Card games can help recovery from strokes
30th June - "Harder"
A new report says that playing simple card games can help stroke patients with their recovery just as much as virtual reality gaming.
Glass slide opens 300 metres above the street
28th June - "Easier"
A very scary slide has opened to the public in Los Angeles. It is on the outside of a building, 70 stories high.
U.K. votes to leave European Union
26th June - "Harder"
The United Kingdom has voted to leave the European Union in what is being seen as a political earthquake.
Fake tech support scams on the rise
24th June - "Easier"
Fraudsters are using a new method to trick people into parting with their money.
U.N. says refugee numbers at record level
22nd June - "Easier"
Last year was the worst year on record for the number of people who became refugees.
We may not meet aliens until the year 3500
20th June - "Harder"
Scientists say it could take at least 1,500 years before humans make contact with species of aliens.
Italian restaurant named as best in the world
18th June - "Easier"
A restaurant in the city of Modena, Italy, has been named as the best restaurant in the world.
Gay men refused as blood donors after Orlando shooting
16th June - "Harder"
Hundreds of gay men eager to give blood in the wake of the Orlando nightclub shooting have been turned away by blood centers.
UK leaving Europe is bad for science
14th June - "Easier"
People in Britain will soon vote on whether or not to stay in or leave the European Union (EU).
Scientists turn CO2 emissions into stone
12th June - "Harder"
Scientists have come up with a smart but simple way to deal with carbon dioxide emissions, by turning them back into stone.
World's 'most wanted' people smuggler arrested
10th June - "Easier"
Police in Sudan have arrested one of the world's most wanted people smugglers.
Swiss vote no to free monthly income for all
8th June - "Harder"
Voters in Switzerland have overwhelmingly rejected a proposal that would have meant introducing a guaranteed basic monthly income for all citizens.
Boxing legend Muhammad Ali dies at 74
6th June - "Easier"
Muhammad Ali, perhaps the world's greatest ever sporting legend, passed away on Friday, aged 74.
Breaking News English good to go on mobile devices
4th June - "Harder"
The website Breaking News English.com has upgraded its pages to be easier to use on mobile phones and tablets.
U.S. police to look into shooting of zoo gorilla
2nd June - "Easier"
Police in the US state of Ohio are going to look into the shooting of a 17-year-old gorilla at Cincinnati Zoo. They will investigate the facts around the killing of Harambe the gorilla.
International Space Station gets air-filled extension
31st May - "Harder"
NASA has successfully inflated a new, experimental room for crew members to use in space.
Anger over racist Chinese advert
29th May - "Easier"
There is a lot of anger on social media because of an advertisement for a Chinese detergent. Some newspapers are saying it could be the most racist advert ever.
New product tests for spiked drinks
27th May - "Harder"
A British businessman has developed a product that helps people test drinks they think might have been drugged, or 'spiked'.
President Obama to visit Hiroshima
25th May - "Easier"
On Friday, U.S. President Barack Obama will become the first American president to visit the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
Women wearing cosmetics are paid more
23rd May - "Harder"
Researchers have discovered there could be a good reason why women spend so long in the morning getting ready for work.
Get an electric shock to stop buying things
21st May - "Easier"
A British firm has developed a new product to help us save money. The product is a wristband that gives us an electric shock if we spend too much money.
Scientists make see-through wood
19th May - "Harder"
Scientists have come up with a revolutionary new use for wood. They have devised a way to make it transparent.
Abandoned puppy gets job at baseball club
17th May - "Easier"
An abandoned puppy has been given a new home and a new job. The 7-week-old pup was left at the stadium of ...
72-year-old woman gives birth
15th May - "Harder"
A 72-year-old woman from Amritsar, India is celebrating the birth of her first child. Daljinder Kaur and her husband Mohinder Singh Gill, 79, posed for photos...
Budweiser beer renamed 'America'
13th May - "Easier"
One of the word's most famous beer companies is changing the name of its best-selling beer. Budweiser is going to be called 'America'.
Men developed deep voices to scare other men
11th May - "Harder"
Scientists have cast new light on why some men have deeper voices than others. It was traditionally thought that...
Russian weapons maker now a fashion brand
9th May - "Easier"
The Russian arms maker Kalashnikov is branching out into fashion. The weapons manufacturer is one of Russia's most famous companies.
Stealing food is not a crime, says Italian court
7th May - "Harder"
An Italian court has ruled that food theft brought about by hunger is not illegal. Italy's highest court of appeal...
Leicester City in football fairytale win
5th May - "Easier"
Football fans in the English city of Leicester have been celebrating a fairytale win for their club. Leicester City won England's Premier League for the first time.
Duchess of Cambridge on Vogue cover
3rd May - "Harder"
A British princess has made her debut as a model on the front cover of the fashion magazine Vogue.
New gym opens to train robots
1st May - "Easier"
A group of business people has opened a kind of gym for robots. The group is headed by Elon Musk, who is the boss of the electric car company Tesla Motors.
Venezuela introduces 2-day working week
29th April - "Harder"
Venezuela has taken a drastic step to deal with the country's growing energy problems. It has told all state employees to...
Worries over eating disorders in Japan
27th April - "Easier"
A health group in Japan is worried about people with eating disorders. The Japan Society for Eating Disorders (JSED) said that most people...
Massive coral reef found in Amazon River
25th April - "Harder"
An international team of scientists has discovered a huge coral reef in the Amazon River. The team from the universities of Georgia in the USA and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil...
Rock superstar Prince dies at 57
23rd April - "Easier"
The rock superstar Prince has died at the age of 57. He passed away on Thursday at his home in Minneapolis.
Over-the-counter medicine may shrink brain
21st April - "Harder"
Over-the-counter (OTC) medicine is a common part of our lives. Many of us pop into the local pharmacy for cold and headache tablets, cough syrups or allergy treatments.
McDonald's restaurant to offer all-you-can-eat fries
19th April - "Easier"
A new McDonald's restaurant that will soon open in the USA will offer all-you-can-eat French fries. The new store in St. Joseph, Missouri, is set to open in July.
The Czech Republic to be renamed Czechia
17th April - "Harder"
The Czech Republic is planning to adopt a snappy short-form name to ensure it has an easier time at home and around the world.
Ancient mummy found wearing Adidas boots
15th April - "Easier"
An ancient mummy that was found in Mongolia has gone viral online because it seems to be wearing Adidas boots. Many people have been tweeting that...
Men rescued after writing ‘HELP’ in the sand
13th April - "Harder"
Three men were rescued from a remote desert island in adventure-book style on Thursday.
Money can buy happiness
11th April - "Easier"
A song from the famous English pop group the Beatles told us that money can't buy us love. Many people also believe...
World Heritage sites at risk from industry
9th April - "Harder"
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has issued a stark warning about the future of the world's natural World Heritage sites.
Iceland leader quits over Panama Papers
7th April - "Easier"
The prime minister of Iceland quit on Tuesday because of a new global financial scandal.
White man attacked for having dreadlocks
5th April - "Harder"
A heated debate is currently going on in the USA about whether it is OK for white people to have dreadlocks.
New device keeps air in your house safe
3rd April - "Easier"
A technology company has made a new device to help clean the air in our home. The company is called Dyson.
Women-only train cars starting in Germany
31st March - "Harder"
A train operator in Germany is launching a women and children only service on its trains.
Pope Francis most popular world leader
28th March - "Easier"
Pope Francis is more popular than any political world leader. This is what an opinion poll has suggested.
Aung San Suu Kyi to be Myanmar foreign minister
25th March - "Harder"
Aung San Suu Kyi is to be Myanmar's new foreign minister in the first civilian government the country has had.
Discount for bringing own cup to Starbucks
22nd March - "Easier"
The international coffee shop chain Starbucks will start giving customers a discount if they bring their own cups.
Donald Trump on global risk list
19th March - "Harder"
Researchers have stated that Donald Trump winning the U.S. presidency is one of the top ten risks facing the world.
Google refuses to remove 'gay music' video
17th March - "Easier"
Google Kenya has said it would not remove a music video from its YouTube site. The Kenyan government asked Google to take the video offline.
Ghana visas for all African Union members
15th March - "Harder"
Ghana's president, John Dramani Mahama, has announced that his country will issue visas to citizens of African Union member states from July.
Apple-FBI iPhone argument getting bigger
13th March - "Easier"
There is a big argument in the USA between the technology company Apple and the FBI. The argument is over the iPhone of a killer.
Cutting up food helped human evolution
11th March - "Harder"
Eating habits and food processing skills from around two million years ago helped humans to evolve and develop language.
Nintendoland to open in Japan
9th March - "Easier"
A new theme park will open in Osaka, Japan. Universal Studios Japan (USJ) is going to build a new attraction called Nintendoland.
Turkey takes over biggest newspaper
7th March - "Harder"
Turkish police have used tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon against protestors outside the offices of a national newspaper in Istanbul.
Happiness can break your heart too
5th March - "Easier"
Scientists have said it isn't just sad things that make us brokenhearted. Happy events can also be bad for our heart. A broken heart is an actual medical condition
Lack of sleep gives you the munchies
3rd March - "Harder"
Have you ever wondered why you are hungrier than usual if you do not get a good night's sleep? Researchers from the University of Chicago say they have found one reason....
Desert beetles used to get water from air
1st March - "Easier"
Scientists may have found one answer to the problem of water shortages. It is a new material that collects water from the air.
See the links below for earlier lessons.
Lessons were produced every day between Nov 2004 and Dec 2005.
Lessons were produced at "easier" and "harder" levels between Apr 2005 and Aug 2006.
Podcasts started in Apr 2005.
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