US elections 2004 This article is more than 19 years oldIt's the IQ, stupidThis article is more than 19 years oldHowell RainesHis supposed intellectual failings are the butt of countless jokes, but so far the question of George Bush's brainpower hasn't hampered his electoral prospects. Why not? In the latest of his dispatches for G2, former New York Times editor Howell Raines asks how important intelligence really is in an American presidentTalk about it
My best shotPhotography'They ring a bell and all the girls at the brothel have to come out of their rooms and line up, and the clients get to choose' Reading on mobile? See full image here
I love Vegas. It's the epitome of all the contradictions of US culture and society. Everything Americans don't want to discuss ends up in Nevada, from nuclear testing to prostitutes. I was there in 1998 taking photos of its McDonald's-style wedding culture when I decided to take a road trip.
Céspedes at home in Lucca in the 1940s. Photograph: Mondadori Portfolio/Getty ImagesCéspedes at home in Lucca in the 1940s. Photograph: Mondadori Portfolio/Getty ImagesFiction in translationChampioned by Elena Ferrante, Céspedes’s neo-realist classic The Forbidden Notebook is being reissued 70 years after it was first published. It still speaks to women’s lives today
Postwar Italian neorealism was one of the most exciting literary movements of the 20th century, but it’s only recently that the female neorealists have had the attention they deserve.
The ObserverAppsLet technology lend a hand this year, whether it’s sourcing presents, balancing the books or providing new ideas for recipes and cocktails
It’s that time of year again, when the days are shorter, mince pies are back on the shelves and Mariah Carey is always playing somewhere. As plans for office Christmas parties and family gatherings are made, here are some apps that might come in handy for the holiday season.
The ObserverBiography booksReviewLaura Thompson's biography of Agatha Christie finds clues to her popularity in the quality of her prose, says Rachel CookeAgatha Christie: An English Mystery
by Laura Thompson
Headline Review £20, pp534
If you read lots of literary biographies, as I do, you can't help but feel that the available pool of subjects is distinctly puddle-sized. A few writers die every year, which is helpful, but not all of them, alas, are worthy of their own book.
The Grand Tour This article is more than 4 years oldWill Young accuses The Grand Tour of homophobic stereotypingThis article is more than 4 years oldJeremy Clarkson was mocked for driving a ‘popular car with the gay community’
Will Young has said he plans to report The Grand Tour to Ofcom after Amazon Prime allegedly failed to respond to his accusation that the Jeremy Clarkson vehicle perpetuates homophobic stereotypes.
In the second episode of the show’s third series, broadcast on 25 January, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May travel to Colombia.
Beauty hacksWomen's hairPacked with vitamins, this home treatment promises a lot – if you’re willing to invest the effort
The hack
Can I make a hair gel from chia seeds and warm water?
Can micellar water clean your hair as well as your face?Read moreThe test
Sprinkled on porridge, chia seeds are like that friend who is annoyingly good at everything – they’re packed with soluble fibre (good for digestion) and also provide a whack of protein, omega-3 and -6 oils and vitamins.
ObituaryDoris ColeyA voice that changed the sound of popGirls weren't supposed to sleep with their boyfriends in the teenage world of the late 1950s, so the release of the Shirelles's Will You Love Me Tomorrow in 1959 provided a double frisson for the record-buying public: four young black female soul voices moulded with the universal appeal of narrative lyrics. Here sex and love were inexorably entwined, with the added worry that once she succumbed to "
Israel-Gaza war This article is more than 1 month oldFrench-Israeli woman seen in Hamas hostage video is freedThis article is more than 1 month oldMia Schem was abducted from music festival on 7 October; lawyer Amit Soussana has also been released
Israel-Hamas war – live updates Mia Schem, a French-Israeli woman who was abducted from the Supernova music festival in Israel and shown in the first Hamas video of a hostage speaking from captivity, has been released.
WomenTiina Jauhiainen tried to help her best friend leave her stifling, traditional existence as the daughter of Dubai’s ruler. But in a dramatic intervention at sea, the princess was returned to the UAE. A year on, Jauhiainen is campaigning for Latifa’s freedom
“I wish I’d said something to her when they were taking her away,” says Tiina Jauhiainen, looking down at her now cold tea. We are in a cafe in central London, but Jauhiainen’s mind is 5,000 miles away in the Arabian sea, reliving the night of 4 March 2018, when she attempted to help her best friend escape from her family.