BBC News

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Caribbean lifestyles of the rich and famous

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The New Yorker covers we were never meant to see

The New Yorker magazine, created in 1925, is famous in the US and around the world for both the diversity of its writing and the cartoons that grace its front cover.

In Francoise Mouly's new book, Blown Covers, the New Yorker art director takes readers on a visual tour of some of the more striking images that never made it to print.

Ms Mouly says: "I work with cartoonists who try to come up with funny images that are capturing everything that's happening around us.

"But in order to do that, I have to do a very, very difficult job, which is choose one out of the many."

Over her 19 years at the magazine, Ms Mouly estimates she has rejected as many as 10,000 cover images.

(via BBC News - The New Yorker covers we were never meant to see)

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Inside India's human laundry

It has been described as one of the world's largest laundries - Dhobi Ghat in the centre of Mumbai is where hundreds of thousands of clothes are washed daily, in a ritual which has - so far - stood the test of time.

But with more Indians now owning washing machines, what future does this old tradition have in modern India?

(via BBC News - Inside India's human laundry)

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Sacha Baron Cohen on mocking 'hilarious' Gaddafi

Sacha Baron Cohen has given a rare interview as himself, rather than in the guise of one of the famous characters he has created such as Ali G or Borat.

He told the BBC he had previously protected his work by not giving interviews for fear of being recognised.

Speaking to the BBC's Will Gompertz in Cannes, he said the idea of his new film The Dictator - about a fictional Middle Eastern despot - was developed on the basis that he always found Gaddafi "hilarious".

(via BBC News - Sacha Baron Cohen on mocking 'hilarious' Gaddafi)

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The Beatles in Bangor: 1967 BBC Wales archive footage

In June 1967, The Beatles released Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, seen by many as their creative peak. On 24 August, they met Maharishi Mahesh Yogi at a lecture in London, and the following day travelled by train to north Wales for a 10-day conference on transcendental meditation.

The Bangor footage also contains shots of Beatle girlfriends and wives Pattie Harrison, Cynthia Lennon and Jane Asher - who was Paul McCartney's fiancee at the time. Also present were Mick Jagger and his girlfriend Marianne Faithfull.

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Brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder affect tens of thousands of US veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It is known that art therapies can help with the psychological effects of these invisible wounds, but can they promote physical healing?

A top military hospital near Washington is conducting the first comprehensive clinical tests to find out how art works.

The National Intrepid Center of Excellence is carrying out the study as part of a broader effort to measure the value of creative endeavours in all stages of human development.

The BBC's Jane O'Brien went to the new military medical facility at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, to find out more.

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700 year-old 'vampire' skeleton is put on display in Bulgaria

A 700 year-old skeleton on display at the National History Museum in Bulgaria is thought to be that of a person suspected of turning into a vampire after death.

According to pagan customs at the time, people considered to be bad were stabbed through the heart with an iron rod after death so they could not return as vampires.

Two such skeletons were found at a monastery in the Black Sea city of Sozopol.

(via BBC News - 700 year-old 'vampire' skeleton is put on display in Bulgaria)

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It’s well-known that Republican contender for the US presidency Mitt Romney is a Mormon - but not that his family was converted in England. He doesn’t mention it on the campaign trail, but his great-great-grandfather, a Preston carpenter, became one of the first British Mormons, 175 years ago.

BBC News - Mitt Romney’s Mormon roots in northern England (via markcoatney)

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Life in a cashless society

Author David Wolman says cash is dirty, expensive and should just be pushed off the cliff.

He describes his new book, "The End of Money: Counterfeiters, Preachers, Techies, Dreamers- And The Coming Cashless Society," as a eulogy to these rectangular slips of paper and little metal disks.

But while writing the book, and going without cash for a year, Wolman found that the future of money is about much more than just dollars and cents.

(via BBC News - Life in a cashless society)

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Demolition dam: Why dismantle a huge river barrier?

A century after the Elwha River dam was built, the vast structure that once provided power for large parts of the US state of Washington is being demolished piece by piece.

The dam's removal will help revive a threatened salmon run on the river and enable the restoration of sacred tribal sites flooded decades ago.

The Elwha dam was built in 1913 in what is now the Olympic National Park. A second hydro-electric dam a few miles away - the Glines Canyon dam, built in 1927 - has already been demolished as part of the biggest project of its kind in US history.

(via BBC News - Demolition dam: Why dismantle a huge river barrier?)

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Times-Picayune blues as New Orleans paper moves online

The Times-Picayune - the only daily newspaper in New Orleans - has announced sweeping job cuts as part of a plan to abandon its print edition four days a week.

More than 200 members of staff were handed their notices on Tuesday, with 84 newsroom employees cut - virtually half the 169-strong journalism and production staff.

After the changes the 175-year-old award-winning newspaper will only survive in its traditional form on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, with the remaining staff producing an enhanced online edition seven days a week.

The changes come after the Times-Picayune was hit by the economic downturn and subsequent fall in advertising revenue, as well as the long-term decline of newspaper sales.

The Times-Picayune is following the lead of other big US city papers, which have either reduced their print run or shut down completely.

The decision to cut the print run sparked a "Save the Times-Picayune" rally, and there are questions about whether the online paper can maintain its in-depth coverage of one of America's most colourful and corrupt cities.

(via BBC News - Times-Picayune blues as New Orleans paper moves online)

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China reveals more than 100 new Terracotta Warriors

Chinese archaeologists have unearthed nearly 120 new terracotta warriors built 2000 years ago to guard the first Chinese emperor Qin Shihuang's tomb.

Along with the new warriors, life-size statues of entertainers or acrobats have also been found.

(via BBC News - China reveals more than 100 new Terracotta Warriors)

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Deadly hotspots: Illness acidents and incidents

We have gathered the evidence to reveal where in the world you are most likely to die of illness, incidents, accidents… or even falling out of bed. 

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Ernestine Shepherd: The 75-year-old bodybuilding grandma

The world's oldest female bodybuilder wakes up every day at 02:30 to fit in a 10 mile (16km) run before hitting the gym.

But 75-year-old Ernestine Shepherd insists that "age is nothing but a number".

"Miss Ernie", as she is known in the world of competitive bodybuilding, began training at the tender age of 71.

She says her true calling in life, however, is helping others to follow a more healthy lifestyle.

(via BBC News - Ernestine Shepherd: The 75-year-old bodybuilding grandma)

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Guilty secrets of the world's biggest heavy metal stars

BBC entertainment reporter Emma Jones went along to the Kerrang Awards in London on Thursday and asked some of the World's biggest heavy metal stars for their most un-rock and roll secrets.

She got some surprising responses.

(via BBC News - Guilty secrets of the world's biggest heavy metal stars)

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The dynamics of this robot are quite complicated. In fact, they live in a 12-dimensional space. — Vijay Kumar

BBC - Future - Technology - Robots that fly... and cooperate