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Natural disastersAnalysisLibya and Morocco: two very different responses to catastropheRupert Neate with Peter BeaumontThe aftermath of an earthquake in Morocco and flooding in Libya has shown up the state of the two nations Not one but two disasters have struck in recent days – the earthquake in Morocco and devastating flooding in Libya. At least 2,900 people are known to have died in the 6.8-magnitude earthquake that struck in Morocco’s High Atlas mountains a week ago, and the authorities say the death toll will rise.

Lil Wayne This article is more than 10 years oldLil Wayne backtracks from his 'offensive' Emmett Till lyricThis article is more than 10 years oldRapper's acknowledges hurt caused by reference to civil rights icon but stops short of using the words 'sorry' or 'apologise'Lil Wayne has offered what might be taken for an apology for a rap lyric mocking Emmett Till, who became a civil rights hero after he was murdered in 1955 for flirting with a young white woman.

RereadingBooksIn his novella of the 1948 war, the Israeli writer S Yizhar sought to preserve the memory of the Palestinian nakba. Jacqueline Rose on a haunting tale that still stirs intense controversyNear the beginning of Khirbet Khizeh, the extraordinary 1949 novella by S Yizhar, the narrator describes the dangers, to a soldier, of thinking: "we knew that when the thoughts came, troubles began; better not to start thinking." Khirbet Khizeh is a tribute to the power of critical thought to register the injustices of history.

ETHICAL CONUNDRUMSWhat does a recovering alcoholic priest who's on the wagon do about communion wine? Since a single sip or even the smell of wine can induce intense cravings in some alcoholics, are priests allowed to substitute grape juice during divine service? Peter Post, Boston, USA According to the Catholic Church, it's not wine but blood, so the priest shouldn't have any problem drinking it. Bill, Wirral, UK

TelevisionRitter carved out a wonderful career, culminating in the acclaimed Chernobyl – but he’ll be remembered most as oddball patriarch Martin Goodman in Friday Night Dinner Paul Ritter: Friday Night Dinner star dies of brain tumour at 54 Paul Ritter, who died on Monday at the age of 54, is destined to be remembered as the dad from Friday Night Dinner. And rightly so. If you think of Ritter, or Friday Night Dinner for that matter, one image will almost certainly be seared into your mind: Ritter, walking around with his top off like it was the most normal thing in the world, complaining about the heat, or enquiring after a “lovely bit of squirrel”.

Rising festivalReviewMelbourne town hall, Rising festival Julian Rosefeldt’s magnificent and exhausting film, starring the Oscar winner and Giancarlo Esposito, reverts to evasive surrealist flourishes just as it threatens to become truly angry Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email There is little to no nature in German artist and film-maker Julian Rosefeldt’s newest work, Euphoria, although there are plenty of animals. Sheep, white stallions, a moose, a camel and finally, voiced seductively by Cate Blanchett, a massive tiger stalking the aisles of an abandoned supermarket.

Statesmen and stature: click image for graphic François Hollande will step into Nicolas Sarkozy's shoes today when he is sworn in at the Elysée palace, becoming France's first socialist leader in nearly 20 years. But how does he compare to the past leaders in terms of height? Last year we were told stature really does matter according to a scientific paper published in Social Science Quarterly. It was an opportunity too good to pass up so we compared the heights of various leaders from different countries and eras.

FictionReviewCarmen Callil searches for the characters in a Hungarian-Jewish epic of the second world warThis excessively long epic of war and love is almost impossible to review with charity, yet charitable criticism must be included in any assessment of it because the author is ambitious, has done prodigious research, and has certain remarkable talents. Julie Orringer is a young American whose first book, the much-praised collection of short stories How to Breathe Underwater, was noted for its ironic humour and verbal precision.

The ObserverDeborah LevyReviewDeborah Levy's rich response to George Orwell's famous 1946 essay "Why I Write" is unmissableA slender, beautifully bound blue hardback showed up on my desk. Its pages were creamy, its typeface clear in a formal, old-fashioned way. Each page number was picked out in scarlet. It was a book to put Kindle out of business, so covetable that, I almost thought, it scarcely mattered what it contained. It was then I noticed its curious title, Things I Don't Want to Know, and a quotation, picked out on the cover in pink type: "