In this issue

May 19, 2024

Arsenal must stop Man City from doing the inevitable

As Mikel Arteta addressed the Arsenal squad on Wednesday morning, the message was the same. That was to keep focusing on what they must do and forget about Manchester City.

5 mins

Brighton confirm surprise exit of De Zerbi as manager

Brighton and Hove Albion have confirmed that head coach Roberto De Zerbi will leave the Amex Stadium club after their final match of the season.

2 mins

Singer's husband condemns rap star after assault video

Footage appears to show Sean 'Diddy' Combs hitting his ex

2 mins

Fierce battles in north Gaza while aid arrives via US pier

Sustained attack on Rafah in south causes thousands to flee

3 mins

Northern lights could soon be back in skies over Britain

The pink and green strobes of the northern lights could return to UK skies soon, meteorologists have said. The rare phenomenon could be seen throughout the UK and as far south as France last Friday and Saturday night following a severe solar storm.

2 mins

Business tycoon and media boss O'Reilly dies aged 88

Tony O'Reilly owned The Independent titles until 2010.

2 mins

Surfers on board in protest against sewage discharges

Thousands of people across the UK gathered at beaches, rivers and lakes yesterday to demand change in the country's water pollution levels. Protesters gathered at swimming spots from West Pier in Brighton to Gyllyngvase Beach in Falmouth following reports that millions of litres of raw sewage were pumped into Windermere in the Lake District for 10 hours in February.

3 mins

Campaign maps 60 current sewage alerts on UK shores

After a report found that \"millions\" of litres of untreated sewage was illegally discharged into Lake Windermere, campaigners have raised concerns about the levels of pollution in British waters.

2 mins

Picturesque holiday hotspot now abandoned ghost town

Alex Ross reports from Brixham where locals complain of cancelled hotel bookings, empty streets and dirty tap water

5 mins

Devon water infections may increase in next two weeks

The number of people infected with a waterborne disease following a parasite outbreak in south Devon is likely to increase for up to two weeks, a public health boss has warned.

5 mins

Teachers set to be protected against claims of blasphemy

Teachers could be given protection from claims of blasphemy under proposals reportedly set out in a new government-commissioned report.

2 mins

Chancellor pledges £10bn for infected blood victims

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has said a compensation package of at least £10bn for victims of the infected blood scandal will fulfil a promise he made to a constituent who died after contracting hepatitis C.

2 mins

Labour vows to add 40,000 NHS appointments a week

Labour has pledged to introduce shared NHS waiting lists to deliver an extra 40,000 appointments a week and improve healthcare.

2 mins

Badenoch orders firms to focus on trade not activism

British companies should ditch political activism and focus on delivering goods and services for customers, the UK's business secretary said. Kemi Badenoch, who also works as Britain's equalities minister, said there was a “creeping politicisation\" of businesses. She claimed equality, diversity and inclusion initiatives did more to divide than unify people.

1 min

Chaos as asylum seekers leave barge and RAF base

Hundreds moved as costs at flagship sites spiral over £160m

5 mins

Adieu as England greats line up to play in France

A thrilling race to the finish will leave most Premiership fans rooted in the present this afternoon but for the nostalgics there are plenty of reasons to reminisce and remember glories of the past.

4 mins

Fury and Usyk desperately seek heavyweight greatness

If you think that nine different belts, $100m and bragging rights are the only prizes in tonight's undisputed fight in Saudi Arabia, then you would be wrong.

3 mins

Emma Hayes and the life behind a winning machine

Emma Hayes managed to find a way to reflect on her achievements while seeing the bigger picture. At Wembley last year, as Hayes sat with another winner's medal around her neck this time after Chelsea defeated Manchester United to win their third FA Cup in a row - there was a moment where she paused from the relentlessness of football management and its daily demands to focus on a wider journey. \"When I sit at home alone and think about the work we do every day, and the sacrifices we all make, I know I've given my life to it,\" she reflected.

4 mins

Scheffler charged by police but still tees off at US PGA

World No 1 describes Valhalla arrest as a 'chaotic situation'

2 mins

London's 'existential' crisis can't be fixed by boosterism

Jeremy Hunt did two things of note this week. One was to make the claim that Britain will create \"a $1 trillion Microsoft\"; the other was to call finance chiefs back to discuss what could be done to make the UK market more appealing to domestic and international investors.

4 mins

Lumo to launch London to Manchester low-cost trains

New train services between London Euston and Rochdale via Manchester Victoria could be launched by the low-cost train operator Lumo. Transport company FirstGroup, which owns the brand, plans to run six returns a day using new UK-built trains powered by electricity and batteries.

1 min

Hunt just made the case for why you should vote Labour

Jeremy Hunt simply cannot decide whether he is a nice guy or a ruthless political operator. Yesterday he delivered a cynical pre-election exercise, taking the rules on civil-service impartiality to the limit by engaging Treasury officials to sell the message that Labour would raise taxes.

3 mins

Pilgrim's progress: Vatican radically reforms 'weeping statue' rule to fight hoaxes

The Vatican has radically reformed its rules for evaluating reported supernatural events such as weeping Madonnas and blood-dripping crucifixes that have for centuries whipped up the Catholic faithful.

2 mins

'Path of hatred' condemned as the Fico shooting stirs up poisonous Slovakian politics

Tom Watling on tensions behind PM assassination attempt

3 mins

Bodies of three Israeli hostages found in Gaza

The bodies of three Israeli hostages taken by Hamas during the deadly 7 October attack have been discovered, including the remains of the German-Israeli tattoo artist Shani Louk.

2 mins

First aid shipments driven into Gaza from military pier

Trucks carrying badly needed aid for the Gaza Strip rolled across a newly built US floating pier into the besieged enclave for the first time yesterday as Israeli restrictions on border crossings and heavy fighting hinder food and other supplies reaching people there.

3 mins

In Putin's game of thrones, there is one man to watch

Sergei Borisovich Korolev, the first deputy director of the FSB, is reported to have emerged a winner after the Russian president's recent Kremlin reshuffle. Kim Sengupta reports

4 mins

Harm caused by alcohol abuse costs £27bn a year

The harm caused by alcohol costs £27.4bn a year in England, according to estimates. The charity the Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS) said its data shows there has been more than a 40 per cent increase in the cost of harm since 2003.

2 mins

Sunak and Murty among wealthiest people in Britain

Britain's \"migrant hotel king\" has entered the UK rich list for the first time, in a year in which the number of billionaires fell but the prime minister and monarch both saw their vast fortunes increase, new data reveals.

2 mins

Man who killed in revenge for Israel-Gaza war jailed

A Moroccan asylum seeker was jailed for life yesterday after stabbing a pensioner to death in \"revenge\" for the Israel-Hamas conflict. He must serve at least 44 years. Ahmed Alid, 45, stabbed Terence Carney, 70, six times in Hartlepool town centre early on 15 October - eight days after Hamas attacked Israel.

4 mins

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The Independent has been at the frontline of journalism since 1986, with its mission to challenge and debate always ahead of its time. The Independent is free-thinking and free of bias in an increasingly fragmented world where communities locally, regionally and across continents are disenfranchised with traditional establishments. They want real facts and frank opinions delivered first-hand from a news source that is ready to stand for something, not everything.