Highlights

The Longer Read

What Barack Obama really thinks of Kamala Harris (and why the silence)

They’re meant to be old friends, so where is Barack Obama when the US vice-president needs him? Alex Hannaford talks to those who know them and uncovers a personal and political relationship which goes back years

Alex Hannaford

<p>The fact that Barack Obama hasn’t rushed to endorse Kamala Harris has fuelled rift rumours </p>

<p>Older women are revered in French society – what’s not to like? </p>

Lifestyle

Why American midlife women like me are flocking to live in France

<p>Discus thrower Jade Lally, whose best mark this year is the furthest by a British woman since the early 1980s, will not be part of Team GB </p>

In Focus

The decision that has dashed the dreams of British Olympic hopefuls

<p>It feels like a deliberate attempt to ‘skirt-wash’ some pretty toxic behaviour and anti-woman rhetoric behind the scenes </p>

In Focus

Inside Trump’s harem of ‘handmaidens’ and their ‘war on women’

The Longer Read

<p>Lucy Letby is serving 15 whole life order for her crimes.</p>

The Longer Read

I’m a miscarriage of justice expert – here’s my view on Lucy Letby

As the chorus of voices raising concerns about the conviction of ‘killer nurse’ Lucy Letby grows louder, former commissioner at the Criminal Cases Review Commission, David James Smith, looks at how seriously they should be taken

<p>‘Edgy grandpa core’ or ‘eclectic gramps’ is a look Generation Z can’t get enough of</p>

In Focus

That hair! That cardie! Daniel Craig’s edgy grandpa look totally works

<p>Republican vice presidential candidate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, on stage after speaking at the third day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on July 17 2024</p>

The Longer Read

JD Vance’s Silicon Valley connections run deep. So do Trump’s

Voices

<p>Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell is among the seven Labour MPs suspended from the parliamentary party</p>

Voices

Ouch! John McDonnell feels the sting of firm government

<p>During a digital blackout, old-fashioned cash has its advantages</p>

Voices

We’re right not to give up on cash – but can we rely on our banks?

<p>Laughing all the way: Gary Lineker has been revealed as the top earner at the BBC for the seventh year in a row</p>

Voices

Give Gary Lineker a break and end the annual BBC salary horror show

Health and Wellbeing

Politics Explained

<p>Former home secretary Suella Braverman, appearing as a guest presenter on LBC on Tuesday, is among the leadership contenders but may struggle for support </p>

Politics Explained

Why have Tories opted for a long leadership election campaign?

<p>Kamala Harris at the White House on Monday</p>

Politics Explained

Could anything stop Kamala Harris becoming the Democratic candidate?

<p>Rachel Reeves hinted she was prepared to accept the pay review recommendations </p>

Politics explained

Will Rachel Reeves approve inflation-busting public sector pay hikes?

<p>Roger Hallam, pictured earlier this year</p>

Politics explained

A five-year sentence for peaceful protest – does it go too far?

Editorials

<p>Rachel Reeves is facing tough choices, even before she has to consider the additional pressures on the public finances that Labour could see coming</p>

The Independent View

‘Difficult decisions’ won’t fix our finances – tax rises are coming

<p>Serial smasher of glass ceilings Harris may be, but it is not at all clear from her three-and-a-half years as first reserve that she will be the one to shatter that final US glass ceiling </p>

The Independent View

For all the hope invested in Kamala, she has a lot of convincing to do

The Independent View

Biden made the decision he had to make – now the Democrats can push on

Culture

<p>AS Byatt won the 1986 PEN/Macmillan Silver Pen Award for her fourth novel, ‘Still Life’ </p>

Books

Book of a lifetime: Still Life by AS Byatt

<p>‘I’m into druidism. I’m a druid-lite’ </p>

Features

Marc Almond: ‘I got a pin badge and – tah-dah! – I was a satanist!’

Features

The ultimate guide to the must-see concerts at the 2024 Proms

Travel

<p>The outstanding resort is Puerto del Carmen, with a sublime harbourside location</p>

Travel questions

My plan B is Lanzarote... got any island tourist tips?

<p>Hardly any luggage is permanently lost while in the care of airlines</p>

Travel

Will the airline or insurance pay up for our lost luggage?

<p>Sorry seems to be the hardest word: ‘Strictly’ stars Zara McDermott and Graziano Di Prima</p>

Voices

Mea Culpa: Strictly speaking, there have been a few regrets

<p>Keir Starmer continues to enjoy an apparent honeymoon with the voters, a new poll has suggested</p>

Voices

Is Keir Starmer’s election honeymoon over already?

<p>On current form, home secretary Yvette Cooper looks set to struggle to meet Labour’s commitment to ‘stop the boats’ and ‘smash the gangs’ </p>

Voices

So who will be forced out of Starmer’s cabinet first?

<p>Brothers in arms: Keir Starmer greets Volodymyr Zelensky at 10 Downing Street on Friday </p>

Voices

Starmer is good at diplomatic speed dating – but hard work lies ahead

<p>It is odd that this government can promise to raise defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP and yet can’t commit to scrapping the indefensible two-child limit</p>

Voices

There is a hole in the heart of the King’s Speech

<p>The two men have a lot in common </p>

Voices

There’s one crucial thing that unites the PM and Gareth Southgate

<p>Chancellor Rachel Reeves and deputy PM and housing secretary Angela Rayner visit a construction project in London</p>

Business Comment

What the industry thinks of Starmer’s housing plans (it isn’t pretty)

<p>Passengers at Madrid’s Barajas airport were among those stranded by the global IT outage</p>

Voices

The global IT outage has revealed an uncomfortable truth

<p>‘Scenes from the three works that have most characterised the atmosphere in the City down the years – <em>Liar’s Poker, Wall Street</em> and <em>The Wolf of Wall Street</em> – were unerringly accurate’</p>

Voices

Barclays has introduced extraordinary measures to help those with ADHD

News analysis

<p>It’s understandable Joe Biden would want to hold onto the top job – who wouldn’t? </p>

US politics

Jack Straw: Biden clung on for so long because power is delicious

<p>Keir Starmer seated beside Joe Biden at Nato’s 75th anniversary summit in Washington on Wednesday</p>

News analysis

Britain aims to be lead European nation in Nato – but will Trump care?

<p>Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria arrive in Washington for the Nato summit(Stefan Rousseau/PA)</p>

UK Politics

Starmer enters a dangerous world and knows our army isn’t match-fit

<p>Keir Starmer chairs his first cabinet meeting in 10 Downing Street</p>

UK Politics

Who will wield the power now Labour has its landslide?

Sport

<p>Ollie Watkins, left, sent England to the final of Euro 2024</p>

Football

The secret ingredient that secured England’s Euros final spot

<p>Sprinter Ben Johnson winning gold in the infamous ‘dirtiest race in history’, the 1988 Olympic 100m final in Seoul </p>

Olympics

Welcome to the Enhanced Games, the Olympics with NO drug testing

<p>Keir Starmer welcomes Volodymyr Zelensky to Downing Street on Friday </p>

Voices

Starmer’s words are welcome, but Zelensky needs action more than ever

<p>President Zelensky at a summit with the then President Trump in 2019</p>

Voices

Trump’s latest move could prove to be a devastating blow for Ukraine

<p>Joe Biden corrects himself at the Nato summit after accidentally introducing Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky as ‘President Putin’ </p>

Voices

Stumbling Joe Biden is no longer just America’s problem

America

<p>JD Vance blamed the ‘rhetoric’ of the Joe Biden campaign for Donald Trump’s attempted assassination</p>

The Longer Read

I predicted next American civil war in 2040 – it’s never felt so close

As the fallout of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump continues, Stephen Marche, author of ‘The Next Civil War’, says that all the signs are there that American society has just entered its most dangerous political state yet, and points to more violence to come