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  • A smartphone displaying icons for gambling apps.

    UK betting giants under fire for ads targeting at-risk gamblers

    Judge condemns firm for use of customer’s data after problem gambler was sent 1,300 emails over two years
  • Rachel Reeves

    Reeves’s Heathrow third runway report was commissioned by London airport

News

  • My Little Pony collectable toys

    Collectibles are taking over the toy box – but now the grown-ups are playing too

  • Banner reading: "Tesco Stornoway: Profit before community values. Keep our culture and traditions. No Sunday opening" on a hedge next to a house and 20 mph speed sign

    ‘Greed and money over community’: in Stornoway, locals are divided over Tesco’s Sunday opening

    The Hebridean island’s shops have remained firmly closed on the Sabbath for decades – but now the supermarket giant has bucked the trend
  • A standing Nigel Farage speaking with a Reform logo in the background

    Reform UK can win scores of Labour seats in England and Wales, says study

    Analysis of a mega poll shows Keir Starmer would lose more seats than Tories amid voter discontent with main parties

  • Starmer should end UK’s ‘cycle of hesitation’ with EU, says Neil Kinnock

  • Tax on UK incinerators may push councils to send more waste to landfill

  • Payouts for victims of UK infected blood scandal to be extended to families

  • UK scientist wins prize for invention that could help avert ‘phosphogeddon’

  • Reeves’s Heathrow expansion plans leave Labour’s green agenda grounded

  • AI tools used for child sexual abuse images targeted in Home Office crackdown

  • ‘I lost 10 years of my life’: how UK betting giant’s unlawful marketing kept suicidal gambler hooked

  • Stop shielding UK royals from parliamentary scrutiny, says Labour peer

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World

  • A child marches across a wet and muddy part of Woeste Westen park in Amsterdam, carrying a long fallen branch.

    Soft spaces out, stick-fighting in: Dutch call for the return of risky play

    Encouraging kids to play with fire? Hear us out, says party worried by the Netherlands’ increasingly sedentary ways
  • Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni and Libyan police chief Osama Najim.

    ‘Why did we give back this alleged criminal?’ Pressure grows on Meloni after Italy releases wanted Libyan police chief

  • A group of spotters in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv waiting for Agam Berger to be released.

    Israel’s female spotters are free – now their families want to know why warnings were ignored

  • Protesters march under the motto ‘Block Alice Weidel’ (co-leader of the far-right AfD party), during an AfD meeting near Frankfrurt on 1 February.

    ‘Vicious cycle’: how far-right parties across Europe are cannibalising the centre right

  • Hélène and Israël Malowanczyk on the balcony of their apartment in Paris’s 11th arrondissement in 1935.

    ‘No one but Jews lost their apartments’: how homes taken by Nazis in wartime Paris were never given back

  • The Château de Chantilly, with a turret, sits on the edge of water

    Rare manuscript from middle ages that inspired Disney castle to go on display for first time in 40 years

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In focus

  • Harriet Walter as Margaret Thatcher in Channel 4’s Brian and Maggie.

    ‘The best screen Thatcher yet?’: the art (and craft) of playing the former PM

    Harriet Walter’s acclaimed portrayal is the latest of many screen versions. So how do you create the Thatcher persona?
  • Soldiers wave a flag on a heavily armed vehicle.

    The world at war: the flashpoints that the west ignores

  • Clockwise from top left, private house sales and rentals in London; an office block transformed into apartments in Issy-les-Moulineaux, France; Golden Lane Estate in London, 1964; the school assembly hall in the new town of Houlton, Rugby; Goldsmith Street council-owned energy-efficient homes in Norwich; Ash Sakula-designed timber housing in Lewes, Sussex

    Peace, permanence and affordable prices: six ways to solve Britain’s housing crisis

  • Tina Turner

    Tina returner: why discovering lost songs, films and books is simply the best

    Gareth Rubin
  • FILE PHOTO: Britain leaves EU on Brexit day<br>FILE PHOTO: A man waves a British flag on Brexit day in London, Britain January 31, 2020. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File Photo

    The UK is haunted by Johnson’s ‘botched Brexit deal’ and Labour’s plans for change don’t go far enough

    Anand Menon and Joël Reland
  • People on the street halfway through the process of lowering the union jack among a row of flagpoles outside a building flying the flags of EU states

    ‘I sense Brussels is ready to be bold and ambitious’: hope mixes with anger on Brexit’s fifth anniversary

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Comment

  • Emma John

    We should support England’s female cricketers – but only when they truly deserve it

    Emma John
  • TikTok logo on mobile phone.

    Gen Z is in thrall to TikTok’s Pied Piper of populism. We must fight to break the spell

    Alison Phillips
    A survey found that young people admitted finding democracy dull against the toxic glamour of strongman politics
  • Kenan Malik

    DeepSeek has ripped away AI’s veil of mystique. That’s the real reason the tech bros fear it

    Kenan Malik

  • Heathrow expansion puts the government on the flight path to years of trouble and strife

    Andrew Rawnsley

  • Emmanuel Macron’s got a point: Why shouldn’t we charge tourists to see our treasures?

    Catherine Bennett

  • Settled, industrious, essential: it’s time we saw immigration as a British success story

    Martha Gill

  • Chris Riddell on Rachel Reeves’ burnt offerings to the golden calf of growth – cartoon

  • Sorry, Dame Judi, BBC Radio’s job is to find listeners, not train playwrights

    Kate Maltby

  • Born of prosperity, sunlight and optimism, California’s dream homes now lie in ashes

    Rowan Moore

  • AI is a force for good – and Britain needs to be a maker of ideas, not a mere taker

    Will Hutton

  • Our challenge to the ban on naming Sara Sharif judges was always about scrutiny, not blame

    Louise Tickle and Hannah Summers
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Editorials & Letters

  • A scene from Kyoto, at the Soho Place theatre, London

    How the oil majors sabotaged Kyoto

    Letters

  • For the record

    Emilia Pérez/Academy Awards | Nasopharynx
  • Ambassador to US Lord Peter Mandelson at St Mary the Virgin church in Primrose Hill, north west London.

    The Observer view on Peter Mandelson’s U-turn on Donald Trump: it’s easy to mock, but that’s diplomacy

    It’s not often politicians admit to a change of heart. Perhaps it’s a trend that could – and should – catch on
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Business & Cash

  • View of the Bank of England from a low angle with statues silhouetted in the foreground

    Pressure rises on Bank of England and the Fed as the interest rate debate gets political

  • William Keegan

    Does Labour really think Trump is a better bet than the EU?

    William Keegan
  • A huge construction site full of trucks, cranes andf fencing, but with very little built.

    Can we build it? No – because Britain may not have enough workers

  • Welcom,e screen on a compute saying "Hi, I'm DeepSeek"

    Was this the week DeepSeek started the slow unwinding of the AI bet?

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Sport

  • James Lowe makes a break on the way to setting up Ireland's fourth try.

    James Lowe ensures Ireland finish on a high after hit-and-miss start

  • Graham Potter

    Potter goes back to Chelsea with point to prove in calmer West Ham waters

    A win against Fulham and draw at Villa are early signs of a better fit at West Ham on manager’s return to his old club
  • Matheus Cunha celebrates scoring Wolves’ second goal against Aston Villa.

    Cunha signs new Wolves deal after sealing victory over Aston Villa

    Matheus Cunha’s 97th-minute goal sealed a 2-0 win for Wolves, just their fifth victory of the season, against Aston Villa

  • Marcus Rashford due for Aston Villa medical to seal Manchester United loan

  • Maro Itoje leads from the front but can’t fix England’s familiar frailties

  • Neymar arrives home from £322m Saudi calamity still a prisoner of his potential

    Jonathan Wilson

  • Omar Marmoush rides the rhythm to set the tempo for Guardiola’s new beat

  • Arne Slot credits ‘world-class’ Alisson and ‘a bit of luck’ in Bournemouth win

  • England’s early promise blown away by Ireland’s second-half storm

  • Lucky Liverpool? Possibly, but their spotless results make it hard to argue

  • Championship: ruthless Leeds crush Cardiff 7-0 as Burnley lose ground at top

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Reviews

  • David Lynch

    Mark Kermode on… David Lynch, a one-off visionary who was also incredibly funny

  • Peter Hujar: Ethyl Eichelberger, 1979

    Peter Hujar: Eyes Open in the Dark review – life, death and a gnarly dildo

  • Michele Austin, left, and Marianne Jean-Baptiste in Hard Truths.

    Hard Truths review – Marianne Jean-Baptiste’s blistering performance is the angry heart of Mike Leigh’s drama

  • Kehlani performs at the O2 Arena, London. 29/1/25

    Kehlani review – R&B tonic is just what the doctor ordered

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New Review

  • Leigh Bowery photographed in east London, August 1984.

    ‘A living, breathing work of art’: Leigh Bowery by those who knew him best

    The performance artist shocked 1980s London with his surreal outfits, outlandish lifestyle and collaborations with Lucian Freud, dancer Michael Clark and others. As a major exhibition opens at Tate Modern, family and friends talk about Bowery’s larger-than-life legacy
  • A man with a loudhailer stands on a raised platform with other men, addressing a large crowd, with a high-rise housing estate int he background

    ‘I remember the exhilaration of the crowd and chanting’: artist Steve McQueen on his experience of resistance and protest

  • L-r: David Byrne, Indhu Rubasingham, Amit Sharma, Nadia Fall, Nathan Powell, Kate Wasserberg and Elizabeth Newman. All photographed by Suki Dhanda except Elizabeth Newman by Gary Calton

    Curtain up! Meet the new artistic directors with great plans for British theatre

  • Kaya Scodelario.

    On my radar: Kaya Scodelario’s cultural highlights

  • A composite photograph to illustrate female dark personality traits

    ‘Female narcissism is often misdiagnosed’: how science is finding women can have a dark streak too

  • David Mitchell

    Here’s a shocking finding, gen Z: democracy isn’t perfect

    David Mitchell

  • Ballerina Lauren Cuthbertson: ‘There’s a saying that dancers die twice, the first time when they stop dancing’

  • The big picture: a seemingly innocent winter’s day in Moscow

  • Colin Barrett: ‘My wife is astonished that I’m able to write’

  • DeepSeek: cheap, powerful Chinese AI for all. What could possibly go wrong?

    John Naughton

  • Virologist Wendy Barclay: ‘Wild avian viruses are mixing up their genetics all the time. It’s like viral sex on steroids’

  • One to watch: Honeyglaze

  • The Donald and Elon Show is an unholy mess

    Stewart Lee

Magazine

  • tree covered in snow in the shape of a heart

    Winter wonder: Jeanette Winterson and others reveal why the cold has them under its spell

    Too dark, too cold – winter’s charms aren’t as obvious as summer’s brassy joys. But for Robert Macfarlane, Alice Oswald, Poppy Okotcha and others, this is a rich season. Here, they offer ways to lean into it, with an introduction by Jeanette Winterson
  • roman kemp shot for OM

    Roman Kemp: ‘Here’s all my faults. Have ’em. Enjoy’

  • Christiane Amanpour shot in her office and at CNN

    ‘Our job is to be truthful not neutral’: Christiane Amanpour on Trump, tech and fighting for the truth

  • Eva Wiseman

    All women are feeling the ripples from the Pelicot trial. So what now?

    Eva Wiseman
  • Fun house: the kitchen with chequered rubber floor tiles, Bearbrick figurines and pop-art details.

    State of play: a home created with fun in mind

  • Observer Magazine<br>SELF -Tim Lott at home - written a piece about retreat in LAke District and meditating.

    Seeking Zen at a silent Buddhist retreat comes with its own challenges

  • Fright club: why are so many of us hooked on spooky tales?

  • Reach for the stars: the best dark-sky destinations in Britain

  • Nigel Slater’s recipes for celery soup with thyme and parsley, and potato pancakes

  • Tears before bedtime when my daughter smashes our TV

    Séamas O’Reilly

  • Notes on chocolate: a perfect post-workout treat

  • For a front row view of all humans, book a seat on a long-distance train

    Eva Wiseman

  • ‘You name it, I did it’: Sheila Hancock on comedy, age and anxiety

  • Sunday with Felicity Montagu: ‘Allotment shed etiquette is very important’

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Observer Food Monthly

  • Hot shot: coffee adds depth to slow-cooked beef.

    Ultimate custard, perfectly timed pasta, espresso-fuelled stews: 37 brilliant recipe hacks

    Make a splash in the kitchen –top chefs and cooks share easy ways to take your dinner to the next level
  • Salt ‘n’ pepper chips The Potato Book Poppy O'Toole

    Salt ’n’ pepper chips, hash brown bhaji, hot honey and bacon mash – Poppy O’Toole’s potato recipes

  • How to be a foodie in 2025

    How to be a foodie in 2025

  • Chillable reds and Greek white wines look set to fill more glasses.

    New grapes, old vines, lower alcohol – wine trends to watch in 2025

  • Don’t save salads for summer: broccoli with coconut milk and cashews; aubergine, feta, chickpeas and rose harissa; mackerel, potato and mustard.

    Broccoli and cashews, aubergine with chickpeas, celeriac and sausage – Nigel Slater’s winter salad recipes

  • Ultimate custard

    Welcome to January’s Observer Food Monthly

  • Alex Kapranos: ‘It took me a few years to realise that I didn’t have to drink everything on the rider’

  • Meliz Berg’s secret ingredient: dried mint

  • It’s time to give your favourite neighbourhood restaurant some love

    Rachel Cooke

  • Fury: ‘Most of the time Gladiators have to drink water – but I love Yorkshire tea’

  • It’s time to declutter my chaotic spice cupboard. Luckily, I have a secret weapon

    Jay Rayner

  • Smoked salmon pancakes, mincemeat mascarpone, fig ice-cream – Nigel Slater’s Christmas treat recipes

  • Welcome to December’s Observer Food Monthly

  • Mulled cherry cheesecake and chestnut ice-cream roll: Helen Goh’s showstopping Christmas pudding recipes

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