• Britain awaits worst storm in five years

    Heavy rain and high winds expected to bring flooding and major disruption to transport across England and Wales from Sunday

  • NSA surveillance: Merkel's phone may have been monitored 'for over 10 years'

    As German officials prepare to travel to the US, Der Spiegel cites a previously secret NSA document

  • Lib Dems to resist Tory plans to cut green taxes

    Danny Alexander signals hardening of party's position on renewable energy and says there will be no compromise

  • Labour urged to reopen Falkirk vote-rigging inquiry

    Dossier of emails published suggesting Unite union officials tried to undermine Labour's investigation into alleged vote-rigging

  • British soldiers photographed giving Nazi salutes in Afghanistan

    Three-year-old picture circulating online may be show of solidarity with loyalists in Northern Ireland

Sport

  • Sebastian Vettel wins fourth straight F1 world title with Indian GP triumph

    Germany's Sebastian Vettel has retained his F1 drivers' crown after recording victory in the Indian GP

  • Real Madrid angry with referee after defeat to Barcelona in clásico

    Real Madrid's players and officials have continued their complaints about referee Alberto Undiano Mallenco in the wake of their 2-1 defeat against Barcelona

  • Yaya Touré to meet Fifa's anti-racism head over CSKA Moscow row

    The head of Fifa's anti-racism task force will meet Manchester City's Yaya Touré to hear at first hand his experience of being racially abused

  • Manchester United's Rooney and Hernández fight back to sink Stoke City

    Manchester United came from behind twice to beat Stoke City 3-2, thanks to goals from Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernández

  • Australia rally to overcome England in Rugby League World Cup opener

    England departed Cardiff pointless but proud after a 28-20 defeat to Australia in the first match of the 2013 Rugby League World Cup

Comment is free

  • There's no need to apologise for the sorry state of Britain. But I'm sorry

    David Mitchell

    Even Americans have learned the value of our favourite self-effacing five-letter word, writes David Mitchell

  • Only full-scale reform of our energy market will prevent endless price rises

    Phillip Lee

    Phillip Lee: Politicians thinking aloud achieve nothing. In a complex market dominated by the 'Big 6', we need a co-operative approach

  • The open spaces where we played are cruelly lost to today's children

    Rachel Cooke

    Rachel Cooke: Rickets is on the rise, but let's not consider it a Victorian throwback, more of a symptom of our airless lifestyle

  • Is it harmful for kids to see their parents drunk?

    Almost half of British children have seen their parents drunk. David Stubbs and Melanie McDonagh ask whether they're setting a bad example

  • An independent Scotland must own its energy sources

    Kevin McKenna

    Kevin McKenna: A significant portion of Scotland's oil has become the plaything of one individual

Culture

  • Arctic Monkeys: 'In Mexico it was like Beatlemania'

    Have fame and LA changed Arctic Monkeys? Elizabeth Day meets the Sheffield schoolmates who conquered the world

  • Emily Haworth-Booth: 'Colonic irrigation wasn't quite as awful as I've made out'

    Emily Haworth-Booth, winner of the 2013 Observer/Cape/Comica graphic short story prize, tells Rachel Cooke about the 'gross' inspiration for her triumphant entry

  • Abdellatif Kechiche interview: 'Do I need to be a woman to talk about love between women?'

    Abdellatif Kechiche won a Palme d'Or for his latest film, Blue Is the Warmest Colour. But the film's young stars have said they'll never work with him again. He talks to Jonathan Romney

  • Verve Records and the man who made jazz the sound of America

    Norman Granz, the founder of Verve Records, did much to end racial segregation in US concert halls – as well as masterminding the later career of Ella Fitzgerald. By Stuart Nicholson

  • Danish National Maritime Museum – review

    Built beside Hamlet's castle in Helsingør, Denmark's maritime museum jars and jangles – but there's glorious method in its badness, says Rowan Moore

Business

  • Grangemouth plant saved after Unite gives in to Ineos demands

    Union agrees to job cuts, wage freeze and end to final salary pension scheme in return for Ineos investment in plant

  • Five questions that the big six energy firms must answer

    Terry Macalister: MPs must pin down the energy giants on why prices are soaring, how much they make from trading, and much more

  • Serco chief quits before investigation into electronic tagging charges

    Chris Hyman says he is leaving the services company because it is the best way to mend relationship with UK government

  • JP Morgan agrees to $5.1bn fine with mortgage regulator

    Deal settles lawsuit brought by Federal Housing Finance Agency – but has still to agree on bond sales fine

  • East coast mainline contest pits Virgin against foreign state rail companies

    Government starts process of reprivatising franchise with Richard Branson vying against German, Dutch and French firms

Life and style

  • Nigel Slater's pine nut recipes

    Pine nuts are usually confined to pesto, but bake them with sardines or stir them into a chocolate cake and you'll find this useful golden nugget is a real treasure, says Nigel Slater

  • A colleague asked me out on a date, and now I regret saying yes

    A woman regrets accepting a date from a colleague, as she thinks she'll make herself vulnerable. Mariella Frostrup advises her to build her resilience by going ahead

  • Relate: 75 years of marriage guidance

    The National Marriage Guidance Council has been helping couples for 75 years. Stuart Jeffries reports on how it's changed more than just its name – to Relate – and talks to Susan, who let her counselling session be recorded for a BBC film

  • Up for the crack: Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's walnut recipes

    They're great eaten just as they are, but walnuts work wonders in savoury and sweet dishes, too, from pasta sauces and salads to puddings and breads

  • In praise of raising children in the city

    Jenny Hudson and her husband have loved living in Birmingham since their early 20s. Unlike many of their peers who have left to bring their children up in the country, they believe the city has more to offer families – it's a question of confidence, she thinks

Technology

  • Bitcoins seized in Silk Road raid

    $28m in digital currency taken by US authorities from Ross William Ulbricht, accused of running online criminal marketplace

  • Filesharing site revealed to be anti-piracy ‘honeypot’

    Operator of UploaderTalk boasts of ‘biggest swerve ever’ as he sells user data to anti-piracy company. By Samuel Gibbs

  • Vodafone Foundation creating instant mobile networks for disaster areas

    Company's charitable arm has set up the service in warzones and disaster sites, providing a vital source for communication. By Juliette Garside

  • Taper: a doorman for your email

    Email overload solution that promises to tackle your inbox is looking for $23,000 in Kickstarter funding. By Samuel Gibbs

  • Microsoft Surface Pro 2 review: powerful, but too forward-thinking

    Samuel Gibbs: the Surface Pro 2 is a powerful half-way house tablet-laptop hybrid that's improved by Windows 8.1, but is still desperately searching for an excuse to exist

Money

  • Switch to small energy suppliers, consumers urged

    Smallers energy suppliers such as Ovo and Co-op are avoiding or limiting price rises – what better time to switch?

  • House prices near top 30 state schools are '12% higher'

    Lloyds survey says a third of properties close to the top state schools command a premium of more than £80,000

  • The ethical bank that offers salvation?

    On ethical grounds, it scores more than the troubled Co-op. Welcome to Reliance, the financial wing of the Salvation Army

  • Seven-day account switching? This Lloyds client waited four months

    After 20 years at Lloyds, Susie Rabin's current account was switched to TSB – but switching back wasn't so easy

  • Take care you don't miss out on helper's allowances

    People struggling to look after ill or disabled loved ones often aren't aware there is help in the form of allowances

Travel

  • Norway's skiing secrets

    A trip to her homeland persuades Mariella Frostrup that Norway's reputation for frugality and 'flat' hills is wide of the mark

  • Hiking in South Korea: trails and tribulations on the Baekdu Daegan

    The 460-mile Baekdu Daegan trail traverses North and South Korea. Daniel Adamson treks a short southern section and takes refuge in a village homestay that warms both body and spirit

  • Family days out for October half-term

    Joanne O'Connor picks events and activities in England and Wales to keep little monsters happy next week – and they're not all Halloween themed

  • Skating on sea ice in Sweden

    Kevin Rushby finds skating on (reasonably) thick sea ice off the coast of Sweden simple, peaceful and meditative – so unlike a session at your standard ice rink

  • Ten crazy travel challenges from around the world

    Do you take a checklist with you when you travel? These people do, ticking off mountain peaks, places beginning with Z and even Nando's restaurants. Vicky Baker finds 10 travellers on a mission

    Do you know someone who has travelled the world with a checklist? Let us know in the comments below