During the summer there is usually no news. In fact, in the UK news reporters traditionally call the summer holidays ‘the silly season’. This is because the politicians are on holiday and there is nothing serious to discuss so they end up presenting silly news stories. Not this year! The news has been packed and our Prime Minister has had to break off his holiday twice during the last few weeks. We have had the phone hacking scandal, riots around the country and Libya – all very serious news stories indeed.
You can find these stories, and more, discussed in depth in the investigative documentary programme Panorama produced by the BBC and broadcast every Monday evening on TV. All the previous episodes are available online. It’s an incredible resource for practising your listening skills, learning about the UK and improving your general knowledge and you can find the full list of episodes available here.