Bodyguard recap: series one, episode five the calm before the storm

Bodyguard: episode by episodeThe penultimate outing for Jed Mecurio’s thriller leaves as many questions as answers as we enter the final chapter. Anyone could be a suspect Read the Guardian’s episode four recap Tonight’s episode was really the calm before the inevitable storm of next week’s supersized 75-minute finale. Of course, calm is always a relative term in a Jed Mercurio drama, and thus, the episode was still pretty tense. [Read More]

Girl killed to act as drug mule in Gulf | World news

World newsGirl killed to act as drug mule in GulfDrug smugglers abducted and killed a small girl, then stuffed her body with drugs in order to take them into a Gulf state, a senior police officer was reported as saying yesterday. Officials at the unnamed airport saw a woman cradling the child in her arms, apparently asleep. As the woman passed through immigration control an officer teased the child, but there was no response. [Read More]

Happy to let it hang out: budgie smugglers are back on Australian beaches | Australian fashion

Mark Calleja, who lives in Brisbane, has always loved budgie smugglers, even when they were out of fashion. Photograph: Dan Peled/Guardian AustraliaAustralian men have their reasons for pulling these tight togs back on. For some it’s irony; for others, pride. But for many it is simply a matter of comfort Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email by Cait KellyIn the birthplace of the budgie smuggler, men are freeing their thighs in increasing numbers, embracing a style so daring that it even led to arrests in 1961. [Read More]

Mark Blum obituary | Movies

MoviesObituaryMark Blum obituaryActor known for his film roles in Desperately Seeking Susan and Crocodile DundeeThe actor Mark Blum, who has died aged 69 from complications of the coronavirus, gave a memorable performance in the screwball comedy Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) as a harried, unfaithful hot-tub salesman plunged into New York’s grungy bohemian underbelly when his wife goes missing. Searching for her, he teams up with the devil-may-care Susan, played by Madonna in her first major film role, and is exposed to her wayward, outrageous lifestyle. [Read More]

One to watch: Horsegirl

Universal appeal… Horsegirl. Photograph: Cheryl DunnUniversal appeal… Horsegirl. Photograph: Cheryl DunnOne to watchIndieThe indie teen trio from Chicago are releasing their debut album after making waves – and fans their parents’ age – at SXSW As with so many great bands, Chicago three-piece Horsegirl were born out of an intense teenage friendship: “We were sending each other old videos, reading Kim Gordon’s book religiously and becoming obsessed with all this music,” guitarist and singer Penelope Lowenstein told the Chicago Reader. [Read More]

Robert F Kennedy Jr announces independent run for 2024 US election | Robert F Kennedy Jr

Robert F Kennedy Jr This article is more than 3 months oldRobert F Kennedy Jr announces independent run for 2024 US electionThis article is more than 3 months oldKennedy, who had been running as a Democrat, says he feels ‘pain’ leaving party of uncle John and father Bobby Robert F Kennedy Jr, the scion of the Kennedy political family who has spent the last six months running for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination, announced on Monday he would continue his long-shot pursuit of the White House as an independent. [Read More]

String Theory: David Foster Wallace on Tennis review the best writer on the game ever

The ‘evolutionary endpoint’ of tennis … Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2007 Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The GuardianThe ‘evolutionary endpoint’ of tennis … Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2007 Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The GuardianBook of the dayDavid Foster WallaceReviewIn pieces that range from his own success as a junior player to the sport-changing ability of Roger Federer, Foster Wallace combined a nerd’s outlook with a novelist’s gift for exposition David Foster Wallace was, in his own estimation, “a near great junior tennis player”. [Read More]

The 10 best folk albums of 2022

Best music 2022Folk musicFrom Japanese Ainu harmonies to Norwegian fiddle and Black British folk song, here’s our rundown of the best releases of the year The year’s best music More of the best culture of 2022 10. Ficino Ensemble and Michelle O’Rourke – Folk SongsItalian electronic music pioneer Luciano Berio’s arrangements of traditional music from Armenia, Azerbaijan, France, Italy and the US were given bewitching new interpretations by the Irish chamber music ensemble. [Read More]

Unforgotten episode two recap revelations, intrigue and flashbacks | Drama

Unforgotten: episode recapsDramaUnforgotten episode two recap – revelations, intrigue and flashbacksGangsters, racists and murky flashbacks – our suspects claim not to remember the past, but the past remembers them It was good to see the majority of you on board with the first episode, even though it was heavy on setup, light on payoff. The tempo picks up nicely in this episode, with plenty of revelations, intrigue and potential motive to bury a young man under a building. [Read More]

As sharks prowled, forgotten divers waited ... and waited | Australia news

The ObserverAustralia newsAs sharks prowled, forgotten divers waited ... and waitedIn open waters off Australia's Great Barrier Reef, British diver Richard Neely and girlfriend Allyson Dalton tied themselves together as they drifted, trying desperately to be seen by spotter planes and searching ships. Barbara McMahon in Sydney reports on their dramatic rescueA British holidaymaker and his American girlfriend who survived for 19 hours in shark-infested waters off the Great Barrier Reef, have told how a rescue helicopter failed to spot them waving frantically for help. [Read More]