The Guardian
What makes good ‘game feel’? These three titles have pinned it down perfectly

Pragmata, Saros and Vampire Crawler bring together aesthetics, responsiveness and creative opportunities in joyous ways that can’t be defined, only experienced

Game feel is one of the most elusive concepts in the glossary of interactive entertainment, at once perfectly clear and difficult to define. Obviously, it refers to what a game feels like to play, but where does that feeling come from? How does it manifest? Or consider it from a different angle. When the chef Samin Nosrat started her career at the renowned Chez Panisse in California, she began to understand that what diners really responded to in their food were four key factors – salt, fat, acid and heat – and how these elements interacted. This idea formed the basis of her bestselling cookbook. It perhaps also inspired a video game audio director to once compare game feel to eating a potato chip: the salt and fat are part of it but so are the crunch and the sensation of the chip dissolving in your mouth (pdf). Game feel is a combination of elements – the responsiveness of the controls, the intuitiveness of the action, the aesthetics of the world and the creative opportunities they engender – all coming together in the right quantities.

I’m thinking about this a lot right now, because three games released in the last few days illustrate the idea of good game feel beautifully. The first is Pragmata, Capcom’s sci-fi action adventure in which you explore an abandoned colony base with the help of a child-like android, who lets you hack robotic enemies, lowering their defences before you blast them to pieces. The hacking mini-game takes place on a grid with nodes that add power-ups to your hack attack. As you progress, you add new types of nodes, as well as new weapons, and the interplay between these elements is complex, multifaceted and fun. This takes place in a linear world filled with hidden areas, so exploration is guided but discovery is possible. You run, jump and glide – it all feels seamless. It is joyous simply to be there.

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29th April 2026 14:00
The Guardian
Kevin Warsh set to clear key Senate hurdle to replace Fed chair Powell

A Senate committee is poised to advance Trump’s pick as doubts linger over the Fed’s independence and Powell’s future

Kevin Warsh, ​Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Reserve, is set to clear a key procedural hurdle on Wednesday, opening ‌the way for him to succeed Jerome Powell in coming weeks amid the White House’s unprecedented efforts to exert control over the world’s most powerful central bank.

The Senate banking committee is set to vote at 10am EDT (1400 GMT) to advance Warsh’s nomination to the full Republican-controlled Senate. All 13 Republicans on ​the panel are expected to support Warsh after Thom Tillis, a North Carolina senator, dropped his opposition following the Department of Justice’s ​decision on Friday to end a criminal investigation into Powell that Tillis viewed as a threat to the ⁠Fed’s political independence.

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29th April 2026 13:59
The Guardian
Giving and misgivings: opera managers must choose their poison

Opera needs big money: opera chiefs need big donors. New York’s Metropolitan Opera has just lost a $200m investment, but should it have accepted it in the first place?

Opera’s stories of power aren’t only played out on stage. The mechanics of producing opera involve vast amounts of people, from set builders to wig-makers to chorus and orchestra, and even vaster amounts of money. An opera company needs huge reservoirs of cash: whether from governments, companies donating for tax benefits, or private individuals whose motivations may be entirely driven by sheer love of the form, or they might not. The Royal Opera House named a hall after the American investment banker Alberto Vilar who promised the company £10m, before being convicted and imprisoned for fraud in 2010, while the Sackler family’s millions sponsored swathes of culture across the US and UK – but the source of this wealth gave the world an opioid epidemic.

So pity the poor opera house manager, trying to deal with an essentially insoluble situation: choose your donors, choose your poison. And pity especially Peter Gelb, who has been running the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the world’s biggest opera house, for the past two decades. Gelb faces in extremis the same hard economic truth that all opera houses, classical music institutions and performing groups face. Unlike so many parts of the economy, the services they provide have not become – and cannot become – more efficient. It’s what is known as Baumol’s cost disease, a term coined by the economist William J Baumol in the 1960s. One of the examples he used to illustrate the “disease” was a string quartet. It took four players in 1800 – and still, today, takes four musicians. How stupidly inefficient! It’s the same story, only exponentially less efficient and more expensive, for putting on an opera. Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, one of the Met’s recent blockbuster productions, still needs an army of stage managers as well as orchestral musicians, it still requires gigantic sets and a stellar cast just as it did in 1865, all to fill the Met’s 4,000-seat auditorium.

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29th April 2026 13:58
The Guardian
Two Jewish men stabbed in north London as Starmer condemns ‘appalling antisemitic attack’ – latest updates

A 45 year-old man has been arrested after two men were attacked in Golders Green

Specialist officers from Counter Terrorism Policing are leading the investigation and working with police to establish the full circumstances and any links to terrorism, the Met said in a statement.

Head of counter terrorism policing Laurence Taylor said:

Whilst I must stress this investigation is at an early stage, we are working quickly to understand exactly what happened.

Thank you to those who were in the area at the time and supported the response to this terrible incident.

Our thoughts are with the victims of this horrific attack. We are grateful to officers who swiftly Tasered and arrested the suspect before he could cause further harm.

We are aware of the significant distress and concern this incident is likely to cause in the face of a number of incidents in the local area. A suspect is in custody, and investigators are considering all possible motives.

An investigation is under way and a man has been arrested following a stabbing incident in Barnet.

At 11:16hrs on Wednesday 29 April, officers responded following reports of people stabbed in Highfield Avenue.

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29th April 2026 13:58
The Guardian
Trump makes fresh Iran threat after claiming King Charles agrees with him over nuclear weapons – US politics live

US president posts image on Truth Social saying Iran ‘better get smart soon’ as king to travel to New York to lay wreath at 9/11 memorial

The US Federal Reserve is widely expected to hold interest rates steady on Wednesday after a key policy meeting, likely the last chaired by central bank chief Jerome Powell, a frequent target of president Donald Trump’s ire.

Policymakers will weigh the risks of surging energy prices and snarled supply chains due to the US-Israel war on Iran, with analysts widely expecting a third pause in a row as the effects of the conflict ripple through the world’s largest economy.

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29th April 2026 13:55
The Guardian
The missing Ukrainian reporter, the Russian prison – and a vital lesson learned about journalism in a dangerous age | Laurent Richard

To do our job, investigative journalists are learning to work across borders. This isn’t just about the truth, it’s about staying alive

  • Laurent Richard is a journalist and the director of the Forbidden Stories consortium

In February 2025, the body of journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna was finally returned to Ukraine after months of uncertainty. She was one of 757 Ukrainian casualties handed over by Russian authorities as part of an exchange of prisoners and the dead.

Roshchyna had disappeared in the summer of 2023 while reporting from the Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine. When her body was examined, parts were missing: her eyeballs, her brain, her larynx – possibly removed to conceal the signs of how she died. Preliminary forensics suggest “numerous signs of torture”, according to the Ukrainian prosecutor.

Laurent Richard is a journalist and the director of the Forbidden Stories consortium

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29th April 2026 13:50
The Guardian
‘It will never cover what’s authentic’: African music industry weighs up AI risks and rewards

Delegates at event in Cape Verde highlight opportunities from tech while stressing AI is no replacement for talent

Last July, the Nigerian singer-songwriter Fave found herself caught up in a viral moment: an unauthorised version of a track by her featuring an AI choir had been released, quickly becoming an internet sensation. To get ahead of the situation, she recorded her own remix that integrated the AI-assisted song and added it to her discography.

“In my view, [that] was smart and very business aware,” Oyinkansola Fawehinmi, a Lagos-based entertainment lawyer, observed a few months later. “She essentially reclaimed the ‘AI version’ and released it as her own official expression.”

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29th April 2026 13:49
The Guardian
Buzkashi horsemen battling for a headless goat: Todd Antony’s best photograph

‘Buzkashi is a brutal sport that dates back to Genghis Khan. These Tajikistan players are trying to grab the body of a goat and drop it over a goal line. It’s every man for himself – and games can last six hours’

I can’t remember where I first read about buzkashi. Played across central Asia, the sport is thought to date back to the time of Genghis Khan. It involves large groups of men on horseback trying to grab the headless body of a goat and keep control of it long enough to drop it over a line marked on the ground. There are no teams, it’s every man for himself, and games can last six hours.

My projects often involve heightened colour, but when I decided I wanted to get back to the basics of light and tone and do a black and white series, this subject seemed to fit. A lot of the buzkashi footage I’d found was from Tajikistan, so I went there, hiring a local fixer to help deal with the logistics as news of the time and place of matches tends to travel by word of mouth just a few days in advance.

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29th April 2026 13:48
The Guardian
Crewe religious group raided by police investigating allegations of serious sexual offences

About 500 officers deployed as part of operation at headquarters of Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light

Police have raided the headquarters of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light following an investigation into allegations of serious sexual offences, modern slavery and forced marriage.

About 500 officers drawn from across the north-west of England were on the ground on Wednesday morning. The police confirmed four men and two women were arrested and were being held in custody.

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29th April 2026 13:45
Us - CBSNews.com
Senate committee set to vote on Kevin Warsh's nomination for Fed chair

Senate panel expected on Wednesday to approve Kevin Warsh's nomination to succeed Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve chief.

29th April 2026 13:45
Us - CBSNews.com
FCC orders early review of ABC broadcast licenses after latest Trump-Kimmel clash

The FCC has ordered an early review of the broadcast licenses for eight local stations owned by ABC. The move comes after President Trump and first lady Melania Trump demanded ABC fire late-night host Jimmy Kimmel. Ed O'Keefe reports.

29th April 2026 13:41
The Guardian
An Attenborough exhibition and a whale rescue: photos of the day – Wednesday

The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world

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29th April 2026 13:34
Us - CBSNews.com
Ex-senior adviser at NIAID indicted over COVID-19 records

Dr. David Morens worked as a senior adviser to NIAID's Office of the Director from 2006 through 2022.

29th April 2026 13:28
U.S. News
Oil prices extend multi-day rally as Trump issues new threat to Iran; Brent tops $114 per barrel

The latest move higher comes amid reports that the U.S. will look to extend its blockade of Iranian ports.

29th April 2026 13:23
Us - CBSNews.com
Supreme Court to weigh Trump's bid to end deportation shield for Haitians, Syrians

Today, the Supreme Court is set to consider the Department of Homeland Security's effort to terminate TPS both for Syria and Haiti.

29th April 2026 13:14
U.S. News
OpenAI’s subtle drift from Microsoft has become an aggressive move toward Amazon

While OpenAI and Microsoft remain partners, the AI company has been rapidly pushing into Amazon's world.

29th April 2026 13:13
Us - CBSNews.com
Supreme Court hears arguments over deportation protections for Syrians, Haitians

The Supreme Court is weighing the Trump administration's attempt to rescind Temporary Protected Status for 6,000 Syrian and 350,000 Haitian immigrants.

29th April 2026 13:11
... NPR Topics: News
Families sue OpenAI over Canadian mass shooter's use of ChatGPT

The lawsuits claim OpenAI was negligent for failing to report the shooter to authorities after her account was flagged for "gun violence activity and planning."

29th April 2026 13:09
Us - CBSNews.com
Elon Musk testifies he has "extreme concerns" about who controls AI in trial vs. Altman

Elon Musk took the stand Tuesday in a trial against fellow billionaire Sam Altman that could change the future of AI. Musk accused the OpenAI co-founder of lying and stealing, adding that he has "extreme concerns" about AI and who controls it.

29th April 2026 13:03
The Guardian
Colombian election reflects on ‘total peace’ promise as violence surges again

Four years after president’s pledge, his would-be successors are divided on how to tackle rising guerrilla attacks

The landmark 2016 peace deal between the Colombian government and the largest insurgent army in Latin America succeeded in some ways: the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) agreed to lay down their weapons, and the violence that had racked the country was substantially reduced.

But the deal alone could not end the decades-long armed conflict for good. Subsequent administrations slow-walked the implementation of the settlement, which was rejected by Farc dissidents and other rebel factions.

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29th April 2026 13:03
The Guardian
Why the outrage over this dress worn to the White House correspondents’ dinner?

Jennifer Rauchet, wife of Pete Hegseth, caused partisan uproar by supposedly wearing a bargain dress to the formal event – but what it says about our attitudes to fast fashion is more interesting

Although far less important than the political violence at the White House correspondent’s dinner in Washington over the weekend, the sartorial choices of the Maga administration are now getting airtime – and one dress is causing a particular furore.

It is being reported that Jennifer Rauchet, wife of the US secretary of defence, Pete Hegseth, wore what appeared to resemble a gown listed on Shein for $42 (and similar to another on Temu for half the price).

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29th April 2026 13:00
The Guardian
Families sue OpenAI over failure to report Canada mass shooter’s behavior on ChatGPT

New lawsuits allege employees urged company to notify authorities months before deadly Tumbler Ridge attack

Families of seven victims of a mass shooting at a secondary school in British Columbia are suing OpenAI and the company’s CEO for negligence after it failed to alert authorities to the shooter’s troubling conversations with ChatGPT.

The lawsuits, filed on Wednesday in a federal court in San Francisco, allege that the violent intentions of the shooter, identified as 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, were well-known to OpenAI. Employees at the company flagged the shooter’s account eight months before the attack and determined that it posed “a credible and specific threat of gun violence against real people”, according to the lawsuit.

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29th April 2026 13:00
... NPR Topics: News
Baby teeth hold clues to the harms of toxic metals for infants — and older kids

By analyzing layers in these teeth, scientists have pinpointed a critical window when baby brains are most vulnerable to toxic metals — and linked that to behavior problems later in life.

29th April 2026 13:00
Us - CBSNews.com
Search ends for missing crew of U.S. ship that overturned in typhoon

Six people were aboard the 145-foot ship, called the Mariana. Divers recovered one crew member's body from the overturned ship.

29th April 2026 12:56
Us - CBSNews.com
Camp Mystic director apologizes to families of flood victims: "We are devastated"

In front of a state committee investigating last year's deadly floods, Camp Mystic director Edward Eastland addressed parents of the victims, telling them he had failed them. Jason Allen reports.

29th April 2026 12:55
Us - CBSNews.com
King Charles hints at recent tension between U.S. and U.K. in address to Congress

In an address to a joint session of Congress, King Charles hinted at recent tension between the U.S. and U.K. over the war with Iran and trade. The king said, "whatever our differences, whatever disagreements we may have, we stand united in our commitment to uphold democracy." Nancy Cordes has more.

29th April 2026 12:49
The Guardian
King Charles’s White House visit was an exercise in full-throttle distraction and denial | Frances Ryan

A few days of joviality will hardly change American foreign policy or guarantee Trump’s ever-erratic affections for long

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29th April 2026 12:48
The Guardian
Purdue Pharma to be dissolved as judge approves criminal sentence in opioid case

OxyContin maker to be replaced by new company aiming to combat opioid crisis as legal settlement takes effect

Purdue Pharma, which makes OxyContin, is set to be dissolved and replaced by a company focused on the public good by the week’s end, as a sweeping legal settlement resolving thousands of lawsuits takes effect.

A federal judge on Tuesday delivered a criminal sentence to the company to resolve a US Department of Justice investigation – a last necessary step to clear the way for the settlement.

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29th April 2026 12:37
The Guardian
South Africa deports and fines Mugabe’s son after employee shot at family home

Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe pled guilty to immigration and firearms-related offences unrelated to shooting

Two months after an employee was shot in the back at the Mugabe family home in a wealthy suburb of Johannesburg, a South African court has fined and ordered the deportation of Robert Mugabe’s youngest son over two unrelated charges.

Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe, 28, and his cousin Tobias Mugabe Matonhodze, 33, were initially both charged with attempted murder after the incident on 19 February.

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29th April 2026 12:35
Us - CBSNews.com
Acting AG Blanche addresses Comey indictment, says Trump didn't direct him to pursue it

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche spoke exclusively with "CBS Mornings" on Wednesday, addressing the Justice Department's second indictment of former FBI Director James Comey over a an Instagram post from Comey that showed seashells arranged in the sand to form the numbers "86 47." Blanche said President Trump didn't direct him to pursue the case. In a video message, Comey denied that he was threatening the president.

29th April 2026 12:31
U.S. News
Mortgage rates are rising again, but homebuyers are trickling back

Mortgage rates rose last week after several weeks of declines. That took a toll on refinance demand, but homebuyers seem more resilient.

29th April 2026 12:17
Us - CBSNews.com
College students' killings latest case to rely on ChatGPT as evidence

OpenAI boss Sam Altman recently apologized after a teen who went on to kill eight people was banned from ChatGPT for violent activities but police were never alerted.

29th April 2026 12:17
The Guardian
More private health records of UK Biobank volunteers appear on Chinese website

Patrick Vallance says government working with Chinese officials to remove postings from Alibaba after Biobank data breach last week

There have been further listings of confidential health records of UK volunteers on the Chinese website Alibaba since the breach reported last week, and the government is braced for further leaks, the science minister has said.

Addressing a House of Lords debate on the attempted sale of data belonging to 500,000 UK Biobank volunteers, Patrick Vallance said the government had worked with Chinese officials to remove additional postings on the online marketplace.

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29th April 2026 12:16
The Guardian
EU farmers and hauliers to get up to €50,000 to cover extra costs of Iran war

Fishing companies can also access subsidies in loosening of state aid rules to cover fuel and fertiliser price rises

The EU is to subsidise up to 70% of the extra cost of fuel and fertilisers caused by the Iran war for farmers, fishing businesses and road hauliers as part of a package of emergency measures.

Individual companies can claim up to €50,000 each between now and the end of the year with minimum paperwork, a measure the EU hopes will remove what it sees as an existential threat to hauliers and farmers.

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29th April 2026 12:10
The Guardian
‘Freedom Trucks’: a tour of Trump’s skewed tribute to American history – on 18 wheels

Ahead of the US’s 250th birthday, the president has launched six mobile museums that celebrate a white, Christian rewriting of the nation’s story

George Washington greets you as you enter the truck. The great man, dressed elegantly in a black velvet coat and white cravat, stares out from the 1796 Lansdowne portrait, the lifesize image of America’s first president painted during his final year in office.

As you step towards the painting, something strange happens. Washington’s outstretched arm begins to move. His lips part. And lo and behold, the legend is talking to you!

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29th April 2026 12:00
The Guardian
How to turn old pitta into spiced chips – recipe | Waste not

An intrepid way to save stale pitta bread by turning it into moreish and wonderfully seasoned snacks

Three years ago, I helped my friend, the chef Sam Webb, set up Babette, a street food stall at Newquay Boathouse. Webb and his team make everything from scratch and, wherever possible, using only local Cornish produce, from their hot honey (sourced from the Rescued Bee) to pitta with freshly milled flour from Cornish Golden Grains; he also grows his own produce with fellow restaurateur Matt Comley at Gannel Valley Gardens.

As you might expect, saving food waste is at the top of Webb’s agenda, which is how he came to create waste-saving pitta chips to serve with hummus. It’s a recipe I couldn’t resist, not least because they take minutes to cook. What makes Webb’s pitta chips unique is their wonderful seasoning of sumac, za’atar and sea salt just before serving.

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29th April 2026 12:00
U.S. News
OpenAI looms over earnings from tech hyperscalers

Amazon, Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft report quarterly results after the bell, and OpenAI is likely to be a big topic across the board.

29th April 2026 12:00
The Guardian
The pope’s African tour shows the continent is vital to the future of Catholicism

Amid the US far right’s hijacking of Christianity and his very public row with Trump, Pope Leo XIV’s visit is symbolic of the ‘growing centrality of Africa and its Black diaspora’

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Almost a year after his election, Pope Leo XIV made his first visit to Africa, the longest international trip of his tenure so far. The visit is heavy with symbolism at a time of global unsettlement, one during which the stature and importance of the pope extends far beyond the church. I spoke with Father Ambroise Tine, formerly secretary general of Caritas Senegal, and currently of the diocese of Thiès in Senegal, about the significance of the papal visit.

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29th April 2026 11:44
The Guardian
Anne Hathaway says she didn’t get any size-zero models fired from The Devil Wears Prada 2

The actor responds to claims she pushed for ultra-thin models to be dropped from the sequel, saying ‘nobody lost their jobs’ and the move instead created more roles

Anne Hathaway has refuted suggestions that she had size-zero models fired from the forthcoming sequel to The Devil Wears Prada in a drive for inclusivity. Speaking to Good Morning America, the actor sought to clarify comments made by her co-star, Meryl Streep, to Harper’s Bazaar in March.

Streep told the magazine she had been surprised how thin the models on set were, and that “Annie clocked it too, and she made a beeline to the producers about it, securing promises that the models in the show that we were putting together for our film would not be so skeletal! She’s a standup girl.”

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29th April 2026 11:38
The Guardian
16-year-old Mathis Albert just broke a Bundesliga record. Beware the US soccer hype machine

American soccer will have truly progressed when cases like the teenagers are common enough to be unremarkable

There’s something about a 16-year-old making his debut among fully grown senior professionals that makes him look like a fawn. A scrawny, wobbly baby deer, the function of his arms and legs not yet figured out, jogging on to the pitch in a kit and shin guards that always seem a few sizes too big, like a boy wearing his dad’s suit.

So, too, appeared Mathis Albert when coming on in the 88th minute of Borussia Dortmund’s 4-0 romp over Freiburg on Sunday, which secured the team a place in next year’s Champions League.

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29th April 2026 11:35
The Guardian
Kim praises North Korean soldiers who blew themselves up to evade Ukraine capture

Leader mentions for first time lengths to which troops go to avoid falling into enemy hands while fighting for Russia

Kim Jong-un has praised North Korean soldiers who blew themselves up with grenades in order to avoid capture while fighting Ukrainian forces in Russia’s western Kursk region, confirming the existence of the extreme battlefield policy.

Mounting evidence, including from intelligence reports and testimonies of defectors, has indicated North Korean soldiers are explicitly told to resort to self-detonation or other forms of suicide to avoid falling into enemy hands.

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29th April 2026 11:34
... NPR Topics: News
SCOTUS weighs Temporary Protected Status cases. And, jury indicts James Comey again

The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on whether to end Temporary Protected Status for Haitians and Syrians. And, a grand jury has indicted former FBI Director James Comey for a second time.

29th April 2026 11:26
The Guardian
Panini football sticker collectors face £1,000 outlay for 48-team World Cup

  • 112-page album will require 980 unique stickers to fill

  • Individual packets of seven stickers cost £1.25 in Britain

Soaring prices at the pumps, grocery bills on the rise, and now it seems inflation will be hitting the pockets hard of those football fans for whom no World Cup would be complete without the thrill of opening a packet of Panini stickers.

Since the Italian company’s first sticker collection, at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, striving to complete the set has been an obsession around the globe with swapping of doubles and the search for rarities mandatory.

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29th April 2026 11:13
The Guardian
Timmy the whale rescue attempt begins off coast of Germany – in pictures

A rescue operation to transport a young male humpback to deeper waters in the North Sea after it became stranded in the Baltic Sea off Lübeck a month ago is under way. The whale’s ordeal has gripped Germany but there are concerns it may be too fatigued and sick to survive

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29th April 2026 11:01
U.S. News
Yum Brands earnings top estimates, fueled by Taco Bell's 8% same-store sales growth

Taco Bell's same-store sales increased 8% in the quarter, fueling the company's outperformance.

29th April 2026 11:01
The Guardian
The New Orleans program doing house calls for postpartum mothers: ‘For many women, you fall off a cliff’

Family Connects New Orleans provides crucial postpartum support to mothers through home-based nurse visits

About three months ago, Amber Leduff, gave birth to her daughter, Autumn, at New Orleans’ Touro hospital. The room was hectic after the delivery, with nurses and doctors bustling in and out. In the chaos, Leduff, who is 30, only half-registered the representatives from Family Connects New Orleans, taking paperwork from them and moving on.

But when her doctor encouraged her to enroll in the program, which provides up to three in-home visits to parents of newborns up to 12 weeks old, Leduff took it seriously.

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29th April 2026 11:00
The Guardian
Ashley Cole: ‘The players have to trust what I’m asking them to do’

Former Arsenal, Chelsea and England left-back is in his first manager’s job, with playoff-chasing Serie B side, Cesena

It has been a long journey for Ashley Cole, but also for his wife, Sharon Canu. It took seven years for Cole to get his first job as a head coach, with Cesena in Italy, having retired from playing. During that time, Sharon had to endure many dinner table tactical briefings with salt and pepper shakers. The pair met a decade ago while Cole was playing for Roma – Canu is from Italy – and that period clearly left a lasting mark beyond the pitch. “I bored her a lot,” Cole says, smiling. Now that he has a dugout of his own, Sharon may finally get the seasoning back.

“It was always in our plans to live in Italy because we love the food and the calmness of the country,” Cole says. “She [Canu] told me the fans here are passionate about their team and their city. I had to embrace that, understand what makes them tick, so we can represent them properly.”

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29th April 2026 11:00
The Guardian
‘Pinnacle of art and culture’: Europe’s media on nine-goal PSG-Bayern thriller

Champions League semi-final first leg was described as ‘pure madness’ and ‘football in its finest essence’

French media were in thrall to a victory hailed as a milestone performance, calling Paris Saint-Germain’s 100th win in the Champions League as “one of the finest” in the club’s history.

Bayern Munich will be hoping for a repeat of their goal bonanza when they host the holders in the semi-final return leg next Wednesday, with Tuesday’s 5-4 loss in Paris breaking the competition record for most goals in a last-four game.

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29th April 2026 11:00
The Guardian
Nedra Talley Ross obituary

Singer with the Ronettes girl group who renounced show business for gospel music

Her sweet smile made Nedra Talley Ross the odd one out in the Ronettes, whose other two members, her cousins Veronica and Estelle Bennett, faced the world with sultry stares as they climbed the pop charts in 1963 with their first hit, Be My Baby.

All three, however, shared a look borrowed from the tough girls in Spanish Harlem, the New York neighbourhood where they had grown up: piled-up hairdos, heavy eye makeup and slinky, shiny, skin-tight dresses.

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29th April 2026 10:58
The Guardian
‘A false narrative around a paedophile’: Michael Jackson biopic criticised by Leaving Neverland director

Dan Reed says the film recasts abuse allegations as lies and sidesteps Jackson’s relationships with children

Michael, the recently released biopic of Michael Jackson, has been severely criticised by the director of Leaving Neverland, the 2019 documentary that chronicled claims against Jackson of child sexual abuse by Wade Robson and James Safechuck.

In an interview with Variety, Dan Reed, who was subject to death threats after Leaving Neverland was released, said: “What the movie does is creates a version of events that essentially portrays Wade, James and others who’ve accused Jackson of child sexual abuse as liars without actually articulating it.”

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29th April 2026 10:56
U.S. News
Meta told it's violating EU law by not doing enough to keep children off Facebook and Instagram

Children can create Instagram and Facebook accounts simply by inputting a false birth date, a preliminary EU investigation found.

29th April 2026 10:55
... NPR Topics: News
South Korean court sentences ex-President Yoon to 7 years in prison

An appeals court sentenced ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol to 7 years in prison for resisting arrest and bypassing a Cabinet meeting before his brief imposition of martial law in December 2024.

29th April 2026 10:49
The Guardian
The bridesmaid ban: how the Home Office tarnished a British citizen’s big day – and cost them £2,000

Everything was in place for Andrea’s dream celebration in Barbados. Then her close friend was denied the right to walk across a British airport to board a connecting flight

Weddings can be complicated to organise, especially when the venue is more than 4,000 miles from home. But Andrea, a Londoner, was confident she and her partner, Josh, had thought of everything when they planned their dream wedding in Barbados for the beginning of May.

The British couple – Andrea of Nigerian and Josh of Bajan heritage – booked a stunning venue, with tropical gardens and spectacular views.

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29th April 2026 10:48
The Guardian
Cynthia Erivo interrupts Dracula performance after spotting audience member’s camera

Wicked star’s one-woman West End show was stopped in response to an increasingly common problem for theatres

A performance of Dracula in the West End on Monday night was halted after its star, Cynthia Erivo, spotted that an audience member appeared to be filming the show.

A representative for the production, in which Erivo plays all 23 roles, confirmed that there had been a short stop caused by the incident. A commenter on the forum Theatreboard, who said they had been at the show, wrote that Erivo – roughly an hour into the performance – “looked out into the audience and said: ‘Are you filming? Is someone filming?’ and stopped the show”. Another commenter said that they had attended Dracula – which is at the Noël Coward theatre – the following night and that there were extra reminders to the audience about taking photos and filming.

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29th April 2026 10:42
The Guardian
Exclusive: Nigel Farage was given undisclosed £5m by crypto billionaire in 2024

Reform leader changed his mind about standing as MP after gift from Thai-based crypto tycoon Christopher Harborne

Nigel Farage was given £5m by the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne shortly before announcing he would stand in the 2024 British general election, the Guardian can reveal.

Farage had stated he did not intend to stand as a prospective MP but U-turned in June 2024, within weeks of receiving the personal gift from the Thailand-based businessman.

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29th April 2026 10:35
The Guardian
Dozens of North Carolina houses have been lost to the sea. Some surviving homes are now being moved on wheels

Pace of sea-level rise has turned Outer Banks coastal area into a ‘canary in the coalmine’ for other east coast communities

Moving house has a more literal meaning on Hatteras Island, the slender hook of land that juts off the coast of North Carolina. After a slew of houses toppled spectacularly into the Atlantic Ocean recently, entire buildings are now being lifted on to wheels to flee the rapidly eroding coastline.

Since September, 19 homes have been lost to waves that tore them from their pilings, sending them crashing into other structures like bumper cars before breaking up in the ocean. Spooked homeowners have turned to the unusual services of Barry Crum, a lifelong Hatteras resident who has become the island’s main house mover.

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29th April 2026 10:30
... NPR Topics: News
Spirit Airlines tried to be the Dollar General of the skies. Then the big airlines beat it at its own game

Spirit Airlines helped pioneer ultra-cheap flying and soared. Then legacy airlines copied them, outmaneuvered them with loyalty programs, and the economy turned against their core customers.

29th April 2026 10:30
... NPR Topics: News
Like soap operas, 75 feet up: How bald eagle nest cams hook online communities

Across the country, some 50 bald eagle nests fitted with cameras broadcast up-close views of raptor family life. Every spring, as eggs hatch and eaglets grow, these cameras rake in millions of views.

29th April 2026 10:27
The Guardian
I got an allotment to escape the chaos – and discovered a hotbed of vendettas | Arwa Mahdawi

Community gardens are flourishing as people seek a positive, productive space beyond the political noise. Just don’t express any strong opinions about gravel

What do you do when it feels as if the world has lost the plot? There are various answers to that question, but one of the more wholesome (and legal) is this: secure your own little plot of earth and cultivate your garden. But that’s sometimes easier said than done. In the UK, more than 170,000 people are reportedly sitting on council allotment waiting lists. A controversial scheme nicknamed “WeWork for allotments” has even sprouted up to rent out green space and fill the gaps.

I know nobody wants to come to the US at present, but, based on a sample size of one, the allotment situation seems rather better over here, where I live. It took me only a year or so to get a plot in a community garden (what Americans call allotments) near me in Philadelphia, which felt miraculous.

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29th April 2026 10:00
The Guardian
CEOs of US’s top energy firms received average pay raise of $12.3m, review finds

Utility bills are up as much as 40% in some regions, and companies shut off power to customers 13m times in 2025

The US’s top utilities’ CEOs enjoyed a 16% pay raise last year – to an average of $12.3m – even as consumers shoulder the pain from high bills spurred by continuing inflation, the Iran war and datacenter growth, a new review of industry financial documents shows.

Utility bills are up as much as 40% in some regions since 2021, and, nationwide, utilities shut off power to customers 13m times last year, federal data shows.

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29th April 2026 10:00
The Guardian
‘Suicidal’ model of capitalism leading to war and fascism, climate summit told

Colombia president Gustavo Petro tells 57-country talks on a green energy transition that fossil fuel interests could destroy humanity

The world is threatened by a “suicidal” model of capitalism that is leading to war, fascism and the potential extinction of humanity, Colombia’s president has said, as he convened 57 governments to address the climate crisis.

Gustavo Petro blamed fossil fuel interests for taking ever more desperate measures to prevent a transition to green energy. “There is inertia in the power and the economy of this archaic form of energy – fossil fuels – that lead to death. Undoubtedly, that form of capital can commit suicide, taking with it humanity and [other] life,” he said. “The question that needs to be asked is whether capitalism can truly adapt to a non-fossil energy model.”

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29th April 2026 10:00
The Guardian
David Attenborough at 100: share your memories

As David Attenbourugh turns 100 years old, we would like to hear your memories over the years – including any encounters you’ve had with him in the wild

As David Attenborough turns 100 years old on 8 May, we would like to hear your memories of the great naturalist and broadcaster over the years – including any encounters you’ve had with him in the wild.

What is your standout memory of Attenborough? Have you ever met him? You can share your stories – and pictures – below.

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29th April 2026 09:52
The Guardian
‘I’ve given all I can’: Chelsea’s Millie Bright announces retirement with immediate effect

  • Bright won eight Women’s Super League titles at Chelsea

  • Defender retired from England duty in 2025 with 88 caps

Millie Bright has announced her immediate retirement, ending a trophy-laden career during which she won eight Women’s Super League titles and six Women’s FA Cups with Chelsea.

The defender, who retired from international football in 2025, also helped England win the 2022 European Championship on home soil, and in 2023 – in the absence of the injured captain Leah Williamson – led the side to the World Cup final. She won 88 caps.

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29th April 2026 09:30
The Guardian
Meta found in breach of EU law for failing to keep children off platforms

Commission says tech company does not have effective measures to keep under-13s off Facebook and Instagram

The tech company Meta has been found to be in breach of EU law for failing to prevent children under 13 from using its Facebook and Instagram platforms.

Issuing the preliminary findings of a nearly two-year investigation, the European Commission said on Wednesday that Meta did not have effective measures in place to stop under-13s accessing its services.

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29th April 2026 09:29
The Guardian
Should I Marry a Murderer? review – the amazing woman who spied on her killer fiancé for police

Caroline Muirhead’s whirlwind romance with a Scottish farmer soon took a turn when she discovered his dark secret. This Netflix docuseries is a tale of her bravery, and the shocking stupidity and neglect it was rewarded with

There are some truly amazing women in the world. The fact that this thought most often crosses my mind when I am watching a true crime documentary and hearing about the female victims of men’s crimes and learning how much suffering they endured while raising children, holding down jobs, keeping friends and parents happy and safe from knowledge that would upset or endanger them is so bleak that I’m going to put it away lest rage overwhelm me for good.

Let us focus instead on another name to add to the list of extraordinary women, again brought to public attention by the terrible act of a man she knew. The three-part Netflix series Should I Marry a Murderer? tells the story of pathologist Caroline Muirhead who, at the age of 29, meets and falls in love with a Scottish farmer she meets on Tinder. His name is Sandy McKellar.

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29th April 2026 09:18
The Guardian
Indie music has been invaded by fake fans and cynical viral campaigns​. Here’s how deep it all goes

Companies such as Chaotic Good are confecting social media buzz to promote Geese, Oklou and other indie darlings. Industry insiders reveal how widespread the practice is – even if no-one is sure it actually works

Did you get more fomo than usual from last year’s Glastonbury? Did you see a video of Overmono or Lorde or Self Esteem that made you seethe with jealousy? That may have been because more of your friends genuinely did attend the festival last year – or it could be because those acts, and 25 others including Fatboy Slim, Charli xcx and Doechii, paid a digital marketing agency that sent influencers and content creators to watch their sets and upload organic-looking clips to social media.

Take a quick look at Your Culture’s Instagram page and you’ll find that the boutique UK agency had a hand in disseminating some of 2025’s most viral live music moments: the Last Dinner Party’s raucous “medieval sleaze” album launch party; Chappell Roan’s headline set at Reading festival. If you saw video from Calum Scott’s surprise set at St Pancras International last year, or Alex Warren’s outside Warren Street, it’s likely because of Your Culture. An Instagram post from January boasts that the brand “worked with 55% of the nominees” of the most recent Brit awards.

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29th April 2026 09:15
The Guardian
Meet the AI jailbreakers: ‘I see the worst things humanity has produced’

To test the safety and security of AI, hackers have to trick large language models into breaking their own rules. It requires ingenuity and manipulation – and can come at a deep emotional cost

A few months ago, Valen Tagliabue sat in his hotel room watching his chatbot, and felt euphoric. He had just manipulated it so skilfully, so subtly, that it began ignoring its own safety rules. It told him how to sequence new, potentially lethal pathogens and how to make them resistant to known drugs.

Tagliabue had spent much of the previous two years testing and prodding large language models such as Claude and ChatGPT, always with the aim of making them say things they shouldn’t. But this was one of his most advanced “hacks” yet: a sophisticated plan of manipulation, which involved him being cruel, vindictive, sycophantic, even abusive. “I fell into this dark flow where I knew exactly what to say, and what the model would say back, and I watched it pour out everything,” he says. Thanks to him, the creators of the chatbot could now fix the flaw he had found, hopefully making it a little safer for everyone.

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29th April 2026 09:00
The Guardian
Tradwives, sugar babies and OnlyFans: Euphoria’s misogyny feels like the manosphere’s wet dream

Sam Levinson’s HBO show has always aimed to ruffle feathers. But its new season’s provocations ring hollow

“You’re not a man!” screams Cassie Howard in the latest episode of Euphoria, HBO’s hedonistic, no-longer-high-school drama. “Men provide.” Cassie, who is brilliantly played by the human discourse magnet Sydney Sweeney, is furious with her new husband, Nate Jacobs (Jacob Elordi). She’s just found out that Nate, the all-grown-up high school jock, has been borrowing huge sums of money to fund their luxury lifestyle. In the middle of their wedding reception – a soiree she now realises has been paid for using illicit means – she is loudly berating him as their guests awkwardly pretend not to hear.

The wedding of Cassie and Nate was, somewhat unconventionally, revealed months ahead of Euphoria’s third season by Sam Levinson, the show’s equally unconventional writer and creator. As expected, it was a cinematic and expensive-looking spectacle that descended into disaster. Yet for much of Euphoria’s first three episodes, I’ve been wondering what the show – now picking up five years after the last season, with the cast navigating their early 20s – is trying to say. Episode three, like its predecessors, continued a portrayal of women that feels both old-fashioned and eerily prescient, projecting a shallow, manosphere-inflected fantasy of their motives. In a confusing jumble of plots, the only constant is an overarching disdain for the young women who made the show great.

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29th April 2026 09:00
The Guardian
Sali Hughes on beauty: get your skin ready for summer with the best new exfoliants

Body lotions containing exfoliating acids are infinitely more effective and less messy than granular scrubs

The onset of sunshine has caught my limbs by surprise. I went out in short sleeves last week and my neglected, greyish arms looked as if they were recently freed from a plaster cast. If you are to be a bride this spring, you may already be thinking about how best to restore what lies beneath the winter layers. The answer for us all is an exfoliating body lotion – an all-over moisturiser to even out upper arm bumps, slough off dead skin, smooth roughness and moisturise dry patches, ready for lighter clothing. There are several new ones that improve on predecessors.

I typically recommend Ameliorate to brides who’ve likely ringfenced some budget for pre-wedding skincare. Punchier than those on supermarket shelves, its clinically proven Transforming Body Lotion uses effective levels of lactic acid and urea to exfoliate without stinging or drying, plus glycerin and sweet almond oil to moisturise the newly uncovered skin beneath. Now Ameliorate makes a pearlised, lightly tinted version to provide additional cosmetic effects. The new Illuminating Glow (£24 for 300ml) adds a subtle, streak-free veil of golden tan to all areas and skin types that washes off easily with soap and water. It’s a fast and easy way to look immediately healthier while it simultaneously does the grunt work.

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29th April 2026 09:00
... NPR Topics: News
RFK Jr. talked about 'reparenting' kids on wellness farms. We visit one that inspired him

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says a farm community in Italy for people with addiction is a model for wellness camps designed to ease the U.S. overdose crisis. Critics say the idea is dangerous.

29th April 2026 09:00
Us - CBSNews.com
How a company likened to a sex cult is lobbying Trump for pardons

OneTaste, a company in San Francisco that prosecutors likened to a sex cult, has embarked on a campaign to court allies of President Trump as it seeks pardons for its two convicted leaders, CBS News has learned.

29th April 2026 09:00
The Guardian
Rebel Wilson rejects ‘absolutely outrageous’ phone-dumping accusation as defamation trial continues

The Pitch Perfect actor is being sued by Charlotte MacInnes, the lead actor of Wilson’s directorial debut, The Deb

Hollywood star Rebel Wilson has rejected an “absolutely outrageous” accusation that she dumped her phone to avoid handing over key communications in a defamation case.

The Pitch Perfect star is being sued by Charlotte MacInnes, the 27-year-old lead actor of the musical comedy The Deb.

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29th April 2026 08:56
The Guardian
Obesity a key factor for rising cancer rates in young people in England, study finds

While the research identifies obesity as a major cause, scientists say it does not account for the extent to which cancer rates are increasing

Obesity is a key factor for the rising rates of cancer among younger people in England, according to a study.

There are 11 types of cancer, including bowel and ovarian cancer, that are increasing among people aged 20 to 49 between 2001 and 2019, according to analysis by researchers from the Institute of Cancer Research and Imperial College London.

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29th April 2026 08:00
The Guardian
What If Reform Wins? by Peter Chappell review – a massive wake-up call

This ‘nonfiction thriller’ takes us through exactly what would happen if Nigel Farage won his dreamed-of majority

For some years now, mainstream British politics has revolved increasingly obsessively around the question of how to stop Nigel Farage. What started a decade ago with Brexit may yet end in a general election that boils down to one question: do you or don’t you want to risk putting this man in Downing Street? That said, we still know surprisingly little about what a Reform government might mean in practice.

Of course, it might never happen. But if it did, what exactly would Farage do with a majority that enabled him to fulfil his wildest dreams? And how well would an unwritten British constitution, still heavily reliant on good chaps voluntarily being good chaps, cope with full-fat populism?

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29th April 2026 08:00
The Guardian
Keira Knightley returns to West End in adaptation of Oscar winner The Lives of Others

Stephen Dillane and Bridgerton’s Luke Thompson set to co-star in Robert Icke’s production based on the German film this autumn

Keira Knightley will return to the West End stage for the first time in 15 years in an adaptation of the Oscar-winning German film The Lives of Others.

The play, adapted and directed by Robert Icke and with music by Max Richter, will open at the Adelphi theatre in London this autumn. Knightley will portray an actor in East Germany in 1984 who is placed under state surveillance along with her novelist partner, played by Bridgerton’s Luke Thompson. Stephen Dillane has been cast as the Stasi captain who spies on their relationship.

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29th April 2026 08:00
U.S. News
Major data center company pauses investment decisions in Middle East amid Iran war, CEO tells CNBC

Regional uncertainty hangs over the previously booming AI infrastructure and data center sector in the region.

29th April 2026 07:04
The Guardian
Giuliano Simeone follows in father’s footsteps to his Atlético destiny

Youngest son of Diego Simeone has had to earn his chance but is now making the most of it at the Metropolitano

At the beginning of the final training session before their biggest game in a decade, Atlético Madrid’s players lined up by the centre circle at the Metropolitano and waited for their coach to come. Diego Simeone arrived and ran through the middle of them, from Juan Musso and Jan Oblak at one end to Antoine Griezmann and Ademola Lookman at the other. As he passed, head down, they cheered and hit him – if not quite as hard as they do when it’s a player’s turn. Gauntlet run, applause echoed round the empty stadium. Happy birthday, mister.

Simeone turned 56 on Tuesday. He has spent almost 20 of those here: first as the captain who won the double, then the coach who lifted Atlético’s next league title, 18 years on, and now leads them into his fourth and their seventh European Cup semi-final, nine years since the last. What do you get the man who has it all? “Buah! You can’t imagine how good it is to be in the four best teams in Europe,” he said after the quarter-final; “I have no birthday wish,” he said before this semi-final, “just pure gratitude to be able to be with my three sons on my birthday, with my two daughters, my mum, my wife, my lifelong friends.”

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29th April 2026 07:00
The Guardian
Indian billionaire’s son offers to house Pablo Escobar’s hippos at his private zoo

Anant Ambani revives offer to transport 80 animals, all descendants of Colombian drug kingpin’s pets, to India

It remains one of the strangest conundrums in modern zoological history – what to do with the descendants of Pablo Escobar’s hippos?

The animals – herbivores native to sub-Saharan Africa – were originally imported into Colombia by the drug kingpin for his own entertainment. But the beasts and their offspring were left to roam free after his death in 1993.

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29th April 2026 07:00
The Guardian
Palantir has released its terrifyingly honest (and pompous) plans for world domination | First Dog on the Moon

It’s all a bit too antichristy for my liking

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29th April 2026 06:53
The Guardian
Devotions by Lucy Caldwell review – short stories that are frightening, passionate and comforting too

The Northern Irish writer explores music and family, memory and duty in this stunning collection of sharply observed tales

The stories in Northern Irish writer Lucy Caldwell’s fourth collection are often devoted to family life, or a professional life in the arts: or both. They’re almost always about memory and how to manage it. They offer a certain continuity with her earlier collections, Multitudes, Intimacies and Openings, though it’s subtle and organic rather than directly narrative.

In All Grown Up, Luke returns to his childhood home, only to be steadily reabsorbed by it. He applies himself to clearing the house, putting it on the market; he thinks about all the possibilities he’ll have once he’s sold up. But the longer he stays the less impulse there is to leave, and the more he remembers, not just about his life here, but his life generally. Meanwhile he’s a 40-year-old divorcee with a bad back, incipient alcoholism and a child at boarding school, attempting to come to terms with divorce, the death of his mother and his sense of entrapment. A one-night stand with his ex-wife’s sister doesn’t help. As you read, that title cycles between bleak irony and an equally bleak optimism.

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29th April 2026 06:00
The Guardian
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Tears of the Azure Sea review – hectic anime lives again

There is less daffy humour in this sequel than in the 2023 original, but some sublime animation

By the demented standards of fantasy anime, this is fairly straight; the weirdest thing on show here is probably a unicorn-wolf who scoffs pink frosted doughnuts. And in case you’re having trouble distinguishing the interchangeable faerie folk who populate the cast, this second theatrical outing for the series has (unusually for feature-length anime) a handy explainer at the start: namely that the protagonist is a murdered salaryman reborn as Rimuru (voiced by Miho Okasaki), an amoeba-like blob who rises to become demon lord of the realm of Tempest.

In fact, Rimuru features minimally in this sequel. He and his retinue are invited by the Celestial Emperor to holiday at a luxury island resort; the only thing spoiling their sightseeing, fishing and carousing are the laser-like bursts of “nuclear magic” periodically blasting over their heads. But they are told they are in no danger: the target is the nearby undersea kingdom of Kaien. Rimuru and co resume their vacay – but bodyguard Gobta (Asuna Tomari) realises the group are being trailed by Yura (Saori Onishi), a Kaien priestess who has absconded with an ancestral flute at the centre of a power struggle.

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29th April 2026 06:00
The Guardian
‘Wheeling through vineyards and chateaux country’: an ebike tour of France’s Loire valley

Gentle cycling is the perfect pace to enjoy the region’s sunflower fields and medieval towns – with gourmet food and fine wine along the way

As I cycle in golden light through the Loire’s vineyards, I have the sudden wish to wear a flowing floral dress, tuck a sunflower behind my ear and answer only to the name Delphine. Opulent chateaux, honeyed stone villages, blazing fields of sunflowers … the Loire is so ridiculously and relentlessly beautiful it’s no wonder artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Émile Vernon made it their home.

A short zip across to Paris on the Eurostar and then an hour south on the TGV to Saint-Pierre-des-Corps and it feels as if we’ve stepped into a live JMW Turner landscape (he toured the region in 1826).

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29th April 2026 06:00
The Guardian
A moment that changed me: I cried about my cleft lip for the first time in my 60s

When I saw a woman with a facial difference like mine at a party, I crossed the room to speak to her. It led to one of the most joyous, exciting and transformative discussions, in which I connected with feelings I’d always ignored

At a fundraising event, I looked across the crowded room and saw a woman with a cleft – a gap in the lip (and sometimes the palate) where a baby’s face doesn’t fuse properly during pregnancy. She was standing on her own, and I beckoned her over to join the small group I was with. She politely declined and before I quite realised what I was doing, I was crossing the room to speak to her.

I too had been born with a cleft. I’d talked to doctors, my parents, my wife and other friends about it to varying degrees over the years, but as I walked towards her, I knew this was going to be the first time – in more than 60 years – that I was going to have a conversation about living with a cleft with someone who also has one. I was terrified I might offend her, but I said something like: “Isn’t it scary walking into a crowded room? Because it feels as if everyone is looking at us.”

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29th April 2026 05:45
The Guardian
Classic Football Shirts: inside the vault home to their most valuable vintage gear – video

Classic Football Shirts have been in business for 20 years, selling over one million shirts (so far) and keeping the most iconic match-worn pieces in their temperature-controlled vault. Michael Butler travelled to Manchester to meet the CFS founders

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29th April 2026 05:34
The Guardian
In the coming AI future, Britain must not end up at the mercy of US tech giants | Rafael Behr

Trump is volatile, capricious and unreasonable – but he belongs to the old world of analogue power. What comes next will be harder to manage

Donald Trump is not impressed by soft power. He respects hard men with military muscle. But he can be moved by pageantry, which is the purpose of King Charles’s visit to Washington this week. Trump is flattered to rub shoulders with majesty. The good vibes are then supposed to radiate warmth through a political relationship that has been chilled by the war in Iran.

It might work, but not for long. Trump’s irritation with Keir Starmer and other European leaders for what he calls cowardice in the Middle East is aggravated daily by evidence that the war is a strategic calamity.

Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnist

Guardian Newsroom: Can Labour come back from the brink?
On Thursday 30 April, join Gaby Hinsliff, Zoe Williams, Polly Toynbee and Rafael Behr as they discuss how much of a threat Labour faces from the Green party and Reform UK – and whether Keir Starmer can survive as leader. Book tickets here or at guardian.live

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29th April 2026 05:00
The Guardian
‘People assume we’re grifters’: disabled Britons report rise in abuse over blue badges

Badge holders and carers report being harassed, filmed and threatened by strangers who think they are faking disability

Disabled people who use blue badges to go about their daily lives have said they are being harassed, questioned and even assaulted, as anti-benefits rhetoric becomes more mainstream in the UK.

About 3 million people in the UK now have a blue badge, including 1 in 15 adults in England. The number of people who qualify for the scheme – which allows drivers to park in more accessible spaces – has caused some to warn of misuse and fraud.

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29th April 2026 05:00
The Guardian
Tagine pasta and spicy, slow-cooked lamb: Nargisse Benkabbou’s recipes for a Moroccan feast

Artichokes and peas seasoned with garlic, ground ginger and turmeric make a sensational and surprising sauce for pasta, and a showstopping Moroccan-spiced lamb shoulder with a fruity salsa

I was lucky enough to grow up in a home where we had lots of family and friends around, which meant lots of people to feed. On those occasions, if my mum wanted to make something special that required minimal effort, she served a roast lamb shoulder. After all, roasts actually follow a concept similar to traybakes: the main ingredients are combined in a roasting tin and the oven does most of the work. In Morocco, méchoui can refer to either grilled or roast dishes, but for a lamb shoulder it typically means that it’s roasted. But, first, my take on a traditional artichoke and pea tagine, a popular dish typically enjoyed in spring. In Moroccan homes, tagines are served simply with bread, without sides, but I have found that some make excellent sauces for pasta.

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29th April 2026 05:00
The Guardian
All the right moves! 17 personal trainers on the exercise they always recommend – from planks to face pulls

Whether you are starting from scratch, or have a well-honed routine, moving can help us feel happier and healthier. Experts share their one essential exercise and how to get the most out of it

Many of us, regardless of our age or fitness levels, know that we should be doing more exercise but are unsure where to start. So what is the ultimate exercise for improving health, longevity and general wellbeing? Here, personal trainers share the best moves, whatever your individual needs or abilities.

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29th April 2026 04:00
The Guardian
Avalanche deaths have surged in the Alps this season. Here’s why | Johan Gaume

As an ex-pro snowboarder, I know the temptations of fresh snowfall. And as an avalanche researcher, I know how easily people can get into trouble

Many avalanche accidents occur just after a storm, when blue-sky conditions return and people head to the backcountry to enjoy fresh powder. These kinds of accidents happen every year, despite warnings to those heading out into the snow. It is easy to dismiss some behaviour as reckless, and sometimes it is – but it is also human behaviour, and it is nothing new.

I have been there too; I have made mistakes and got lucky. When I was about 18, while freeriding with my brother, we suddenly changed direction towards a beautiful and untracked powder field. It felt magical, until we realised we were heading straight for a 100-metre cliff. We turned back just in time, and moments later, a huge avalanche released exactly where we had been, and went over the edge.

Johan Gaume is an ex-pro snowboarder and a professor of alpine mass movements at ETH Zürich and SLF Davos

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

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29th April 2026 04:00
Us - CBSNews.com
Ringleader of $250M fraud scheme leaked protected documents from jail, prosecutors say

The United States Attorney's Office filed a motion on Tuesday that says Aimee Bock, since at least February, has been directing her college-age son to "download large volumes of material related to her federal prosecution," and disseminate them to lawmakers and members of the media.

29th April 2026 03:16
Us - CBSNews.com
Judge tosses Trump admin. lawsuit seeking access to Arizona voter data

A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit from the Justice Department seeking information on Arizona voters, another defeat in the Trump administration's nationwide push for voter data.

29th April 2026 02:32
The Guardian
The Australians dressing pop’s biggest stars – from Taylor Swift to Beyoncé to Shakira

While the reach from costuming a superstar can be ‘astronomical’, the designers who have done so say material rewards can be harder to predict

A bikini made from tangled strands of diamantes drapes down the torso of Colombian superstar Shakira. She is singing from a floating pink bubble in the sky. It is the opening frame of the film clip for her 2024 single Puntería, which has amassed more than 78m views on YouTube.

Given the renown of the queen of Latin music, the scene’s Australian links are not immediately apparent. But the ornate bodysuit was a custom design by University of Technology Sydney graduate Caroline Reznik and handmade in her inner Sydney studio.

A costume designed by Caroline Reznik for Doja Cat’s music video for Streets

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29th April 2026 02:07
Us - CBSNews.com
4/28: The Takeout with Major Garrett

Former FBI Director James Comey says he's innocent after second indictment; King Charles visits the White House and addresses Congress.

29th April 2026 01:53
The Guardian
France launches probe into website that enabled mass rape of Gisèle Pelicot

Authorities say the French-language platform Coco has been linked to crimes, including the sexual abuse of children, rape and murder

France has launched a probe into the reappearance of a website that enabled Dominique Pelicot to recruit dozens of strangers to rape his heavily sedated wife, Gisèle, prosecutors said on Tuesday.

Authorities say the French-language platform Coco has been linked to crimes, including the sexual abuse of children, rape and murder. The website, which was registered abroad, was shut down in June 2024.

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29th April 2026 01:42
Us - CBSNews.com
Woman dies after falling from balcony on Carnival cruise ship

Federal officials are investigating the death of a woman who fell from the balcony of her state room on a Carnival Cruise Line ship. Kris Van Cleave reports.

29th April 2026 01:21
Us - CBSNews.com
FCC orders Disney to file for early license renewal after Kimmel clash

The regulatory agency issued the order after President Trump and first lady Melania Trump urged ABC to fire late-night host Jimmy Kimmel.

29th April 2026 01:20
Us - CBSNews.com
Camp Mystic director tells parents of flood victims he failed them as Texas weighs reopening

In front of a state committee investigating last year's deadly Texas flash floods, Camp Mystic director Edward Eastland on Tuesday told parents of the victims he had failed them. Jason Allen reports.

29th April 2026 01:19
Us - CBSNews.com
Kimmel-Trump clash continues as FCC launches early review of ABC's broadcast licenses

A day after President Trump and the first lady called on ABC to fire Jimmy Kimmel, the FCC is launching an early review of the network's broadcast licenses. Carter Evans has more.

29th April 2026 01:11
Us - CBSNews.com
NCAA March Madness tournaments could expand to 76 teams in 2027

The new format would add eight more at-large teams, and take eight more teams out of the main bracket for play-in games.

29th April 2026 01:09
Us - CBSNews.com
Forensic probe underway into correspondents' dinner suspect's electronic devices

The man accused of trying to assassinate President Trump at the White House Correspondents' Dinner over the weekend is set to be back in court on Thursday. Nicole Sganga reports.

29th April 2026 01:07