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From BBC Learning English,
this is Learning English from the News,
our podcast about the news headlines.
In this programme,
Taliban cuts off internet
in Afghanistan.
Hello, I'm Beth.
And I'm Phil.
In this programme,
we look at one big news story
and the vocabulary in 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.
OK, Phil,
let's hear about this story.
The Taliban government has cut the
internet and many telephone services
across Afghanistan.
This follows services being cut
in some provinces
earlier this month. Authorities said
that this was to 'prevent immorality'.
After women and girls over 12 were
barred from schools, universities
and many types of jobs,
many of them used the internet to
study online or to sell products abroad.
This shutdown has stopped them
from being able to do this.
Afghans living outside the country
have reported being unable to contact
their relatives inside Afghanistan.
Foreign media organisations
have reported being unable
to contact their offices in Kabul,
and flights have also been disrupted.
Let's have our first headline.
This comes from CNN:
Total internet blackout
in Afghanistan sparks panic
after Taliban vowed to stamp out
immoral activities.
That headline again from CNN:
Total internet blackout
in Afghanistan sparks panic
after Taliban vowed to stamp out
immoral activities.
OK, there are a few things to look
at in this headline.
Let's start with 'blackout',
which means
that something like power,
telephone services or, in this case,
internet connections are
completely unavailable.
If something is said to be 'immoral',
it is something society thinks is wrong.
What's considered immoral changes
from culture to culture.
For example, in some cultures,
being in debt is seen as immoral,
in others it's not.
The Taliban government sees education
for women as immoral,
and this blackout has prevented
online education for girls.
Girls had already been excluded
from schools and universities.
We're going to learn
the expression 'stamp out'.
Now, the literal meaning of stamp out
means to put out a fire with your feet
to stop it burning.
Stamping on something is stepping on
something violently with a lot of force.
From this we get a metaphor.
Stamping something out is to
forcefully stop something happening.
In the headline, the Taliban
have promised to stamp out,
to stop, what
they consider to be immoral.
Politicians and people in authority
often talk about stamping out things
that they want to get rid of, like
crime, discrimination, corruption
or unacceptable behaviour.
We had: stamp out –
take strong action to stop something.
For example, the new manager promised
to stamp out sexism in the office.
This is Learning English from the News,
our podcast about the news headlines.
We're talking about internet
and telephone services being cut off
in Afghanistan.
The move has been criticised by
human rights organisations,
one of which is quoted
in our next headline.
Yes, this is from The Independent.
Taliban cut internet
for whole country
as Afghanistan 'dragged into abyss'.
And that headline
again from The Independent in the UK:
Taliban cut internet for whole country
as Afghanistan 'dragged into abyss'.
The headline includes a quote from an
organisation called Afghan Peace Watch,
who have said that the country
is being dragged into an abyss.
'Abyss' is the next word
we're going to learn.
There is a literal meaning
which we don't use that often.
An abyss is a very big,
deep, dark hole,
particularly one where we can't tell
where the bottom is.
But abyss is much more commonly used
as a metaphor
to mean a very bad situation that is
difficult or impossible to get out of.
The headline writer is saying
that the Taliban government is taking
Afghanistan into a bad situation,
and that the country is being cut off
from sources of help.
'Abyss' can be used to describe
situations full of suffering,
like a war-torn country,
and it can be used to describe
dark feelings like depression.
It's also used to talk about money.
If a company is facing
a financial abyss,
then they have
very serious money problems.
We've had: abyss –
a very negative situation
that is difficult to escape from.
For example,
without immediate humanitarian aid,
the country could slide into the abyss.
This is Learning English from the News,
our podcast about the news headlines.
Today we've been talking about
Afghanistan's internet blackout.
Here's a headline talking
about the impact of this measure.
Yes, this comes from BBC News:
Afghan women lose their 'last hope'
as Taliban shuts down internet.
That headline again from BBC News:
Afghan women lose their 'last hope'
as Taliban shuts down internet.
OK, so we're going
to learn the expression 'last hope'.
If something is your last hope,
then it's the last
or final chance that you have
for something to be successful.
And we often use it to say
that there's no alternative. Here,
it's reporting the words
of an Afghan woman who was studying
at an online university,
which she saw as her last hope
after restrictions on work and study
were imposed by the Taliban.
We use 'last hope' to describe lots
of types of things.
We often use it for serious life or
death matters, like medical treatment
or rescue missions,
which could be someone's last hope.
But it can also be used more
generally for less serious things.
So, a free kick at the end
of a football match could be
a team's last hope to win the game.
We had: last hope –
the last opportunity for success.
For example, the new wildlife reserve
could be the last hope
for keeping this species
of rhino alive.
That's it for this episode
of Learning English from the News.
We'll be back next week
with another news story.
If you want to practise
what you've learnt,
go to our website to see more example
sentences and try our free worksheet.
And also, don't forget to follow us
on social media. Search
for BBC Learning English on
your favourite social media platform.
Bye for now.
Goodbye.
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