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2023: technology, culture and money - 25th December 2023

From health innovations to interesting lawsuits, here are Sensations English's best news articles of 2023.

Experts were worried about AI (artificial intelligence). This year, Microsoft and Google used AI to make chatbots. These chatbots made lots of errors and one argued with a journalist.

Celebrity singers were in the news a lot. Beyoncé became the artist with the most Grammys in history. Justin Bieber’s old songs were bought by a record company, which paid him $200 million. But singer Katy Perry lost her legal fight in Australia. Local clothes designer Katie Perry had a trademark on her name.

In the UK, researchers used special suits with sensors on them. The sensors helped find health problems. In Ghana and Malawi, vaccines helped to stop malaria. And later in the year, two students in Qatar won a business competition. They used vegetable cells and a 3D printer to make carrots.

In finance, Croatia started using the euro instead of the kuna. The middle of the year was a lucky time for some cleaners in India, who won the lottery. They shared a $1.2 million prize. The British Museum was less lucky when around 2,000 pieces from its stores were stolen by an employee. Some of them were sold on eBay.

Animal stories included a new Guinness World Record for the world’s oldest dog. Thirty-year old Bobi from Portugal set the new record. In Italy, a bear was caught by the police. They said it had murdered a man. People were angry and said the bear was innocent.

Future lives were saved in New Zealand, where the government made a law against smoking. People born after 2008 can never buy cigarettes.

The climate crisis increased temperatures, but there were good stories about the environment too. In Montana, USA, a group of young people won a fight against the state government. They said that government support for coal and oil was hurting the environment. The court agreed and the support had to end.