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OpinionFreemasons This article is more than 5 years oldSecret Freemasons should have no place in public lifeThis article is more than 5 years oldDawn FosterDon’t be distracted by the handshakes and funny aprons – we should be holding the masons to account It seems almost retro to be talking about Freemasons again, but after two alarming reports there is light on their darkness again. First, over the new year there was an allegation from retiring Police Federation chair Steve White that freemasonry was blocking reform within the force, preventing women and black officers progressing professionally.

RelationshipsWhat’s the manual when your partner dies? The Hot Young Widows Club is challenging preconceived notions of mourning Writer Nora in Minneapolis, psychotherapist Kim in Los Angeles, and book editor Ben in New York are all members of an exclusive group no one wants to join: the Hot Young Widows Club. Despite the tongue-in-cheek name, it is not a niche dating site. The Hot Young Widows Club helps members cope with their grief following the early death of their partners.

US news This article is more than 6 years oldTiffany pilloried for 'everyday objects' collection that includes $1,000 tin canThis article is more than 6 years oldLuxury jewellery brand mocked over line of exorbitantly priced products Luxury jewellery brand Tiffany & Co has been mocked online over its exorbitantly priced new home collection, titled Everyday Objects, which includes a $1,000 sterling silver tin can. Chanel's $2,000 boomerang criticised for 'humiliating' Indigenous Australian cultureRead moreThe collection, which the jeweller claims “transforms utilitarian items into handcrafted works of art”, boasts items such as a $9,000 sterling silver ball of yarn, a $425 walnut and silver protractor, a $1,500 set of walnut and silver “building blocks” – which look very similar to Lego – and a $300 yo-yo.

The ObserverFictionReviewAlejandro Zambra's third novel examines life in Chile under General PinochetInternationally acclaimed Chilean writing about the Pinochet regime has been relatively elusive, with the obvious exception of Isabel Allende. Could this reflect Chile's reticent national temperament? Hungover from a violent past, Chileans have remained a quieter breed than the stereotypical Latin American and conversations about the former dictator continued to be conducted largely in the private sphere for years after his 1990 departure.

Games blogGamesAsylum Jam puts the spotlight on mental health in horror gamesA new game jam wants to address stereotypical depictions of the mentally ill in video games. As an ex-clerk on a secure mental health ward, I think it's about timeAsylums don't exist any more. The Victorian notion of locking our mentally ill away so we don't have to look at them died in the 1940s, to be replaced by the friendlier, more treatment-focused concept of the psychiatric hospital.

Sadhbh Walshe columnAtheism This article is more than 10 years oldAtheist 'mega-churches' undermine what atheism's supposed to be aboutThis article is more than 10 years oldSadhbh WalsheA so-called godless church wants to establish more US congregations. These 'places of worship' come across as a jokeIt's not easy being an atheist. In a world that for centuries has been dominated (and divided by) religious affiliations, it's sort of inevitable that the minority group who can't get down with the God thing or who don't subscribe to any particular belief system would find themselves marginalized.

FictionHow Truman Capote's novella became a great Hollywood film by Sarah ChurchwellThis month, Anna Friel is set to star as Holly Golightly in a West End stage adaptation of the Hollywood version of Truman Capote's novella. This chain of revisions might seem excessive, but it is quite fitting for a story such as Breakfast at Tiffany's, which is, in every sense, a romance about reinvention. It doesn't take much these days for a tale to be described as a "

The ObserverFilmInterviewHoult… who goes there?Alice FisherHe went from pre-teen "shrimp" in About a Boy to the sexy face of Skins. Now, Nicholas Hoult is set to crack Hollywood. His only problem is working out how he feels about it all"Oh no. Interview, uh oh. I always panic about these things." Nicholas Hoult does look genuinely apprehensive, which is annoying because he's been perfectly at ease until now. He arrived promptly at the west London studio where he's to be photographed at 9am on this December Monday morning, introducing himself very politely to everyone.

Late-night TV roundupLate-night hosts discuss Donald Trump’s testimony at his civil fraud trial, the next Republican debate and Ted Cruz’s book Jimmy KimmelLate-night hosts continued to follow Trump’s many legal woes on Tuesday, as shows taped before election results were posted. In Los Angeles, Jimmy Kimmel noted that the US government is, again, on the brink of a potential shutdown. “Didn’t we just go through this last month? When did this whole country turn into a deadbeat dad?