News, culture and style

Justice

Courtroom drama

A top role in the British justice system has been empty for three months. As the government pushes to lean more on judges and less on juries, there's a power vacuum at the top of the body responsible for choosing judges

By Rachel Sylvester

Holy war

Pope vs Potus

Pope Leo XIV's war of words isn’t simply a quirk of an outspoken pontiff – it shows the Vatican has learned from past mistakes. If only the same were true of the president, Erica Wagner writes

Inventing Altman

The OpenAI founder is being depicted as a dramatic character in films, plays and documentaries. As faceless artificial intelligence marches on, we crave a protagonist, Lily Isaacs writes

Ultras

March of the new

Arsenal fans’ attempt to bring drum-pounding ultra culture to English football has been sneered at as tacky and try-hard. Don’t knock a novel approach when it’s working, says Rory Smith

News in brief

Iran war

Multiple ships defy US blockade in Hormuz

Money

UK faces economic hit from Iran war, while US is largely untouched

Technology

Novo Nordisk and OpenAI join forces in bid to boost fortunes

Media

Gary Neville buys YouTube channels for reported seven-figure sum

For today

Orbán’s defeat is more about the economy than ideology

Hungary

Fred Harter

Orbán’s defeat is more about the economy than ideology

Plastic surgery

Eva Wiseman

The shocking allure of facelifts

Books

Xavier Greenwood

A father’s secret life

Food

Nigel Slater

Nigel Slater’s midweek treat: pasta, asparagus and peas

Food technology

Compliments to the chefbot

AI is set to change the way we eat, from meal planning to shopping lists. But for recipe developers, this tech revolution is harder to swallow

Ideas

The court of appeal is failing the justice system

Leaders

The Observer Leader

The court of appeal is failing the justice system

Thanks to Trump, we’ve edged closer to Europe, but the entente isn’t always cordiale

Politics

Andrew Rawnsley

Thanks to Trump, we’ve edged closer to Europe, but the entente isn’t always cordiale

Iranians are the biggest losers in a war that has exposed the limits of US power

Iran war

Kenan Malik

Iranians are the biggest losers in a war that has exposed the limits of US power

Nothing cures billionaires of their benevolence like vast wealth

Money

Sarah Manavis

Nothing cures billionaires of their benevolence like vast wealth

Listen

Unjust: how the Court of Appeal failed an innocent man

Ceri Thomas revisits the appalling case of Peter Sullivan, jailed for 38 years for a murder he did not commit and offered no apology when finally released. Why does the court work so slowly? Why is it allowed to mark its own homework, and why is it so resistant to reform?

Listen now