Group says people in rural areas have to walk on roads without pavement, which can be very dangerousGive people the right to walk around the edges of privately owned fields, say campaigners seeking to open up more paths in the British countryside.Slow Ways, a group advocating for more access to the […]

Sun Chanthy also barred from running for office, in latest case to target critics of governmentThe leader of a Cambodian opposition party has been sentenced to two years in jail and banned from running for office after he was found guilty of inciting social disorder, in the latest legal case to […]

Security personnel and three armed men killed in Tartous province after forces sought to arrest officer linked to Sednaya prison, says Syrian Observatory for Human RightsHello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza and developments in the Middle East more […]

There is exquisite detail and piercing clarity in these observations from a writer’s notebooks as she faces terminal cancerAnd the Walls Became the World All Around, its title taken from a line in Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are, is gashed, keening, forensic. It has been […]

Had enough of Christmas fare? Liven up your tastebuds with this Indian street food-inspired spiced cheese toastieIn the run-up to Christmas, I like to (mostly) embrace tradition, but as soon as Boxing Day hits, a veil is lifted. I need spice; I need fresh flavours; and I need all the excess cheese […]

The moist, ungovernable hippo combines the aesthetic of a potato and the iron will of a toddler – and her name means ‘bouncy pork’. Here’s how she became 2024’s most in-demand mammalIt’s been a rough year and we all craved solace. Thankfully, the universe […]

Potential IPCC rule changes could award planned carbon savings from burning US wood pellets to the exporter, not the importerThe UK government is gambling with its own climate targets on claims that the Drax power plant will create “negative emissions” because new rules could hand the […]

YouGov survey finds negotiated end to war with Russia is preferred option in four out of seven countriesReadiness to support Ukraine “until it wins” has fallen sharply across western Europe at a critical time for the country, a survey suggests, as Donald Trump’s forthcoming return […]

28 December 1934 – 27 September 2024The playwright recalls the actor as a fiercely loyal friend with a natural gift for comedy, but also as her own hardest criticRead the Observer’s obituaries of 2024 in full“Melancholy men, of all others, are the most witty,” said […]

In my younger years I travelled all over China. But on a culinary tour of Bayswater with my son, I tasted belongingIn our end of year series, writers and public figures remember the place or time when they felt most at homeIn 2006, during his gap year before starting university, my son Pan set out […]

More than 250 works from amateur and celebrated Welsh artists are on display at the National Library of Wales until September 2025An infamous declaration that there is “no Welsh art” has been firmly rebutted by a groundbreaking exhibition at the country’s national library amid […]

The first few episodes of this adaptation of Beth O’Leary’s novel feature zero chemistry between the leads. It’s one for fans of the genre onlyThe easiest way to describe The Road Trip would be to call it the TV equivalent of an airport novel. Perhaps that is because it is. Beth […]

14 March 1933 – 3 November 2024The musician salutes his friend, the virtuoso producer and composer and ‘a benevolent cheerleader for the wonder of music’Read the Observer’s obituaries of 2024 in fullOf all the lessons I learned from Quincy, one that always stays with me is […]

Barrage of gambling adverts likely to exacerbate addiction, as NHS in England doubles number of clinics to meet demandThe “barrage” of betting advertisements around Boxing Day sporting fixtures will exacerbate Britain’s growing gambling problem, NHS bosses are warning.Promotional […]

The world’s most sustainable travel destination is giving its harbour a facelift with an eco-friendly hotel that whispers cool Scandi minimalism while reconnecting guests with natureOn a windswept late November evening at the edge of the waterfront in Helsinki’s Katajanokka harbour, a […]

Guardian review finds many online pharmacies flouting strict advertising rules that govern prescription-only drugsWeight-loss injections are being aggressively marketed to British consumers through often illegal promotions, in a practice experts have described as a “wild west” industry […]

Drugs such as Wegovy amd Mounjaro are an attractive prospect for online businesses and traditional pharmacies as well as the firms that make themIt is a trend rooted in profit-making. Adverts featuring prescription-only weight-loss medications are splashed across the internet – and it is […]

The singer’s journey to the top is retold through archive clips and audio, efficiently albeit perhaps too straightforwardlyThe story of Madonna’s leap to stratospheric celebrity is breathlessly and efficiently retold in this documentary that uses only archive clips and existing audio […]

Distractions long predated today’s fast-moving online world. Young people may well be discovering new ways of paying attentionMarion Thain is professor of culture and technology at King’s College London and director of the Digital Futures InstituteIn late-19th-century Britain, Londoners […]

From Bridgerton to Sherwood and Alma’s Not Normal, the actor has lit up our screens all year – and her ‘victory lap’ is only just starting …Lorraine Ashbourne has had a massive year. “I know! People keep saying: oh God, Lorraine, get off the telly, we want […]

Hibernation season is finally here. Cosy onesies, chunky knitwear and even chunkier socks were made for a day on the sofa Continue reading... […]

Chains expand and high street cafes thrive but businesses face new pressures after budget“It will go all the way up there, with four floors, and a net maze,” says Jonathan Laznik, the owner of Gambado, pointing to the 10-metre-high ceiling in Forest Hill’s Capitol theatre, which […]

Caring for God’s Acre mapped out 20,000 cemeteries and recorded 10,000 speciesChurchyards are vital havens for rare wildlife including dormice, bats and beetles, according to an extensive audit of burial grounds around the UK.The conservation charity Caring for God’s Acre mapped out […]

After eight years, the Brockmans are back and on fine form. Plus: a turkey crown and Christmas cracker battle it out. Here’s what to watch this evening9.40pm, BBC OneIn news guaranteed to make you feel old, Sue and Pete Brockman (Claire Skinner and Hugh Dennis) are now grandparents. Eight […]

The waves, which towered as high as 30 metres, killed more than 220,000 people in 15 countries in the deadliest tsunami in history Ceremonies were being held in countries across Asia on Thursday to remember the more than 220,000 people who were killed two decades ago in the Indian Ocean Tsunami, […]

Politics Weekly UK is taking a break over Christmas. John Harris will be back on Thursday 2 January with his cultural highlights, and in the meantime you can listen back to our previous episodes here. Continue reading... […]

Government urged to ban trail hunting as data suggests illegal foxhunting is still widespread in England and WalesAnimal welfare campaigners are calling on ministers to keep to a pledge to toughen anti-hunt laws, as figures suggest illegal foxhunting remains widespread in England and Wales.Almost […]

Rising temperatures are pushing these Arctic mammals ever farther into Greenland’s north. But eventually there will be nowhere left for them to goBuilt like a small bison, weighing as much as a grand piano and covered in thick, shaggy coat, the musk ox is one of the most distinctive species […]

As conflict dragged on in Gaza and Ukraine, violence dogged the US election; floods and fires raged, but bravery and humanity shone through. Photographers recall the moments when they took these era-defining photosTwo horses bolt through central London Jordan Pettitt Continue reading... […]

When we get into the actual games, the smash-kit K-drama finds its feet. But it spends far too many episodes dragging its heels extremely painfully. Series three must do betterOne of Hollywood’s many bad habits is the bloat caused by splitting a story in half in a bid to double the profits […]