The Observer Daily: The battle for the Telegraph

The best of The Observer, from across our newsroom View in browser The battle for the Telegraph The best of The Observer, from across our newsroom Barney Macintyre • Friday 20 June 2025 Dear friend, The saga of the Telegraph sale is not just a story of money, power and politics played out in a beleaguered industry. It speaks of Britain's place in the world. On 23 May, Telegraph journalists breathed a sigh of relief when RedBird Capital, a US firm, offered $500 million for the British title. But three weeks on, there are signs the deal is far from done as concerns rumble around Westminster about foreign ownership again. But wasn't this inevitable? The previous owners of the title used it as "collateral", before selling it off in "a kind of Dubai souk". Meanwhile politicians on all sides, "out of their depth and desperate for cash", have courted foreign states to invest in UK plc, from football teams to nuclear plants. The biggest irony, writes Jane Martinson, is that the Telegraph, a bastion of Britishness supported by both big and small C conservatives, has found itself as a key battleground. Click here to read more → "The enemy of nonsense" – George Orwell Also in The Observer 'This is our fight' The story of the war between Israel and Iran has so far, understandably, been told through the lens of international relations: two major powers exchanging missiles, not to mention the possibility of direct US involvement. But on the ground in Tehran are those caught in the middle. In an incredible piece, Rana Rahimpour captures the smell of the fighting, the panicked traffic, and the deep national pride running through the streets. Click here to read more → TikTok, don't stop by Stephen Armstrong and Xavier Greenwood       Donald Trump has extended the deadline by which TikTok must be sold by its Chinese owner ByteDance or be shut down in the US. Sound familiar? The story of Trump's fight to resolve TikTok's future has run and run, and as Stephen Armstrong and Xavier Greenwood report, there's reason to believe more delays beckon. This piece is part of The Sensemaker. It features calm and clear analysis on what's driving the news across tech, geopolitics, finance and culture. To get the full newsletter sent to your inbox every morning, sign up here. Click here to read more → How to beach If you, like us, are shivering in an air-conditioned office knowing a sweaty restless night lies ahead, then you might be planning a weekend escape to a nearby beach. The unprepared need not worry, as we present The Observer guide to beach life. We give advice on what to wear (if anything at all), how to tackle the towel change shimmy and how best to overcome the challenge of children playing on the sand for hours on end.      Click here to read more → Sarah Vine's scenes from a Brexit marriage by Rachel Cooke      In her review of How Not to Be a Political Wife by Sarah Vine, Rachel Cooke writes that even if the book "comes with its own brand of ridiculousness", the insight of a woman on the power-hungry machismo of the Tories is worthwhile. Cooke read How Not to Be a Political Wife with "rapt fascination, every page delivering some mini-revelation", even if the carelessness of the Brexit era is tough to swallow in such a format. Click here to read more → Listen Daily Sensemaker Will Trump bomb Iran's nuclear fortress? Could the US president order a strike on Iran's underground nuclear site using a bunker-buster bomb – and what might the consequences be? Click here to listen → The News Meeting Will the Maga split prevent a US war with Iran? Is Ayatollah Khamenei becoming increasingly isolated? Who's got Trump's ear in the decision to strike Iran? How can we find out what's happening on the ground in Gaza? Jess Winch is joined by The Observer's Jasper Corbett, journalist Rana Rahimpour and the author Tim Marshall, as they battle it out for the top story of the day. Click here to listen → Thanks for reading. We'll be back on Monday.   Barney Macintyre Business news editor 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.