The Independent - December 09, 2024

In this issue

December 09, 2024

Jubilant scenes on streets of Syria as Assad’s regime falls

Rebels in control of Damascus after dictator flees to Moscow 77 _

6 mins

Heart attack patients told to make their own way to A&E

Patients in the West Midlands, including some of those suffering heart attacks, are being asked to get themselves to hospital amid worsening pressures on ambulance services this winter.

2 mins

Reeves turns to Europe to improve growth prospects

Chancellor pitches for reset of UK-EU economic relationship

4 mins

Rayner: Homes plan won't undermine local democracy

Angela Rayner has denied that she is damaging local democracy after it was revealed she plans to force large developments on communities and bypass council planning committees.

2 mins

Bricks and mortar's crucial role in building for victory

Keir Starmer's speech last week was a difficult and confusing listen for those who switched on, with his different lists of six milestones, five missions, six first steps, seven pillars of economic stability and, not to forget, the three foundations.

4 mins

Braverman responds after her husband joins Reform

Former home secretary Suella Braverman has spoken out about her husband Rael's defection to Reform UK to quell speculation about her own future.

1 min

Nuclear weapons ban fears add to Chagos deal tensions

Diplomatic tensions are rising over Sir Keir Starmer’s controversial Chagos Islands deal, with fears the UK government is unable to guarantee whether nuclear weapons will be able to be stored at the Diego Garcia base.

2 mins

'Less old men, less privately educated, less upper class'

Women MPs say the culture at Westminster has noticeably shifted with the 2024 intake on one side of the floor at least

3 mins

Thousands left without any power after Storm Darragh

Thousands of people were last night still without power after Storm Darragh caused chaos across the country over the weekend.

3 mins

Al-Fayed faked dementia to dodge abuse probe, says son

Mohamed Al-Fayed's son has claimed his disgraced father faked having dementia in the later years of his life to avoid police questioning over accusations of sexual abuse.

2 mins

Ant and Dec crown the 2024 I'm a Celebrity winner

I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! has named its winner for 2024.

2 mins

House of Assad finally falls.but Syria may be torn apart

Syrians are celebrating for now but many neighbours have no interest in the country becoming united and peaceful

3 mins

"They put a bag on my head and tied my limbs together'

Taliban critics and rebel collaborators’ face torture in Afghan prisons under the hardline Islamist regime, survivors say

4 mins

South Korean prosecutors accuse president of treason

The leadership crisis in South Korea deepened further yesterday, after prosecutors named president Yoon Suk Yeol as the subject of a criminal investigation over his failed attempt to impose martial law, and as his former defence minister was arrested.

3 mins

We Syrians dared to dream after so much fear and pain

Whenever I think back to that first moment when the Syrian revolution began, it feels as though it happened yesterday.

3 mins

People love a Christmas card and it needn't break the bank

It's that time of year again. When you search WhatsApp for \"address\" and \"postcode\" and \"new house\", in an attempt to find full addresses for your nearest and dearest.

3 mins

A robot was found 'dead' at work... no one knows why

The lives and deaths of artificially intelligent systems are posing an increasingly urgent question to the humans who live and work alongside them, writes Anthony Cuthbertson

4 mins

What lies beyond the usual appeal of Sharm el-Sheikh?

What are the best things to do in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt? We are going there for a week in February.

1 min

Chelsea feast as Tottenham melt in the middle again

Spurs were 2-0 up after 12 minutes, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was shaking with noise and Chelsea’s stumbling defender Marc Cucurella was so harrowed by his nightmare start that he’d had to change his boots.

3 mins

Arsenal's title bid disrupted by VAR and feisty Fulham

A game of “millimetres”, as Mikel Arteta put it. Are these the fine lines on which titles are eventually won or lost? In the 90th minute of this 1-1 draw at Fulham, Gabriel Martinelli was waiting for that key pass and looking along the Fulham defence.

4 mins

Ashworth's exit puts an end to Old Trafford's latest farce

A leader at Manchester United was abruptly removed on Saturday. Yes, Bruno Fernandes was substituted in the defeat to Nottingham Forest.

3 mins

Norris holds nerve to end McLaren's 26-year drought

There would be no second chances this time. Lando Norris has been prone to in-race lapses of judgement and concentration in 2024 but here, with a 26-year hoodoo solely in his hands, the Bristolian gave his beloved McLaren a long-awaited F1 constructors’ championship at the season finale.

3 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.