28 minutes ago Stuart Pearce names who he expects to end Man City's title domination this season

Former England defender Stuart Pearce warns it will be a "massive end of an era" if Pep Guardiola leaves Manchester City at the end of the season

Politics

70 minutes ago Stirling Albion first quarter review: promising, but more goals and consistency needed

The Binos have enjoyed a decent start to the League Two season - and the Observer has taken a look at the ups and downs.

Politics

86 minutes ago The Apprentice review: Controversial Donald Trump movie isn’t worth the fuss

The man himself may have ranted online about Ali Abbasi’s biopic – starring Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong – but little here proves revelatory

Politics

90 minutes ago Billie Eilish review – a bravura arena set offers both energy and intimacy

Madison Square Garden, New YorkThe singer continues a wildly successful year with a major tour that gives fans a fast and furious ride through her biggest hitsHow can an artist who’s reached superstar status maintain the intimacy that their career was built on? For Billie Eilish, it’s a tricky dance and a trajectory I’ve seen play out first-hand. Around early 2016 an invite to a performance by an artist a publicist was very excited about popped into my email. “Hi love,” the message said. “Just wondering, did you get a chance to check out 14-year-old Billie Eilish?” With that, I ventured to a basement venue on New York City’s Lower East Side and witnessed one of her earliest sets. It was an impressive display of performance and songwriting. How could this girl be 14 and this good?In many...

Science

93 minutes ago ‘He had all the stuff you need to be a pop star’: how Liam Payne helped One Direction to global glory

Although he was less extroverted than his bandmates, his impressive vocals made him a cornerstone of the era’s defining boyband. So why did he struggle to accept his own greatness?Liam Payne was just getting started. His death is a heartbreaking endAt One Direction’s first audition together on The X Factor in 2010, Liam Payne – who died yesterday – is given the opening line. Singing Natalie Imbruglia’s Torn to Simon Cowell and Sinitta, Payne is only 16 yet has seemingly absorbed decades of pop stagecraft. It’s a difficult opening verse to sell to the judges – downbeat and low-register – but Payne nails it. Rippling vibrato denotes his trembling heart and matinee-idol acting sells the line “she showed me what it was to cry” as he glances off to one side as if slapped by the pai...

Politics

1 hour ago Bose SoundLink Flex speaker review: A deep rocking sound from a titchy gizmo

Bose has released its 2nd generation SoundLink Flex speaker and it is a great on-the-go device that kicks out a chunky sound packed full of more bass than perhaps it should at such a small size

Politics

2 hours ago Liam Payne and his bandmates all sought solo success after One Direction fame

One Direction was one of the last boy bands from the age of mass-audience linear television and one of the first of the social media era

Politics

2 hours ago US Secret Service needs new leadership after attempt on Trump’s life, review finds

Bipartisan commission lists multiple failures that led to assassination attempt on former president in Pennsylvania in July

Politics

2 hours ago ‘Trump, the movie’ is a fun watch, but for the truly horrible origin story read the book | Emma Brockes

Lucky Loser, by two New York Times journalists, reveals just how much Donald owes to his father (spoiler alert: everything) The singular piece of publicity most helpful to The Apprentice, a film about Donald Trump that opened in the US last week and opens in the UK this Friday, is the fact its subject tried to block the movie’s release. The title refers to Trump’s adventures as a young man under the informal mentorship of the notorious New York lawyer Roy Cohn – former chief counsel for Joseph McCarthy, among other things – and from whom, the movie suggests, Trump picked up much of his conniving and ruthlessness. Trump is so lurid in life that he may be impossible to fictionalise, but the movie has a good crack. That it fails leaves one feeling vaguely cheated of an opportunity to deepe...

Politics

2 hours ago ‘Trump, the movie’ is a fun watch, but read the book if you really want to know all about him | Emma Brockes

Lucky Loser, by two New York Times journalists, reveals just how much Donald owes to his father (spoiler alert: everything) The singular piece of publicity most helpful to The Apprentice, a film about Donald Trump that opened in the US last week and opens in the UK this Friday, is the fact its subject tried to block the movie’s release. The title refers to Trump’s adventures as a young man under the informal mentorship of the notorious New York lawyer Roy Cohn – former chief counsel for Joseph McCarthy, among other things – and from whom, the movie suggests, Trump picked up much of his conniving and ruthlessness. Trump is so lurid in life that he may be impossible to fictionalise, but the movie has a good crack. That it fails leaves one feeling vaguely cheated of an opportunity to deepe...

Politics