Scientists lucky enough to study ancient samples of human excrement have found that humans enjoyed beer and blue cheese two millennia ago. The analysis found that workers at a salt mine in Austria were enjoying both products up to 2,700 years back. Frank Maixner, a microbiologist at the Eurac Research Institute in Italy, said he was surprised to learn salt miners so far back were advanced enough to “use fermentation intentionally”.
Baker banned from using sprinkles
A baker has been banned from using a particular type of sprinkles on his cookies and cakes after Trading Standards said they broke the law. Rich Myers, the founder of an independent bakery in Leeds, said it was a “devastating blow” when he was forced to stop producing his best-selling cookies due to the ban. He believes the fateful visit from West Yorkshire Trading Standards followed a single complaint from a “disgruntled competitor”.
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Tallest woman in the world named
Guinness World Records has crowned a woman over seven foot tall as the tallest woman in the world. Rumeysa Gelgi, 24, lives in Karabük Province in Turkey and has a rare genetic condition named Weaver syndrome. She hopes to use the attention to increase public understanding of the lives of other people with rare conditions. “I like being different from everyone else,” she said. “It’s interesting and makes me feel special.”
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The dazzling coral gardens of Raja AmpatThe Week Recommends Region of Indonesia is home to perhaps the planet’s most photogenic archipelago.
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‘Never more precarious’: the UN turns 80The Explainer It’s an unhappy birthday for the United Nations, which enters its ninth decade in crisis
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Trump’s White House ballroom: a threat to the republic?Talking Point Trump be far from the first US president to leave his mark on the Executive Mansion, but to critics his remodel is yet more overreach
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Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
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Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
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Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
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China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
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How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
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One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
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Kurdish PKK militia to disband for Turkey talksspeed read The Kurdistan Workers' Party will disarm after four decades of armed conflict with Turkey, putting an end to 'one of the longest insurgencies in the Middle East'
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What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
