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No 10 turned down Larkin, Auden and other poets for laureate job
Getty Images By Sanchia Berg BBC News Some of the greatest English poets of the 20th Century were ruled out by Downing Street as candidates for poet laureate, government files reveal. Names such as WH Auden, Philip Larkin and Robert Graves were passed over as being unsuitable. The job dates back to the 17th Century,…
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US soldier in North Korea explained… in 42 seconds
North Korea has reportedly detained a serving US army soldier who crossed the border from South Korea without permission. The BBC’s Sumi Somaskanda explains how Private 2nd Class Travis King crossed into North Korea “wilfully and without authorisation”.
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How AI is bringing film stars back from the dead
Celebrities such as James Dean can be brought back to life as digital clones thanks to the power of artificial intelligence, but it is raising troubling questions about what rights any of us have after we die. Most actors dream of building a career that will outlive them. Not many manage it – show business…
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Greta Gerwig’s ‘bold, inventive’ Barbie breaks the mould
This ‘joyous’ comedy – starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling – is sure to be nominated for many awards, writes Nicholas Barber. It must say something serious about the state of Hollywood that one of the most feverishly anticipated US films of 2023 is Barbie, an authorised tie-in to a range of plastic dolls. And…
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What we know so far about North Korea’s detention of a US soldier
EPA By Jean Mackenzie in Seoul and Emily McGarvey in London BBC News A US soldier is being held in North Korea after crossing the border from South Korea without authorisation, the US military has confirmed. The crisis comes during a particularly tense time with the North, one of the world’s most isolated states. The…
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Kitchen shrine serpents and other fascinating new Pompeii discoveries
TONY JOLLIFFE/BBC By Jonathan Amos, science correspondent Pompeii, southern Italy A kitchen shrine adorned with serpents, a bakery, human skeletons, exquisite frescos, and yes, a picture of something that looks very much like pizza. These are among the new finds being turned up at the Pompeii Archaeological Park. Dig anywhere in the ancient city destroyed…
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Why some celebrities are embracing Artificial Intelligence deepfakes
Nick Wall/Netflix By Nick Marsh Asia Business Correspondent Singaporean actress, model and former radio DJ Jamie Yeo has no problem with being deepfaked. In fact, she signed up for it. “It’s a bit like that Black Mirror episode with Salma Hayek,” Ms Yeo jokes. She was speaking to the BBC the day after the release…
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Isro: India space chief says no mystery over rocket debris on Australian beach
Reuters By Geeta Pandey BBC News, Delhi India’s space chief says a giant metal dome that washed up on an Australian beach was definitely part of a rocket – but may or may not be Indian. “We can’t confirm it’s ours unless we analyse it,” S Somanath told the BBC. There has been wild speculation…
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Why tourists flock to the DMZ between two Koreas
Young Pioneer Tours By Sam Cabral BBC News It is one of the world’s most heavily fortified areas, a no-man’s land that stands as a remnant of the Cold War. It was also a tourist magnet before the Covid pandemic. From Gyeonggi-do in the west to Gangwon-do in the east, the 160-mile (258km) long Demilitarised…
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The Indian cheesecake secrets found in a 1904 book
Getty Images What can a 1904 cookbook – written in the Bengali language and filled with dessert recipes – tell us about colonialism and food habits? A lot, writes journalist Priyadarshini Chatterjee. On a scorching summer afternoon sometime in the late 2000s, I returned home to the unusual sight of my aunt skittering about in…