Category Archives: Travel

2025.05.14

Hagia Sophia restoration to protect 1,500-year-old Unesco ‘masterpiece’
Istanbul landmark’s most extensive works in years will include efforts to prevent earthquake damage
Ruth Michaelson in Istanbul
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/14/hagia-sophia-restoration-works-istanbul-earthquakeshttps://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/may/14/enzo-review-laurent-cantet-swan-song-robin-campillo-cannes-film-festival

Enzo review – Laurent Cantet’s swan song is a heartfelt tale of youth and desire
This powerful drama from the late film-maker and his longtime collaborator Robin Campillo, who directs, charts the growing pains of a teenager from a privileged family
Peter Bradshaw
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/may/14/enzo-review-laurent-cantet-swan-song-robin-campillo-cannes-film-festival

Chimpanzees use leaves to wipe bums and clean up after sex, study finds
Research looking at hygiene and healthcare habits of the primates finds implications for understanding origin of human healthcare
Nicola Davis Science Correspondent
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/may/14/chimpanzees-use-leaves-to-wipe-bums-and-clean-up-after-sex-study-finds

How the humble chestnut traced the rise and fall of the Roman Empire
Sophie Hardach
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250513-what-chestnuts-reveal-about-the-roman-empire

Is the US finally on track to build a high-speed rail network?
Sam Gruet & Megan Lawton
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cze1erz9jxko

2025.05.13

The cardamom conundrum: what’s the difference between green and black pods?
Did you even know there is a black cardamom? And white and red ones, too? And that some are good for sweet recipes and others for curries? Our top cooks have all the spicy smarts
Anna Berrill
https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/may/13/whats-the-difference-between-green-and-black–white-red-cardamom-pods-kitchen-aide-anna-berrill

Inside the world’s largest archeology museum – the Grand Egyptian Museum in pictures
Featuring pharaohs and sustainable design, the $1bn museum in Giza, Egypt, is finally opening after years of delays
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2025/may/12/grand-egyptian-museum-pictures

Watch dramatic moment monkey family defends baby from python
Leaf monkeys are close-knit family groups that work closely to protect themselves and newborns.
Produced by the BBC Natural History Unit.
https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p0l9r1x3/watch-dramatic-moment-monkey-family-defends-baby-from-python

2025.05.11

Antiques Roadshow UK 2025 Series 48 - VE Day Special

Billie Piper on toxic masculinity, raising teens, and playing complex characters: ‘I’ve been a woman on the edge – I’m not afraid of it!’
Kate Lloyd
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/may/10/billie-piper-tv-baftas-interview

Tea-licious! 17 awesome ways to use earl grey, from ice-cream and cocktails to strudel and salad
Who’d have guessed there’s so much you can do with bergamot-flavoured tea? Apparently you can even drink it
Tim Dowling
https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/may/11/tea-licious-17-awesome-ways-to-use-earl-grey-from-ice-cream-and-cocktails-to-strudel-and-salad

2025.05.09

‘Hollowing out’: New Zealand grapples with an uncertain future as record numbers leave
Surge of departures – mostly fleeing a weak economy – fuels concern over the longer-term impact on the country as some small towns scramble for survival
Michelle Duff in Wellington
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/09/leaving-new-zealand-record-departure-numbers

From sea sparkles to fireflies: Chasing Australia’s ‘big four’
Frankie Adkins
https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20250508-australias-mysterious-glowing-big-four

The best science fiction, fantasy and horror – reviews roundup
The Devils by Joe Abercrombie; The Incandescent by Emily Tesh; Land of Hope by Cate Baum; A Line You Have Traced by Roisin Dunnett
Abigail Nussbaum
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/may/09/the-best-science-fiction-fantasy-and-horror-reviews-roundup

Rediscovered Thomas & Friends pilot to be released
Paul Glynn
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czel5x60y7lo

The town where deer roam free (and mostly peacefully)
https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p0l5vc1h/the-town-where-deer-roam-free-and-mostly-peacefully-

Minnesota Songkran Festival: Celebrate Thai New Year at the Capitol this weekend
Also this weekend: Festival de las Calaveras brings live Mexican rock and wrestling to The Hook and Ladder Theater, while a Mother’s Day concert honors Black women in music at the Dakota.
by Myah Goff
https://sahanjournal.com/arts-culture/things-to-do-twin-cities-songkran-fest-mexican-punk-jamecia-bennett/

2025.05.06

My coverage of the Met Gala:

Mall Park in Uptown: A missed opportunity for meaningful community engagement
Opposition to the redesign mostly came from renters adjacent to the Minneapolis park — not privileged residents fighting change.
by Mike Erlandson
https://www.minnpost.com/community-voices/2025/05/mall-park-in-uptown-a-missed-opportunity-for-meaningful-community-engagement/

X-ray reveals ancient Greek author of charred first century BC Vesuvius scroll
Ink traces show text is part of work by Epicurean philosopher Philodemus, burned during AD79 volcano eruption
Ian Sample
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/may/06/x-ray-reveals-ancient-greek-author-of-charred-first-century-bc-vesuvius-scroll

Osteoarthritis study could lead to new treatments
Grace Shaw
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy48jynpm8wo

The enthusiast searching for stunning sea slugs
Zhara Simpson
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckg1dk3km25o

I made a Wallace & Gromit contraption in real life! - Joseph's Machines

2025.05.05

Trump orders reopening of Alcatraz prison for ‘most ruthless offenders’
Plan to expand and reuse long-shuttered penitentiary off San Francisco described as ‘not serious’ by Nancy Pelosi
Edward Helmore and agencies
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/05/trump-plan-reopen-alcatraz-prison

Trump says non-US movies to be hit with 100% tariffs
Peter Hoskins Business reporter Maia Davies BBC News
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjr7e2z1rxyo

US scientist who touted hydroxychloroquine to treat Covid named to pandemic prevention role
Steven J Hatfill, who promoted the drug despite scant evidence of efficacy, becomes special adviser at HHS
Chris Stein in Washington
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/05/covid-hydroxychloroquine-steve-hatfill

Madness, murder and rape on the Batavia: new theory on Australia’s most horrific shipwreck
Dutch academic says an ‘unlikely story about a mad heretic’ has been repeated for 400 years – and poses an alternative
Tory Shepherd
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/may/06/batavia-shipwreck-new-theory-what-happened

Three people killed after shooting in Phoenix restaurant
Five others injured while police say more than one person may have been firing a gun in Arizona restaurant
Associated Press
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/05/phoenix-arizona-shooting-restaurant

NZ airport to remove Hobbit-themed eagle sculptures
Koh Ewe
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz7949plre0o

2025.05.04

Have you followed Trump’s 100-day disaster? Try this quiz!
Lawrence Douglas
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/may/04/trump-100-days-quiz

Trump feels tug of political gravity as economy falters and polls plunge
The president started his second term fast and furious with a flurry of activity – much of it legally dubious – but analysts say the honeymoon is over
David Smith in Washington
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/04/trump-popularity-voters-economy-immigration

Trump says he doesn’t know if he needs to uphold constitutional due process
President also says he sees himself as leaving office at the end of his current term and not seeking a third one
Edward Helmore
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/04/trump-due-process-rights-constitution

Paris-based thriller offers fresh inside take on French-Tamil community
Writer, actor and director Lawrence Valin says that in Little Jaffna he wanted to ‘show new role models’
Angelique Chrisafis in Paris
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/04/paris-based-thriller-offers-fresh-inside-take-on-french-tamil-community-little-jaffna

Are actors getting better (and ‘bett-ah’) at Australian accents?
No longer must we wince through a jarring Cockney-Kiwi mix: Hollywood has finally cracked Aussie dialects. Is it the teaching, the spread of Bluey, AI – or something else?
Donna Lu
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/may/03/are-actors-getting-better-and-bett-ah-at-australian-accents

‘It was born to be a champion’: How Dubai chocolate conquered the world
Soumya Gayatri
https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20250502-how-dubai-chocolate-conquered-the-world

The bizarre space explosions scientists can’t explain
Jonathan O’Callaghan
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250502-cow-flares-the-bizarre-space-explosions-scientists-cant-explain

Scientists say they’ve found another source of gold in the cosmos
Ashley Strickland
By Ashley Strickland, CNN
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/03/science/magnetar-flare-cosmic-gold?Date=20250503&Profile=cnn&utm_content=1746272935&utm_medium=social&utm_source=threads

Vietnamese artists trace the fragments of war and refugee life in new St. Paul exhibit
Fifty years after the first wave of Vietnamese refugees arrived, five artists map the diasporic experience through art installations reimagining nail salons, prisons booths and border checkpoints.
by Myah Goff
https://sahanjournal.com/arts-culture/vietnam-war-diaspora-art-exhibit-st-paul-minnesota/

2025.05.03

Once bitten, twice shy. But oft bitten? A Wisconsin man has been bitten by snakes hundreds of times. Often on purpose, it turns out. Tim Friede “began injecting himself with small doses of snake venom and then slowly increased the amount to try to build up tolerance. He would then let snakes bite him,” according to MPR News and Associated Press. Now scientists are studying his blood. Via MinnPost

‘Unparalleled’ snake antivenom made from man bitten 200 times
James Gallagher
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr5d0l7el36o

World may be ‘post-herd immunity’ to measles, top US scientist says
As infections pummel communities in the US, Mexico and Canada, fear of ‘the most contagious human disease’ grows
Jessica Glenza
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/03/measles-post-herd-immunity

Could DNA testing shed new light on 93-year mystery of Lindbergh baby case?
A new lawsuit seeks to examine ransom notes linked to the 1932 kidnap and murder of the transatlantic aviator’s son
Edward Helmore
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/03/lindbergh-baby-case-dna-testing

‘Clothes can contain a lot of emotion’: How black men have used flamboyant fashion to express pride and resistance
Deborah Nicholls-Lee
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20250502-how-black-men-have-used-bold-fashion-as-resistance

From cassoulet in Carcassonne to patisseries in Paris – a tour of France in 10 classic dishes
France does many foods exceptionally well, but certain areas offer unique and exceptional culinary experiences. We select 10 delicacies and the best regions in which to try them
Carolyn Boyd
https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2025/may/03/culinary-tour-of-france-french-food

The artichoke so prized that people sell fakes
Catherine Bennett
https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20250502-the-artichoke-so-prized-that-people-sell-fakes

Ribbon cutting for ‘modern Asian mall’ at new Pan Asian Center in Maplewood planned for this weekend
Toua Xiong’s long-range redevelopment plan for former Sears and Macy’s stores includes retail, restaurants, offices, a spa and event center.
by Alfonzo Galva
https://sahanjournal.com/business-work/pan-asian-center-maplewood-mall-redevelopment/

My local Shuang Hur Supermarket’s meat guy retired. They’ve lost the duck roaster! The whole pig roaster! Ittsa calamity!
http://shuanghur.com/

2025.05.02

Elliot Hughes at the Star Tribune reports: “Jill Sobule, whose 1995 single “I Kissed a Girl” was the first song with openly gay themes to hit the Billboard Top 20, died Thursday morning in a house fire in Woodbury.” Via MinnPost
https://www.minnpost.com/glean/2025/05/i-kissed-a-girl-singer-killed-in-woodbury-house-fire/

Groundbreaking musician Jill Sobule dies in house fire
George Wright
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g4l9nxjd0o

Trump officials gut 25 centers that monitor flooding and drought in the US
White House orders closure of USGS water science centers, which shares data with weather service for flood warnings
Tom Perkins
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/02/trump-administration-united-states-geological-service

Moldy food, used underwear: inside the US prisons where Trump is jailing immigrants
As Trump dramatically expands detention, immigrants are moved to notorious penitentiaries where they report horrific conditions
Sam Levin in Los Angeles
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/01/trump-immigrants-federal-prisons

Mummy mystery solved: ‘air-dried’ priest was embalmed via rectum
Method of preserving 18th-century Austrian vicar has never been seen before, say researchers
Nicola Davis Science correspondent
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/02/mummy-mystery-solved-air-dried-priest-was-embalmed-via-rectum

David Beckham at 50: his gorgeous, outrageous life in 50 pictures
One of the most photographed men in the world, he has gone from captain of the England football team to elder statesman. We look back at the red cards, redemption, scandals, fashion and family life
Tim Dowling on David Beckham at 50
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/may/02/david-beckham-at-50-his-gorgeous-outrageous-life-in-50-pictures

Archaeological project maps historic boat sheds on Isles of Scilly
‘Pilot gigs’ were crucial for islanders for centuries and 90 important sites housing the boats have been identified
Steven Morris
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/may/02/archaeological-project-maps-historic-boat-sheds-isles-of-scilly

‘Delicious seafood served with charm and ice-cold white wine’: readers’ favourite restaurants in France
From a hidden gem in Nice to a rustic revelation in Beaujolais and a bargain bistro in Brittany
Guardian readers
https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2025/may/02/readers-favourite-restaurants-in-france

Thunderbolts* to Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning: 12 of the best films to watch this May
Nicholas Barber
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20250423-12-of-the-best-films-to-watch-in-may


Public Functionary launches free series by local filmmakers of color
Also this weekend: A community open mic honors elders at Indigenous Roots Cafe and a pop-up market at Eat Street Crossing features 26 local makers and six food vendors.
by Myah Goff
https://sahanjournal.com/arts-culture/twin-cities-things-to-do-film-screenings-open-mic-pop-up-market/

2025.05.01

Robert De Niro supports daughter Airyn as she comes out as trans: ‘I don’t know what the big deal is’
After her announcement of her transition, the actor said: ‘I loved and supported Aaron as my son, and now I love and support Airyn as my daughter’
Andrew Pulver
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/may/01/robert-de-niro-daughter-airyn-trans

Lawyers for New Orleans clergy abuse survivors ramp up pressure to depose archbishop
Lawyers for hundreds of survivors argue Gregory Aymond should be questioned under oath about role in the clergy abuse crisis
David Hammer of WWL Louisiana in New Orleans
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/01/new-orleans-clergy-abuse-archbishop

Justice department civil rights division loses 70% of lawyers under Trump
More than 250 lawyers have left or been reassigned since January as critics fear ‘end of the division as we’ve known it’
Sam Levine in New York
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/01/civil-rights-division-doj-trump

In the US, not even $11,000 a month can buy you dignity at the end of your life
After watching my father’s struggle in a system that values profit over compassion, I wonder: how much longer will we accept a future where most of us lose our sense of human worth in old age?
Laura Fraser
https://www.theguardian.com/society/ng-interactive/2025/may/01/nursing-home-assisted-living-costs-care

Shoes on at home or shoes off? If you care about your health, it’s a no-brainer
Polly Hudson
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/commentisfree/2025/apr/30/shoes-on-at-home-or-shoes-off-if-you-care-about-your-health-its-a-no-brainer

Trial aims to silence tinnitus before it takes hold
https://www.bbc.com/news/videos/cd02x42z0ndo

The Underground Railroad went all the way to Canada – and a new photo exhibit preserves that legacy
For an estimated 30,000 Black people, the journey from enslavement in the US ended north of the border
Adria R Walker
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/01/canada-underground-railroad

Tate Modern: 25 jaw-dropping and unforgettable moments from the first 25 years
When the gallery opened in 2000, it transformed the artistic life of Britain – and the world. We look back at spiders, splinters, sexual dependency and sunsets
By Dale Berning Sawa, Eddy Frankel, Tim Jonze, Charlotte Jansen, Oliver Wainwright and Evan Moffitt
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2025/may/01/tate-modern-25-jaw-dropping-and-unforgettable-moments-from-the-first-25-years

Dachshunds, kangaroos and a tortoise on the loose – take the Thursday quiz
Questions on general knowledge and topical trivia, plus a few jokes, every Thursday. How will you fare?
Martin Belam
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/may/01/the-guardian-thursday-quiz-general-knowledge-topical-news-trivia-208

That…: 10 of the best TV shows to watch this May
Caryn James
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20250429-10-of-the-best-tv-shows-to-watch-this-may