The Observer Daily: Banana republic

The best of The Observer, from across our newsroom View in browser Banana republic The best of The Observer, from across our newsroom Patricia Clarke • Monday 30 June 2025 Dear friend, The crypto billionaire Justin Sun is perhaps best known for buying a banana duct-taped to a wall for $6.2 million – and eating it. But that PR stunt might have masked a more important story. I became interested in Sun last year when he reportedly poured $75 million into the Trump family's crypto company. Months later, Sun invested a separate $20 million in $Trump, Donald Trump's personal crypto token, which granted him access to an exclusive dinner with the US president at his golf club in Virginia. Over the past four years, Sun has been investigated or charged by multiple US agencies in relation to allegations including fraud and market manipulation. He has denied all charges on multiple occasions. Since the Trump administration came into power, all investigations into Sun have been shelved. And instead of facing greater scrutiny, it appears the crypto mogul now finds himself closer than ever to the seat of American power. Click here to read the full piece → "The enemy of nonsense" – George Orwell Also in The Observer The only two Gazan children allowed into the UK for medical treatment At the end of April, 13-year-old Rama and five-year-old Ghena arrived in London, along with their families. Rama has a lifelong bowel condition, Ghena has a congenital condition in her left eye. Both were given visas for medical treatment in the UK, and have undergone treatment at British hospitals with great success. Such treatments aren't possible in Gaza, but Project Pure Hope, a humanitarian initiative led by Dr Farzana Rahman and Omar Din, raised £1.5 million to cover the cost of the children's ­evacuation from Gaza, their accommodation and private treatment. Project Pure Hope has funding to help many more children, but has only been given approval by the government for one more child to come to the UK. The government has been accused of moving "too slowly". One surgeon said: "They say taxpayers don't want to bear the burden for this, but they're happy to bear the burden for the F-35 parts." Click here to read more → The Alps are melting – and never faster than now by Giles Whittell       Last month, a Swiss village was buried when the mountain above 'exploded'. The impact of climate change is no longer anecdotal. Unfortunately in the Alps, the disaster isn't alone. As much as 16 million cubic metres of rock and ice – six Giza ­pyramids' worth – could collapse at any moment above the entrance to one of Switzerland's most important railway tunnels. As Giles Whittell reports, when it goes some of it will cascade directly to the valley floor but much of it will crash into an idyllic lake above the village, like a giant jumping into a bath. Ice bridges that held rock formations together for thousands of years are giving way. Click here to read more → Why fate is fickle for the women of Wimbledon by Jessy Parker Humphreys       Get the Pimms out: the first round of Wimbledon started earlier today, and The Observer will be covering the tournament over the next couple of weeks. A great place to start is this piece from sports reporter Jessy Parker Humphreys, who has put a spotlight on the unpredictability of the women's championship. There have been eight different winners in the past eight years, with no clear favourite this year. In an insightful piece, Jessy makes sense of why that might be. Click here to read more → The telescope that's about to change astronomy for ever by Jonathan O'Callaghan       The night sky has never been better understood. And because of a new telescope on top of a mountain in Chile, scientists are already salivating at the breadth of knowledge on offer. The Vera C Rubin Observatory cost £595 million to build, and is ten years in the making. As Jonathan O'Callaghan explains, astronomers believe the survey taken by the telescope will leave researchers pouring over data for decades, shedding more light on what our solar system is really like. Click here to read more → Listen Daily Sensemaker The man behind Tattle Life unmasked The founder of the gossip website is now known. Is this a victory for those targeted by the site?     Click here to listen → Thanks for reading. We'll be back tomorrow.   Patricia Clarke Technology reporter The Observer   My Account To manage your newsletters, track tickets and more, go to the 'My account' page on the Observer website: Manage my newsletters Follow Follow The Observer on social media on your preferred platform:   The Observer     The Observer Food Monthly The Observer Magazine The Observer New Review   Listen Listen for free in the Tortoise app or wherever you get your podcasts: Want to change how you receive these emails? Update email preferences Copyright © 2025 Tortoise Media. All rights reserved. Did this email get caught in your spam filter? Add editor@newsroom.tortoisemedia.com to your address book to never miss an email again. No longer want to receive this newsletter? Unsubscribe here.