CATEGORIES

Brexiteers favour closer ties with the EU, poll suggests

Keir Starmer is being pushed to have more ambition in his Brexit relations reset with the EU after new polling suggested voters – even Brexiteers – now support reversing large parts of the UK’s departure from the bloc.

Is the NHS in more trouble than usual this winter?

Rather like Santa, mince pies, Wham!’s “Last Christmas” and the (execrable) Mrs Brown’s Boys special, the NHS winter crisis has become something of an annual ritual. Indeed, only those now in their sixties can recall a time when the media wasn’t routinely full of stories about overcrowded wards and emergency departments at breaking point.

Rayner faces backlash over plans to 'bulldoze' country

Angela Rayner is facing an angry backlash against controversial planning reforms set to force councils to surrender swathes of the green belt and see housebuilding surge by more than 60 per cent.

Nato chief warns West ‘not ready' for a war with Russia

Nato general secretary Mark Rutte has warned that the West is “not ready” to deal with the threat of war from Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

American 'pilgrim' emerges unscathed from Assad jail

An American who spent seven months in a Syrian prison after crossing into the country on foot on a Christian pilgrimage has been found.

'I sparked Syria's revolution now I'm here to finish it'

Muawiyah Syasneh was just a teenager when a simple act of rebellion lit the fuse that resulted in a civil war. Now, he talks to Bel Trew about his role in bringing the conflict to an end

Labour is right to build more houses - but must be mindful of its legacy

As it is in nature and architecture, so it is in planning – there is always a balance to be found.

What are the best spots for a Central America trip?

Q Due to some reorganisation where I work, I have the shortnotice chance of a two-month stint of unpaid leave from midJanuary next year to early March. I’ve always been interested in Central America.

Why two random men decide the fate of football

The sport globally is in the hands of two administrators. But how did they come to hold such power, asks Miguel Delaney

Win can't hide deep issues Amorim faces at United

A victory snatched from the jaws of defeat should give a new manager hope that there is fight among his charges, that the future is bright.

Dazzling Brook can lead a new fab four in Test cricket

There may have been a degree of self-effacement about Joe Root’s remarks, the great England cricket batter never one to trumpet his own world-leading qualities, yet his rhapsodic reference of Harry Brook was said with conviction.

A dance of hope and healing

The Netflix film Daughters’ documents a winning initiative that reunites men in jail with their progeny. We were all crying, the two filmmakers reveal to Lydia Spencer-Elliott

Absurd image that sums up Fifa's 'tinpot dictatorship'

Miguel Delaney explains how the Gianni Infantino-led endeavour to hand Saudi Arabia the 2034 World Cup finals perfectly encapsulated the depths to which football has sunk

Liverpool spoilt for choice in battle to look after No 1

The big screen in the corner of the quaint Estadi Montilivi displayed some pre-match entertainment.

City slump to defeat and Champions League peril

It amounts to miserable seven for Pep Guardiola.

Sublime Saka scores brace as Gunners boss Monaco

Bukayo Saka continues to show the way, as well as new levels. Arsenal have recently been a team in need of a bit of stability and sense of comfort, and this 3-0 win over AS Monaco duly offered them a straight line into the Champions League last 16.

Boots owner in negotiations with US private equity firm

Walgreens, the US-based owner of Boots, is in talks to sell itself to a private equity company, casting uncertainty over the future of the venerable high street chain.

Ukrainian women pulled alive from rubble seven hours after Russian strike

Rescue crews working through the night have pulled two Ukrainian women from the rubble more than seven hours after a Russian missile struck a private medical clinic in southern Zaporizhzhia city, killing six people and injuring 22 others, Ukraine’s emergency services said.

Putin helped Assad escape Syria via Russian airbase

Russian intelligence agents persuaded Bashar al-Assad to flee Syria for Moscow, having become convinced that he would lose against the insurgents rapidly advancing on Damascus, sources have said.

Syrians vow to rebuild their town after Assad's brutality

Bel Trew in Jobar, north of Damascus, meets residents returning home for the first time in more than a decade

British teenager jailed in Dubai over holiday romance

A British teenager has been jailed in Dubai for having sex with a 17-year-old girl while the pair were on holiday.

NHS patient awarded £70k after drug made him gamble

The NHS has paid out tens of thousands to a man who developed an “uncontrollable” gambling problem after he was given a common Parkinson’s drug, The Independent can reveal.

Is there any way of solving our prisoner cell blockage?

The headline news is that the prisons crisis is not going to get much better for many years.

Disability services face axe due to Budget, says charity

Latest blow to chancellor on back of national insurance hikes

Police staff vote to strike over home working rules

Civilian staff at the Metropolitan Police have voted for the first time to strike, after being told they may not work from home so often.

Courts reform expected as murder trial backlog soars

Ministers are poised to pave the way for major criminal justice reform after new figures seen by The Independent revealed the dire state of the courts system.

MPs rage at assisted dying bill committee 'stitch-up'

The committee that will scrutinise the assisted dying bill will have a majority of supportive MPs, including two government ministers, in a move that has been branded “a stitch-up” by campaigners.

Government could axe 10,000 civil service jobs

Ministers will not set an arbitrary cap on the number of civil servants amid reports more than 10,000 jobs could be lost as the result of a spending squeeze.

Rayner: Councils must yield green belt to build housing

Angela Rayner has announced that councils will be forced to surrender large parts of the green belt to achieve immediate new housing targets.

Tractor protest at Whitehall sees farmers rage at Starmer

Farmers remain in a deadlock with the government over tax after a day of protests in which hundreds of tractors were driven through Westminster.