64 m. ago German election live updates: Voting begins after final poll predicts large gains for AfD

Germany heads to the polls for the fourth snap election in its history

Politics

74 m. ago Innocent man freed after 30 years in prison: ‘Everybody is looking at their phones now’

One of the first places Gordon Cordeiro visited when a judge ordered his release was his mother’s grave

Events

89 m. ago ‘Called out their names but did not get an answer’: Rescue underway for trapped tunnel workers in India

Dozens managed to escape as the tunnel in Telangana collapsed, but eight people are feared trapped

Events

90 m. ago Snubs, omissions, and a secret publicity race: The thorny diplomacy of the Oscars in memoriam segment

The in memoriam tribute serves a worthy cause, but the scrutiny is real, and errors don’t go unnoticed. Clémence Michallon takes a closer look at a segment that tends to make headlines for the wrong reasons

Events

92 m. ago Can a brown Hindu be English? English people say yes. Why do so many on the right say no? | Kenan Malik

An argument about Rishi Sunak’s identity reveals how ideas of ethnicity and race have become conflated‘They think they’re English because they’re born here. That means if a dog’s born in a stable it’s a horse.” That was a staple of the comedian Bernard Manning’s routine back in the 1970s. Enoch Powell had, a decade earlier, expressed the same sentiment in more refined language: “The West Indian or Asian does not, by being born in England, become an Englishman. In law he becomes a United Kingdom citizen by birth; in fact he is a West Indian or an Asian still.”Few today would laugh along with Manning or take seriously the claim that only white people can be English. Britain has transformed over the past half-century and most English people now embrace Ian Wright and Idris Elba as being as English as David Beckham or Joanna Lumley. Continue reading...

Politics

92 m. ago ‘I stripped away this caricature that I created’: Pamela Anderson on makeup, activism and gardening

The star of Baywatch and The Last Showgirl answers questions from Observer readers and famous fans including Stella McCartney, Liam Neeson, Ruby Wax and Naomi KleinPamela Anderson, makeup-free and beautiful in a floral Westwood suit, is making a fuss of my dog. My dog likes her. I’m not a particular believer in the idea that animals are great character judges but, in this case, me and the dog are aligned. I like Anderson too. She combines openness with a kind of vulnerability, and you warm to her immediately.Settled on a sofa in a small dressing room off a photography studio, she asks for a coffee and promptly spills it everywhere. “I strive for imperfection,” she jokes. “I strive for it, and I just hit it every time.” Cortado mopped, she takes a breath, before talking excitedly of a new phase in her eventful life. “A door opened, and I walked through,” she says. “It’s hard to believe.” Continue reading...

Politics

92 m. ago ‘It’s not ethical and it’s not medical’: how UK rehab clinics are cashing in on NAD+

They are beloved by A-listers and surging in popularity. But claims that NAD+ infusions are a fix for addiction are unproven, risky – and possibly illegal, an Observer investigation revealsIt is billed as a “miracle” treatment that can reverse ageing and regenerate brain cells. And getting hooked up to IV drips containing NAD+ has surged in popularity, with record Google searches and celebrity fans such as Kendall Jenner and Joe Rogan.Now NAD+ is being touted in the UK as a treatment for substance ­misuse. Infusions of NAD+, which is derived from vitamin B3, are being sold across the country as a ­“clinically proven” and “effective” way to quit drinking or get off drugs. Continue reading...

Science

92 m. ago Music visionary Tinashe on finding her freedom (and her 'freak')

Tinashe’s forward-thinking R&B brought her attention but also clashes with her label. Now an independent artist she is thriving at last

Politics

1 hour ago Gino D'Acampo denies he 'drew explicit photo of TV producer' in 'unsettling encounter'

Gino D'Acampo has been accused of drawing an explicit photo of a female TV producer during live filming, with the woman claiming she was left 'shocked and humiliated'

Culture

1 hour ago The Latest: Polls open in Germany in crucial general election

German voters are heading to the polls for a national election

Politics

1 hour ago TikTokers warned of trend that could leave users with ‘a lifetime of pain’

The hashtag #droppingthingsonmyfoot has been used on hundreds of videos

Events

2 h. ago What can Keir Starmer say at the White House that Donald Trump might listen to? | Andrew Rawnsley

The stakes couldn’t be higher and the risks couldn’t be greater when the prime minister visits Washington this weekFor British prime ministers, with their ideas about the world shaped by the histories of Churchill and Roosevelt, Maggie and Ronnie, and the rest of the folklore about the transatlantic alliance, the prospect of a visit to the White House usually causes tingles of excitement. One of our senior diplomats once offered me an explanation of the allure: “The red carpet is laid out, the national anthems are played, all that stuff is very seductive.” This will be customarily accompanied by ritualistic words about the importance and invincibility of the “special relationship”.Number 10 lobbied hard to get Sir Keir Starmer across the Atlantic early in the second term of Donald Trump and, until recently, Downing Street people were telling themselves that an encounter between the two men needn’t be a disaster and might even turn out to be a success. In the weeks since Trump’s re-e...

Politics

2 h. ago How one of Britain's fastest growing restaurant brands is disrupting kebab culture

There are roughly 15,000 independent kebab restaurants in the UK, but GDK might be the first to make a success of the franchise model.

Politics

2 h. ago One Day, Everyone Will Always Have Been Against This by Omar El Akkad review – Gaza and the sound of silence

This powerful new book examines the moral contradictions of the west and asks what liberal values mean in the face of such brutal and sustained obliteration of human lifeLike many people, I have followed the unrelenting horror that has unfolded in Gaza since the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 mainly through the medium of social media. The Instagram reels of citizen journalists on the ground have become for me and countless others the most powerful testimony to the slaughter, destruction and trauma visited on the already beleaguered Palestinian population. Recorded at great risk, they are often heartbreaking and enraging: so many dead infants; so many maimed and traumatised children; so many obliterated families and communities.Some of these witnesses have achieved heroic status among their millions of followers, the likes of Motaz Azaiza, a photojournalist who was evacuated to Qatar after 108 days covering the carnage at close hand; Wael Al-Dahdouh, the Al Jazeer...

Politics

2 h. ago ‘Photography is therapy for me’: Martin Parr on humour, holidaying and life behind the lens

He has a prolific career and extensive portfolio, with his images of British life especially iconic. At 72, he tells Miranda Sawyer, he’s still thinking about what to shoot nextAbout 20 years ago, I was on a judging panel for a photography competition, and one of the other judges was Martin Parr. He was charming and affable, almost teddy bear-ish. He was also utterly ruthless. When it came to deciding which photographs were worthy of a prize, he went through the selection swiftly – no, no, yes, no – without hesitation or doubt. His eye was impeccable. Has he always known what makes a good photograph? “Oh yes,” says Parr. “Right from the beginning. Total conviction. I knew I would be a photographer from the age of 13, 14, and I knew what was good even then. I was obsessive about photography. All artists are obsessive, I think.” We are in his agent’s office, a small upstairs flat on a market street in east London. Parr owns the building, and this room used to be packed with his work a...

Culture

3 h. ago Country pub of the week: The Crown in Mundford is an old courthouse serving Murphy's

A pleasing Norfolk pub serving ham, egg and chips and lots of gin

Events

3 h. ago Israel delays release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners over ‘humiliating’ handover of hostages

Hamas accuses Netanyahu of ‘stalling’ release of Palestinian prisoners

Events

3 h. ago The Australian Dream? There’s a dark side to moving down under

Nearly 50,000 people moved from the UK to Australia on a working holiday visa in 2024. But while many of these sun-seekers enjoy a new life or a long holiday, others are unsettled by the country’s politics and pop culture. Kyle MacNeill speaks to the young Brits left disillusioned

Politics

3 h. ago ‘Was this a big mistake?’: How Vera Drew defied Warner Bros and turned the Batman universe trans

‘The People’s Joker’ reframes the iconic DC Comics villain as a young trans comedian. After years of legal uncertainty, the film is finally out in UK cinemas. Louis Chilton speaks to its inimitable director and star

Events

3 h. ago Tate McRae: ‘I find the Britney Spears comparisons so flattering and scary’

As the 21-year-old Canadian pop star releases her third album ‘So Close To What’, she speaks to Ellie Muir about fame, toxic relationships and making music with her rapper boyfriend Kid Laroi

Politics