StageReviewBirmingham Rep
Ellam’s poem about a basketball-star demi-god and his mother fighting celestial beings gets a stunning outing on the stage
The Half God of Rainfall tells the story of Demi, a Nigerian basketball hero and Olympic sportsman whose tears cause rivers to overflow. He is also the son of Zeus. But since that other half-god, Michael Jordan, flagrantly displayed his supernatural powers by actually flying on a court, the gods have outlawed half-men from participating in human sports.
A One Direction gig in Sydney, 2012. Photograph: Toby Zerna/Newspix/RexTeenage pop fans have long been derided as vacuous victims of marketing. But there is so much more to it than that, explains a Harry Styles aficionado
by Kaitlyn TiffanyOn the morning of 25 August 2014, a 16-year-old girl arrived at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in a baffling condition. She was short of breath but had no chest pain.
Akon This article is more than 15 years oldUS rapper Akon fined $350 for throwing fan off stageThis article is more than 15 years oldThis seems to be the going rate for child-throwing, plus 65 hours of community service. That'll learn him ...More than a year after Akon hurled a 15-year-old boy off his stage, the law has finally caught up with him. Only in this case the law doesn't seem to be too upset.
Formula OneThe Brazilian drove one of his finest ever laps in qualifying before spinning out in the race itselfNo Formula One race rewards bravery and commitment quite like threading the needle on the streets of Monaco with its looming walls that can bite even the best. For Ayrton Senna it was the scene of perhaps his finest ever lap and then, a day later, his nadir as the streets of Monte Carlo proved he was only too human.
US news This article is more than 14 years oldWoman who faked way into Harvard sentenced to four years in prisonThis article is more than 14 years old Esther Reed collected $100,000 (£69,000) in student loans
30-year old assumed identities of three other peopleA high school dropout who assumed the identities of at least three people to get into some of America's most prestigious colleges and fraudulently collect more than $100,000 (£69,000) in student loans will serve about four years in a federal prison.
The ObserverChatbots This article is more than 10 months oldAI makes plagiarism harder to detect, argue academics – in paper written by chatbotThis article is more than 10 months oldLecturers say programs capable of writing competent student coursework threaten academic integrity
An academic paper entitled Chatting and Cheating: Ensuring Academic Integrity in the Era of ChatGPT was published this month in an education journal, describing how artificial intelligence (AI) tools “raise a number of challenges and concerns, particularly in relation to academic honesty and plagiarism”.
The ObserverArctic MonkeysInterviewArctic Monkeys: 'We want to get better rather than get bigger'Barbara EllenThe Arctic Monkeys' pitch-perfect songs about youth culture (girls, mates, chips, cabs, poseurs), Gordon Brown's namecheck and their huge internet popularity rocketed the Sheffield band to the top of the tree. Here, as they release their brilliant fourth album, they talk candidly about fame, politics and falling in loveIt's probably a good thing that when I interview the Arctic Monkeys I get to speak to their frontman, Alex Turner, three times.
Way to go … the Milky Way seen from Pisco Elqui, Chile. Photograph: Raquel Mogado/AlamyWay to go … the Milky Way seen from Pisco Elqui, Chile. Photograph: Raquel Mogado/AlamyChile holidaysThe wine region in the Atacama desert is fast becoming the world’s leading astronomy and astro-tourism destination – and its pure skies are perfect for viewing Tuesday’s total solar eclipse
The Atacama desert may be the driest non-polar place on Earth but on its southern fringe is a stretch of vineyard-lined hills – the Elqui valley.
UK news This article is more than 3 months oldMan held on suspicion of murder after attack by dog believed to be XL bullyThis article is more than 3 months oldWitnesses say 54-year-old man who died sustained throat injuries in attack in Wearside
A murder investigation has been launched after a man was fatally injured in Wearside by a dog believed to be an American XL bully.
Northumbria police said they received a report of an attack at about 6.
Sexual healingSexualityHe later said that it’s just the male physique he’s attracted to, but I feel he’s not being completely honest with me
My husband and I have been together for 16 years and have two kids. He recently told me he’s bisexual. I was shocked and feel uncomfortable thinking of him having sex with men. I am not homophobic, but I just didn’t think my husband liked men. After asking him if he has urges he needs to fulfil, he said maybe bisexual was the wrong word and that he’s just attracted to the male physique.