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Maternity crisis
Broken trust
A statutory inquiry into maternity care across England has not been ruled out after the Ockenden report found more than 500 mothers and babies died or were harmed, Xavier Greenwood reports
Politics
The Burnham worldview
Andy Burnham is planning a major speech on foreign policy in the coming weeks, Rachel Sylvester reports. His instincts at a time of global instability will be far more political than Starmer’s
Gwyneth Paltrow
Cooking up a firestorm
The Goop founder is causing outrage by courting arms manufacturers and Israeli developers as she looks for new ways to expand her wellness empire, Evan Moffitt writes
For today
World Cup
Rory Smith
Donald Trump has developed a boos problem at sporting events
Politics
Rachel Sylvester
Miliband as chancellor would be ‘noose around neck’ of job creation, says biggest union
Art
Laura Cumming
Frida: The Making of an Icon sells a great artist short
Music
Kitty Empire
Ethel Cain’s long, hot night of the soul
Books
View more
Poetry
Chris Power
Paperback of the week: You Must Live – New Poetry from Palestine
History
John Bew
The political thinkers who envisaged a better postwar world
Art
Lara Feigel
Whatever became of Renoir’s Pink and Blue girls?
Q&A
Ellen Peirson-Hagger
Emma-Lee Moss: ‘Hong Kong ceased to exist as I’d known it’
Time well spent
Further reading
From Tina Brown on Trump to poems from Palestine
Your essential guide from The Observer’s books desk
Further listening
Heatwave scorchers
Our critic picks the best songs to listen to during the record-breaking UK temperatures this week
Further watching
From Love Island to The Bear
The Observer’s TV critic Barbara Ellen on the best new shows airing and streaming
Ideas
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Brexit
Sadiq Khan
‘Brexit has cost Britain billions. It’s imperative we rejoin the EU’
Class
Kenan Malik
‘Telling it like it is’: far-right parties give a voice to those left behind by the left
Politics
Andrew Rawnsley
Remember Gordon! Why Labour should take a beat before parachuting in Andy Burnham
Animal kingdom
Simon Barnes
My week as a spotted hyena
World
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Sport
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Tennis
Jessy Parker Humphreys
Dan Evans’s dip in form for wildcard snub puts Wimbledon in a bind
Cricket
Andy Zaltzman
New batters, new bowlers, new captain, new wicket keeper… same old England
Golf
George Simms
US Open finds itself deep in the rough during America’s summer of sport
World Cup 2026
Andrew Butler
Hot and bothered: how 45 minutes in the Lucy Charles-Barclay ‘pain cave’ scrambled my mind
Lifestyle
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Fashion
Helen Seamons
Frat boys, beach combers and the return of skinny jeans: Milan men’s fashion week SS27
An hour with
Rich Pelley
‘I cry at Coronation Street’: Fat Tony on loving dogs, stealing memes and overcoming addiction
Food
Fleur Britten
Roasted roadkill and other delights: meet the UK’s godmother of extreme foraging
Travel
Alice Riley-Smith
In the Neighbourhood: Eilandje, Antwerp
In Real Life
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Observations and scenes from beyond your phone screen
Meet the Observers
To meet more of our team, click here
Tortoise Investigates
Deep Water
In the high-stakes sport of freediving, athletes descend as deep as they can on a single breath. They are used to putting their lives at risk. Through her diving instructor, Lydia Gard discovered a new threat that could tear their community apart: drug use
Sweet Bobby
Kirat is a successful radio presenter. On Facebook she meets Bobby, a handsome cardiologist. He’s a catch. Soon, they get tangled up in a love affair full of lies and manipulation. Then… Kirat discovers a deception of almost unimaginable proportions. Alexi Mostrous investigates a very modern love story
Lucky Boy
Gareth’s whole life has been defined by a relationship he had 35 years ago when, as a 14-year-old schoolboy, he fell in love with an attractive young teacher at his school. He spent most afternoons in her bedroom. But when she walked out of his life, everything started to unravel. Chloe Hadjimatheou asks: who gets to be a perpetrator, and who gets to be a victim?
