UK News & Comment

Lucy Letby: Thirlwall inquiry lays bare the responsibility of NHS management – here’s what needs to change for the future

The report described the number of ways that management and organisational faults contributed to the tragedies that occurred at the hospital.

Thirteenth Met police officer sacked after undercover BBC investigation

PC Mason O’Connor dismissed following Panorama film showing misogyny and racism at London police station A 13th serving Metropolitan police officer has been dismissed in relation to an undercover BBC investigation into misogyny and racism at Charing Cross police station.

Amazon to launch Ring ‘neighbourhood watch’ app in UK amid US privacy fears

Doorbell firm aims to replace WhatsApp or Facebook groups with platform where people can post about safety or lost pets Amazon’s doorbell camera maker Ring is to launch its Neighbours community app in the UK in an attempt to supplant neighbourhood WhatsApp or Facebook groups.

Women with same health conditions as men ‘less likely to be offered active treatment’

Men with heart, kidney or liver conditions more likely to be offered intervention compared with women, global analysis finds Women with the same medical condition as men are less likely to be offered treatment such as surgery, a stent or a strong painkiller, research has found.

Billionaire Reform donor Delo’s crypto firm faces US court action over Black Thursday turmoil

Billionaire Reform donor Delo’s crypto firm faces US court action over Black Thursday turmoil

Are global stock markets heading for a crash?

Economies thrown into renewed turmoil as AI debt, Iran war and soaring government bond yields fuel alarm At the height of the summer, the mood was optimistic in the world’s financial capitals.

Alcina and Don Giovanni launch the new Royal Opera season with lashings of sorcery and seduction

Alcina and Don Giovanni launch the new Royal Opera season with lashings of sorcery and seduction

As White House shields the AI gold rush, Trump family and other allies strike it rich – with few guardrails

It’s not clear that financial interests are driving White House policy, but they run parallel even as resistance mounts Donald Trump ’s sons, through a series of AI -linked defense and technology ventures, have picked up a $620m Pentagon loan, a Marine Corps robotics contract and…

Lucy Letby’s legal team still confident of appeal despite damning Thirwall report

Lucy Letby’s legal team still confident of appeal despite damning Thirwall report

‘I fell in love with a Russian spy’: the Brazilian woman who found out her life was an undercover lie

‘I fell in love with a Russian spy’: the Brazilian woman who found out her life was an undercover lie

Charles Spencer insists on ‘truth’ of Diana book and asks if King is ‘furious or embarrassed’

Charles Spencer insists on ‘truth’ of Diana book and asks if King is ‘furious or embarrassed’

UK minister warns of impact of Trump’s Iran war on next month’s budget

Bridget Phillipson says Burnham’s past criticisms of US president not an issue as PM prepares to meet Trump at UN Next month’s budget will be made more difficult by Donald Trump’s war with Iran, one of Andy Burnham’s cabinet ministers has said, while adding she did not expect the…

Race to win £2bn Land Rover contract with British Army offers carmakers a lifeline

Race to win £2bn Land Rover contract with British Army offers carmakers a lifeline

Arrests of Daphne Caruana Galizia jurors in Malta renews hopes for retrial

Arrests of Daphne Caruana Galizia jurors in Malta renews hopes for retrial

Victims say Home Office attempt to curtail spycops inquiry will result in a ‘cover-up’

Shabana Mahmood is concerned about length and £144m cost of inquiry into intrusive police surveillance Victims of intrusive police surveillance have accused the government of seeking to cut short the spycops public inquiry that has been examining widespread misconduct committed…

Burnham cuts number of Labour voters defecting to Greens by half

Burnham cuts number of Labour voters defecting to Greens by half

Britain deserves beautiful social housing. Here’s how to build it

Britain deserves beautiful social housing. Here’s how to build it

Future of German chancellor hangs in the balance as two states go to polls

Embattled Friedrich Merz faces nervous wait while far-right Alternative für Deutschland party targets further gains Voters in two German states are going to the polls with the political future of the embattled chancellor, Friedrich Merz, hanging in the balance and an emboldened…

Brydon Carse will not face charges after police drop investigation into alleged assault

England bowler arrested after Derby night out Cricket Regulator to decide on disciplinary action Brydon Carse will not face any charges after Derbyshire police dropped an investigation into an alleged assault in Derby city centre last month.

From tried and tested to tired and testing – all is not well at Arsenal

From tried and tested to tired and testing – all is not well at Arsenal

Kings of the near miss: will Somerset have to settle for second place again?

Kings of the near miss: will Somerset have to settle for second place again?

‘I have nothing in the UK at all’: British man torn from his Swedish wife and home

Charles lands at Heathrow with just two bags and nowhere to go as a result of Brexit and Stockholm’s hardline immigration position Doubled over a Heathrow baggage trolley, the former British business director is sobbing uncontrollably, exhausted emotionally and physically after…

Reαd carefully: how to spot – and avoid – a homoglyph attack

Scam emails are increasingly using psychological tricks, such as using near-identical URLs like miсrosoft.com You’ve read the email carefully and it looks legitimate.

I was asked to write a new Miss Marple, so I sent her to the Alps

Her last case was 50 years ago, written by Agatha Christie just before she died. Could I really follow in the footsteps of the Queen of Crime?

Dining across the divide: ‘He suggested the Clacton byelection was a vanity project. Obviously I disagree’

A Reform politician and an NHS worker had different takes on Nigel Farage, but could they agree on renewable energy or tax policies? Chris, 42, London Occupation Electrical supervisor of the maintenance team at an NHS hospital

Caitlin Moran: social media went from utopia to hellhole in a decade – if you want to feel hopeful again, get offline

Fourteen years ago, Twitter was the fastest, funniest game on the web. Now I’ve been driven out by so-called ‘online activists’. The only answer is to unplug and try this instead God, I love social media!

Without ‘third places’ like sports clubs, we can’t come together to combat the climate crisis

Without ‘third places’ like sports clubs, we can’t come together to combat the climate crisis

Leftists make waves and Trump flexes muscles: US primary season takeaways

Candidates have been selected for November’s midterms – have Republicans and Democrats made the right choices? Primary season has official concluded in the United States, with Democrats leading the polls among voters amid widespread economic anxieties, a war with Iran and Donald…

This is how we do it: ‘As a Catholic monk, I was celibate. But sex with Orla feels so natural’

Rory left the monastery after feeling lonely; with Orla, herself a Catholic, he’s been making up for lost time • How do you do it? Share the story of your sex life, anonymously We had sex after a week. I remember thinking afterwards wow, everything has changed

Revolut hack shows growing risk of holding crypto

Revolut hack shows growing risk of holding crypto

How to stop billionaires buying our politics

Ex-Electoral Commissioner David Howarth on Reform's £72m crypto donation, the loopholes that allow big money to buy our democracy – and three ways to close them

‘We broke the rules:’ why chef Ferran Adriá is the subject of new TV drama

Six-part drama Gènesi tells the story of Adriá’s Catalan restaurant El Bulli from the day he arrived as a kitchen hand Revered and reviled, during the 28 years he presided over El Bulli, a small restaurant in a remote corner of Catalonia, Ferran Adrià changed cooking for ever .

Roll with it – why Noel and Liam’s Oasis reunion is the story of Yom Kippur

Roll with it – why Noel and Liam’s Oasis reunion is the story of Yom Kippur

Three Olympic hopefuls, all cloned from the same horse

Three Olympic hopefuls, all cloned from the same horse

How to flood-proof your home: from water-thirsty plants to deflated footballs

After summer’s heatwaves, prepare for winter of storms and heavy rain, with millions of UK homes at risk of flooding The accelerating climate crisis and this year’s record-breaking El Niño mean that, although the summer’s heatwaves are still fresh in the memory, households in the…

Earl Spencer says media treatment of Harry and Meghan ‘echoes’ Diana’s experience

Comments come after he accused King Charles of gaslighting him in response to claims made in new memoir Earl Spencer has said the relationship between the press and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex “echoes” the way the media treated his sister Diana, Princess of Wales.

“Volkswagen Campervan I saw it first!”: the joy of verbal games

“Volkswagen Campervan I saw it first!”: the joy of verbal games

Chris Riddell cartoons: 20 September 2026

Chris Riddell cartoons: 20 September 2026

A president’s pardon and a return to Britain: Ben Delo’s dive into politics

A president’s pardon and a return to Britain: Ben Delo’s dive into politics

Where Is Austin Tice? plays like a heart-pounding thriller

Where Is Austin Tice? plays like a heart-pounding thriller

Dealer in rare books defiant after suffragette’s grandson stops sale of looted Ethiopian Bible

Dealer in rare books defiant after suffragette’s grandson stops sale of looted Ethiopian Bible

Audrey Tang: Treat AI like soil, not oil, to preserve humanity

Audrey Tang: Treat AI like soil, not oil, to preserve humanity

Buying shares isn’t ‘gambling’, urges London Stock Exchange boss

Buying shares isn’t ‘gambling’, urges London Stock Exchange boss

The grid: Shakespeare as seen by the Victorians

The grid: Shakespeare as seen by the Victorians

Chelsea owners’ legacy is less a squad, more an accounting method

Chelsea owners’ legacy is less a squad, more an accounting method

Two touring productions, only one with something to say

Two touring productions, only one with something to say

Burnham’s sunny vow to bring back hope is about to meet wintry reality

Burnham’s sunny vow to bring back hope is about to meet wintry reality

Why did my mother put me in care? A woman’s traumatic search for answers

Why did my mother put me in care? A woman’s traumatic search for answers

The Sunday Poem: [& when the bees] by heidi andrea restrepo rhodes

The Sunday Poem: [& when the bees] by heidi andrea restrepo rhodes

Bonnie Greer ‘knew that justice is a form of love’

Bonnie Greer ‘knew that justice is a form of love’

HarperCollins made nearly £1m in sales from David Walliams after severing ties

HarperCollins made nearly £1m in sales from David Walliams after severing ties

Young talent meets M&S at mix-and-match London Fashion Week

Young talent meets M&S at mix-and-match London Fashion Week

It’s time for Labour and the Lib Dems to cosy up again. They’ll need each other

It’s time for Labour and the Lib Dems to cosy up again. They’ll need each other

Carney continues quest for deeper ties with EU despite mockery from Trump

Carney continues quest for deeper ties with EU despite mockery from Trump

Pizza dough and TV prison dramas: how Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe survived jail in Iran

Former charity worker tells Big Brue festival in Somerset of the strange comforts that helped her during imprisonment It is a TV show about women confined to prison in the US, but Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe found watching Orange is the New Black with her fellow inmates a strange…

Suspect in ‘Putney pusher’ case told family that investigation was ‘murdering him’

Exclusive: Sisters of Nicholas Brandram recount 44-year-old’s deteriorating mental health in days before he took his life Days before Nicholas Brandram, the man suspected of being the “Putney pusher”, killed himself, he told his family that the police investigation was “murdering…

Don’t discount Reform because it's had a bad year. In our angry, fragile democracy, anything can happen | John Harris

Nigel Farage’s tactics are to play up the anxiety and resentment that people feel. Labour’s job is simple: to offer hope and change Despite the energised start Andy Burnham has made as prime minister, plenty of his party’s MPs and hardcore activists are still haunted by a…

Footballers and fans pay tribute to Noah Woods after toddler’s death in Suffolk

Players in Everton v Ipswich Town match wear black armbands as supporters join in minute’s applause Players wore black armbands during Everton’s home match against Ipswich Town on Saturday, as part of a tribute to three-year-old Noah Woods, whose body was found after he went…

Hundreds of drones target Moscow on last day of voting in Russia’s parliamentary election

Authorities accuse Ukraine of trying to disrupt poll and say 1,600 drones in total intercepted, while at least two people killed and oil refinery damaged Hundreds of drones targeting Moscow and its surrounding region killed at least two people and damaged a major refinery on the…

Thousands of pregnant women in England are reporting domestic abuse. Midwives are struggling to cope

Exclusive: Analysis ‘lays bare’ something midwives already know from their day-to-day work About 20,000 disclosures of domestic abuse are estimated to be made to maternity services in England every year, analysis has found.

Why China is pushing back on US warnings over rapid AI development

Beijing believes slowdown calls aim to lock in US advantage, and is pursuing a different balance between safety and pace About two years ago, education entrepreneur Boris But had what he calls a “penny-drop moment” – that, like countless others in China, his company needed to…

10 of the best mountain huts in Europe: bunkrooms, bothies and bonhomie

Beautifully situated refuges with superlative views offering sanctuary to intrepid hikers and climbers A good mountain hut, I reckon, should be small and only accessible on foot after considerable effort. Throw in a bit of historical interest and I’m bound to be happy.

Farage says he wants to ‘hijack’ Trump’s ICE czar to help secure UK border

Reform leader also tells US event Europe should have ‘more sensible view’ of president’s administration Nigel Farage has said he wants to “hijack” Donald Trump’s hardline ICE adviser and bring him to the UK “to secure our borders”.

Chiltern Railways enters public ownership in Labour nationalisation push

Operator that runs services between London Marylebone and Birmingham is sixth to be nationalised since 2025 Chiltern Railways has become the latest train operator to enter public ownership as the government closes in on its ambition to renationalise all major passenger rail…

‘Flip the table and rise up’: Lib Dems’ president in combative mood as party gathers in Brighton

Josh Babarinde wants to target big tech and crypto billionaires while giving power and cash back to the public Standing outside Toynbee Hall in the East End of London, Josh Babarinde doesn’t exactly look like a rabble-rouser.

Ms Rachel, the controversial queen of toddler TV: ‘My goal isn’t to be the most liked. It’s to help kids and speak the truth’

Her catchy videos have racked up billions of views, but Rachel Accurso’s statements on everything from Gaza to LGBTQ rights have caused a stir.

Our children may be surprised by what’s in our will – should we tell them now? | Ask Annalisa Barbieri

You don’t have to reveal the contents, but I’ve seen families torn apart by unexpected inheritance plans My wife and I have three children and seve ral grandchildren. Our will may contain some surprises for them.

Existentialism for the end of the world

When no one is coming to save us, we still have to choose how to live

Yes, women were lied to about fertility

Women need more than fertility facts. They need a society that makes motherhood possible

The making of a masterpiece

Fifty years on, I, Claudius remains television’s greatest political drama

From Admiralty to Airbnb

The conservationists won the war against demolition. They are losing the peace

From Shaun the Sheep to The Split Up: your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead

Aardman’s woolly hero reckons with a mysterious beast and Abi Morgan’s lawyers-in-love TV drama gets a Manchester-set reboot Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom Out now The beloved Wallace and Gromit spin-off character returns to topline another film, with a…

The End Times are nigh — again

Leftist doom prophecies distract from the real problems

Water your plants and get an eye mask: 48 life rules every student – and adult – needs to know

If you’re a fresher, this may be the first time you’ve ever lived away from home. So how should you socialise, feed yourself and look after your health?

‘The rules have changed’: has Russia begun to order assassinations on US soil?

Exiled dissidents and an unsealed indictment suggest Kremlin may have abandoned longstanding taboo on attacks on its rival’s territory Roman Dobrokhotov had been content enough for his appearance at a conference in Washington DC this week to be publicised, although it was not…

US fashion CEO resigns after physically restraining animal rights activists

Steven Kolb of the Council of Fashion Designers of America was filmed during an altercation at New York fashion week The chief executive of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, Steven Kolb, has resigned after he was filmed physically restraining two animal rights…

Revealed: Five police forces to drop Palantir surveillance tool

Exclusive: Palantir's UK policing ambitions take a hit as East Midlands forces end their involvement in a controversial data pilot.

From celebrity intellectual to anti-woke outlaw: how Steven Pinker lost his way

The pop psychologist’s new book seems to betray a lurking fear of others’ criticism – about his Epstein links, his manosphere admirers and his discredited former field of study, writes Virginia Heffernan

Jay-Z in 8 review – the rapper’s interminable interview show should have been a podcast

Rick Rubin’s eight-part interview series with the MC is irritatingly unstructured, has portions that feel like filler and would hugely benefit from a different medium – which encourages use of the pause button Jay-Z in 8 does what it says on the can: the docuseries, released by…

Dutch riot police break up violent far-right protest in The Hague

Authorities ban anti-immigration march after fireworks and other projectiles thrown at officers in city centre park Dutch riot police dispersed several hundred far-right protesters in The Hague on Saturday after violence erupted and local authorities banned a planned march in the…

Ed Sheeran says situation in Gaza ‘unjustifiable’ in first show since tour plunged into turmoil

Pop star has faced boycott calls since rapper Macklemore was removed from tour after shouting ‘free Palestine’ at concert Ed Sheeran has opened a solo concert in Philadelphia with comments about Gaza, saying what is happening is “catastrophic and unjustifiable”, in his first show…

‘Without humanitarian aid, there is no life in Gaza. We have to hope tomorrow will be better’

The Guide #261: There is so much good telly this autumn you may never go outside again

In this week’s newsletter: From HBO’s incredible divorce drama War to the hilarious return of The Paper, there’s too much TV to choose from even for a confirmed addict like me For those of us who like to stay indoors, it has been a bad summer.

Saf’s cartoon: Gone but not forgotten

Unease in ‘newly independent’ Piddington as world media and Danny Tommo descend

As villagers take stock following symbolic vote, some fear far-right weaponisation of asylum dispute and influx of ‘masked people like in Dover’ The first significant event in the newly independent principality of Piddington was a decision to select the newt as the national…

The long fascinating history of food additives – and why we’re stuck with them

We’ve gone from celebrating foods with additives to despising them, but living without them seems an impossibility.

Kemi Badenoch accuses Andy Burnham of ‘fiddling while Europe risks burning’

Tory leader claims prime minister is avoiding difficult decisions as she urges him to increase defence spending Kemi Badenoch has accused Andy Burnham of “fiddling while Europe is at risk of burning”, as she repeated her call for the prime minister to cut the welfare budget to…

Netherlands vs Germany preview: It’s all Klopp x Xavi

Netherlands vs Germany preview: It’s all Klopp x Xavi

Unbeaten Brentford are proof that money isn’t everything

Unbeaten Brentford are proof that money isn’t everything

Millwall vs West Ham: After 14 years away, the Dockers derby has lost its menace

Millwall vs West Ham: After 14 years away, the Dockers derby has lost its menace

‘The second you show nerves, they pounce. They don’t care’

‘The second you show nerves, they pounce. They don’t care’

How Jose Mourinho’s anti-football became the modern blueprint

How Jose Mourinho’s anti-football became the modern blueprint

Lisa Maffia: ‘To talk about music in the 90s you had to strip to your underwear. I wish I hadn’t’

Maffia was a tomboy who grew up to sing in So Solid Crew before launching a stellar solo career. She just wishes she’d enjoyed Top of the Pops a bit more

A deadly crash and the perilous history of LA’s news helicopters: ‘the eye in the sky’

An on-air helicopter crash killed journalist Eliana Moreno and pilot George Marciniw, shaking LA’s news tradition The whir of news helicopters flying overhead has long been a familiar soundtrack to life in Los Angeles – and the footage they gather of high-speed chases, wildfires…

Bad for England, good for women’s rugby: the 39-game streak is over

Bad for England, good for women’s rugby: the 39-game streak is over

Strictly Come Dancing review – delighted new hosts help show feel genuinely fresh

The presenters look terrified and some of the celebs are hard to identify, but Strictly remains a rare refuge of joy At this point, Strictly Come Dancing cannot be allowed to fail.

How Big Issue came up from the streets, 35 years on: ‘It was the most chaotic, beautiful madness’

From uncertain beginnings, Big Issue went on sell hundreds of thousands of magazines a week and change countless lives

Saffie Osborne’s triumph shattered false logic: men are not a safer bet

Saffie Osborne’s triumph shattered false logic: men are not a safer bet

Neets ‘must be tracked on a national database until age 24’, Milburn recommends

Neets ‘must be tracked on a national database until age 24’, Milburn recommends

JD Sports boss feels the burn as global sales drop

JD Sports boss feels the burn as global sales drop

George Brown: the former Post Office boy who unlocked the mystery of depression

George Brown: the former Post Office boy who unlocked the mystery of depression

Israeli president pardons combat medic who shot dead wounded Palestinian attacker

Elor Azaria’s conviction in 2017 for manslaughter of man who stabbed soldier continues to divide country Israel’s president has pardoned a combat medic who shot dead a badly wounded Palestinian attacker who had stabbed a soldier in the occupied West Bank, in a case that divided…

How to build a nutritious emergency food stockpile

A food shortage is never going to be an ideal situation. But it’s possible to build a healthy stockpile for your home.

‘He’s simply astonishing’: will Andrew Scott become the first out gay man to win the best actor Oscar?

The Irishman seems a dead cert for his performance as Ian Charleson in Elsinore. And his ability to avoid being pigeonholed while embracing queer stories, from Pride to All of Us Strangers, is a remarkable achievement This Sunday, the curtain falls on the Toronto film festival …

The moment I knew: On a bike ride, she did a bunny hop over a speed hump – her pure joy for life delighted me

Anna Malos and Georgie bonded over their shared love of travel and horses. By their third date, an awkward encounter cemented their relationship Find more stories from the moment I knew series Georgie and I met at a kick-boxing club in London in 2004.

Suzi Quatro: ‘It is absolutely crazy I’m not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But I’m in good company!’

The 76-year-old rocker on her pre-gig routine, the one reality show she’d go on and who she’d cast as herself in a film about her life Your new album is called Freedom and the title track interpolates The Girl Can’t Help It.

When friends become good neighbours: the Melbourne families who transformed one home into three townhouses

In a novel approach to urban housing, some residents have pooled their time and finances into redeveloping single dwellings. It’s a herculean task – with feel-good results Melbourne architect Chris Gilbert had run out of eggs.

‘I feel like I’m cancelling out her life’: the wrenching work of clearing out a parent’s home

From old love letters to pieces of string, our homes are stuffed with stuff. When it comes time to empty a parent’s home, sorting the junk from the memory can be overwhelming Soon after her marriage in 1952, Ellen Rogers’ mother, Fay, bought a coordinated bedroom ensemble – a…

How to build climate-resilient transport systems

Our transport infrastructure and logistics supply chains were built for a stable environmental and energy baseline that no longer exists.

Camilla praises ‘life-enhancing power’ of books amid Earl Spencer memoir controversy

Queen speaks of love of reading at festival for charity she founded after success of her Instagram book club Queen Camilla has spoken of her love for books with a “life-enhancing power” after a series of allegations were made about King Charles in extracts from Earl Spencer’s…

Corner Flag No. 12

Killer by Godefridus (20 September)

Big Apple (20 September)

Sudoku Classic (20 September)

‘The damage was much worse than I had imagined’: the shocking inside story of Salman Rushdie’s survival

After ​the writer was stabbed in a horrific attack, his wife started making a video diary of his recovery. The clips are featured in a new film from Alex Gibney, who drew on Dennis Potter to create a powerful portrait of Rushdie’s tumultuous life Eliza Griffiths was at home in…

Google says its Gemini AI model hacked three other companies

Disclosure comes after OpenAI and Anthropic hacks amid fears that tech firms unable to control powerful AI models In a first for Google, the company confirmed that its AI model, Gemini, breached the security of three other companies in May.

Serena, DJs and Keely’s custom bodysuit: welcome to Athlos

Serena, DJs and Keely’s custom bodysuit: welcome to Athlos

Don’t be fooled: reviving the Help to Buy scheme won’t make housing more affordable in 2026

A government review of the Help to Buy scheme found that it provided ‘significant value for money’. IPPR’s Maya Singer Hobbs argues there are better ways to boost affordability than a revival of the post-financial-crash scheme

Caribbean nations draft action plan to push UK to redress reparations over slavery

Leaders hope UK will agree to targeted discussions around reparatory justice, but could consider legal options if Britain resists Caribbean nations are drawing up a multi-pronged “action plan” with legal options to push the UK into negotiating a decades-long slavery reparations…

‘It’s about controlling your entire body’: how to start doing handstands

Handstands display a mastery of one’s physical form that I have never quite felt – and they look cool. Experts share their advice for building up strength and practicing My aspirations in life are modest: I want to write, spend time with my loved ones, and someday find a lipstick…

Lindsay Clancy ex-husband says ‘I think I did the best I could’

Patrick Clancy and wife Rachel Danis to speak publicly on 60 Minutes on Sunday about Massachusetts murder trial Patrick Clancy and his wife Rachel Danis are set to describe their experiences of the Massachusetts triple-murder trial of his former wife Lindsay Clancy, with Clancy…

Your dream university bedroom: how to get that Insta glow-up

You’re going to spend a lot of time in your uni room – so don’t just dump your boxes and run. Here’s how to make that space work for you Uni means many hours cramming in the library and equally as many partying, but there is also a surprising amount of downtime – so a bedroom…

Brighton demolish champions Arsenal 3-0 to mark anniversary in style

So much for the new Invincibles. Arsenal were brought back down to earth with a shuddering bump by a scintillating display from Brighton as Fabian Hürzeler’s vibrant side celebrated the club’s 125th anniversary in style.

UK politics increasingly funded by billionaires as mega-donations surge

Exclusive: A total £179m has been donated by wealthy individuals since 2019, research reveals British politics is increasingly being funded by individual billionaires with a wave of mega-donations having flooded into UK political parties over the past two parliaments.

George Osborne ‘thought Peter Thiel’s Bayeux tapestry visit would be secret’

British Museum chair tells Big Brue festival he thought no one would find out about the private viewing George Osborne has said he thought no one would find out about a private viewing of the Bayeux tapestry he organised for the tech billionaire Peter Thiel at the British Museum.

Lexipedia quiz: on Samuel Johnson

Revel review – broken Barbies and a splash of Swan Lake as older dancers limber up

Byre theatre, St Andrews Warm-up routines lead into a reverie about life on the stage in Company Chordelia’s funny, carefully calibrated show The inevitable aches and sprains of an ageing body take on heightened significance for a seasoned dancer turning up to work each day.

Was Wrexham’s trailblazing black footballer also the first Indigenous Australian to play overseas?

Mystery surrounds the origin of Peter Baines, the trailblazing black footballer who played for the Welsh club, among others, during the 1940s Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article may contain the image and name of an Indigenous…

‘My fear was too great’: the Pussy Riot member recruited by Russian spies to inform on fellow activists

Exclusive: In her first media interview since fleeing Russia, Rita Flores describes her three years of being run by the FSB First came the blackmail and death threats to secure cooperation, then came a series of tasks, each more sinister than the last: to inform on fellow…

Thick smoke seen near Riyadh airport after air raid alerts in Saudi capital

Authorities also issued warnings for Jeddah and Yanbu, a major industrial port and home to vital oil facilities Flames and a large plume of black smoke were seen rising above Riyadh airport in Saudi Arabia on Saturday after the government sent air raid alerts to citizens by phone…

Earl Spencer doubles down on claims about ‘monstrous’ call with Charles after Diana’s death

Buckingham Palace has rebutted claim by Charles Spencer, Diana’s brother, that then prince told him ‘we’ll forget her soon enough’ Earl Spencer has doubled down on his bombshell claim that King Charles said of Diana, Princess of Wales, “rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough”…

Denmark and Greenland say US military agreement will not compromise Arctic territory’s sovereignty

Statement sought to clarify Trump’s announcement that US will have ‘permanent control’ over Greenland’s security Denmark and Greenland have said any agreement with the US to develop a significant military presence in the strategic Arctic territory will not compromise Greenland’s…

Is culture alive?

From Mozart to Madonna, dim sum to doughnuts, Shakespeare to Sartre – not all forms of life need DNA On Mount Athos, in northern Greece, a monk rises before dawn to sing the same office that has been sung on that mountain for more than 1,000 years.

Deep cuts: how one Londoner’s fake vinyl empire sheds light on ‘industrial scale’ fraud

Thousands of knock-off records worth a fortune are being seized in the UK by anti-counterfeit police stings From 2017 onwards, Rehan Ahmed styled himself as a savvy business owner.

Small boat arrivals are ‘wealthy men’ who do not deserve help, says Reform’s Danny Kruger

The fact that some migrants pay people smugglers thousands of pounds makes them well off, MP claims Asylum seekers who arrive on small boats across the Channel are “wealthy men” who do not deserve the help of the British state, according to the Reform UK MP Danny Kruger.

Sensitive UK police data vulnerable to ‘compromise’ by US government and foreign actors

Exclusive: Official UK security assessment found Microsoft cloud platform storing files was at potential risk from hostile hackers Vast troves of highly sensitive police data are lying on Microsoft cloud platforms which an official UK security assessment deemed to be vulnerable to…

The definitive guide to men’s shirts: 19 of the best for every occasion

Is an Oxford shirt the ultimate wardrobe staple? Are skin-tight fits ever a good idea? And what’s the perfect fabric for autumn and winter? Our menswear expert has all the answers • The best white T-shirts for men The photo above stopped me mid-scroll: Harry Styles, before his…

Trump’s battle to rename the Kennedy Center has put its future at risk

The president has threatened to block renovations and suggested the landmark could be demolished after courts ruled against his bid to rename it It was born with the world premiere of Leonard Bernstein’s Mass.

‘Cost of housing’ crunch looms for low-income families, warns Resolution Foundation

Thinktank calls on chancellor to end housing allowance freeze with typical two-bedroom household facing £158 week shortfall amid rent rises More than 1.1 million low-income families in rented homes face a “cost of housing” crunch without action from John Healey in next month’s…

From ovations in Venice to death threats in Israel: the extreme responses to NAZA documentary

As Gaza documentary wins cinematic acclaim, its directors face vitriol in Israel amid a febrile election campaign First there was a moment of stunned silence.

Not glamorous, but common: how to manage dandruff at home and when to get help

Experts don’t know exactly what causes dandruff, but if you’re seeing light flakes on your scalp, over-the-counter products can help You spy a scatter of white flakes on your collar. Or you’ve got an itch that won’t quit, no matter how much you wash your hair.

‘But enough about you …’ How to survive in a world of monologuists, interrupters and trauma dumpers

Conversations are supposed to be two-sided – but all too often we come up against someone who’s passionately, exclusively in love with the sound of their own voice. Time to fight back … When I was in my early teens, I was often invited round to a schoolfriend’s house for dinner.

Students scramble for accommodation after provider goes bust in Dundee

Case highlights severe financial strain on sector across UK as string of university housing schemes fail Are you having problems with your accommodation provider?

The cult of AI armageddon

Can anyone stop the Houthis?

What Burnham can learn from Bismarck

‘An intense caramelised toffee flavour’: the best supermarket maple syrup, tasted and rated

Which supermarket syrups ooze with potential? We put 10 of the finest, grade-A bottles to the test • The best supermarket runny honey Though today’s maple syrups vary dramatically in intensity, complexity and taste, they’re all of decent quality and have that classic and…

Hunk – or ‘unc’? What magazine covers of Michael B Jordan and Tom Cruise tell us about manhood

Images of two actors on front of Vogue and GQ land at a time when masculinity is increasingly dominating headlines Tom Cruise and Michael B Jordan share many similarities as box-office powerhouses known for their death-defying action hero stunts.

Revealed: how Russia uses mobile ‘super-app’ Max to spy on its citizens

Research shows tens of millions of people are being forced to use platform that amounts to ‘backdoor’ on their device Over the past 18 months, tens of millions of Russians have been forced to install a new app on their phones – a violet-blue button designed for messaging and…

Take more care

Scottish Labour’s new leader backs Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gasfields

Michael Marra supports development of the North Sea sites, calling for a ‘more rational’ approach to energy policy Scottish Labour’s new leader Michael Marra has backed the development of the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gasfields in the North Sea in one of his first acts after…

Jim Ratcliffe: UK is ‘on the slide’ from days when it had world’s ‘greatest empire’

Co-owner of Manchester United says Britain is in decline because of high taxes and immigration The co-owner of Manchester United Sir Jim Ratcliffe has described the UK as being a country “on the slide” from the days when it had “the greatest empire in the world”.

Strictly Come Dancing: the launch show – as it happened

Singapore is paying people to read books – can it fix the reading crisis?

A government scheme is giving citizens cash for spending time with a good book. We ask behavioural scientists, along with The Anxious Generation author and psychologist Jonathan Haidt, whether it’ll help make the habit stick Could the solution to the reading crisis lie in paying…

‘It’s almost impossible not to feel inspired’: how the story of Terry Fox fired up Canada’s patriotic spirit again

Canada’s citizens are finding unity again in the story of the man who ran cross-country on one leg to raise awareness for children’s cancer research Rob Stickle was six years old and waiting to see The Empire Strikes Back when a ripple passed through the crowd.

China bogeyman looms large over American firms’ AI doomsday scenario

Silicon Valley China hawks, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei among them, fear the country surpassing US’s AI lead as much as superintelligence destroying humanity When reporters asked Donald Trump this week if he supported calls to slow down the development of artificial intelligence…

Domestic datacentres: how computer power can help heat your home

Energy bills are scheduled to rise next month but there are innovative ways to heat your home and save money ‘When Giles Gibson turns on the hot tap in his home, the water that comes out of it is not heated by gas but by the tiny datacentre strapped to the tank.

‘Everyone assumed it represented a poo emoji!’ 27 writers on the greatest cake of their life

From the blissful threat of ‘death by chocolate’, to a book made of sponge and the lemon drizzle to end them all, these are the bakes that left the biggest impressions The Sorting Hat sponge I made for my son’s Harry Potter party is not the best cake I’ve ever tasted.

Are you washing your sportswear wrong? An expert guide to making it last longer

From sweaty kit to grubby trainers, here’s how to wash, repair and care for activewear more sustainably • The best moisture-wicking underwear, socks and base layers As a running and cycling journalist, I spend a lot of time in sportswear.

‘A losing battle’: will UK public service broadcasters survive amid US onslaught?

Jobs and programme budgets in firing line at BBC, Channel 4 and ITV as they are outgunned by YouTube and Netflix “I wouldn’t be surprised if the BBC or Channel 4 disappeared,” says one of the thousands of TV staff at risk of redundancy, as British broadcasters face what has…

Amanda Redman: ‘My most embarrassing moment? Getting caught doing a pretend Bafta thank you speech’

The actor on a terrible accident as a toddler, her bossy nature, and feeling too old to play a Shakespearean heroine Born in Brighton, Amanda Redman, 69, studied at Bristol Old Vic theatre school. She starred in the TV comedy drama El C.I.D.

Big Issue founder leads call for a national empty homes strategy: ‘A completely wasted resource’

There are more than 300,000 empty homes in England. Lord John Bird wants the government to come up with a strategy to bring them back into use

Kid, London W1: ‘Fat, richness, sharpness, all in perfect balance’ – restaurant review

Our main course arrived heavy and somewhat intimidating, and left picked completely clean Earlier this month, a kind-of Turkish ocakbaşı opened on a corner in London’s Soho.

Clothes aren’t crimes

Banning face coverings is an unnecessary assault on individual liberty

Ed Davey takes aim at Reform and Elon Musk as Lib Dem conference begins

Leader says party ‘won’t give up the fight’ to defeat ‘nasty populism’ in first-day speech to delegates in Brighton The Liberal Democrats’ leader, Sir Ed Davey, took aim at Nigel Farage and Elon Musk on the first day of his party’s annual conference, saying Lib Dems would not…

Brahms on prescription

Johannes Brahms: Piano works (ECM New Series)

Stewart Lee: ‘Danny Tommo’ and his men of fighting age seek their Passport to Piddington

The hamlet that voted to secede from the UK over asylum seekers is about to be invaded by the very worst Britons this country has to offer

Jonathan Franzen: ‘It’s still mysterious to me that I was angry for so long’

The author of The Corrections talks about a new TV adaptation, the future of reading and why creating new work is ‘horrible’ When HBO dropped its plan to adapt Jonathan Franzen’s bestselling novel The Corrections in 2012, the author was so relieved he says he performed his first…

Reform UK activists squabble over Farage’s plan for £72m donations

Crypto billionaires’ £72m will be used to hire campaign managers and professional staff in target constituencies For Nigel Farage, the £72m lavished last week on his party by the crypto billionaire donors Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne finally places Reform UK on a level…

Fashion forward: the young designers rewriting the rules

Fashion forward: the young designers rewriting the rules

These days we’re not just broke, we’re admitting it, too

These days we’re not just broke, we’re admitting it, too

James Graham: ‘In dark, difficult times, you intervene’

James Graham: ‘In dark, difficult times, you intervene’

Zen and the art of automobile maintenance

Zen and the art of automobile maintenance

‘Grief has been the truth of our lives’: Susie Cave on finding her way out of darkness

‘Grief has been the truth of our lives’: Susie Cave on finding her way out of darkness

‘Mum, I need more condoms’: the parents using social media to track their freshers

‘Mum, I need more condoms’: the parents using social media to track their freshers

There are plenty more fish in the sea to name

There are plenty more fish in the sea to name

Wanda and Marion Wulz: a riot of elegant fantasy and fun

Wanda and Marion Wulz: a riot of elegant fantasy and fun

Blackpool Illuminations: let there be light

Blackpool Illuminations: let there be light

Harrods seeks to recover abuse compensation costs from Mohamed Al Fayed’s estate

Exclusive: Survivors say luxury store’s attempt to recoup money is at odds with its public acceptance of responsibility Harrods is seeking to recover the cost of the compensation paid to hundreds of women allegedly sexually abused by Mohamed Al Fayed from his estate, the Guardian…

Before-and-after images show effects of rain in drought-hit England and Wales

Much of the UK is still officially in drought after its hottest summer on record, but grasslands are slowly recovering their colour The landscapes of southern England and Wales are slowly regaining their colour after this summer’s extreme heat.

Lib Dems have ‘moral responsibility’ to block Reform, says Ed Davey as party gears up for snap election

Exclusive: Lib Dem leader bullish ahead of party conference despite static poll ratings and MPs’ frustrations The Liberal Democrats have begun work on a new manifesto in case of a possible snap election, as Ed Davey said he understood the frustrations of some of his MPs who fear…

‘We lost £14,000’: can a new clampdown stamp out cowboy builders?

An app and a register of trusted traders may give greater protection to consumers but it is too late for some In hindsight, Sheri Ingram , 35, can see the red flags.

Pact with Saudi Arabia threatens to draw Pakistan into Middle East conflict

Activation of mutual defence agreement by Riyadh as fighting with Houthis escalates would have wide-reaching repercussions for Islamabad As he stood in Riyadh last September, the world looked like a very different place for Pakistan’s most powerful man, Gen Asim Munir.

Latvia’s president warns that Europe is not up to date with drone and aerial warfare in Ukraine

Edgars Rinkēvičs says drone warfare in Ukraine is moving at ‘lightning speed’ and efforts to prepare for an aerial war could be obsolete by next year Latvia’s president has warned that Europe is not keeping up with developments of drone and aerial warfare in Ukraine and that most…

Gemelo No. 48

Speedy No. 1,615

Everyman No. 4,170

Youth: Sharon Horgan’s comedy about dating at 50 is utterly hilarious

The perils of ageing and the horrors of finding post-divorce romance are laid bare in the new show from the creator of Motherland. It’s humungously funny, and so acutely observed it’s painful Ageing has changed, hasn’t it?

Meditating by the Dnipro: I’m an artist in Ukraine, searching for peace and a life between the missiles | Anna Ivanenko

Sometimes, you can remember what ordinary life was like before Russia’s invasion. Then reality comes screaming back Sometimes, where I live in Kyiv, I hear people say: “This feels pre-war.” It refers to situations that remind us of what life was like before.

Tim Dowling: could the new dog’s tricks make her into a star?

Two women I meet on our walk are way more interested in Jean than me – and insist she’ll clean up if we enter her in the local dog show It’s a Saturday morning and I’m walking the dog on a vast bit of scrubland. The path in front of me is parched and deserted.

‘We’ve been on a good run lately. We’ve not had a row for weeks!’: Coleen and Wayne Rooney on marriage, mistakes and making reality TV

His on-pitch triumphs (and off-pitch scandals), her turn as Wagatha Christie … for years, the football power couple have made headlines, despite efforts to keep their lives private. So why are they now about to reveal all on screen?

European education powerhouses rocked by falling scores in global study

France and Germany among countries with low Pisa scores, which show how well 15-year-olds use school learning in life France’s were its worst ever. Germany’s, too. In the Netherlands, results also tumbled to all-time lows.

From Beabadoobee to 70 Up: the week in rave reviews

The singer-songwriter’s new album sprinkles her 90s alt-fuzz with sweet melodies, while Asif Kapadia wraps up the seminal series. Here’s the pick of the week’s culture, taken from the Guardian’s best-rated reviews

Burning forests, emptying rivers, €180bn in damage: Europe’s politicians face reckoning after ‘summer of truth’

Amid record-shattering heatwaves and popular demand for climate action, why are politicians often timid or in denial? It was, according to the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, the “summer of truth” .

Blind date: ‘We talked about how I don’t like Clapham gays – guess where he lives?’

David (left), 34, a children’s doctor, meets Dec, 31, a culture and sex writer What were you hoping for? A sweet-hearted madman who would make me belly laugh.

‘A maelstrom of his own making’: how Ed Sheeran’s tour turned into a full-blown culture war

Moment of reckoning for ‘Mr Nice Guy’ of music, who embraced Macklemore’s political cred only for pro-Palestine rapper to be dropped under pressure from billionaire Ed Sheeran has long been known as the “Mr Nice Guy” of music.

The nationalists who aren’t

The scheme to break up the United Kingdom will see all of our nations abolished

More bureaucracy in every postcode

Burnham’s devolution revolution is creating bigger regional government without making existing government smaller

How ‘Progress, Inc.’ neuters the working class

They want blue-collar vibes, not policies

Reform donor Ben Delo loaned £350k to academic later found to have engaged in online bullying

Judge said Nina Power and her friend’s social media posts had ‘the whiff of threat and antisemitism’ Reform UK’s new mega-donor Ben Delo gave a £350,000 loan to a conservative writer fighting a legal case in which a judge later found she had engaged in online bullying and…

Inside Britain’s failing Foreign Office

What I learned occupying London

Will AI deny us agency?

Andy Burnham exclusive on rough sleeping plan: ‘It’s not just a one-off thing for Christmas’

The prime minister talks exclusively to Big Issue about his ambitious plan to end rough sleeping by Christmas and beyond

Diana book sparks royal row between King Charles and Earl Spencer - The Latest

Buckingham Palace has issued a rare, and strong, rebuttal to claims made in Earl Spencer’s memoir Swan Song. The book claims that King Charles told Spencer days after Diana’s death and during a heated row over funeral arrangements: ‘Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough.’…

The future of the Left will be decided in Holborn

Burnham’s coalition must reckon with Polanski

Trent Alexander-Arnold recalled by England but with a warning from Thomas Tuchel

Real Madrid player must help improve defensive solidity Scott, Hall, Lewis-Skelly and Calvert-Lewin selected Thomas Tuchel has told Trent Alexander-Arnold he must bring defensive solidity to the England squad after giving him a surprise recall for the upcoming Nations League…

US and Denmark reach security deal after Trump’s threats to take over Greenland

The agreement would allow the US to expand its military presence, while Denmark and Greenland say it preserves their sovereignty and right to self-determination Donald Trump announced on Friday that the US had struck an Arctic security pact with the leaders of Denmark and…

Six unmissable films at the 2026 BFI London Film Festival

Six unmissable films at the 2026 BFI London Film Festival

The big picture: recreating The Death of Chatterton

The big picture: recreating The Death of Chatterton

Lone holdout juror in Lindsay Clancy murder trial speaks out

Michael P Desronvil was sole juror to vote guilty, resulting in deadlocked jury and judge declaring a mistrial Ron DeSantis offers ‘asylum’ to holdout juror in Lindsay Clancy trial The lone holdout juror in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial is speaking out, saying that he “didn’t…

Stephanie Cole, Coronation Street and Open All Hours actor, dies aged 84

Cole, described as an ‘extraordinary talent’, also appeared in Waiting for God, Tenko and had an extensive theatre career The actor Stephanie Cole, best known for roles in Coronation Street, Waiting for God and Open All Hours, has died aged 84.

Earl Spencer SLATES the king. Charles DESTROYS Spencer. If only Diana were here to click on it | Marina Hyde

It’s a battle for hearts and minds – and TikTok, and the ’Gram. Just as it should be. #royalbeef Reading the extracts from Earl Spencer’s book about his sister Diana, and the king’s two-footed takedown of it , it’s hard to escape the idea that Spencer and the Windsors are just…

Marks and Spencer’s first LFW catwalk gamble pays off with compelling looks at affordable prices

Retailer’s message is ‘fashion with a small f’ as it picks up on trends and brings styles for everyone to debut runway show Joan Collins declared the coats “very chic”, and has her eye on a graceful ivory evening dress with caped shoulders.

Epitaph for a glacier

‘I was born to be the broccoli man’

What to read to understand homecoming

Five Great Reads: End times fascists, battling patriarchy in the climate crisis, and why Kylie still lives in our heads

’s weekend wrap of essential reads from the past seven days, selected by Jacqui Housden and Miles Herbert Get this in your inbox every weekend. Sign up for Five Great Reads here Hello and welcome to the weekend.

Swedish teenager jailed for attempted murder, rape and assault committed online, with victims in Germany and Australia

Eighteen-year-old known as Chai was active in networks notorious for their sadistic exploitation of young people A Swedish teenager known as Chai has been sentenced to more than 10 years in jail for attempted murder, rape and aggravated assault – crimes committed via the…

Yemen’s anti-Houthi forces launch inquest into sudden military collapse

Rout raises questions about coordination and morale as some politicians claim billions of dollars were offered to persuade forces to abandon position A bitter inquest is under way among Yemen’s anti-Houthi forces as to how what was being billed as a decisive assault on Sana’a…

The trouble with Steven Pinker | Weekend Edition

Plus – Stewart Lee | Cory Doctorow on superintelligence | Poppy Cooks | The radical Yard theatre reborn | Bob Stanley’s culture picks | Josh O’Connor onstage

Oxford United apologise for launching ‘United 93’ clothing range around 9/11 anniversary

‘Campus Collection’ aimed to mark 1893 club founding Range pulled from website two hours after launch Oxford United have abandoned a new range of American style-sportswear after it inadvertently referenced the tragedy of September 11.

Cory Doctorow: AI’s big beasts aren’t really scared of their products. They’re scared of their competition

The US giants would love to stop battling each other and be protected from China – and they might have hit on just the narrative to make that possible, writes our tech columnist

British Sikh man granted bail in India nine years after arrest

Jagtar Singh Johal, from Scotland, was arrested after wedding in Punjab on alleged terrorism offences Jagtar Singh Johal, a British Sikh man who was arrested in India in 2017 in connection with alleged terrorism offences, has been granted bail by a Delhi court.

Brentford blitz Chelsea as Fábio Carvalho caps stunning second-half display

Those early-season thoughts that Chelsea might be the team best-placed to challenge Arsenal are beginning to look extremely over-optimistic. The two chaotic wins with which they began were always difficult to read: they might have been useful points picked up on the way to a more…

Trump bans CNN, MS Now and Politico from White House

President has overseen an unprecedented restriction of access for major news media since start of second term US politics live – latest updates In his latest attack on the US constitution’s first amendment and the press, Donald Trump abruptly announced that he is banning outlets…

‘Run! Get away!’: witnesses recount Israeli ‘double tap’ strike that killed child and medic in Gaza

When Mohammad Abdul Zinati, 15, rushed to help a man wounded in a bomb attack, he had no time to react before he too was hit Mohammad Abdul Zinati was walking home from school through the rubble of Salah Khalaf Street, in northern Gaza City, when he stopped at a supermarket where…

The Recommender: Bob Stanley

The Saint Etienne musician, writer and pop historian shares his latest cultural discoveries

Wendy Ide’s films of the week: Resident Evil, Queen at Sea, Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom

Wendy Ide’s films of the week: Resident Evil, Queen at Sea, Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom

‘We don't want just bums on seats’: how the Yard, London’s coolest theatre, was reborn

Created from scavenged scaffolding in a scrappy corner of Hackney in 2011, the venue became celebrated for innovation and talent spotting. Now reopened following a £7m rebuild, its artistic director Jay Miller intends to keep breaking boundaries. Interview by Fergus Morgan

From the perfect jeans to wedgie-free knickers: fashion experts’ guide to the best women’s basics

Want to know the essentials fashion insiders swear by? Whether it’s great T-shirts or forever trainers, Guardian writers and stylists reveal the pieces they rate • Jess Cartner-Morley’s September style essentials Whether it’s a great pair of pants or the perfect T-shirt, nailing…

Space imperialists are galactically wrong

Don’t give oxygen to their fascist fantasies

The lobby at war with learning

Teachers unions serve no one but themselves

Claude: tyranny’s little helper

Is Flock spying on you?

Iran school bombing: grounds to believe US was behind atrocity, UN finds

Fact-finding mission says military strikes on school and sports facility in ⁠February constitute war ⁠crimes A UN fact-finding mission on Iran has said there are reasonable grounds to believe the US was behind two military strikes on a school and sports facility in Iran in…

The dangers that Ben Delo and his donation represent are clear

The dangers that Ben Delo and his donation represent are clear

‘We were bored of traditional fantasy cliches’: inside Playground Games’ 10-year effort to revive Fable

The distinctively British RPG is returning courtesy of the makers of Forza Horizon – with comedy talent such as Richard Ayoade and Natasia Demetriou voicing sweary characters.

Review of the Week: Golden Boy at the Almeida theatre

A dazzling production, and Josh O’Connor’s star turn as a boxer grappling his way to the top, drag what could have been a faded period piece to the brink of greatness, writes Nerve theatre critic Dorian Lynskey

John Vanbrugh at 300: the man described as ‘the Shakespeare of architecture’

Vanbrugh’s houses deliver on sensory impact and stirred emotions – the wow factor.

An effective ban on disabled people leaving Britain? You read that right, and we will not settle for it | Frances Ryan

This scandal shows there are many who don’t expect us to live rich lives – and that paternalism lives on in disability services Disabled people in UK need right to travel abroad, say MPs, after ‘ridiculous’ restrictions Disabled people are being barred from leaving the country.

Poorest countries hit hardest by UK aid cuts under Keir Starmer government, new figures reveal

Aid to lower-income countries fell by almost 7%, while higher-income countries saw their share of Britain’s aid budget increase The world’s poorest countries were worst hit by British aid cuts under Keir Starmer’s government, while higher-income countries saw their share of aid…

The Seven Up series has been intrusive and unfair. It should never have been made

The Seven Up series has been intrusive and unfair. It should never have been made

Letter to Brezhnev review – terrific return for Merseysiders’ romance with Russian sailors

Royal Court, Liverpool Ellie Clayton and Angela Simms are superb in a funny, tender adaptation that hugs close to the 1985 film By some quirk of marketing, Letter to Brezhnev is always associated with Margi Clarke.

Ed Miliband’s Jewish agony

Why Europe has been absent from the great AI safety debate

Though Europe has measures that address how consumers might encounter AI, technology will impact them if the worst scenarios bear Europe’s dilemma over AI was rendered in stark terms this week.

Who do you trust in an emergency? We asked people in places hit by extreme weather

The problem wasn’t the volume of emergency information – it was who it came from, and how it was delivered.

Neuroscience offers new insights into how our brain solves ‘the cocktail party problem’

Trying to understand how the brain is so good at focusing on one conversation has kept auditory neuroscientists occupied since the 1950s.

Stop adapting Jane Austen! Five other 18th-century writers perfect for the screen

From Eliza Haywood to Anne Radcliffe, there are other great 18-century writers whose work would be great on screen.

The week around the world in 20 pictures

Russian strikes in Kyiv, a female militia march in Tehran, protests in Pristina and Alfie Hewett at the US Open – the past seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalists

The Nerve Weekend Dish: Smash burger tacos by Poppy Cooks

The social media star shares a fast-food-inspired mash-up that’s super simple and perfect for students to rustle up

Mark Carney: a master of statecraft in an era short of great orators

Once again the quiet Canadian has staked out an ethical high ground above his noisy southern neighbour.

Exclusive: Lucy Letby’s case has ‘no doubt’ of appeal, despite damning Thirlwall report

Exclusive: Lucy Letby’s case has ‘no doubt’ of appeal, despite damning Thirlwall report

What might Canada’s EU ‘associate membership’ look like, and is it even a possibility?

Making Canada the EU’s first ‘associate member’ may be a solution in search of a problem.

Why ‘accidents’ can happen during intense exercise

It might be embarrassing, but unintentionally soiling one’s self during competition is not all that uncommon in elite athletes.

UK to answer for its ‘dismal record’ in Eurovision before committee of MPs

Digital, culture, media and sport committee expected to hear evidence from BBC bosses and music industry experts Joe and Jake. Daz Sampson. Electro Velvet. Who could forget them? Most people, probably.

This Israeli election could be the country’s last – this week I saw that for myself | Jonathan Freedland

Spend time on the ground and you see how high the stakes are for next month’s contest – for Israelis and Palestinians alike Candidates always say it, but this time it’s true.

Granting a new gasfield licence does not guarantee energy security

Any additional emissions from a UK gasfield are incompatible with climate targets.

‘It was a mess. I had to do something’: the personal struggle that inspired rap star Giggs to start a special needs school

After a battle to get his autistic children properly assessed, the London MC has co-founded a specialist centre in Kent to help neurodivergent kids realise their potential It has been a busy few weeks for the London rapper Giggs.

We wanted to let Max Dowman bloom in the shadows but he has become hard to ignore | Barney Ronay

This most modern and well-honed of footballers will not be able to escape the spotlight in an age of constant scrutiny but looks equipped to handle it The poet Jorge Luis Borges wrote a famous short story about a society that had become so good at making maps, so obsessed with…

The Guardian view on NAZA’s persecuted directors: journalism is not treason | Editorial

Politicians who threaten filmmakers rather than investigate alleged military crimes expose not strength but a leadership frightened of the evidence Across Israel, politicians, military leaders and much of the media are trying to discredit a documentary that almost none of them…

Twenty women had breasts removed unnecessarily during NHS cancer care

Patients among hundreds who suffered harm at County Durham and Darlington foundation trust’s breast unit Twenty women had their breasts removed unnecessarily while being treated for cancer at an NHS trust in north-east England.

US court sentences ex-Syrian official who ran notorious ‘punishment wing’ to 60 years

Samir Ousman al-Sheikh, part of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, was in charge of Adra prison where prisoners were tortured This article contains descriptions of torture.

Premier League action, Celtic v Rangers, T20 cricket and NFL – follow with us

Here’s how to follow along with our coverage – the finest writing and up-to-the-minute reports

Charles sounded 'giddily elated' after Diana’s death, claims Earl Spencer

In latest extracts from upcoming memoir, Diana’s brother suggests some in Buckingham Palace were ‘relieved’ at her death The brother of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, has claimed in published extracts of his new memoir that King Charles sounded “giddily elated – like a…

Saw this and thought of you: The Observer/Redstone Press Postcard Story prize winners

Saw this and thought of you: The Observer/Redstone Press Postcard Story prize winners

O, Really? The Observer Magazine’s weekly quiz

O, Really? The Observer Magazine’s weekly quiz

‘A critical moment’: concern UK is not up to speed in acting on AI risks

Andy Burnham’s focus on immediate domestic problems leads some to fear issue has dropped off government’s radar Towards the end of Keir Starmer’s time in office, his senior ministers, alarmed by the latest developments in artificial intelligence, began drawing up plans for a new…

Why the music you love listening to right now could be a dementia lifeline in the future

On the surface, playing music for someone with dementia can seem small, but a playlist of beloved songs can be a lifeline

Don’t be afraid to be masculine, laugh more, and phone your mum: letters to our sons, by Stephen Graham, Riz Ahmed, Danny Dyer and other wise men

The Adolescence actor and the psychologist Orly Klein asked fathers to write to their sons. The results – from famous dads to the wisdom of strangers – were moving and motivating. Here’s a selection What can I say?

Quentin Bell and Olivia Sterling review – two artists with a magic touch

Charleston, Lewes Bell’s strange and charming ceramics celebrate a life dedicated to creativity, while next door Sterling’s bawdier, weirder paintings form a critique of race and power Quentin Bell was not a great artist, but that didn’t stop him.

BrewDog creditors owed £190m will not be paid in full, say administrators

There are ‘insufficient funds’ to pay unpaid wages, tax owed to HMRC and overdue bills, accountants say Accountants picking over the remains of BrewDog, the “punk” beer company that collapsed earlier this year , have said that creditors who are owed about £190m will not be paid…

Talk less, listen more and six other top tips on giving good advice

Are you someone who thinks they have all the answers? Is your experience relevant here? Experts on the questions to ask yourself before giving advice “Often, when people approach you for advice, they just want to talk about how they feel,” says Annalisa Barbieri, advice columnist…

Members of right-leaning parties prefer leaders with ‘dark triad’ personality traits

The ‘dark triad’ is made up of narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy.

Playlist of the week: fashion week fancies

Playlist of the week: fashion week fancies

The Bayeux tapestry: how this medieval wonder was reinvented for modern times

From replicas to politicians’ ties, from satire to humour, the Bayeux tapestry inspires creative, artistic and political acts a thousand years later.

Warren Buffett steps down as chair of Berkshire Hathaway after over 50 years

Buffett, 96, will become chair emeritus and remain director as his son, Howard, steps in as company’s new chair Warren Buffett is stepping down as chair of Berkshire Hathaway after serving in the role at the conglomerate for more than 50 years.

Susan Calman: Tall Tales review – comic’s first tour in 10 years is raw and riotous

Perth Concert Hall Faux truculent and palpably adorable, the standup is in her element exposing her supposed flaws and the unseen idiocies of her TV career Tall Tales is Susan Calman ’s first new standup set for 10 years, designed to show us the real Susan behind the cuddly…

The return of English tribalism

Confessions of a Deliveroo lecturer

‘The man’s a psychopath when it comes to hedgerows’: Derek vs Derek, the unexpectedly heartwarming doc about farmers at war

One Devon farmer, called Derek, is committed to rewilding his land. His neighbour, also a Derek, tends cattle and crops. What happened when a film-maker decided to follow the bickering pair? Derek Gow and Derek Banbury should hate each other.

‘Eating is my superpower’: Nigella turns up the heat on Bake Off

The domestic goddess is about to be let loose in the Bake Off tent. Nigella Lawson and Paul Hollywood spill the beans about bonding over dirty martinis, ‘Professor Precision’ – and why they call themselves the Salty Gang Like the Cleopatra of cake, new Great British Bake Off…

‘I want us to be loud’: Arts Council England’s new chair aims to reconnect young people with culture

In first interview since starting job – and after visiting school where arts are central – Dawn Airey says she wants to fix ‘shocking’ lack of access Only half of children in England have been to a museum or the theatre in the past year, while three-quarters have not been to an…

Houthi rebel offensive fuels fears of escalation in the Middle East and Europe

The Iran-backed rebel group has taken control of the vital Bab al-Mandab Strait.

From old railways to an oasis of art, food and nature: how an eco-park was born in Greater Manchester

Northern Roots is launching Britain’s biggest urban farm and eco-park, in an effort to boost people’s health and wellbeing Standing in the open green space of Northern Roots, it is hard to imagine the landscape as it once was.

Disabled people need right to travel abroad, say UK MPs amid ‘ridiculous’ restrictions row

Outcry over ‘brazenly discriminatory’ funding practices among NHS care boards and local councils, with wide variations in rules Opinion: An effective ban on disabled people leaving Britain?

Fear and loathing linger as Millwall and West Ham resume ferocious rivalry

The Metropolitan police have been granted special powers to tackle violence as the south and east London teams meet again on Saturday after 14 years Absence has not made the heart grow fonder.

‘I spend a bagful of money and don’t fill a bag’: the energy crisis hits Bangladesh

The country has been left in the dark as it endures power cuts caused by the Iran war and reliance on gas imports At 1am, Halder’s alarm goes off and the 34-year-old Bangladeshi bank employee rises and heads to her kitchen.

Ed Sheeran has learned that trying to be apolitical has its limits

Ed Sheeran has learned that trying to be apolitical has its limits

Win one of 10 exclusive places at London Museum’s opening celebrations

Win one of 10 exclusive places at London Museum’s opening celebrations

Slipping the net

Palestine Action was banned, but the wider movement that developed around it has continued to evolve

The EA invasion

Effective Altruism has spent years infiltrating Westminster: now Washington has noticed

Labour’s Troubles surrender

A year on, Labour’s legacy plans still threaten to turbocharge the Troubles lawfare

Albums of the week: Ahadadream; Neil Young; Beabadoobee; Gwenno Morgan

Albums of the week: Ahadadream; Neil Young; Beabadoobee; Gwenno Morgan

‘I always told Hockney the truth’: the loves and life of Celia Birtwell

‘I always told Hockney the truth’: the loves and life of Celia Birtwell

The four plays to see in London this season

The four plays to see in London this season

AK Blakemore’s Doom Painting brings the Peasants’ Revolt into the vivid present

AK Blakemore’s Doom Painting brings the Peasants’ Revolt into the vivid present

Tableside bottle shows are a performance too far

Tableside bottle shows are a performance too far

Sienna Miller: ‘I was never going to have a normal life’

Sienna Miller: ‘I was never going to have a normal life’

The confessions of Leon Black, the billionaire who bankrolled Jeffrey Epstein

The confessions of Leon Black, the billionaire who bankrolled Jeffrey Epstein

Nigel Slater’s recipe for baked figs with ricotta

Nigel Slater’s recipe for baked figs with ricotta

Omar el Akkad lays bare the west’s betrayal of Gaza

Omar el Akkad lays bare the west’s betrayal of Gaza

The drone and AI-led future is coming – but I wouldn’t hold your breath

The drone and AI-led future is coming – but I wouldn’t hold your breath

This wobbly-looking high-rise Stonehenge is the future

This wobbly-looking high-rise Stonehenge is the future

Your AI doomsday questions answered: ‘Why aren’t these companies being held to account?’

After a week of alarming warnings about artificial intelligence’s potential to destroy the world as we know it, our technology reporters answered your questions on the reality of the AI threat IcommentthereforeIam asks: Given our senses, emotions, memory and moods, is it ever…

Former Labour deputy leader Tom Watson joins Palantir

Peer takes full-time position at the controversial company as it fends off pressure from both Andy Burnham’s government and Sadiq Khan Another former government minister has been hired by a controversial US AI company, this time Palantir, which has appointed Andy Burnham’s former…

‘I toured with a hole in my brain. I don’t regret a thing’: punk duo Lambrini Girls on fighting extreme times with extreme measures

Their debut stormed the charts and wowed Iggy Pop, but health crises threatened to derail the Brighton duo. Now they’re back, taking aim at the manosphere, fascism and the ruling class At a last-minute surprise show in London, the British punk duo Lambrini Girls are sharing their…

Slowly then all at once: this emboldened Celtic alliance could spell the end of the UK | Simon Jenkins

It’s something akin to a quiet earthquake: home nations jointly declaring their wish to be freed from English domination. A big move needs a big response Monday must have been a historical first.

Week in wildlife: swimming pigs, circling sharks and a fox on the cricket pitch

This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world

Your autumn offers from The Observer

I have seen the future. People are paid a basic income to escape ‘labourism’

Some of Britain’s brightest stars will take part in an evening of spoken word, movement and song at the Soutbank Centre's Letters to the Future show

Revolut reportedly facing $3m ransom demand after hackers steal hundreds of customers’ data

Europe’s largest financial technology company confirmed it had fallen victim to an impersonation scam last week Revolut is facing a reported $3m (£2.2m) ransom demand after hackers posing as government officials accessed the data of hundreds of the bank’s cryptocurrency…

No Land to Stand On by Mahmoud Khalil review – a searing account of political imprisonment

The Palestinian Columbia student snatched by ICE writes about his Kafkaesque ordeal with a quiet fury Mahmoud Khalil was completing a master’s degree at Columbia University when, in March 2025, plain-clothed officers from the Department of Homeland Security snatched him from his…

Global leaders urged to join initiative to fight extreme inequality

More than 1,500 academics and economists sign letter, calling growing gap between richest and poorest ‘a policy choice that can be reversed’ More than 1,500 academics and economists from 100-plus countries are urging global leaders to join an initiative against extreme…

Paul, John … and Yvonne? The French novelist asking: what if a woman had written the Beatles’ greatest hits?

Celebrated thriller writer Michel Bussi explains why the plot of his new novel Code Yesterday isn’t so far fetched, saying ‘I wanted to give women revenge’ Relations between France and England have rarely looked brighter.

‘Like a Bond villain’s lair’: I climbed the Dolomites to the world’s most spectacular mountain hut

Perched above the clouds in northern Italy, Santnerpass refuge doesn’t just look stunning. It’s a marvel of eco-building – and vegetarian cuisine ‘I think my boots are falling apart!” shouts Nigel just as we hit the pinnacles, a whole range of them jutting up and out from the…

‘A map is never neutral’: meet the cartographers who took on centuries of western bias

Equal Earth projection, adopted by the UN last week, provides an alternative to 16th-century Mercator display Three cartographers have spoken of their astonishment at the UN’s near-universal adoption of a map they created to more accurately show the sizes of Africa and Europe…

Think it’s time for gen Z to ‘grow up’? You’re even more out of touch than the British state | Gaby Hinsliff

We can’t expect young people to make a seamless transition from childhood to adulthood in this chilly economic climate. Finally, Westminster is catching on When did you realise you had finally grown up?

MPs urge ministers to break off Thames Water talks with US hedge funds

Efra committee calls for emergency legislation enabling government to take public control of the company Andy Burnham is under further pressure to take control of ailing Thames Water from a cross-party group of MPs who are calling for ministers to break off talks with the US…

Is the tie dead? Fashion connoisseurs hope not as House of Lords relaxes rules

Switch to ‘business attire’ is a sign of the times, but formal neckwear still has its place, say some of Savile Row’s finest-dressed The House of Lords has long been derided as a stuffy relic of the past.

A union worth fighting for

If nationalists are arguing for dissolution, unionists need to explain what would be lost

Women weren’t lied to

Kisin’s comforting lie about fertility lets women escape responsibility for their own choices

A certain idea of de Gaulle

De Gaulle returns to the big screen in a magnificent epic of French courage, defiance and grandeur.

Don’t fear the donors

The real problem with British political money is that too little of it builds lasting institutions

Why the places we love in books can never quite be found in real life

From Hardy’s Wessex to Brontë country, literary tourists may be chasing places that never quite existed as they imagine them.

The shock of Edna O’Brien

Driving through water is the biggest cause of death during floods – here’s how it can happen

While deep water immobilises a vehicle, flowing water can take a car downstream.

The spectre of ‘remigration’ is haunting Europe. Slovenia in 1992 gives us a blueprint for this state terror | Miha Mazzini

In February that year, the Slovenian government officially deleted 25,000 citizens, turning them overnight into illegal immigrants So much of your daily life – your job, your health, your home – hinges on the fact that your name is in a government database.

Experience: I survived being buried in an avalanche

I was at the mercy of the mountain, heading towards a 20-metre drop, about to discover what it felt like to die Growing up in Sweden, I was as comfortable on skis as I was walking on my feet.

MobLand season two review – why is Pierce Brosnan’s tedious crime drama so obsessed with testicle jokes?

This Guy-Ritchie-directed gangland drama is deathly dull. It’s a charm-free watch with awful characters and humour so genital-based that at one point Helen Mirren yells a penis joke at a sausage MobLand. It sounds like a regional nightclub. Or a boyband. But it’s not.

The faith of Dovie Eisner

The disabled writer defended human dignity

Charles’s rebuttal of Earl Spencer’s claim about Diana offers rare glimpse into palace thinking

From ‘there were three of us in this marriage’ to ‘recollections may vary’, a lot can be conveyed with a carefully worded phrase As denials go, King Charles’s response to Earl Spencer’s allegations that Charles said after Diana’s death, “We’ll forget her soon enough”, was a…

Polanski request to postpone Greens’ conference to focus on byelection refused by party

Exclusive: Leader understood to have wanted to concentrate on Holborn and St Pancras campaign in London but executive committee voted against plan Zack Polanski requested that the Greens’ ruling executive committee postpone the party’s imminent annual conference so they could…

No hope, no vote … how most of Delhi’s sex workers are being struck off electoral rolls

Modi’s bid to ‘purify’ voter lists has affected a third of the city’s residents. In the GB Road red light district, those who lack permanent homes and documents are among the hardest hit Rows of hardware and car-part shops line Garstin Bastion Road, with faded signs crammed…

Russians go to polls against backdrop of Ukraine war and Putin’s tightening grip

President’s United Russia party faces no meaningful opposition after liberal anti-war party barred from ballot Revealed: how Russia uses mobile ‘super-app’ Max to spy on its citizens Russians are going to the polls to elect a new State Duma in a tightly controlled vote stripped…

British people understand the climate crisis threat. Today I’m empowering them to tackle it | Andy Burnham

With nearly £30m of funding, I’m giving communities power over local energy. They know the gravity of global heating, and they want to be part of the solution Andy Burnham: UK must fully commit to reaching net zero by 2050 On the day I became prime minister, I pledged to bring…

Ukraine war briefing: Poland’s Tusk heads to Kyiv after warning of Russian strikes on Ukrainian allies

Donald Tusk says Moscow will not enter peace talks without Ukraine’s ‘total capitulation’ and will try to inflict a ‘tragically critical’ winter. What we know on day 1,668

Sway, Mobo-winning British rapper, dies aged 44

Rapper won prestigious award as an unsigned artist before breaking UK Top 10 and nurturing artists including KSI The British rapper Sway, who proved inspirational to a generation of Black British musicians thanks to his independence and frank, dextrous storytelling, has died aged…

Flight chaos for hundreds of thousands was caused in ‘millisecond’ by software error

Error first occurred at 10am but major incident was not declared until 12.30pm, says report A software defect in part of the UK’s air traffic control system corrupted flight data “in the space of a millisecond”, leading to a six-hour outage and mass airline cancellations and…

‘A man threatened to shoot me’: the abuse pushing UK councillors out of politics

Exclusive: Survey finds 78% of councillors feel at risk in their roles, with 52% saying intimidation has risen in past year Heather Williams has been shouted at in the street, received death threats, threats of sexual violence, and had dog faeces left on her doorstep.

Burnham’s talk of ‘breathing space’ at odds with reality of future Bank rate rises

PM’s push to cut cost of living threatened by rising inflation and government borrowing costs as geopolitics hit home Bank of England holds interest rates Business live – latest updates Good luck to Andy Burnham convincing voters he is giving them “breathing space”, if the Bank…

Human remains discovered in London parkland identified as missing woman Joanne Sheen

56-year-old man arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder after discovery of woman reported missing in 2020 A body found in an area of London shrubland that was partly cleared of foliage by a wildfire in August is that of a woman who disappeared from Hampshire nearly…

Prominent art therapist quoted by Vice, Forbes and others is AI-generated

Expert in residence for art materials website is widely-quoted psychology expert.

‘Forcing a reckoning’: How Asia is preparing for a ‘supersized’ El Niño

From Sri Lanka to South Korea, governments are preparing for droughts, wildfires, typhoons and floods – with climate plans facing their biggest challenge to date Asian governments are rushing preparations for the most severe El Niño weather event on record, with hundreds of…

Balletic hits and bicycle kicks: Teqball comes of age at the Asian Games

Invented a little over a decade ago in Hungary, teqball is a combination of football and ping pong In Bangkok’s Sports Science Centre, Jutatip Kuntatong is airborne, executing a gravity-defying bicycle kick that slams the ball on to the curved table with a force that echoes…

Council spending on housing homeless families in England at almost £3bn a year: ‘It’s crippling’

Local authorities spent £2.93 billion on temporary accommodation in 2025-26, new government figures show, as campaigners call for housing benefit hikes and more social homes to prevent rising homelessness

Ireland to boycott Eurovision again over Israeli participation and ongoing Gaza deaths

Ireland joins Netherlands in refusing to take part in 2027 song contest, in second consecutive year of protests Ireland is to boycott Eurovision for the second year running over the “appalling” ongoing killing in Gaza, the national broadcaster has said.

Find a credible plan for British Steel, ministers told as ‘startling’ costs soar

Government spending watchdog warns of price of keeping publicly owned firm in business Labour has been urged to lay out a credible plan for the future of British Steel, as the government spending watchdog warned of the “startling” costs of keeping the struggling manufacturer in…

Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend

Spurs and Villa meet in desperation derby and Andoni Iraola faces test on south-coast return Premier League top scorers: check the latest standings Chelsea have not won this west London derby since Brentford’s first Premier League season.

‘Outright racist’ Daniel Thomas will face full force of law over any crimes, says home secretary

Shabana Mahmood says she wants to distinguish between far-right extremism and legitimate local concerns over asylum sites Shabana Mahmood has described the anti-asylum activist Daniel Thomas as “a far-right and outright racist” who will feel “the full force of the law” if his…

YouTube star Ms Rachel to match Macklemore’s $1m Palestine aid donation

Educator talks of ‘moral obligation’ and urges ‘every wealthy white celebrity’ to make similar donation YouTube star Ms Rachel has said she is matching rapper Macklemore’s $1m donation to organizations supporting Palestinians, calling on other public figures to follow suit.

Baby found wrapped in 1910 newspaper was killed with twine, UK inquest concludes

‘Terrible thing’ happened to infant boy found under the floorboards at a house in Bishop Auckland, says coroner A baby boy who was found with twine looped and knotted round his neck and wrapped in a 116-year-old newspaper was unlawfully killed, a coroner has concluded.

Plan to limit NHS diagnoses of ADHD attacked as ‘rationing’ healthcare

Review expected to say patients in England should be ‘triaged’ and offered support without formal diagnosis Proposals to limit the number of patients being formally diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder have been attacked as “rationing” healthcare and pushing…

Open AI and the million-dollar maths problem - video

In early September, OpenAI announced it had solved a major mathematics problem that has stumped humans for nearly a century. The news left mathematicians reeling, and many expressed concern over what will be left for humans as AI becomes ever more adept at unravelling complex…

Shoplifting’s golden age

Britain’s shoplifting epidemic is being fuelled by a criminal justice system that rarely imposes meaningful punishment

Nicholas Brandram’s family deny he was ‘Putney pusher’ and say Met police pressure led to his death

Banker, 44, was arrested in connection with 2017 incident but family say ‘no credible evidence’ he was involved The family of Nicholas Brandram have denied he was the so-called “Putney pusher” and said he “took his own life after months of immense pressure caused by a…

The Royals: Time to Go? – now John Humphrys unfurls the republican flag

The Royals: Time to Go? – now John Humphrys unfurls the republican flag

Super El Niño could end the ‘sense of food abundance’ enjoyed by UK consumers

Super El Niño could end the ‘sense of food abundance’ enjoyed by UK consumers

Addison Lee founder owes £20.5m in tax after UK tribunal ruling

HMRC wins challenge over John Griffin’s claim to be non-dom despite having lived in England since childhood The founder of Addison Lee owes £20.5m in tax after a tribunal dismissed a claim that he should be treated as a nom-dom despite living in the UK since childhood.

New cat species identified for first time in more than a century in Bolivia

New species of wild feline was discovered in Bolivia’s Yungas forest that is smaller than the average domestic ⁠cat A diminutive wild cat that inhabits Bolivia’s ⁠cloud forest has been identified as a previously unknown species, marking the first time a new living feline species…

Marriage laws can be absurd, but ‘I do’ believe the trad wedding needs protecting

Marriage laws can be absurd, but ‘I do’ believe the trad wedding needs protecting

‘I grew up in social housing and now I’m going to Harvard. It’s given me drive to change the world’

Monay Thomas grew up in social housing and temporary accommodation. She has overcome 'lots of barriers and struggles' to attend Harvard University

‘It bloody works’: why the world’s oldest cheddar-maker uses a ‘milk-source’ heat pump

Barber’s Farmhouse Cheesemakers can draw enough heat from cows’ fresh milk to bring water close to the boil, slashing carbon emissions In many ways, the world’s oldest cheddar-maker hews to tradition.

Nato head: Britain must show ‘credible path’ of annual defence budget increases

Mark Rutte said Britain will need to steadily increase defence spending to meet Nato target of 3.5% of GDP by 2035 Britain needs to show “a credible path” of annual increases in its defence budgets to meet a Nato target of spending nearly £30bn more on the military by the middle…

Bank of England holds interest rates at 3.75% but warns war could force future rises

Central bank announces surprise plan to sell billions of pounds in government bonds back to the Treasury Burnham’s talk of ‘breathing space’ at odds with reality of future rate rises Business live – latest updates The Bank of England has kept interest rates on hold as it warned a…

‘Food noise’ is everywhere – but is it even real?

‘Food noise’ is everywhere – but is it even real?

Tonnes of fishing gear and plastic are washing up on Seychelles beaches. We tracked where it was coming from

Satellite tracking data was used to look at which ships and boats were active in the Seychelles waters.

Decades of male-focused medical research could bias healthcare AI

Studies may include both sexes yet leave differences unexplored. That gap becomes more consequential when old evidence helps train medical AI.

‘I’m genuinely sorry’: Australian Hyrox athlete who soiled herself apologises to China and rivals

Joanna Wietrzyk ‘regrets’ decision to keep racing She forfeits points from her win in the Beijing race The Australian athlete who caused a storm by winning a Hyrox event in China despite soiling herself during the race has apologised to the “people of China” and rival athletes in…

With Kemi’s new shadow chancellor, the Tories must hope for a bout of public amnesia

Andrew Griffith is keen on clearing red tape. Good job he wasn’t part of a Treasury team that abolished the Office for Tax Simplification On days like this, it’s not hard to be overwhelmed by existential futility.

The Disappearers: Marlon James’s new novel gives voice to the gay men Jamaica erased

Searing writing that seeks to bear witness to the violent reality of queer Jamaicans.

Using ‘neurodivergent’ as a catch-all term is problematic – here’s why

Not even experts can agree on what the term means.

Taking on Trump? Canada and EU forge closer ties - The Latest

Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, has welcomed the EU’s proposal for Canada to become the bloc’s first ‘associate member’, despite threats from Donald Trump over the plan.

Independence from Westminster will come with a hefty price tag for the devolved nations

Independence from Westminster will come with a hefty price tag for the devolved nations

Greens urge Zack Polanski to take stance on proposed policy declaring ‘Zionism is racism’

Exclusive: The Green leader has not spoken publicly about the motion, which is likely to be debated at the party’s conference in October The Greens are pushing Zack Polanski to take a stance on a potential party policy stating “Zionism is racism”, with some fearing it could…

Arsenal beaten 3-0 by Brighton as Newcastle and Everton grab wins: clockwatch – live

It has taken years to regulate bailiffs. Stopping intimidation is as important as recovering debt

After four years of campaigning, bailiffs are set to be forced to sign up to the Enforcement Conduct Board regulator. It’s an important step to crack down on fear and intimidation when recovering debts, writes StepChange CEO Vikki Brownridge

US passenger duct-taped to plane seat says: ‘I don’t remember any of it’

After being read charges, Layne Lundeen said: ‘I assaulted a police officer? Is that what it says? I don’t have my glasses’ An American Airlines passenger who was duct-taped to his seat following an alleged outburst including racial and homophobic slurs said that he does not…

FA chair Hewitt demands Infantino release records of failed World Cup plan

Letter sent before Fifa council meeting on 15 October Infantino under pressure before presidential election The Football Association’s chair, Debbie Hewitt, has written to Gianni Infantino demanding that Fifa releases all documents relating to his abandoned World Cup sell-off…

Bad Apples review – Saoirse Ronan’s suffering teacher best thing about school horror-satire

Ronan plays a teacher who finds a way to deal with a disruptive pupil in Jonatan Etzler’s implausible film, but it’s not shocking or funny enough Here is a strange, heavy-handed and unpersuasive black comedy which owes what success it has to the star-power of its lead, Saoirse…

New lawsuit alleges Epstein possessed ‘child sexual abuse material of countless children’

Two women who filed suit against Epstein estate ask court to order program to notify potential victims Jeffrey Epstein ’s estate is facing a new lawsuit filed by two women who allege that Epstein possessed child sexual abuse material (CSAM) of them.

‘Harrowing reading’: what the inquiry into NZ fugitive father Tom Phillips revealed

Inquiry uncovered missed opportunities and failures by New Zealand police and government agencies that could have avoided four-year hunt A major public inquiry into the disappearance of fugitive father Tom Phillips, who hid in New Zealand’s wilderness for nearly four years with…

Athlos: the final sprint of the athletics season will be for women only

Athlos: the final sprint of the athletics season will be for women only

Elon Musk is a bigger threat to British democracy than crypto billionaires

Elon Musk is a bigger threat to British democracy than crypto billionaires

The Bank of England is shaking up its bond sales – why does it matter?

What the plan to sell £146bn in gilts back to the Treasury means for the public finances Bank of England holds interest rates Burnham’s talk of ‘breathing space’ at odds with reality of future rate rises Mixed in with the Bank of England’s decision on Thursday to hold interest…

Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story review – it’s like Ryan Murphy’s new series was written by adolescent boys

The latest Monster instalment, about the 1892 Borden axe murders, is packed with periods and beheadings, and feels like it was made up as they went along Okaaay – here’s what I think must have happened.

Children from armed forces families have extra educational challenges – especially those with Send

Having to move home and school can mean disrupting trusted adult relationships and the loss of access to established support.

Nato is concerned about the threat from Russia. But it isn’t panicking – yet

Facing an increasingly aggressive Russia and with equivocal commitment from the US, Nato faces a number of important challenges.

Labour is facing calls to means-test disability benefit PIP. Here’s why it would push up poverty

The Labour government has made no suggestion that it plans to cut PIP, but there are still no guarantees. As it faces a fresh call to means-test the disability benefit, charities warn the government that it must provide people with certainty

I’m nearly 30, a virgin and feel lonely. The manosphere is trying to draw me in – where else can I seek assurance? | Leading questions

The manosphere says this type of suffering is targeted neglect, writes advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith . But your suffering gives you the ability to make your part of the world better.

Darkling review – Stranger Things’ Linnea Berthelsen confronts a gruesome Indian disaster

Bush theatre, London Titas Halder’s coming-of-age monologue is set against the 1984 Bhopal toxic gas leak – but the poetic script doesn’t quite capture the horror Ominousness permeates Darkling.

Meta ordered to remove deepfakes as oversight board criticises ‘inadequate’ safeguards

Facebook told it was wrong in leaving up AI-generated videos of a Labour councillor and Muslim campaigner, amid calls to curb fakes Meta’s “supreme court” has ordered the tech company to take down deepfake videos of a UK politician and a young Muslim woman from Facebook and do…

Tax the middle earners! Will the PM do it? – podcast

Former Bank of England economist Andy Haldane said the markets regarded this government as ‘a pretty traditional tax and spend socialist government with better TikTok videos’. Harsh criticism or truth?

Hundreds evacuated after fire breaks out at seaside hotel in Kent

About 280 people taken to safety from the Grand Burstin in Folkestone after blaze thought to have started in basement Hundreds of people have been evacuated from a hotel in Folkestone after a large fire broke out overnight.

Peers call for UK to enact tobacco-style ban on gambling advertising

Lords’ report faces criticism from lobby groups after suggesting ban would be ‘most effective’ way to reduce public harms The UK should introduce a ban on almost all gambling advertising to protect public health, a cross-party group of peers has urged, prompting fury from the…

Beck: ‘What does a devil’s haircut look like? Anything with a lot of architecture and wild flights of fancy’

The genre-fluid singer answers your questions on being funky v lonesome, his infamous MTV interview with Thurston Moore and why he said yes to performing with a chain-smoking alcoholic robot • Read Alexis Petridis’s 5* review of new album Ride Lonesome You’ve been performing…

The best resistance bands in the UK to improve mobility and strength on a budget, tested

Loop and tube bands are cheaper than a gym membership and take up less space than weights – our exercise buff put 18 to the test • The best treadmills for your home Movement breeds motivation, not vice versa.

‘Amazing community’: how people are making new friends and connections as adults

As concern about loneliness and social isolation grows, we spoke to people who have joined groups and set up activities Amid growing concern about loneliness and social isolation, new research from the Institute for Public Policy Research found the number of young people in…

‘Songwriting instead of doomscrolling’: project inspires Welsh valleys towns to tune into their heritage

Community groups and schools work with Wales’s folk arts organisation to set stories of the area’s people to music Growing up in Wales, Liz Puleston-Jones was familiar with the country’s rich heritage of storytelling and traditional music, but none of it ever seemed to have much…

Ezra Collective’s temple of joy

Father of Noah, three, thanks those who searched for his son as village reels from loss

Rhys Woods says there are ‘no words’ for family’s pain after Noah’s body was found in pond near Suffolk playground The father of Noah, the three-year-old boy who was found dead after going missing from a playground, has spoken of his heartbreak and thanked the community who…

London Fashion Week: five rising stars to look out for

London Fashion Week: five rising stars to look out for

Women in England with incurable breast cancer to get life-extending drug on NHS

Thousands with HER2-low advanced breast cancer will have access to Enhertu after ministers strike deal on price Thousands of women in England with incurable breast cancer will get access to a life-extending drug on the NHS after negotiations over its cost proved successful.

Houthi offensive in Yemen adds to fear that Iran war could escalate into a wider global conflict

Recent events in Yemen could drag Saudi Arabia into the conflict.

Why AI consciousness could become the next great societal divide

Ideally, experts should guide this debate. Unfortunately, they disagree too.

Margaret Busby: ‘My friend Bonnie Greer fearlessly spoke out and forged connections’

The writer and editor shares memories of a creative powerhouse who was generous with her time and expertise Bonnie Greer, writer and cultural commentator, dies aged 77 Bonnie Greer personified courage, humour, principle and generosity.

What it’s like to sell the Big Issue magazine for 35 years: ‘We’re part of a British institution’

vendor Kelvin Gregory has been with the Big Issue since its inception in 1991. He barely recognises himself when we show him footage of him working at Big Issue back in 2000

Netanyahu seeks to strip citizenship from Israelis as threats to NAZA film directors intensify

Israeli prime minister to pursue new laws as directors of Guardian-produced film face threats from far-right officials and activists ‘They know the house they are bombing is full of children’: NAZA’s directors on their devastating film about Israeli intelligence Benjamin…

Former student of suspended Reform official ‘reopens case’ against University of Cambridge

Cambridge previously paid £5,000 compensation after an investigation partially upheld allegations against Dr James Orr A former student of James Orr who was found to have been bullied by the suspended senior Reform UK figure is reopening a case against the University of…

Opening the door for Canada is a harmless gesture. But it won’t fix Europe’s security crisis | Paul Taylor

Beyond the morale boost and Mark Carney’s stardust, ‘associate membership’ means little Ursula von der Leyen brought a new mascot to her annual State of the Union address to the European parliament: the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney.

Can fish and chip shops survive? ‘We made more money by closing than staying open’

Soaring fish prices, labour costs and changing tastes all spell bad news for Britain’s chippies. Is this the end for the seaside staple – or will a few innovators succeed in keeping them alive?

Lifeboat station in Portsmouth forced to temporarily shut after far-right action

RNLI facility had been targeted by activists trying to stop asylum seekers landing in boats from the Channel A lifeboat station on the south coast of England near the spot where far-right activists tried to stop asylum seekers landing has been forced to temporarily close, it has…

Andy Burnham: UK must fully commit to reaching net zero by 2050

Exclusive: PM, who is facing pressure over whether to approve North Sea oil and gasfields, makes strongest comments yet on issue British people understand the climate crisis threat.

Faster! Louder! Brighter! How the attention economy overwhelmed children’s TV

Does your child’s favourite show give them a chance to reflect, or does it move too quickly for its lessons to sink in? A version of this piece was originally published on Aeon as The bombarding of childhood I am at the airport gate waiting to depart, watching passengers hurry…

Human harps, massive bananas and dogging: the 20 best Busby Berkeley dance routines – ranked!

To mark 50 years since the director and choreographer’s death, we count down his best fantastical, kaleidoscopic numbers, from erotic silhouettes to sinister tap dancers So you thought Cats (2019) was tacky?

Imagine newsletter: penguins, satellites and pink poo

New satellite methods can track penguin colonies in winter – and can judge their health based on the colour of their guano.

Thelma & Louise review – musical hoedown is a bland and baffling wrong turn

Young Vic, London Despite a book by the original screenwriter, this stage adaptation doesn’t have the depth – or the songs – worthy of the era-defining feminist parable. And where’s the car?

When prepping for disaster, don’t forget to pack your teddy bear

Is England right to introduce a tourism tax?

2025 was among driest years on record for world’s rivers, study finds

Analysis of global resources reveals depletion in world’s water savings bank to 42% below normal levels last year Rivers across the world experienced one of their driest years in more than three decades in 2025, a comprehensive study of global water resources has found.

Dear Ed Sheeran, fence-sitting is so last century: musicians can no longer opt out of politics | Zoe Williams

It’s all very 2026: with a stadium owner on one side and angry support acts on the other, the cornered star will have to pick a side Ed Sheeran, seeking to stay out of politics, has become, in this moment, the most political artist in the world.

Beabadoobee: Pylon review – voice of a generation’s surprisingly relatable rampage through rock star rage

(Dirty Hit) The Filipino-British songwriter’s fourth album sprinkles 90s alt fuzz with disarmingly sweet melodies and an impressive host of guests including Paramore’s Hayley Williams and Turnstile’s Brendan Yates Last month, the Guardian published a feature about the demise of…

‘I see them like my own children’: reforesting Ethiopia with 50bn trees, one step at a time

After losing much of its forests in recent decades, ordinary citizens have led the way in planting saplings across the country as part of the government’s Green Legacy Initiative When Halima Kedir first began planting trees, she was met with scepticism and even mockery.

‘A really scary place for children’: English hospitals have chronic lack of health play staff

Analysis finds only 955 play professionals supporting 21 million child hospital admissions, leaving many traumatised for life Children in English hospitals with serious illnesses are being exposed to avoidable trauma because too few health play professionals are being employed…

Electoral reform is back on the agenda – here’s why things could genuinely be different this time

For once, it could serve the interests of the governing party to change the voting rules.

Are we living in the End Times? With Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor – Stateside with Kai and Carter

In a new book, writers Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor have created a term to define the era we are living in: End Times Fascism. A response to the climate crisis, the rise of the far-right and advancing AI technology, they spell out how the damage being wrought by the super-rich is…

Thousands of Barclays staff revolt over return-to-office mandate

Union calls for payouts to help cover travel costs and exemption for those living more than 40 minutes away Business live – latest updates Barclays is facing a growing backlash over return-to-office plans, with thousands of staff calling for payouts to help cover travel costs and…

Trump has been handed a defeat in his attempt to sway the midterms

Trump has been handed a defeat in his attempt to sway the midterms

Earl Spencer’s memoir claims Prince Charles said of Diana: ‘We’ll forget her soon enough’

Charles Spencer’s book, Swan Song, alleges comments were made during argument over Princess of Wales’ funeral arrangements Prince Charles told Earl Spencer days after the death of his sister Diana, Princess of Wales, that “rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough”, it is…

‘You think you’re done and you get pigeonholed’: Samantha Morton on raving, Richard Russell and having another shot as a singer

The actor and musician spoke at our Guardian Live ‘Honest Playlist’ event at Green Man festival about growing up in Nottingham on the free-party scene, and the healing powers of music On the Sunday afternoon of Green Man Festival in August, Samantha Morton joined me onstage in…

Spermageddon, ‘greedy jobs’ and abject fear: why birth rates are plummeting – and why it matters

The author of Generation Maybe, Camilla Cavendish, explains the many reasons people are having fewer children, from dating apps to unaffordable housing and the climate crisis Generation Maybe is the most tactful possible title for Camilla Cavendish’s bracing new book – because…

Why music megastar Bryan Adams became a Big Issue Ambassador: ‘Big kudos for everything you do’

Wake up the neighbours - Canadian rocker Bryan Adams is joining Big Issue as an ambassador!

‘We left everything behind’: 125,000 people displaced as war reignites in Yemen

Fierce fighting has forced people to abandon their homes, leaving everything behind to seek shelter in refugee camps The rapid Houthi advance in Yemen: why it matters and what’s at stake Abandoning their homes and cramming into cars, Yemeni families have fled in their thousands…

Our defenceless island

Britain has spent decades neglecting the air defences it may soon need

‘It’s beautiful when it’s clean’: the Argentine neighbourhood saving a contaminated river

Sewage, dog carcasses and industrial waste clog Argentina’s second most-polluted river. Meet the activists cleaning it up Twenty-three years ago, María Monges looked around her flooded neighbourhood and knew something had to be done.

How’s your apocalypse stockpiling coming on? Three weeks in, mine has hit a few snags | Emma Brockes

Cans of tuna, sparkling water and an old torch – if the end of the world came for me now I’d struggle, but it’s hard to know how to prepare for an unknown threat It’s been three weeks since the government advisory urging us to start stockpiling in case of emergency – how’s your…

Laura Weir: ‘King Charles is a massive champion of tailoring’

Laura Weir: ‘King Charles is a massive champion of tailoring’

Redwood, the spy who sold out the Soviets

Redwood, the spy who sold out the Soviets

Hannah Crosbie’s life choices: fresh from the Fringe

Hannah Crosbie’s life choices: fresh from the Fringe

The happiness index: Kelly Wearstler’s style ideas to fill your home with joy

The happiness index: Kelly Wearstler’s style ideas to fill your home with joy

Ian McCulloch: ‘There’s nothing you can do to pull me apart’

Ian McCulloch: ‘There’s nothing you can do to pull me apart’

‘Weighted down by the importance of itself’: Vesper, London

‘Weighted down by the importance of itself’: Vesper, London

You be the judge: should my brother have told me the money I lent him was for his holiday?

Ayaan thought she was lending money for something essential. Ahmed says the lender doesn’t get to dictate what it’s spent on. You decide who is on the money • Find out how to get a disagreement settled or become a juror I thought I was lending Ahmed money for something vital, not…

Access-to-nature crisis ‘on par with that of Victorian Britain’s filthy air’

Research finds many in England lack proximity to green and blue spaces as Labour urged to speed up manifesto pledge Nearly half of all parliamentary constituencies in England have low access to nature despite a government target to ensure everyone is within a 15-minute walk from…