News 8.3.26 | The Observer

Epstein scandal

Andrew’s daughter steps down from anti-slavery charity

Princess Eugenie’s profile removed from human rights group’s website as pressure mounts over family’s ties to the late sex-trafficker

By Jon Ungoed-Thomas

Iran

Giles Whittell

Dubai: lux lifestyle to defiant warzone in seven days

Isabel Coles

Iranian missiles harden Israeli support for war

Rachel Sylvester

Starmer’s ‘Love Actually moment’ with Trump treads a fine line

Hugh Tomlinson

US weighs ‘boots on ground’ option as offensive drags on

National

Media

Barney Macintyre

The Telegraph rejoins Europe: how a German firm bought the Brexiteers

Axel Springer’s surprise gazumping of DMGT puts its Europhile chief executive in charge of the right-wing stalwart

Defence spending

Catherine Neilan

Mark Carney to urge Starmer to join ‘world bank for defence’

Canada’s prime minister is believed to be planning a trip to persuade the UK to join a multilateral lender that would aid arms procurement

Prison system

John Simpson

‘There will be few tears’. But Huntley’s death highlights grim state of prisons

The death of the Soham killer will raise crucial questions over how inmates with nothing to lose are managed

Human trafficking

Megan Clement

Fayed survivors seek ‘conversation’ with PM as Met widens inquiry

Metropolitan police reveal that they had questioned three women in relation to allegations of human trafficking

The Observer Walk

Andy Burnham would ‘probably’ have won in Gorton and Denton, says Powell

In Manchester the morning after Labour’s bad byelection night, deputy leader Lucy Powell tells Rachel Sylvester how she thinks her party needs to change to beat Reform

Politics

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All standfirst

Labour can’t afford to insult Green voters

Labour’s strategy assumes the real battle is with Reform on the right. But by turning his fire on the ‘extreme’ Greens, Keir Starmer is alienating voters he needs

The invisible man whose millions are transforming British politics

Christopher Harborne lives in Thailand, made a fortune in cryptocurrency and bankrolled the Brexit party before backing Reform. What does his money buy?

International

Iran

Robin Pagnamenta

Dire strait: how the Iran war could tank the UK economy

Tehran said it will ‘set ablaze’ any ship that attempts to cross the Strait of Hormuz – and that may send household energy prices soaring

America

Alexi Mostrous

The Epstein Files: citizen sleuths examine $1.6bn in financial transactions

Citizen sleuths are dissecting Epstein’s money trail, picking up where official scrutiny appears to have stalled

North Sentinel Island

Xavier Greenwood

‘Foolish’ and ‘idiotic’: the danger tourists following in the footsteps of the conquistadors

Mykhailo Polyakov was thrown into prison for trying to reach the hunter-gatherer Sentinelese islanders. Now he explains how he hopes to contact other remote tribes

America

Elaine McCallig

The Minneapolis knitters taking on ICE

Norwegians wore red hats as symbols of resistance against Nazi occupiers. Now ‘craftivists’ are making them to protest Trump’s immigration crackdown

Russia

The story of Jay Fraser

Captivated by ‘manly’ Russia, a university dropout left Scotland to take up arms against Ukraine. Now disillusioned, he’s stuck on the frontline with nowhere to return to

The Epstein scandal

Evan Moffitt

The Epstein files offer a rare look inside billionaire art loans

Rachel Sylvester

How much did the royal family know about Andrew?

Tim Adams

Images that chart the downfall of a prince who willingly sold his soul

Business

Crisis in the Gulf spells dire straits for gas-reliant UK

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for a fifth of global liquefied natural gas, is set to driveup prices and inflation

Maga golden boy Kid Rock to sing government’s tune in court

The country music star will be the voice of Maga industrial policy in court. Also: bridging the age divide in business and Revolut heads Stateside

Inheritance tax-exempt bonds can fill defence investment gap

Conflict in the Middle East is driving up prices, but Rachel Reeves has a way to raise money without raising tax or unsettling the bond market

John Lewis drops ambition to build a property empire

Despite initial success in the rental arena, the retail giant has stepped down after its plans to move into construction of homes hit obstacles

The Sensemaker

Australia grants asylum to members of the Iranian women’s football team

Mojtaba Khamenei gives a dangerous new dimension to the Middle East crisis

Keir Starmer is a punching bag of the US president

Switzerland chooses to keep world’s highest TV licence fee

Podcast series

The Walkers: The real Salt Path

The Salt Path seemed like a simple tale of a couple embarking on a long trek in the face of adversity. Then Chloe Hadjimatheou received a tip-off that all was not as it seemed. A new podcast series publishes fresh revelations from The Observer's investigation

Listen