seasons, what the 5,300-year-old iceman wore, july was hottest month in recorded history, scientists make self-repairing clothes, online gaming may improve school test scores, people who read live longer, men better at making up after a fight, rio olympics medal predictions, dietary supplements could be bad for you, office workers need one hour of exercise a day, new zealand to rid non-native pests by 2050, anger at royal child feeding dog ice cream, perfect body to survive traffic accidents created, trump employee apologises for plagiarising michelle obama speech, 6,000 held after failed turkey coup, educators recommend more outdoor learning, boris johnson – uk's controversial new foreign secretary, woman had to go on honeymoon without husband, pokemon go is the next big thing, toyota closes elevators to save money, italian town to use silent fireworks for stressed dogs, uae tells citizens not to wear national dress abroad, plants can make intelligent decisions, company pays its workers to sleep, card games can help recovery from strokes, glass slide opens 300 metres above the street, u.k. votes to leave european union, fake tech support scams on the rise, u.n. says refugee numbers at record level, we may not meet aliens until the year 3500, italian restaurant named as best in the world, gay men refused as blood donors after orlando shooting, uk leaving europe is bad for science, scientists turn co2 emissions into stone, world's 'most wanted' people smuggler arrested, swiss vote no to free monthly income for all, boxing legend muhammad ali dies at 74, breaking news english good to go on mobile devices, u.s. police to look into shooting of zoo gorilla, international space station gets air-filled extension, anger over racist chinese advert, new product tests for spiked drinks, president obama to visit hiroshima, women wearing cosmetics are paid more, get an electric shock to stop buying things, scientists make see-through wood, abandoned puppy gets job at baseball club, 72-year-old woman gives birth, budweiser beer renamed 'america', men developed deep voices to scare other men, russian weapons maker now a fashion brand, stealing food is not a crime, says italian court, leicester city in football fairytale win, duchess of cambridge on vogue cover, new gym opens to train robots, venezuela introduces 2-day working week, worries over eating disorders in japan, massive coral reef found in amazon river, rock superstar prince dies at 57, over-the-counter medicine may shrink brain, mcdonald's restaurant to offer all-you-can-eat fries, the czech republic to be renamed czechia, ancient mummy found wearing adidas boots.

• 2016-04-13: Men rescued after writing 'HELP' in the sand
• 2016-04-11: Money can buy happiness
• 2016-04-09: World Heritage sites at risk from industry
• 2016-04-07: Iceland leader quits over Panama Papers
• 2016-04-05: White man attacked for having dreadlocks
• 2016-04-03: New device keeps air in your house safe
• 2016-03-31: Women-only train cars starting in Germany
• 2016-03-28: Pope Francis most popular world leader
• 2016-03-25: Aung San Suu Kyi to be Myanmar foreign minister
• 2016-03-22: Discount for bringing own cup to Starbucks
• 2016-03-19: Donald Trump on global risk list
• 2016-03-17: Google refuses to remove 'gay music' video
• 2016-03-15: Ghana visas for all African Union members
• 2016-03-13: Apple-FBI iPhone argument getting bigger
• 2016-03-11: Cutting up food helped human evolution
• 2016-03-09: Nintendoland to open in Japan
• 2016-03-07: Turkey takes over biggest newspaper
• 2016-03-05: Happiness can break your heart too
• 2016-03-03: Lack of sleep gives you the munchies
• 2016-03-01: Desert beetles used to get water from air
• 2016-02-28: Sisters reunited 30 years after Colombia avalanche
• 2016-02-26: The $265,000 job that no one wants
• 2016-02-24: Half of world population will be short-sighted
• 2016-02-22: Over 18,300 apply for 14 astronaut jobs
• 2016-02-20: Fast-growing weed covering Australian town
• 2016-02-18: What life will be like in 2116
• 2016-02-16: Man sells British countryside air to China
• 2016-02-14: Researchers find Einstein's space waves
• 2016-02-12: Drought Leaves Ethiopia Facing Food Crisis
• 2016-02-10: School teaches baby orangutans survival skills
• 2016-02-08: Euro politicians told to stop speaking English
• 2016-02-06: Luxembourg to develop asteroid mining
• 2016-02-04: Dubai world's busiest international airport
• 2016-02-02: Zika virus could affect 4 million people
• 2016-01-30: Women do not get enough sleep
• 2016-01-27: Bananas in danger of becoming extinct
• 2016-01-24: Fairy tales could be 6,000 years old
• 2016-01-21: Women have to pay more in shops
• 2016-01-18: Up to half of adults suffer from mental illness
• 2016-01-15: New action to stop nuisance phone calls
• 2016-01-12: Sugar could be harmful to our health
• 2016-01-09: UN promises action on N Korea nuclear test
• 2016-01-06: Iran and Saudi Arabia in war of words
• 2016-01-03: More people to stick to New Year's resolutions
• 2015-12-31: Belgium arrests two over New Year terror plot
• 2015-12-28: Centuries-old diseases coming back
• 2015-12-25: School says Hello Kitty Christmas tree can stay
• 2015-12-22: Air France plane in bomb scare
• 2015-12-19: Consumers asked to throw away hoverboards
• 2015-12-16: Ed Sheeran takes a year's break from social media
• 2015-12-13: Scotland strips titles it gave to Donald Trump
• 2015-12-10: Harmful bacteria getting stronger
• 2015-12-07: Height may be the key to a happy marriage
• 2015-12-04: Pet dogs lower stress in kids
• 2015-12-01: New therapy to overcome fear of dentist

More On The Mini Lessons

Try these easy-to-use mini lessons. There are activities for speaking, reading, writing, vocabulary etc. on two pages. After you finish, try the activities online or on the 27-Page lesson. Have fun.

More Activities

Speed Reading

5-Speed Listening

Discussion Questions

Prepositions

Try These Lessons

Business English

Environment

People, Entertainment & Gossip

For English (ELL) Teachers

Travelling, 7-8

A theme page about Travelling with lesson plans and materials for intermediate level students (A2), year 7-8 in Sweden.

Top 10 Life Lessons Learned in Travelling the World for 10 Years – YouTube (11:23) https://youtu.be/4RtGmqaM3Zo

I’m a world traveller who immersed himself in local cultures & here are the lessons I’ve learned.

5 Tips for Traveling Abroad – YouTube (2:45) https://youtu.be/gTWoZvztO5M

A memorable trip depends on what you make of it! In this video, we’ll be giving you 5 Tips to live by when traveling abroad. Text on screen (Yr 8)

Travel – British English Vocabulary – LanguageGuide.org http://www.languageguide.org/english-uk/vocabulary/travel/

TravelSpeaking Challenge Listening Challenge Interactive pictionary

ESL Transportation Vocabulary Guessing Game – YouTube (4:14)  https://youtu.be/9D8oVMfBv54

This is for beginner ESL (English Second Language) students. – Listen to sounds and guess what makes them (Yr 7)

Travel http://www.esl-lab.com/vocab/v-travel.htm

Many people like to travel during their school breaks or vacations, and these trips might include a visit to a nearby location or a place overseas. A list of travelling vocabulary

Travel Vocab – EFL Classroom (1:51)  http://community.eflclassroom.com/video/travel-vocab

Video with simple vocabulary

British English Vocabulary of Transport – 2 – Learn English – YouTube (10:30) https://youtu.be/qbJ1YdVq5Us

Learn British English idioms, phrases, expressions, and vocabulary, and improve your British English pronunciation and English accent

Travel Vocabulary Quiz for ESL Students https://www.thoughtco.com/travel-vocabulary-quiz-for-esl-students-4171488

A list of common travel-related terms for students of English as a second language, plus a short quiz to test your knowledge.

Travel – All Things Topics https://www.allthingstopics.com/travel.html

all things topics – all things topics – Several vocabulary worksheets to download

Travelling | Phraseum https://www.phraseum.com/phrasebook/travelling-172

Useful phrases that can help you make yourself understood in English while travelling.

Holiday and Travelling Vocabulary in English – YouTube (6:56) https://youtu.be/i3VsRuuRxhE

All you need to know about #holiday and #travelling, a lot of useful words and phrases (yr 8)

English for Travel and Tourism — Changing Money – YouTube (1:10) https://youtu.be/nvI05-_CmkA

TRANSCRIPT available below.

Transportation and getting around language exercises https://eslflow.com/transportation-and-getting-around-language-exercises.html

Transport  and getting around communication skills include an understanding of the various collocations used for commuting, the ability to identify different kinds of transportation and the ability to understand and explain directions.

Lesson Plans

ESL Lesson Plan on Tourism – Breaking News English Lesson http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1704/170414-tourism-4.html

English News Lessons: Free 26-Page lesson plan / 2-page mini-lesson – Tourism – Handouts, online activities, speed reading, dictation, mp3… current events.

BBC Learning English – Course: lower intermediate / Unit 8 http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/course/lower-intermediate/unit-8

Lesson Plans on planning to go travelling from BBC in 5 sessions, incl. video, activities, vocabulary and grammar

ESL Lesson Plan: Travel Plans https://www.thoughtco.com/esl-lesson-travel-plans-1212223

Get ideas for planning an ESL / EFL lesson plan centered around travel. This lesson plan includes class discussion, group work, and workheets.

ESL Travel Plan Conversation – YouTube (1:00) https://youtu.be/wYfXWw_yF2M

ESL conversation about travel plans expressing the future using the present simple and the present continuous.

1. Visiting a Travel Agent http://www.eslfast.com/robot/topics/travel/travel01.htm Three dialogues about vacation plans                                    …

Booking a train ticket | TeachingEnglish | British Council | BBC http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/booking-a-train-ticket

In this lesson, students will listen to someone booking a train ticket. They will predict vocabulary, listen to the conversation and role-play the dialogue to practise their speaking skills.

160 English Dialogues for Travelling and Tourism – YouTube (2 hrs) https://youtu.be/YMOKggBWRks

160 English Dialogues for Travelling and Tourism – Choose from below which part to listen to.

ESL Lesson Plan on Luxury Travel – Breaking News English Lesson https://breakingnewsenglish.com/1802/180225-airbnb-luxury-travel-2.html

English News Lessons: Free 27-Page lesson plan / 2-page mini-lesson – Luxury Travel – Handouts, online activities, speed reading, dictation, mp3… current events.

25 Places You Have To See Before You Die – YouTube (5:42) https://youtu.be/LQqF2S-6ujg

Not long ago we came to you with the most incredibly super awesome bucket list of all time

How to travel the world with almost no money | Tomislav Perko | TEDxTUHH – YouTube (18:18) https://youtu.be/R7vmHGAshi8

Many people daydream about traveling the world, but all of them have the same excuse – lack of money.

Travel preferences mingle worksheet – Free ESL printable worksheets made by teachers https://en.islcollective.com/resources/printables/worksheets_doc_docx/travel_preferences_mingle/travel/86985

A mingle activity where students compare their travel preferences. – Free registration required (yr 7)

ESL Conversation Questions – Travel http://www.eslconversationquestions.com/travel/

Where do you like to go on vacation? Where would you like to go on vacation? Tell your partner about your best travel story   (yr 7)

ESL Discussions: Conversation Questions: Speaking Lesson: TRAVEL http://www.esldiscussions.com/t/travel.html

ESL Discussions: Free worksheet and online-activity on Travel.

Travel – All Things Topics http://www.allthingstopics.com/travel.html

all things topics – Downloadable discussion worksheets on travelling               

Let´s talk about TRAVEL worksheet – Free ESL printable worksheets made by teachers https://en.islcollective.com/resources/printables/worksheets_doc_docx/lets_talk_about_travel/questions-travel-lets/4453

This worksheet contains 18 conversation cards, an interview box and a hands-on task (drawing 2 flags). – Free registration required

Let’s talk about TOURISM worksheet – Free ESL printable worksheets made by teachers https://en.islcollective.com/resources/printables/worksheets_doc_docx/lets_talk_about_tourism/questions-travel-lets/4409

This worksheet contains 18 conversation cards and two vocabulary matching exercises (one with pictures). – Free registration required

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How to Use English Current Lesson Plans

Using english current (ec) news lesson plans in your class.

Our lessons focus on speaking (50%), reading comprehension (30%), and vocabulary building (20%). This structure makes EC news lessons ideal for English conversation classes (group or one-on-one).

The articles have been limited to 250-350 words. This ensures the introduction of sufficient information and vocabulary without overwhelming the student(s).

Teachers who require a printout of the lesson should download and print the Microsoft Word  . DOCX file attached to the top of each lesson.

Below is the recommended breakdown of each activity for your lesson. You may, of course, choose to use the material in whatever way you wish. You may edit the .DOCX files, of course, but you are prohibited from rebranding, redistributing, or hosting the lessons elsewhere.

Warmup (5-10 mins)

The warm-up questions are designed as a segue into the article. The questions will typically involve brainstorming about the general topic and language pertinent to the article. Cover as many questions as you deem adequate.

Reading (10 mins)

EC articles are approximately 300 words. This length allows for the introduction of 8-10 vocabulary items and sufficient details to serve as a basis for comprehension and discussion questions. Have your student(s) take turns reading the paragraphs aloud.

Comprehension Questions (15 mins)

Comprehension questions have been designed to cover the key ideas introduced in the text. Answers to the comprehension questions are available on the online version of the lessons. They are not provided in the printable .DOCX lesson format but should be easily discernible from the article itself. Cover the questions.

Vocabulary Exercises (15 mins)

Eight to ten useful vocabulary items from the text are practiced in this section. Matching activities focus on contextual understanding. Other activities give the student(s) an opportunity to practice using the language items. Answers are once again only available in the online lessons.

Debate & Role-Play Activities (10-20 mins)

Most lessons contain some kind of debate or role-playing activities. These can be the most interesting part of the lesson so save time for them. The debates often focus on controversial or sensitive issues (which is why they are debatable), so be sure to preread the instructions to ensure the activity is appropriate for your students before having them execute it.

Discussion Questions (10 mins)

A variety of discussion questions are listed at the end of the lesson plan. There are likely too many questions to cover, so decide in advance which questions you'd like to ask or have your students pick questions to ask each other. Don't be satisfied with simple one-sentence answers--have your students expand and debate each issue together whenever possible.

Total Class Time = 65-80 minutes

Suggestions:

Be sure to review key vocabulary at the beginning of the next class. We recommend keeping a running list of the main vocabulary items you have covered and reviewing it frequently with the students, instead of merely jumping from one breaking news story or topical lesson plan to the next every lesson. Lastly, if time permits, discuss recent developments in the news story at the beginning of the next class.

The rest is up to you. If you have questions or feedback, please contact us.

Best of luck,

Matthew Barton / Englishcurrent.com

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• International

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Top Stories

As Israel and Egypt Spar, Aid to Gaza Dries Up

With no resumption of deliveries in sight, officials fear the territory’s threadbare humanitarian relief effort could collapse altogether.

• Smoke rising after a strike in Rafah, in southern Gaza. Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
• Displaced Palestinians evacuating Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza.
• Displaced Palestinians on the beach in Deir al Balah in central Gaza. Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
• People leaving Rafah, in southern Gaza. -/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
• Israeli soldiers in southern Israel near the Gaza Strip border on Thursday. Abir Sultan/EPA, via Shutterstock
• An injured Palestinian child being treated at a hospital in Rafah. Ismael Abu Dayyah/Associated Press
• Mourning a relative killed in a strike in Rafah. Ismael Abu Dayyah/Associated Press
• An injured child in Rafah. Hatem Khaled/Reuters

U.S. Military’s Plea to Israel: Do More to Protect Gazans in War Zone

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Universities Make Arrests, or Deals, to Protect Commencement Events

Protesters were arrested Friday at the University of Pennsylvania, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Arizona.

• University of Pennsylvania Jessica Griffin/The Philadelphia Inquirer, via Associated Press
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The Biden administration is set to announce new tariffs as high as 100 percent on Chinese electric vehicles.

Inside Biden’s Broken Relationship With Muslim and Arab American Leaders

Even as President Biden puts new pressure on Israel to end the war in Gaza, those who have called for him to change course say it is too little, too late.

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WORKSHEETS for English teachers

General english, search for efl/esl resources to use in your general english classes. you can also follow a general english course from the course plans page or use the filter options to refine your search. lesson plans that are not indicated with a padlock symbol are free to download..

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927 lessons

Upper-intermediate (B2-C1)

Students watch a video about a new trend: dogs using technology to communicate with their owners. This topic is followed up in more detail in a reading text. The lesson supports listening, reading and speaking skills, as well as vocabulary development of word families, with special relevance to word formation exercises on Cambridge exams. There is a choice of final activity: discussion questions or a structured debate which could be extended into an essay writing task for homework. An optional extension activity features a caption competition for funny pet photos.

by Stephanie Hirschman

Intermediate (B1-B2)

This audio-aided lesson tells the life story of the legendary soccer player Diego Maradona (1960-2020). The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, and speaking and includes a short look at not only ... but also structures. There is also an optional discussion extension activity about idioms relating to this game.

Mixed levels

A breaking news lesson about influencers having their pets cloned, with a news report about the growing phenomenon and an article giving the opinions of four members of the public on pet cloning. Students will learn related vocabulary, practise reading and listening skills and reinforce their new vocabulary with conversation practice.

by David J. Marriott

Students describe a process in an IELTS Writing Task 1. They watch a short video about making tofu at home before examining a writing task and model answer about the commercial production of this foodstuff. They then prepare to write a response to a similar task about how cheese is produced. Exam tips and marking frameworks are provided. There is also an optional extension task which provides practice in understanding and describing a similar process: making soap.

This lesson is part of one unit in the IELTS preparation course plan which provide practice in listening/speaking, reading and writing for the IELTS exam. The full lesson plan takes a minimum of 60 minutes.

Students find out more about the Muslim month of Ramadan in this video-aided lesson which supports vocabulary development, listening and note-taking skills. The lesson also includes discussion questions, and an optional extension activity explains how Muslims manage to fit in sporting activities during Ramadan in the UK.

A breaking news lesson about the recent incident at the Oscars, with a news report about actor Will Smith hitting comedian Chris Rock and an article giving the opinions of four members of the public on the scandal. Students will learn related vocabulary, practise reading and listening skills and reinforce their new vocabulary with conversation practice.

by David Marriott

Note: Select the audio/video file for the appropriate level you’d like to use with your students. To change the level of the embedded audio or video file, click the play button for the level you want to use in the multimedia box.

Elementary (A1-A2)

This lesson focuses on the spelling and pronunciation of common words with silent letters. Students start by reviewing the alphabet before listening to a short speech from a tour guide and completing related activities. They list and categorise words with silent letters and then practise the target language in speaking and writing. There is a short optional extension activity in which students describe a day out in London, using words from A to Z.

Students work with the theme of cause and effect in an IELTS Reading task about children’s TV viewing. They discuss some speaking exam style questions related to the topic of television and media and then define relevant vocabulary. They also read an article and respond to matching sentence endings, matching features and true/false/not given questions, before examining useful phrases and vocabulary from the text. Exam tips are provided. There is an optional bonus reading extension activity which provides additional information on the same topic. This lesson is part of one unit in the IELTS preparation course plan which provides practice in listening/speaking, reading and writing for the IELTS exam. The full lesson plan takes a minimum of 60 minutes.

A special report news lesson about South Korea’s new solar power flowers, with a news report about the flower-shaped solar panels and an article about strange methods of generating energy. Students will learn related vocabulary, practise reading and listening skills and reinforce their new vocabulary with conversation practice.

Pre-intermediate (A2-B1)

This lesson looks at both San Diego Zoo and Taipei Zoo and the way they take care of their pandas. Exercises focus on authentic listening, through a video news report, and reading skills. Related vocabulary will be looked at and students will be given the opportunity to discuss several issues that are related to the topic.

by Peter Clarkin

This video-based lesson follows a thought experiment about disappearing satellites to explore cause and effect, one of the major themes of the IELTS exam. The lesson supports development of subject-specific and academic vocabulary and provides practice in conditional structures to express cause and effect. This lesson is the first part of Unit 5 in the Linguahouse IELTS preparation course plan, which provides exam practice in listening/speaking, reading and writing. The full lesson plan takes a minimum of 60 minutes.

This lesson is based on the story of a woman in India who learnt to read and write at the age of 104. Vocabulary related to the subject of ambition and success is studied and practised. Students read a short text and listen to the same text, testing their reading and listening comprehension. The grammar point is specific and general ability in the past simple tense.

by Gillian Smylie

Students prepare to watch a fast-paced and colloquial video about the history of salt and pepper by completing vocabulary and tuning-in activities. They watch the video in two parts and answer comprehension questions before they activate vocabulary and phrases from the video in a reading activity about an unusual salt-related job. There is an opportunity to discuss related points and an optional extension activity about words pairs like salt and pepper .

Students work with the theme of trends in an IELTS Writing Task 1. They discuss different types of music formats and examine a task with a line graph and a model answer before preparing to write a response to a similar question. Exam tips and marking frameworks are provided. There is also an optional extension task which provides practice in answering some discussion questions for part 3 of the speaking exam related to the topic of media formats and access. This lesson is part of one unit in the IELTS preparation course plan which provides practice in listening/speaking, reading and writing for the IELTS exam. The full lesson plan takes a minimum of 60 minutes. 

This lesson looks at the recent discovery of Shackleton’s lost ship Endurance . Exercises focus on authentic listening, through a video news report, and reading skills. Related vocabulary will be looked at and students will be given the opportunity to discuss a number of issues that are related to the topic.

Travel News

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JetBlue has launched a new route from New York City to Dublin, and we were lucky enough to try it out.

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Mar 26, 2024 • 3 min read

The Antoni Gaudí-designed church has been under construction for more than a century

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To combat overtourism and promote sustainability, authorities on the Galápagos Islands are raising fees this summer for most visitors from US$100 to $200.

Mar 22, 2024 • 5 min read

Late-night dining has recently been criticized by a government minister in Spain. So could things be about to change?

Mar 13, 2024 • 3 min read

Weather conditions this year may be just right to bring wildflower super blooms to life in parts of California.

Mar 5, 2024 • 3 min read

Irish people are famously very friendly and easygoing, yet certain behaviors are sure to rankle.

Feb 29, 2024 • 2 min read

Passengers can travel from Brussels to Prague (and even link up with London) on a cross-border night train service.

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Feb 21, 2024 • 2 min read

Hawaii’s governor, Josh Green, proposed a $25 climate fee on tourists joining other nations struggling with the heavy burden of over-tourism.

Feb 16, 2024 • 4 min read

Digital nomads rejoice! Japan's new six-month visa means you could soon be working from Tokyo. Our Japan expert John Walton has the latest details.

Feb 15, 2024 • 4 min read

The beloved bouquinistes of the Seine quays have been selling books for over 450 years.

Feb 13, 2024 • 4 min read

Bali is introducing a new tourist tax starting February 14.

Feb 2, 2024 • 5 min read

The Hagia Sophia in İstanbul has reopened its upper gallery for the first time since 2020 – but with new rules and a fee.

Jan 31, 2024 • 6 min read

Always dreamed of seeing the aurora borealis? Here’s our guide on how and where to see the northern lights.

Jan 24, 2024 • 2 min read

The Japan Meteorological Corporation has released its latest predictions for when blooms will start to appear around Japan.

Jan 15, 2024 • 3 min read

Beside the imposing Colosseum, a new archaeological park and museum have recently unveiled their treasures to eager visitors.

Jan 11, 2024 • 4 min read

Lonely Planet’s resident aviation journalist John Walton on why they're grounded, what happens next, and what it might mean for your flight.

Jan 9, 2024 • 6 min read

If you’re planning on renting or buying a van or motorhome to travel through New Zealand, here’s how the new legislation may affect your travel plans.  

Jan 3, 2024 • 6 min read

Wander around Yellowstone National Park’s geothermal features, and you might notice that fire-engine-red warning signs are as ubiquitous as bison.

Jan 3, 2024 • 5 min read

Here are all the noteworthy events, anniversaries and openings worth keeping in mind if you have France on your travel radar for 2024

Jan 2, 2024 • 2 min read

​The USA’s national parks are where you’ll find some of the country’s best adventures ⁠— and for six days all of them will be free to enter.

Election 2024

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Palestinians mourn their relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, at a hospital in Rafah, Gaza, Friday, May 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Ismael Abu Dayyah)

US says Israel’s use of US arms likely violated international law, but evidence is incomplete

South africa again requests emergency measures from world court to restrain israel’s actions in gaza, the latest | un general assembly votes to give palestine more rights by a wide margin.

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An unusually strong solar storm hitting Earth could produce northern lights in the U.S. and potentially disrupt power and communications this weekend. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a rare severe geomagnetic storm warning Friday.

Israeli envoy denounces UN backing of resolution granting Palestine new rights, shreds copy of UN Charter

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In reversal, Virginia school board votes to restore Confederate names to 2 schools

How West Virginia’s first transgender elected official is influencing local politics

Woman was living inside rooftop grocery store sign with computer and coffee maker for a year

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Breaking the cycle of tragedy: We can plan a safer future for Tallahassee

Tallahassee’s pedestrian and cyclist fatalities are out of control.

A recent study showed that Leon County had the third-most crashes involving pedestrians of Florida’s 67 counties. According to the Florida Traffic Safety Dashboard, 52 pedestrians and cyclists have died since 2020 in Leon County. 

The good news is that we have the power to help.

Individual drivers must accept their responsibility behind the wheel for public safety – and so must policymakers. We know certain configurations of roads and planning priorities are safer than others that put residents at risk, and now is the time to prioritize safety on Tallahassee’s streets.

Policy choices surrounding growth management and urban planning – or the lack thereof – directly contribute to these tragedies. The senseless violence and death on our roadways are not acceptable. We have a responsibility and the opportunity to face it directly and make decisive changes.

In our city’s strategic plan which lays out our priorities as a commission, public safety comes first. To this end, the city, along with Leon County and Blueprint have made investments to improve roadways, widen sidewalks, and protect bike lanes—and there are more projects which do just that to come. Yet with the tragic deaths of dozens of pedestrians and cyclists in recent years, often at the same locations known to be sites of conflict between pedestrians, cyclists, and cars, it’s clear that more must be done. 

At a recent city commission meeting I made the motion to explore joining “Vision Zero,” a network of cities committed to eliminating all traffic fatalities and investing in equitable mobility for all people. One such community, Hoboken, New Jersey, achieved zero traffic deaths in four years using common sense, straightforward solutions like improving sightlines and visibility at corners and intersections and utilizing leading pedestrian intervals which give pedestrians a head start before vehicles can turn.

Other safety improvements – some of which we have implemented in a limited capacity locally– include protected bicycle lanes, median refuge islands, high visibility crosswalk markings, pedestrian-activated stoplights, raised crosswalks, or using chicane designs.

In 2023 the Capital Region Transportation Planning Agency (CRTPA) published its “Safe Streets and Roads for All Safety Action Plan” which included a prioritized list of 52 critical local projects and other recommendations, many of which can be implemented immediately and at a low cost. Because of their good work—and the good work of many local partners—we can make investments knowing where they will make the greatest difference to our quality of life and to our safety.

With as many agencies and governments responsible for working together to make these changes, I recommend convening a Pedestrian & Cyclist Safety Taskforce to bring together experts and stakeholders in planning, transportation, and development to coordinate the implementation of the CRTPA’s recommendations, review current policies, and propose comprehensive changes.

We are at a crossroads in how we grow, and the future of our city.

Sprawl patterns of development are associated with many negative social costs shouldered by taxpayers, and one of them is – yes – more injuries inflicted on cyclists and pedestrians, and more unnecessary deaths.

By taking a comprehensive look at all these factors and urgently making pedestrian and cyclist safety a priority, we can change the status quo, save lives, and ensure that Tallahassee is safe for all its residents.

Jack Porter serves as a Tallahassee city commissioner, holds a master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning and Public Administration and Policy from Florida State University, and is an avid cyclist.

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Breaking the cycle of tragedy: We can plan a safer future for Tallahassee

GCC common visa set to launch by year-end

During the Arabian Travel Market opening, plans for the GCC common visa were revealed. The announcement came at the 40th GCC Interior Ministers’ meeting.

Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, GCC Secretary General, declared the project’s approval, calling it a significant achievement. The meeting, chaired by Sayyed Hamoud bin Faisal Al Busaidi in Muscat, discussed the unified visa’s implementation timeline.

Read: Philippines’ high-level delegation opens PH Pavilion at Arabian Travel Market

Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, from SCTDA, stated that the visa system will be operational by year-end. He emphasized the need for an efficient e-service system and highlighted the positive economic impact. Al Midfa mentioned that the visa will launch between 2024 and 2025, pending legislative development.

The GCC common visa aims to facilitate travel across Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, UAE, and Saudi Arabia.

Its launch promises simplified regional travel and increased tourism.

Justin Aguilar

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All Airtel plans that offers free Netflix to its subscribers

Netflix offers some of the great shows and movies to its subscribers. However, it is expensive when compared to other OTT platforms. Here are all Airtel plans that offer free Netflix to its subscribers.

Airtel Netflix mobile plans

Airtel offers three mobile plans that come with the OTT benefit of Netflix - one prepaid plan and two postpaid plans. Let's take a closer look at these plans:

Rs 1,199 Airtel postpaid plan

The Rs 1,199 postpaid plan from Airtel comes with 1 regular SIM and 3 family add-on plans. Users get 150GB of data with up to 200GB data rollover facility. Users get 100 SMS/day and unlimited voice calling. The OTT benefits bundled with this plan are Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+ Hotstar Mobile.

  Rs 1499 Airtel postpaid plan

The Rs 1499 postpaid plan comes with 200GB with 200GB data rollover. There are regular and four-family add-on connections bundled. Users get 100 SMS/day and unlimited voice calling. The OTT benefits are Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+ Hotstar Mobile.

Rs 1,499 Airtel prepaid plan

Lastly, there's the Rs 1,499 prepaid plan. This plan comes with 3GB of daily data, unlimited voice calling, and 100 SMS/day. It has a service validity of 84 days, and the additional benefits include Netflix Basic, unlimited 5G data, Apollo 24|7 Circle, free Hellotunes, and Wynk Music.

The 5G unlimited data is also offered with the Rs 1,199 and the Rs 1,499 plan.

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Human-sounding AI can plan, help book your travel. But can you trust it?

It wasn’t so long ago that travelers planned trips without the internet.

“Back in the day, our parents used to go to these travel agents and really kind of express what they were looking for and what kind of vacation they wanted,” said Saad Saeed, co-founder and CEO of Layla, an AI travel planner whose website launched this year. “Slowly, we kind of acclimatized ourselves to start using these search boxes, clicks, these forms and filters.”

Artificial intelligence-driven tools like Layla can now turn back the clock on that experience, engaging with users almost like humans to customize travel plans with lightning speed plus all the resources of the web. But does AI actually make travel planning easier and can it compare to human expertise? 

Yes and no. Here’s why.

Can AI actually understand us?

It can try. 

“What are you personally looking for in this trip and what do you want out of it?” asked Saeed. “Do you want to reconnect with your partner, for example, or do you want to just feel some adventure and thrill?” 

A human travel agent may ask a series of questions to understand a client’s needs. So can generative AI , which picks up on keywords. Mindtrip, an AI planner launched publicly on May 1, has an actual travel quiz that asks users to rank priorities like “Is your ideal vacation day an exhilarating adventure or a relaxing break?” using sliding scales.

“What we get at the end of that quiz, using the AI, is a really customized description,” explained  Mindtrip Founder and CEO Andy Moss. That then informs what the AI suggests to the traveler. 

Informed suggestions can save users time in narrowing down destinations and experiences, as well as  introduce places users may never have discovered on their own.

AI travel planning is here: How to use it to plan your next vacation and what you should know first

Can AI fully replace humans?

No. Layla may sound human, using conversational phrases like “I've got three cozy nests that won't make your wallet cry.”

“She has a personality. We try to make her funny and so on, where it's really that friend that can get to know you and then recommend you the perfect stuff,” Saeed said.

But part of Layla’s expertise comes from the real-life experiences of some 1,600 travel content creators  the Berlin-based platform has partnered with. Their videos and insights can give users a richer picture of what to expect.

Mindtrip also leans on human expertise, having tapped a limited group of travel influencers for curated content with plans to eventually open it up so anyone can share their travel itineraries and experiences with the public.

Story continues below.

Is AI a threat to privacy?

With all the rapid advancements in AI in just the past year, some users are wary of its safety .

“Data privacy is definitely one of our biggest concerns, and we ensure that none of the personal identifiable information ever reaches basically the model providers. That will all stay with us,” Layla’s Saeed said. “None of their personally identifiable data can ever be basically used to profile them or basically go into any of these systems, which are training these different models.”

Booz Allen Hamilton, the nation’s largest provider of AI to the federal government , focuses heavily on ethical and  secure AI, as well as adhering to the government’s policies on data collection. 

“We collect as little information as we can in order to provide a secure transaction,” said Booz Allen Hamilton Senior Vice President Will Healy, who heads up their recreation work, including Recreaton.gov , the government’s central travel planning site for public lands like national parks. “We don't save your searches. We don't save your credit card data. We're very careful about the data that we store.”

Yoon Kim, an assistant professor in MIT’s Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department and Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory , isn’t too worried about security in the initial brainstorming stages of travel planning with AI.

“I don't see, at this point, how AI-generated advice is spiritually different from travel guide articles that you might read on certain websites,” he said. “Travel planning is one really nice use case of these models, as narrow as it is, because it's a scenario in which you want to be given ideas but you don't actually need to commit to them.” 

What’s next for AI? 

Things could be different, though, if AI is used beyond trip planning. Deloitte sees AI being woven into all parts of travel.

“There is an opportunity for a real engine – I'm going to just use a generic term, engine – that allows you to search and pull it all together and to sort based off of your personal reasons for prioritization and then not stopping at ‘hey give me a list’ or ‘here's what to do,’ but ‘OK, now go create my itinerary, help me book it, track it all the way through that travel process,” said Matt Soderberg, principal, U.S. airlines leader for Deloitte. 

Deloitte’s Facing travel’s future report, released in early April, identifies seven stages where AI can intersect with a trip, from personalized recommendations based on past travel, online purchases and tendencies to day-of issues to a post-travel pulse, where travelers may be asked about their experience and start thinking about future trips. 

“When you solve across all of those, that's going to be the Holy Grail,” Soderberg said. “The difficulty is that doesn't all sit in one place. And so how do you get the right information and the right data to bring all of that together for a single experience for the consumer? And who's going to own that?”

Layla and Mindtrip, among others, already offer booking through partners like Booking.com. “It's all about making things actionable,” Moss said.

But for now, if issues come up mid-trip, AI tools can’t fix them like humans can. Humans still have to get involved.

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Politics latest: Keir Starmer accused of 'rank hypocrisy' by Rishi Sunak after setting out what he'll do to tackle small boat crossings

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer lays out his party's plans to try and tackle small boat crossings if it wins power. Listen to the latest episode of the Electoral Dysfunction podcast as you scroll.

Friday 10 May 2024 18:30, UK

• Starmer says small boat crossings 'one of the greatest challenges we face'
• Explained: What's in Labour's plan to try and tackle problem
• Darren McCaffrey: Will Labour's plan cut it with voters?
• Starmer says no flights to Rwanda will take off under Labour
• Sunak accuses Starmer of 'rank hypocrisy'
• Electoral Dysfunction:  Jess Phillips says Elphicke defection like 'being punched in gut'
• UK exits recession | Economy 'returning to full health'
• Faultlines:   Can British farming survive?
• Live reporting by Tim Baker

Across the UK, anger is brewing amongst some farmers.  

Protests have already been held in London, Dover and Cardiff, with more planned - mirroring similar tensions seen across Europe in the last six months.     

They say they’re annoyed about cheap foreign imports and changes to subsidies forcing them to give up land in favour of environmental schemes.    

But what does this mean for the food on our table - and does British produce risk becoming a luxury product for the wealthy only?    

On the Sky News Daily , Niall Paterson is joined by West of England and Wales correspondent Dan Whitehead to find out why farmers are so concerned, and speaks to Liz Webster, the founder of Save British Farming, about why she believes eating British isn't just good for our farmers - it's good for the nation's health, too.   

In response to our report, Farming Minister Mark Spencer, said: "We firmly back our farmers. British farming is at the heart of British trade, and we put agriculture at the forefront of any deals we negotiate, prioritising new export opportunities, protecting UK food standards and removing market access barriers. 

"We've maintained the £2.4bn annual farming budget and recently set out the biggest ever package of grants which supports farmers to produce food profitably and sustainably."

The Welsh government said: "A successful future for Welsh farming should combine the best of our traditional farming alongside cutting-edge innovation and diversification. 

"It will produce the very best of Welsh food to the highest standards, while safeguarding our precious environment and addressing the urgent call of the climate and nature emergencies."

👉  Listen above then tap here to follow the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts   👈

Following the defection of the Dover and Deal MP Natalie Elphicke to Labour, Beth, Ruth and Jess discuss the surprise move and whether it could have been handled differently by Sir Keir Starmer.

They also talk about Beth's interview with the former immigration minister Robert Jenrick and his warnings about Reform UK.

Plus, how significant was the defeat of former Conservative mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street? Beth and Jess were both there to tell the story.

And they answer a question on Labour and the Muslim vote, and what the party can do to restore confidence and trust.

Email Beth, Jess, and Ruth at [email protected] , post on X to @BethRigby, or send a WhatsApp voice note on 07934 200 444.     

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In January 2023, Rishi Sunak made five promises.

Since then, he and his ministers have rarely missed an opportunity to list them. In case you haven't heard, he promised to:

• Halve inflation • Grow the economy • Reduce debt • Cut NHS waiting lists and times • Stop the boats

See below how he is doing on these goals:

The Sky News live poll tracker - collated and updated by our Data and Forensics team - aggregates various surveys to indicate how voters feel about the different political parties.

With the local elections complete, Labour is still sitting comfortably ahead, with the Tories trailing behind.

See the latest update below - and you can read more about the methodology behind the tracker  here .

Speaking to Sky political editor  Beth Rigby , Sir Keir Starmer has defended his decision to allow Tory MP Natalie Elphicke into Labour.

Ms Elphicke was on the right of the Conservative spectrum, and previously defended her sex-offender ex-husband, comments which she apologised for this week following her defection.

Addressing Tory voters, Sir Keir says he wants Labour to be a "place where they who have ambitions about their families, their communities, their country, can join and be part of what we are trying to build for their country".

Asked by Beth if he was ruthless, Sir Keir said: "Yes, I'm ruthless in trying to ensure we have a Labour government that can change this country for the better.

"Not ruthless for my own ambition, not ruthlessness particularly for the Labour Party - I'm ruthless for the country. 

"The only way we'll bring about a change in this country is if we're ruthless about winning that general election and putting in place a government of public service, that’ll be a major change.

"Politics, I believe, should be about public service, that's what I've been about all my life."

More now from political editor Beth Rigby's interview with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.

She reminded him that he previously ruled out doing a deal with the SNP - but has not done so for the Liberal Democrats.

Sir Keir again ruled out a coalition with the SNP - adding that he is aiming for a "majority Labour government".

He says Labour needs "to keep working hard, keep disciplined and getting our message across, which is something fundamental to me".

Pushed on his lack of ruling out a possible agreement with the Lib Dems, Sir Keir says: "I'm going for a majority.

"That's the answer I gave you a year ago. It's the same answer I'm giving you now."

Sir Keir Starmer was earlier today pushed on whether Rwanda deportation flights will take off if he was prime minister - although it was not clear if he would cancel flights which had already been organised.

Sky News understood that previously booked deportation flights to Rwanda would still go ahead if Sir Keir entered Number 10. 

But the Labour leader has now gone further.

Speaking to political editor Beth Rigby , Sir Keir has ruled out any flights taking off.

"There will be no flights scheduled or taking off after general election if Labour wins that general election," he says.

He says: "Every flight that takes off carries with it a cheque to the Rwanda government. 

"So I want to scrap the scheme - so that means the flights won't be going."

Sir Keir says he would rather spend the money on his own measures to counter small boats.

"No flights, no Rwanda scheme. It's a gimmick," he says.

By Alix Culbertson , political reporter

Scotland's new first minister has told Sky News that the controversial gender recognition reforms "cannot be implemented."

John Swinney,  who became first minister this week , has faced questions over his stance on gender recognition after MSPs voted in 2022 to pass a bill to make it simpler for people to change their gender without having to obtain a medical diagnosis.

The UK government blocked the bill from being made into law and the Supreme Court rejected a request by the Scottish government for a judicial review.

Asked if he would be fighting to push the bill through, Mr Swinney told Sky News: "The reality of the situation we face is that the Supreme Court has said that we can't legislate in that area. We can't take forward that legislation."

The UK economy is no longer in recession, according to official figures.

Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by a better-than-expected 0.6% between January and March, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

Economists had predicted the figure would be 0.4%.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said it showed the economy had "turned a corner".

He told Sky News's Ed Conway: "I am pleased that while there's more work to do, today's figures show that the economy now has real momentum, and I'm confident that with time, people will start to feel the benefits of that.

"We've had multiple months now where wages are rising, energy bills have fallen, mortgage rates are down and taxes are being cut... I'm pleased with the progress that we're making."

Mr Sunak added: "I am confident the economy is getting healthier every week."

You can read more here:

Rishi Sunak has criticised Sir Keir Starmer's position on Rwanda as "rank hypocrisy".

Speaking to broadcasters, the prime minister says the Labour leader has announced things the government is "already doing".

He gives the example of "punching through the backlog, having more law enforcement officers do more, that's all happening already".

"We've announced all of that more than a year ago," the prime minister adds.

"The question for Keir Starmer if he cares so much about that, why did he vote against the new laws that we passed to give our law enforcement officers new powers? 

"They've now used those to arrest almost 8,000 people connected with illegal migration, sentenced them to hundreds of years in prison.

"And if it was up to him, all those people would be out on our streets, so I think it's rank hypocrisy property of his position."

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