gleaming in a dark sea

Northfield residents warned of elevated levels of manganese in drinking water, advised to use bottled water or filter
Emily Baude KSTP
https://kstp.com/kstp-news/top-news/northfield-residents-warned-of-elevated-levels-of-manganese-in-drinking-water-advised-to-use-bottled-water-or-filter/

Rice crisis: Japan imports grain from South Korea for first time in more than 25 years
Japanese consumers who used to treat foreign-grown rice with scepticism have been forced to develop a taste for it amid domestic shortage
Justin McCurry in Tokyo
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/22/japan-south-korea-rice-import-crisis

Experts talk realism of Conclave movie: ‘Gets a lot of the details right’
After the death of Pope Francis, experts weigh in on how much the real-life papal election will mirror the hit Oscar-winning movie
Adrian Horton
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/apr/22/conclave-movie-pope-francis

How an American businessman lost his job and found himself in an old French vineyard
One day, life as a finance consultant stopped making sense for Peter Hahn, so he took to organic winegrowing in the Loire instead
Genevieve Fox
https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/apr/22/how-an-american-businessman-lost-his-job-and-found-himself-in-an-old-french-vineyard

US to impose tariffs of up to 3,521% on south-east Asia solar panels
Ahead of a global summit in London comes a warning that lessons on energy security have not been learned
Julia Kollewe
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/apr/22/us-huge-tariffs-south-east-asian-solar-panels-energy-summit

Gold hits $3,500 for first time as US dollar sinks to three-year low
With many stock markets in the red and Dow Jones headed for worst April since 1932, gold could even reach $4,000
Julia Kollewe and Graeme Wearden
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/apr/22/gold-hits-3500-us-dollar-sinks-three-year-low-stock-markets

Ex-US senator's wife convicted in gold bars bribery scheme
Brandon Drenon
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c70zlj8dpn8o

Show us your mussels! A mouthwatering trip to Vigo, Spain’s seafood capital
The Galician city on the Atlantic coast has the EU’s largest fishing port, which provides its many bars and restaurants with a spectacular trawl of oysters, clams and mussels
Fiona Dunlop
https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2025/apr/22/food-trip-to-vigo-galicia-spain-seafood-capital

The extraordinary rise of bakery tourism: ‘People travel from all over the world. It’s mind-blowing!’
Beer crawls are out and bakery crawls are in, with people arranging whole days, weekends or even holidays around the search for the perfect loaf or croissant
Chris Marshall
https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/apr/22/the-extraordinary-rise-of-bakery-tourism

2025 Sony World Photography Awards: Winners revealed
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9qww2rv0y0o

‘It blew us away’: how an asteroid may have delivered the vital ingredients for life on Earth
Extraterrestrial rocks, recently delivered by a space probe, could answer the big questions about alien lifeforms and human existence
Robin McKie Science Editor
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/apr/20/it-blew-us-away-how-an-asteroid-may-have-delivered-the-vital-ingredients-for-life-on-earth

The big picture: Wolfgang Tillmans’s tender image of two boys off the coast of Denmark
The German photographer captures a moment of tranquility one Scandinavian summer
Emily LaBarge
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2025/apr/20/the-big-picture-wolfgang-tillmans-ocean

The Fighting Temeraire: Why JMW Turner's greatest painting is so misunderstood
Matt Wilson
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20250415-jmw-turner-at-250-why-his-greatest-painting-the-fighting-temeraire-is-so-misunderstood

‘Why be toxic?’: Russell T Davies hits back at claims Doctor Who too woke
Screenwriter says he has no time for ‘online warriors’ criticising show, which now has two minority ethnic leads
Hannah Al-Othman North of England correspondent
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/apr/17/russell-t-davies-hits-back-at-claims-doctor-who-too-woke

Re-arm, reassure and spend big: how the Asia Pacific is responding to a new era under Trump
The US president has upset global norms in the space of weeks, spurring a flurry of defence spending, diplomatic overtures and offers to boost trade
Justin McCurry, Ben Doherty, Amy Hawkins, Helen Davidson and Rebecca Ratcliffe
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/17/asia-pacific-trump-response-china

Scientists hail ‘strongest evidence’ so far for life beyond our solar system
Astrophysics team say observation of chemical compounds may be ‘tipping point’ in search for extraterrestrial life
Hannah Devlin Science correspondent
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/apr/17/scientists-hail-strongest-evidence-so-far-for-life-beyond-our-solar-system

Live colossal squid captured on video in wild for first time ever
A young Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni, the heaviest invertebrate on earth, was filmed in the Atlantic Ocean
Karen McVeigh
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/apr/16/colossal-squid-captured-on-video

New daily weight-loss pill shows success at clinical trial
Orforglipron also reduced blood sugar levels in participants with type 2 diabetes
Ian Sample Science editor
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/apr/17/new-daily-weight-loss-pill-orforglipron-success-clinical-trial-diabetes

Toothpaste widely contaminated with lead and other metals, US research finds
Most of 51 brands tested, including those for children, contained dangerous heavy metal
Tom Perkins
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/17/toothpaste-lead-heavy-metals

Who are the death row executioners? Disgraced doctors, suspended nurses and drunk drivers
These are just the US executioners we know. But they are a chilling indication of the executioners we don’t know
Corinna Lain
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/17/death-row-executioners

Ask questions, practice and know when to make an exit: how to start a conversation
Socializing can be hard, especially starting a conversation with a stranger – here are some tips from experts
Madeleine Aggeler
https://www.theguardian.com/wellness/2025/apr/16/how-to-start-a-conversation-stranger

A crack in the manosphere: Joe Rogan’s guests are revolting
Sam Wolfson
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/apr/16/joe-rogan-guests

Watch: Michigan town forms human chain to move 9,100 books for shop
https://www.bbc.com/news/videos/cj45yl5dy42o

Julie Christie at 85: her 20 best films – ranked!
To celebrate the Oscar-winning actor’s birthday this week, we look back at the highlights of a six-decade career, from early classics such as Doctor Zhivago and Billy Liar to later roles in Finding Neverland and Away From Her.
By Anne Billson
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2025/apr/17/julie-christie-at-85-her-20-best-films-ranked

Giant fritters and roast root veg with whipped feta: Alissa Timoshkina’s recipes for an eastern European Easter feast
An eastern European celebration of spring: a giant, shareable fritter of cabbage, pea and spring onion, and roast new potatoes and carrots with herby whipped feta
Alissa Timoshkina
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/apr/17/giant-fritters-and-roast-root-veg-with-whipped-feta-alissa-timoshkinas-recipes-for-an-eastern-european-easter-feast

Simple £5 blood test could help prevent thousands of heart attacks, study says
Researchers suggest troponin tests could help detect ‘silent’ harm and predict the risk of future cardiovascular events
Andrew Gregory
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/apr/07/simple-blood-test-help-prevent-thousands-heart-attacks-study

Combination of two cheap drugs could save lives after heart attack, study finds
Giving patients statins and ezetimibe after a heart attack can reduce risk of second attack or stroke, say scientists
Andrew Gregory Health editor
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/apr/14/combination-cheap-drugs-statins-ezetimibe-could-save-lives-after-heart-attack-study-finds

Good news at last: just a little exercise can reduce the risk of dementia
Devi Sridhar
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/apr/14/exercise-risk-dementia-study-middle-age

Potential new antibiotic for treating gonorrhoea
Michelle Roberts
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c367jp764z2o

How we made Muriel’s Wedding: ‘No one wanted a film about a plus-sized thief and liar’
‘I wanted to do an Australian Mike Leigh film. I was convinced it was terrible – but we showed it at Cannes and they went crazy. Audiences had never seen a character like that treated sympathetically’
Interviews by Simon Bland
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2025/apr/14/plus-sized-thief-liar-muriels-wedding-toni-collette

Tax Day! Well, at least for some o' us!
‘Silicon Six’ accused of avoiding almost $278bn in US corporation taxes over 10 years
Analysis finds Amazon, Meta, Alphabet, Netflix, Apple and Microsoft averaged 18.8%, compared with 29.7% US average
Sarah Butler
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/15/silicon-six-accused-of-avoiding-almost-278bn-in-us-corporation-taxes-over-10-years

Enjoy sushi? You may have Welsh seaweed to thank for it
Natalie Grice
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx20ryyx00wo

Songkran: The world's biggest water fight
Lynn Brown
https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20250411-songkran-the-worlds-biggest-water-fight

Sit-to-stand: The simple test that reveals how you're ageing
Jasmin Fox-Skelly
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250404-sit-to-stand-the-simple-test-that-reveals-how-youre-ageing

The rise of end times fascism
Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2025/apr/13/end-times-fascism-far-right-trump-musk

New books chart Biden’s downfall – and the picture is damning for Democrats
Martin Pengelly in Washington
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/apr/13/biden-books-democrats

Mad House: new book exposes Capitol Hill’s absurdity and dysfunction
Reporters Annie Karni and Luke Broadwater shine a jaundiced spotlight on the foibles and foolishness of the US political class
Lloyd Green
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/apr/13/mad-house-dysfunction-capitol-hill

Worried about your stock market savings as Trump tariffs wreak havoc? Don’t panic
Gene Marks
Despite the turmoil it helps to put things into perspective with a look at some fundamental indicators
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/apr/13/stock-market-savings-turmoil-trump

Taxes
I owe, I owe, I owe, and I hope to file today.

Pollen peril: how heat, thunder and smog are creating deadly hay fever seasons
Scientists say a complex mix of factors are making seasonal allergies worse for longer in many parts of the world – but why is it happening and is it here to stay?
Patrick Greenfield
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/apr/10/pollen-peril-how-heat-thunder-and-smog-are-creating-deadly-hay-fever-seasons-aoe

Hay fever making your life a misery? Try these 20 tips from doctors and allergy experts
Do nasal sprays work? Which are the best antihistamines? Can honey help? What about a shower? We’ve got all the answers
Sarah Phillips
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/apr/10/hay-fever-misery-20-tips-doctors-allergy-experts

Surprise as sealskin is discovered to be cover material of ‘hairy’ medieval books
The findings from volumes kept in a Cistercian monastery in France shed new light on a robust medieval trade network that went well beyond local sourcing
Ella Creamer
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/apr/10/surprise-as-sealskin-is-discovered-to-be-cover-material-of-hairy-medieval-books

FBI director Kash Patel removed as director of Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
Decision transfers control of ATF away from US justice department to the defense department for first time
Hugo Lowell in Washington
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/09/kash-patel-director-atf-bureau-removal

Woman gives birth to stranger’s baby after IVF bungle in Brisbane
Mistake at Queensland fertility care clinic results in woman unknowingly giving birth to another patient’s baby after embryos mixed up
Australian Associated Press
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/apr/10/woman-gives-birth-to-strangers-baby-after-monash-ivf-bungle-brisbane

What's inside a black hole?
https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p0l39967/what-s-inside-a-black-hole-

Saliva test may turn tide on prostate cancer, claim scientists
James Gallagher
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c98gg9qjn6ro