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The ObserverHow I gave my landlady a red knee tremblerI used to live in a large Victorian house in south-east London with my landlady and her boyfriend. We all shared the living room, dining room and kitchen and got on very well with each other. My landlady and her boyfriend were also extremely understanding and supportive of my frequently changing hobbies which invaded the communal living space. There was the time I boiled a rat's skull in a saucepan to make customised jewellery.

FilmObituaryLucian Pintilie obituaryInfluential theatre and film director known as the godfather of the Romanian new waveUntil 2005, when the Romanian new wave was launched with Cristi Puiu’s The Death of Mr Lazarescu, Romanian cinema was little known internationally. However, Puiu, Cristian Mungiu, Corneliu Porumboiu and Cătălin Mitulescu, winners of stacks of prestigious awards, all acknowledged the influence of Lucian Pintilie, who has died aged 84. Unlike Pintilie, these younger directors were able to make films free from the censorship that existed under Nicolae Ceauşescu, the communist despot who had controlled the arts with an iron fist.

European TourRory McIlroy’s thoughts turn to Masters after victory in DubaiNorthern Irishman triumphs by one shot in Desert Classic ‘Augusta is still a long way away, but it’s nice to get a win’A piece of history for Rory McIlroy in Dubai. A mere 82 days will pass between the last putt dropping in for a record fourth Desert Classic success and his latest tilt at etching his name into golfing folklore at Augusta National.

Scientists think the unique shape of dragon’s blood trees is an adaptation to the arid landscape on Socotra, allowing them to capture moisture from fog and clouds. Photograph: Sylvain CordierA unique species on Socotra in Yemen, famed for its bright red resin and umbrella-shaped crown, has been in decline for years. Now islanders are leading efforts to save it by Jess CraigJust after 4am on the Diksam plateau, near the centre of Yemen’s Socotra Island, a loudspeaker stirs local people from their sleep with the day’s first call to prayer.

The ObserverFictionReviewWhat makes the women of an American town go on a sex strike? The rather unconvincing supernatural cause doesn't spoil an otherwise warm, worldly and witty novelRobby and Dory Lang are so popular with the students at their suburban New Jersey high school that they pass the "Teacher of the Year" title between them year after year. Their colleagues envy their marriage for its "stability and reciprocity, the lack of sexism, the love and the passion"

LGBTQ+ rights This article is more than 9 months oldWest Midlands school criticised after death threats to gay Muslim speaker This article is more than 9 months oldReport says Wood Green Academy failed to teach controversial issues in a safe way after Khakan Qureshi challenged by students A West Midlands school has been criticised for failing to “teach controversial issues in a way that is safe for everyone”, after a gay Muslim speaker was challenged by students and later received death threats on social media.

Kelly Preston - a life in pictures Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email Kelly Preston, whose long acting career included hits such as Twins, Jerry Maguire and What a Girl Wants, has died, her husband, John Travolta, said. She was 57. • Peter Bradshaw on Kelly Preston: a classy actor who graduated from teen-movie roles to darker and funnier parts

Book of the dayAutobiography and memoirReviewThe painter conveys her spiritual connection with a fellow obsessive and ascetic artist in this fascinating book of imagined correspondence that lays bare the creative process As its title somewhat suggests, the artist Celia Paul’s second book takes the form of a series of letters to Gwen John, whose life, she believes, was “stamped with a similar pattern” to her own, and a postcard of whose painting The Convalescent she keeps in her studio (just one look at it, she says, and her breathing becomes easier).

Observer special reportItalyThe author who chronicled the rise of the crime syndicate in his book Gomorrah says that tearing down tower blocks will not be enough to resurrect Le Vele di Scampia In Italy, some believe that to destroy the symbols of evil or ill-fortune it is sufficient to eradicate that same evil or ill-fortune. In Italy, some think that to forge a new path, it suffices to demolish the buildings in a quarter on the outskirts of Naples known as Le Vele – the Sails – di Scampia.