A record buyout of Electronic Arts deepens Saudi Arabia’s soft power push into gaming trib.al/5aT7jP8

France’s prime minister resigns… again trib.al/RLt6jVk

Wendy Ide’s pick of other films: The Smashing Machine, Urchin and more trib.al/xwQDcln

The Observer view: we cannot allow Britain to become an unsafe haven trib.al/SEAXC1c

NHS cuts will ‘severely impact’ those who struggle to breathe trib.al/CAu9vKq

Britain’s high borrowing costs and low fertility rate could trap us in a debt doom loop trib.al/u57IIkD

Debt problems are now very public and will be Rachel Reeves’s biggest challenge this autumn, writes Richard Davies. Read more: https://bit.ly/4mSbL9d

‘They are treated with the most appalling hostility’: the children seeking safety on our shores trib.al/sKk6LjA

More than 130,000 veterans are living with disabilities caused by the war and they are navigating not only physical rehabilitation, but also how to reclaim their intimate lives. ✍️ Read Liz Cookman on love in a time of war https://bit.ly/3Ks2k2T

'After catastrophic injury, veterans sometimes ask doctors whether they will ever have sex again before questioning their ability to walk' ✍️ Liz Cookman on love in a time of war https://bit.ly/3Ks2k2T

The violence in Manchester and the language in Whitehall are ruptures in the social fabric that has made Britain a beacon of freedom and safety. Read more: https://bit.ly/46FINVa

Despite pleas from the prime minister and home secretary to halt demonstrations, protests against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza saw more than 400 arrests in London and 150 in Manchester over the weekend. Read more as John Simpson reports: https://bit.ly/4nBzkUL

Labour cuts funding for state school IB diplomas trib.al/RjHsH8D

A cyber-attack on the government’s Legal Aid Agency in April has left lawyers unable to bill for their work and victims of domestic abuse struggling to get representation. Read more as Poppy Bullard reports: https://bit.ly/4mU1GIO

From defining a Jaffa Cake as a “cake”, to whether clothing is made from Mongolian rather than UK goatskin, in the UK, there’s a raft of overly complex VAT rules. Read more as Tim Leunig argues why Britain’s VAT rules need a total rethink: https://bit.ly/4nFvYAn

Dame Jilly Cooper has passed away at the age of 88. Last year, the ever-mischievous author of "Rivals", "Riders", and "Tackle!", took questions from Observer readers and famous fans, including Elizabeth Hurley and Caitlin Moran. Read the full interview: https://bit.ly/4qf0m6r

Last week, around 800 American generals and admirals were rallied by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on lethality, fitness, the warrior ethos—and the supposed threat of political correctness. But as Giles Whittell reveals, the US ‘Department of War’ is nothing new. Read more: https://bit.ly/46VFWX8

Can legal aid survive a cyber attack? A cyber attack on the government’s Legal Aid Agency has resulted in vulnerable people’s data being stolen and lawyers without pay. Listen to today's Sensemaker wherever you get your podcasts to discover more: lnk.to/dWNOsPBS

More than 400 demonstrators were arrested in London on Saturday, while tensions ran high at a Manchester vigil for the victims of Thursday’s attack, read more as John Simpson reports: https://bit.ly/4nBzkUL

Doctors have heavily criticised a decision to cancel surgery in England to correct breathing difficulties. Read more as James Tapper explores why NHS cuts will ‘severely impact’ those who struggle to breathe: https://bit.ly/4q1KpjS

Ten UK data centres could cancel EV emissions gain trib.al/JKLGEuw

Concerns about the fitness, battle-readiness, ethos, and composition of America’s fighting forces date back to George Washington, writes Giles Whittell. Read more: https://bit.ly/46VFWX8

Public company buyouts are reaching new heights—the latest: a record $55bn deal to take gaming titan Electronic Arts private. Read more as Matthew Bishop reports: https://bit.ly/46CtBs0

As popularity in weight-loss injectables soar, startups are urging the UK government to create better conditions for innovation of these new drugs. Read more: https://bit.ly/4nMprUr

Businesses should call on the chancellor to put VAT on everything while complex rules should be consigned to history, writes Tim Leunig. Read more: https://bit.ly/4nFvYAn

Max Martin & Shellback, superstar producers trib.al/he5GrJo

A recent survey reports that those voters who think Labour had a good conference are outnumbered more than two to one by those who reckoned it had a bad one. Read more as Andrew Rawnsley argues that Keir Starmer must show he has a strategy to win: https://bit.ly/3Its3aA

In her recent column, Eva Wiseman explored a study of Botox patients that exposes troubling safety lapses—and the deeper issue of how risking our health for beauty has become normalised. Read more: https://bit.ly/46C6de5

David Olusoga says he'd make a terrible historian – but is he bluffing? Ahead of #CelebrityTraitors starting on Wednesday evening, read more as Vanessa Thorpe explores: https://bit.ly/3KCntHy

New polling for The Observer suggests that the Tories are failing what political strategists call the “brand contamination test”. Is running out for its leader Kemi Badenoch? Read more as Rachel Sylvester explores: https://bit.ly/4357mIN

Michael Heseltine: "We must make clear that we will never have any part in the populist extremism of Nigel Farage." Read more: https://bit.ly/4mUIeMb

Matt Cain: "The gay scene saved my life. Don’t let it wither and die." With the closure of London’s iconic G-A-Y bar, Cain argues that the LGBTQ+ community is losing yet another vital safe space. Read more: https://bit.ly/4mTWJQe

Today, a three-month trial begins at the high court in which car makers, including Mercedes, Ford, Nissan and Peugeot, face paying billions of pounds in damages if they lose against Pogust Goodhead. Read more: https://bit.ly/48btC7p

The new US ‘Department of War’ has a long history trib.al/bStwGZl

Cyber-attack on Legal Aid Agency leaves abuse victims in danger trib.al/4MbPzjo

Britain’s VAT rules need a total rethink trib.al/dE2720G

It’s not enough to be up for the fight – Keir Starmer must show he has a strategy to win trib.al/M53ZwcG

CBS staff dismayed over anti-left views of new editor trib.al/Ckqf53K

Leaked contract shows Unite ‘ghost worker’ was offered £50k a year trib.al/00ccguP

"Soul-searching is needed among those who wittingly or unwittingly feed an atmosphere that makes antisemitic violence inevitable." Read more as Mick Davis responds to the Manchester synagogue attack: https://bit.ly/48lqSVb

The Conservatives must never have any part in Farage’s populist extremism trib.al/Lb4bkaI

A recent report by London Economics found volunteering in England contributes some £24.7bn a year to GDP. Read more as Martha Gill argues how altruism is holding Britain together: https://bit.ly/4mQZqCb

‘They are treated with the most appalling hostility’: the children seeking safety on our shores. Read more as Martha Gill reports how the number of unaccompanied children seeking asylum in Britain has soared, and many are being put at risk after arriving here. https://bit.ly/46NcouI

As the Conservatives head to their party conference in Manchester this week, Badenoch is struggling to cut through with an electorate increasingly disillusioned by mainstream politics, writes Rachel Sylvester. Read more: https://bit.ly/4357mIN

How big can buyouts of public companies get? Last week’s $55bn deal to take the gaming giant Electronic Arts private set a new record. Read more as Matthew Bishop reports: https://bit.ly/46CtBs0

Liberalism has betrayed the working class, but illiberalism will do much worse trib.al/EhvyTPQ

A UK law firm representing more than 1.2 million claimants in the “Dieselgate” class action lawsuit against car makers for allegedly falsifying emission tests has been accused of spreading misleading information in a separate lawsuit. Read more: https://bit.ly/48btC7p

Despite the removal of a VAT exemption for private school fees in the UK, deal activity is increasing. Read more: https://bit.ly/46F7b9C

Why has the Premier League turned into the late, late show? Is it more stoppage time, more subs and more corners – or just better players? Read more as Rory Smith explores: https://bit.ly/3VSr0nx

To describe asylum seekers as thieves or rapists encourages the worst sort of prejudice. We don’t need Trump’s mouthpiece anywhere near No 10, writes Michael Heseltine. Read more: https://bit.ly/4mUIeMb