The Independent - January 06, 2025

In this issue

January 06, 2025

Starmer pledges to end long waits for treatment on NHS

Prime minister to set out plan to tackle backlogs in hospitals

3 mins

Streeting: Voters will thank Labour over winter fuel cuts

The public will thank Sir Keir Starmer for scrapping winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners and other “unpopular decisions”, the health secretary has claimed.

2 mins

Musk calls for new Reform leader in split with Farage

Elon Musk has suggested that Reform UK needs to replace Nigel Farage with a new leader.

3 mins

Trump could be next after angry Elon turns on Nigel

There is an old Asian proverb which goes along the lines of: \"He who rides the tiger must beware lest he end up inside.\"

3 mins

Should Starmer worry about Musk’s relentless attacks?

One of Sir Keir Starmer’s biggest challenges in 2025 will come not from the Conservative Party, or even inside parliament or the UK, but from the heart of Donald Trump’s administration.

3 mins

UK food sales to EU have fallen by 20% since Brexit

British food sales to Europe have plummeted by a fifth since 2018, the farming minister has admitted, sparking calls for Labour to slash post-Brexit red tape and strike a food standards agreement with the EU.

3 mins

Weather warnings follow weekend of travel chaos

The Environment Agency has issued over 250 flood alerts and warnings as heavy snow melts across the UK

2 mins

Majority of schools hit by Raac scandal have still not had concrete removed

More than a year since the Raac scandal emerged, nearly 90 per cent of schools receiving government support to remove dangerous concrete have not had work carried out, The Independent can reveal.

3 mins

Gangs 'offering Botox' to lure girls into drug trade

Young women and teenage girls are increasingly being recruited into “county lines” drug gangs, with charities warning that they have been offered beauty treatments such as Botox as a method to groom them.

3 mins

Welby marks final day as Archbishop of Canterbury

Justin Welby is spending his final day as Archbishop of Canterbury as he prepares to step down over failures in handling a Church of England abuse scandal.

2 mins

Woman receives 'second chance' after UK's first liver transplant for bowel cancer

A young woman has received a “second chance at life” after undergoing the UK’s first ever liver transplant for advanced bowel cancer.

2 mins

First lawsuit filed against city of New Orleans after 'preventable' terror attack

Police targeted for its 'negligence' leading up to rampage

2 mins

'Significant' losses in Kursk for Russia and North Korea

Russian and North Korean forces suffered \"significant\" losses during intense fighting in Russia's southern Kursk region, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

2 mins

Filmmaker Baena died by suicide, coroner confirms

Jeff Baena's cause of death has been confirmed by officials, after news broke that the indie filmmaker had died aged 47.

2 mins

Ride or die in team Trump

Alex Hannaford asks who, if anyone, can stop the incoming president from wreaking serious havoc in his second term

7 mins

'I'm a clown in a war zone'

Mohammed Nayef Salem tells Maira Butt how an unlikely vocation came to be a lifeline for hundreds of Gaza's children

3 mins

Jolie has become cinema's most risk-averse star - she needs Kidman's courage

Staid biopic 'Maria' and erotic thriller 'Babygirl' expose how far the two women's careers have diverged, says Xan Brooks

4 mins

FAMILY MISFORTUNES

ITV's four-part drama 'Playing Nice' is bland porridge that buries any potential for a good thriller

3 mins

United 'a different team' in spirited draw at Liverpool

If the measure of a Manchester United player is how he performs against their fiercest rivals, then Amad Diallo has begun in auspicious style.

4 mins

How overlooked star is key to Forest's magnificent rise

The best league position Nottingham Forest had achieved in 28 years came last season.

3 mins

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The Independent Newspaper Description:

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.