In this issue

May 20, 2024

DON'T GET SHIRTY

With the first peek of summer comes the inevitable tutting about men walking around without a top on. Oliver Keens has had enough, and gets his feelings off his (bare) chest

4 mins

Why don't airlines agree on cabin baggage allowances?

Q An idea I had yesterday in Alicante airport: why don’t all the airlines do the right thing and standardise cabin baggage? All of them have different rules and different-sized frames to fit a cabin bag in.

2 mins

Your job is safe - it is your partner who should worry

Google and OpenAI just unveiled chatbots that can see, hear, speak – and even flirt – like humans. With interest in virtual companions surging, Anthony Cuthbertson looks at the effect this could have on our relationships with each other

4 mins

Sound and the Fury: Usyk's legend confirmed - he can ignore noise of a rematch.

Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk fought to a bloody, exhausted and brutal standstill in a battle for far more than the various championship belts they paraded at the end.

2 mins

Verstappen holds off Norris to claim victory in Imola

Max Verstappen held off a dramatic Lando Norris fightback to win the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

2 mins

Klopp bids farewell with final day win over Wolves

Liverpool sent departing manager Jurgen Klopp on his way with a 2-0 victory over 10-man Wolves as the Anfield faithful finally bade an emotional farewell to their beloved boss after eight and a half years.

4 mins

Gunners end season with win as title dreams vanish

As the Arsenal fans sang joyously, you wouldn’t necessarily have thought they had just finished second.

3 mins

City cement place as one of England's greatest teams

And so, some 136 years after the foundation of the Football League, England finally has a team who have done the quartet.

3 mins

Diddy apologises for attack on partner caught on video

Sean “Diddy” Combs has posted an Instagram video apologising for beating his ex-girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, in the wake of footage of the 2016 incident being released.

3 mins

Gantz to quit if Netanyahu fails to make plan for Gaza

The Israeli prime minister is under mounting pressure from his war cabinet over his approach to the conflict with Hamas

3 mins

Iranian president feared dead after helicopter crash

Ebrahim Raisi was on his way back from a meeting in the northwest of Iran when the aircraft went down in heavy fog

3 mins

Artist reveals why portrait of King Charles is so red

The artist who painted the King’s latest portrait has revealed why the artwork is so red.

2 mins

Streeting defends Welby attack on child benefit cap

Wes Streeting has defended the Archbishop of Canterbury after he criticised the two-child benefit cap as “cruel” and urged Sir Keir Starmer to scrap it.

2 mins

Trust in Post Office drops in wake of Horizon IT scandal

The Post Office has plummeted from its position as Britain’s sixth-most-trusted financial, banking and insurance brand to 135th in the space of just 12 months amid public outcry over the Horizon IT scandal, new polling suggests.

2 mins

Lords to vote on reforms to 'inhumane' jail sentences

Many languishing in prison after indefinite terms scrapped

5 mins

Does the Tory exodus signal a Labour landslide ahead?

Earlier this month, the prime minister suffered two defections to Labour in as many weeks, while his MPs keep announcing that they won’t stand at the next election.

2 mins

Blow for Sunak as minister announces intention to quit

Rishi Sunak has suffered another blow after a sitting cabinet minister announced he will not be standing at the next general election.

2 mins

Ratcliffe: Brexit didn't turn out how people anticipated

Billionaire says referendum was largely about immigration

1 min

Gibraltar row sparks fears of erosion of UK sovereignty

Brexiteer Tory MPs threaten revolt over treaty with territory

5 mins

'Survivor's guilt' is still plaguing us, say victims

Contaminated blood victims say they are living with \"survivor's guilt\" as their lives \"continue to be blighted\" by the lasting effects of the scandal.

5 mins

Blood scandal victims had too long a wait, says Shapps

Minister admits families’ suffering is due to ‘shameful failure’

3 mins

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

Read all stories from The Independent

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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.