The ObserverBooksReviewPeter Guttridge is moved as James Lee Burke swaps cops and robbers for Yanks and Rebs in White Doves at MorningWhite Doves at Morning by James Lee Burlke Orion, £12.99, pp280 Spirit of place plays such an important part in James Lee Burke's fiction that Louisiana's bloody Civil War experiences have already cast a melancholy shadow over his work. White Doves at Morning, a moving work of historical fiction, is set between 1837 and 1868 and addresses some of these experiences directly.

WhalesA pod in the strait of Gibraltar has sunk three boats and damaged dozens of others, and their story has captivated the world. What explains this unprecedented behaviour? What’s going on with the #orcauprising? You’ve probably gathered the basics: orcas are “attacking” yachts. To be strictly factual, since 2020, a small pod of orcas in the strait of Gibraltar has been interacting with sailing boats in a new way: ramming vessels, pressing their bodies and heads into the hulls and biting, even snapping off, the rudders.

Vince Staples. Photograph: Suki Dhanda for the GuideVince Staples. Photograph: Suki Dhanda for the GuideMusicA member of the Crips in his teenage years, the reformed California rapper now spends his time stripping the glamour from gang culture. He wishes the media would do the same When you think of Californian hip-hop, you flick through cliches like a Grand Theft Auto programmer: bouncing cars, guns being held sideways, blunts the size of folded umbrellas.

GermanyBerlin arms factories bombed in three-hour raidFlying boats sunk off Norway | Attacks on oil tanks at Cherbourg and e-boats at BoulogneArmament factories in the Berlin area were bombed by the RAF in widespread raids during Sunday night. Ground defences on the outskirts of the capital were also attacked. The weather was unfavourable. An air-raid alarm was sounded in Berlin at 12:40 this morning. The "All clear" was given at 1:22.

GB News This article is more than 11 months oldGB News presenter quits after channel tries to make him pay Ofcom finesThis article is more than 11 months oldMark Steyn could face sanction by media regulator after he cast doubt on safety of Covid vaccines One of GB News’s leading presenters has quit after the channel tried to make him personally responsible for paying fines issued by the media regulator Ofcom.