Learner profile: Communicators
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Anti-woke ‘alternative BBC’ is launched
Does Britain need a rival to the BBC? Last night saw the launch of GB News, a TV channel aiming to provide a populist voice countering the metropolitan media. But not everyone is convinced.
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English under threat from verbal sandbagging
Is English being choked to death by jargon? The world’s most popular language is descending into a nightmare of meaningless baloney and hot air, one top writer claimed yesterday.
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Winslet demands right to show her wrinkles
Should airbrushing be illegal? Today, the unrealistic representation of celebrities’ bodies is under scrutiny after Kate Winslet refused to have footage of herself doctored for television.
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Panic as mouse plague moves towards Sydney
Have animal rights gone too far? Today, as a mouse army swarms towards Australia’s largest city, many simply want to exterminate them. Others say they have a right to be respected.
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Revealed at last – the secret of happiness
Is there a formula for happiness? Scientists at University College London believe that they have found one – and that if we stick to it, the world of tomorrow will be a far brighter place.
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‘The answer my friend is blowin’ in the wind’
Should art be political? Today is the 80th birthday of Bob Dylan, poet, painter and Nobel prizewinner. He has also written some of the most famous political protest songs in history.
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‘Robots are far better judges than humans’
Should computers make all our decisions? In a new book published today, three top scientists argue that human beings are useless at making choices. Machines would do a much better job.
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The 1,000-year-old poem shaking a nation
Can one verse topple a government? One of China’s most powerful tycoons is living in fear today after he was accused of criticising the government by posting a classic poem on social media.
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How hackers could hold the world to ransom
Is the internet a weapon of mass destruction? The announcement yesterday of a cyber attack on a major American pipeline has highlighted the vulnerability of our super-connected world.
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NEWSFLASH MAY 2022: ‘War with France is over!’
Should Britain go to war over Jersey? Last night an uneasy peace descended over St Helier. This FICTIONAL report from the future imagines a very different scenario… and its repercussions.
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US investigates mysterious microwave attacks
Is the West under attack from an unknown enemy? Last week, the United States linked two attacks near the White House to an unexplained sickness that experts blame on a Russian secret weapon.
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Cheugy: the Gen Z word making waves online
Does language change how we see the world? Today, a new word invented by an American teenager is going viral on TikTok. But can “cheugy” really influence the way we think about others?
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Young Leonardo da Vinci laid bare in new drama
Is Leonardo’s life story relevant today? The new series about the Renaissance genius may be hugely entertaining. But can a tale of a 15th-Century artist have a message for modern viewers?
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The PM, the financier and a trail of sleaze
Would politics be better without politicians? A former British PM has been engulfed in a row over lobbying, which some say demonstrates the need for an entirely new way of governing.
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Cricket fans fear a farewell to the googly
Should cricket change its traditional language? A much-hyped new tournament, The Hundred, is challenging not only the way the game is played, but the words we use to talk about it.