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FictionReviewAnne Brontë’s heroine is re-imagined as a fearless war photographer in this fast-paced thriller, an arresting update of the underrated feminist classic An enigmatic woman rents a wreck of a house on the edge of a Yorkshire village, sending the local gossips into a frenzy. If this sounds familiar, it is because Sam Baker’s thriller plays with Anne Brontë’s criminally underrated second novel, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Her heroine, Helen (or is it Hélène? [Read More]

MMAGlobal popularity and an ancient pedigree make MMA a sensible fit for today’s Olympics. The reasons why it’s not even being considered – too violent? too popular? – are less clear Gatekeepers charged with determining which sports can qualify for the Olympic programme say they carefully considered mixed martial arts before concluding this month that it isn’t the appropriate time to recognize a worldwide governing body for amateur MMA. The Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF), the umbrella organization for all established sports, informed the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation and the World Mixed Martial Arts Association that one of the oldest sports known to man, popular with spectators as far back as the Ancient Olympic Games (as pankration) and modern audiences alike, would not be granted a two-year provisional term supporting and guiding international federations on the path towards full GAISF membership, a prerequisite for consideration by the International Olympic Committee. [Read More]

Stream teamTelevisionSomewhere between Riverdale and Days of Our Lives, Desperate Housewives reminds us that seemingly happy homemakers can be one transgression away from destruction Desperate Housewives is streaming on Disney+ in Australia. For more recommendations of what to stream in Australia, click here As the Sex and the City finale aired in 2004, another television fantasy of female friendship dreamed up by a gay man was just beginning. But where Carrie and her BFFs live a “you go girl” life of cosmopolitans and Manolos, Marc Cherry’s Desperate Housewives inhabit the decidedly darker universe of Wisteria Lane. [Read More]

Could it happen here? The Joelma Building in São Paulo, February 1974. Photograph: Associated PressCould it happen here? The Joelma Building in São Paulo, February 1974. Photograph: Associated PressFrom the Observer archiveLife and styleA deadly warning from Brazil on the fire hazards of high-rise buildings On 1 February 1974, a huge fire ripped through the Joelma Building in São Paulo killing at least 179 people. It remains the worst skyscraper fire in terms of fatalities, after the September 11 attacks. [Read More]

Lady Gaga's ARTPOP app is available for iOS and Android. Photograph: PRLady Gaga's ARTPOP app is available for iOS and Android. Photograph: PRApps This article is more than 10 years oldHands on with Lady Gaga's ARTPOP album-appThis article is more than 10 years oldReleased for Android and iOS, does it represent the future of the album, or just a novelty toy for hardcore fans?A 3D pig is spinning on my iPad screen, with a photo of my cat mapped onto it, in front of a galactic cloud with the word DEATH spelled out in capital letters. [Read More]

Tottenham HotspurHugo Lloris moves to LAFC on free transfer to end 11-year stay at SpursFrench goalkeeper had not played for Tottenham since April‘Spurs will always be a special place for me and my family’Hugo Lloris has brought his time at Tottenham to an end after he completed a free transfer to Los Angeles FC. Lloris signed for Spurs in 2012 and went on to make 447 appearances for the Premier League club, but had not played since April after he made clear his desire to take on a new challenge at the end of last season. [Read More]

Photograph: Veronika Dvořáková/Getty/iStockphotoThe wolf is considered a threat to our way of farming, but our fear may be misplaced. Perhaps predators are needed to bring nature back into balance by Cal FlynThere’s a monument near Brora, 60 miles short of John o’Groats, that claims to mark the spot where the last wolf in Sutherland was killed. I pass it often in the car. The wolf, it says, was killed by the hunter Polson in or about the year 1700. [Read More]

Muhammad Ali: ‘a personality that transcended his sport’. GuardianSportblogMuhammad Ali How Cassius Clay became the legendary Muhammad Ali Live reactions to the death of an icon 1) Takes up boxing after his bike is stolen (1954)If it wasn’t for the lure of free food, Muhammad Ali may never have boxed. As the 12-year-old Cassius Clay he pedalled on his red and white Schwinn bike to the Louisville Home Show, an exhibition for black businesses, for the free popcorn, hot dogs and candy. [Read More]

ShortcutsDressesSome might say it's a dangerous fashion to follow, but dresses that reveal flashes of breast are the latest trendJust three months after Angelina's right leg stormed the red carpet at the Oscars, there is a new area of flesh to flash: the "side cleavage". To be clear, that's the area that extends from armpit to mid rib and takes in a small semi-circle of bare breast, sometimes more. The side boob, the side tit, call it what you will, becomes the main event. [Read More]

World newsUS releases photos of Saddam sonsPhotographs of Saddam Hussein's feared sons laid out in plastic body bags were released by the US today in a bid to convince sceptical Iraqis that neither would follow their father into power. The pictures, taken after Uday and Qusay Saddm Hussein's bodies were removed from a house in Mosul on Tuesday, show the heads and torsos of the two. Uday was clearly recognisable, despite having a thick beard and a wound that had destroyed part of his nose and upper lip. [Read More]