Encarna Conde does not fit the profile of your average silicone enhanced, pouting porn star. At 45, she is a late entry to that group of women who seek fame or fortune by performing sexual acrobatics and faking orgasms for the camera. Her first film, Breaking Barriers, is, however, already the subject of much debate.

The films of acclaimed director M Night Shyamalan are famous for their last-minute plot twists. From The Sixth Sense to Signs and The Village, his work has relied on sudden changes to make the viewer question what has gone before. Now he is at the centre of a real-life twist.

The squat, bunker-like building in a south Topeka suburb does not look like a place to turn American politics on its head. Nor does Mark Parkinson, a tall, affable man, look too much like a revolutionary. But here, deep in the American heartland, are the warning signs of a political earthquake.

In an effort to salvage his bid for the presidency from the chaos of France’s centre-right government, Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy has met British Prime Minister Tony Blair twice in the past few weeks for advice, The Observer has revealed. The overture is likely to be regarded with deep suspicion by many Frenchmen.