41 minutes ago From Charli to Jilly to Moo Deng the hippo: the faces we won’t forget from 2024

Some made a splash in politics, social media, sport or the arts. Others took a brave personal stand. Observer writers and critics pick the names on everyone’s lips this year Continue reading...

Politics

41 minutes ago The Don, London: ‘The expectation was for something warmer’ – restaurant review

The menu here was overseen by Rowley Leigh, but his generous touch in the kitchen is missingThe Don, 20 St Swithin’s Lane, London EC4N 8AD. Starters £14.50–£19.50, mains £22.50–£47.50, desserts £11.50–£12.50, wines from £35The Don in London’s Square Mile is a chilly restaurant. It’s not simply that on this grey November lunchtime, the vent to our left is pumping frigid air into the room, as if they failed to notice the clocks went back weeks ago. It’s also the hard-lined space with the slab-like picture windows looking out on to St Swithin’s Lane. It’s the parquet and the bright lights, the hefty chairs upholstered in a frosty shade of cadet blue, and the desperate attempt to soften everything with a large fern imprint on a taupe wall. The tables are set just far enough apart so diners can plot against their rivals and mutter “your shout or mine” at each other without being overheard. It feels like an overworked TV production designer’s idea of a City restaurant, from which at any m...

Events

42 minutes ago Optical illusion tells if you're gentle or stubborn based on what you see first

A new optical illusion claims to reveal whether you're a gentle or stubborn person depending on what animal you see first in the image – and it explains your personality based on the results

Politics

42 minutes ago Shoppers 'love the colour' of Roman's cosy knitted cardigan with pockets

The longline cardigan is made from a soft fluffy yarn and comes in sizes 10 to 20

Politics

42 minutes ago Freddie Flintoff’s net worth, Top Gear crash, model wife and Bullseye reboot

Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff will be back on our screens soon as the England cricket legend is set to present a special episode of Bullseye – a TV show he expressed was his favourite "as a kid"

Events

1 hour ago ‘She should have a bit of me’: the Dutch mothers fighting for their children to carry their surname

Women are challenging the law that prevents them giving their kids both family names without father’s consentWhen 43-year-old Rebecca Lee took her birth mother’s Korean surname, it was a revelation. “I was adopted and got a Dutch name but I never felt completely Dutch,” she says. “When, a few years ago, I first went to Korea, things fell into place. You don’t just go ‘one, two, three’ and change your name, but now I feel more whole.”The entrepreneur from Groningen split from her husband and wants to give her five-year-old daughter “Lee” as part of a double-barrelled surname – but she cannot, under a Dutch law that some women, a leftwing MP and legal experts believe is unfair. Continue reading...

Politics

1 hour ago Exclusive: photographs reveal first glimpse of uncontacted Amazon community

Automatic cameras in the Brazilian rainforest show images of the Massaco people, who are flourishing despite environmental threatsRead more on this story: New images show Brazil’s uncontacted people are thriving – but with success comes a new threatRemarkable images taken by automatic cameras in the Brazilian rainforest reveal an isolated community that appears to be thriving despite pressure from ranchers and illegal encroachment into the Amazon.The pictures, of a group of men, offer the outside world its first glimpse of the community – and give further evidence the population is growing. The group is known as the Massaco after the river that runs through their lands, but no one knows what they call themselves, while their language, social fabric and beliefs remain a mystery. Continue reading...

Culture

1 hour ago Freddie Flintoff's impressive net worth, Top Gear crash admission, model wife

Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff is set to present a reboot of Bullseye for ITV, and has claimed that the darts-themed quiz show was one of his favourites "as a kid"

Events

2 hours ago Only one in three Scots schools running programme to tackle gender based violence

Labour made the call as it has been revealed only a third of schools have signed up for a programme aimed at stopping gender based violence.

Events

2 hours ago ‘I won that fight’: Tyson Fury rejects defeat as judges’ ‘Christmas gift’ to Oleksandr Usyk

Despite a unanimous decision against him by all three judges, Fury refuses to accept the Ukrainian fighter has now beaten him in back-to-back title bouts Tyson Fury described Oleksandr Usyk’s victory over him as a “Christmas gift” from the three judges who all scored the fight 116-112 in favour of the champion. The verdict was justifiably much more clear-cut than the split-decision ruling which had also given Usyk victory in May.But Fury offered his contrasting belief at the post-fight press conference: “I thought I won that fight. I thought I won both fights but I’m going home with two losses on my record. There’s not much I can do about it. I can just fight my heart out. Continue reading...

Events