Michelle ObamaAs the Obamas make their first official state visit to the UK, we have a warm welcome for the star of the show – the first lady Obama in Ireland - live coverage Welcome back to this side of the Atlantic! I'm so glad you're here, and not just because it means the Queen might get another hug. No, I'm excited because I admire you. You do a difficult job – a difficult non-job, let's face it – with style, aplomb and humour.

My daughter’s spirit will remain in our hearts, says murder victim’s father GuardianUK news This article is more than 7 years oldEx-bookkeeper found guilty of murdering India ChipchaseThis article is more than 7 years oldEdward Tenniswood raped and strangled 20-year-old he had promised to get home safe after finding her outside club A fantasist who pinned images of women he found attractive to the walls of his squalid home has been sentenced to life for raping and murdering a 20-year-old woman.

GeneticsObituaryHugh Gurling obituaryPsychiatrist and pioneer in researching the genetic factors in mental illnessThe pioneering psychiatrist Professor Hugh Gurling, who has died of a heart attack aged 63, was determined to find the genes that cause severe mental illness. His resolve to investigate the biological processes underlying devastating diseases such as schizophrenia, manic depression and alcoholism was very much at odds with the prevailing approach in the late 1970s, when the focus in psychiatry was on psychological and social factors.

ComedyReviewSoho theatre, London The standup ruthlessly dismantles the machismo around the act of fellatio while telling her own cocksure journey through oral sex ‘Do I overreach?”, asks Jacqueline Novak. Well, yes – no show ever overreached more, which is what makes Get on Your Knees such a remarkable comedy. The show, which arrives trailing all kinds of glory from Off-Broadway, is about the blowjob. It’s a philosophy of the blowjob, a spoof academic treatise on the blowjob, a personal history of blowjobs – and a full spate of ridiculous metaphors for the penis soft and hard and every which way to orally arouse it.

The ObserverRapReview(Paris Texas/the Orchard) LA duo Louie Pastel and Felix combine rap with left-field sounds and a punk-adjacent attitude on their full-length debut Less inspired by the Wim Wenders film than the idea of juxtaposing disparate elements, Paris Texas are a mysterious, niche-y duo from LA who combine hip-hop with guitars. Rap-rock is, of course, best left to Rage Against the Machine, but today’s post-genre climate means that anything goes, providing it goes right.

The last of Africa's big tusker elephants – in pictures Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email Like living relics from a bygone era, the last of Africa’s big tusker elephants roam in a vast, remote wilderness in Kenya. In partnership with the Tsavo Trust NGO and the Kenya Wildlife Service, Will Burrard-Lucas spent months photographing these rare animals.

Ahead of a new stage revival, the creators and cast of Channel 4’s classic 90s newsroom sitcom remember close encounters with future Bond stars, writing episodes at the last minute and the meaning between that mysterious title Published: 11:55 AM ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTEoKyaqpSerq96wqikaKuklrSme9OhnJqsopo%3D

Theatre This article is more than 19 years oldBring on the clownThis article is more than 19 years oldDavid SmithA virtual unknown - in Britain, that is - has been flown in to rescue The Producers, set to be the biggest West End production this year. His rave reviews will not surprise Broadway, however, where he is theatre's hottest propertyEvery night in the West End of London a story is told about Nathan Lane.

Cryptic crosswords for beginnersCrosswordsContinuing our series for those tempted or daunted by cryptics, we explore giving the answer by listing a specimen In the example clues below, I explain the two parts of each one. There is a definition of the answer and there is some wordplay – a recipe for assembling its letters. In a genuine puzzle environment, of course, you also have the crossing letters, which hugely alleviate your solving load.

Estimates of Makoko’s population range from 40,000 to 300,000 Photograph: GuardianMakoko is the perfect nightmare for the Lagos government – a slum in full view, spread out beneath the most travelled bridge in west Africa’s megalopolis. Yet this city on stilts, whose residents live under the constant threat of eviction, has much to teach by Tolu Ogunlesi“One bucket, one life,” says Ojo, puffing on a marijuana rollup. We have stopped by the Floating School, a two-storey solar-powered wooden structure that floats on the Lagos lagoon on a bed of plastic barrels.