The Houthis say they are behind the attacks | BBC Learning English from the News

6 words to learn — tap cards to flip and save favorites.

From BBC Learning English. This is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines. In this programme, deadly attacks on airport in Saudi Arabia. Hello, I'm Neil. And I'm Pippa. In this programme we look at one

big news story and the vocabulary and the headlines that will help you understand it. You can find all the vocabulary and headlines from this episode, as well as a worksheet on our website, bbclearningenglish.com. Let's hear more about this

story. 14 people have been killed and over 300 injured in two attacks on Riyadh International Airport in Saudi Arabia over the weekend. There were also a series of attacks earlier in the week. The militant group the Houthis in

Yemen said they were behind the attacks, as well as others on airports across Saudi Arabia, and warned airlines and passengers against using Saudi Arabian airports and airspace. Let's have our first headline. This is from BBC News. CCTV shows

people take cover as missile hits Riyadh airport. That headline again from BBC news. This headline is from a news story containing a CCTV clip of one of the attacks on the airport. We're interested in this phrase 'take cover'.

Yes, 'take cover' means to move to a place where you are more protected, for example, underneath a table or behind a door. You might see the phrase 'take cover', used in stories about attacks or danger where people need

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

We've had 'take cover' - move to a place where you are more protected. For example, officials advised people to take cover inside during the tropical storm. This is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines.

Today we're talking about attacks on Saudi Arabia's airports. A Saudi government minister has said the country will have a serious response to the attacks. The Houthis have said they are targeting Saudi Arabia over its support for government forces

in Yemen's civil war. Many countries, including the UK, have advised against travelling to Saudi Arabia. Let's have another headline. This is from The Economist, an international news magazine Saudi Arabia's Houthi headache. That headline, again from The Economist. This

headline is from an article about the recent attacks. It describes the situation as a headache. What's going on here, Neil? Well, we can use the word 'headache' metaphorically to describe a particularly difficult problem that's hard to solve or

that continues for a long time. In this story, there have been several attacks across a whole week, causing death, injury and major disruption in Saudi Arabia. The headline describes this problem as a headache. We often use 'headache' to

describe problems faced by governments which are difficult to solve. For example, politicians don't always agree on how to deal with the headache of rising prices. So in the headline, 'headache' is used to describe a very serious situation. But

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

We had 'headache' - problem that's hard to solve or that continues for a long time. For example, spotting AI essays is becoming a bit of a headache for teachers. This is Learning English from the News from BBC Learning

English. We're talking about attacks on Saudi Arabia's airports by Houthi forces. As we've mentioned, there have been several attacks over the past week and multiple attacks on the same airport in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia has launched an investigation into

how its air defences were unable to stop the attacks. Our next headline is about this. Saudis probe how defense systems failed to stop deadly Houthi attack on Riyadh airport. And that's from AP news, a US news agency. That

headline again from AP news. Saudi's probe how defense systems failed to stop deadly Houthi attack on Riyadh airport. This headline says "Saudis probe". Pippa, can you explain more about this verb 'probe'? Yes, 'probe' as a verb means to

gather information or investigate something. In this story, Saudi Arabian officials are probing why their air defenses were unable to stop the attacks. In other words, they're investigating the recent attacks. We can also use 'probe' as a noun, and

it means an investigation into something. For example, a police probe into organised crime could lead to important arrests. Another meaning of 'probe' as a noun is to talk about a piece of technology designed to gather information. For example,

scientists send probes into space to gather information about other planets. And we also have the adjective 'probing'. If you ask probing questions, you ask questions that you hope will find out important or hidden information. We've had 'probe' -

investigate or gather information. For example, people have been probing into the singer's private life since she got divorced. That's it for this episode of Learning English from the News. We'll be back next week with another news story. If

you found this programme useful, why not head to our website to sign up for our email newsletter and get all of our latest programmes. Head to bbclearningenglish.com. Goodbye for now. Bye.