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The Oscars
And the winners are...
For a while at least, it seemed as though the 2026 Oscars would bring a cut-and-dried race. Now it’s anything but. Ahead of the big night, film critic Wendy Ide shares who she thinks will bring home the bacon
Cheltenham
The Great British flutter
Once the pinnacle of British racing, Cheltenham is now a festival of nostalgia for a nation that never existed, Jessy Parker Humphreys writes from the stands
Edinburgh International Festival
Bracing for an art attack
Festival director Nicola Benedetti tells Vanessa Thorpe that despite the threat of protests over its continued controversial sponsorships, the EIF strives to be “even more outstanding”
For today
The Mandelson files
Jon Ungoed-Thomas
Inside the Mandelson appointment scandal
Team America
Fred Harter
Trump’s ‘America, F**k Yeah’ doctrine and the war with Iran
Hollywood
Stephen Armstrong
For Warner Bros, the Oscars is one battle before many others
Recipe
Nigel Slater
Kitchen diary: a hearty and nourishing chicken soup
Time well spent
Further listening
The breakaway band members who made it solo
After the release of Harry Styles’s latest album, our critic picks the best tracks from artists who achieved success in their own right
Further reading
Understanding Iran, and Dunblane 30 years on
Your essential guide from The Observer’s books desk
Further watching
From Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere to Rooster
The Observer’s TV critic Barbara Ellen on the best new shows airing and streaming
Iran
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