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Highlights

The Longer Read

For the West, it’s a nuclear nightmare, but the Israel-Iran conflict is helping their leaders cling to power

Head shot of Jack Straw

Jack Straw was the first foreign secretary to visit Iran after the 1979 revolution and is used to negotiating with its leaders – even, on one occasion, from a train loo. Here, he explains why Netanyahu and Khamenei are throwing each other a lifeline to stay in power, and warns we could all pay a terrible price...

<p>A woman in Tehran walks past a mural depicting missiles being launched </p>

<p>Oceans of ink have already been spilt in pursuit of whatever Rayner did or didn’t pay, in terms of capital gains tax or otherwise, on a modest property in Stockport</p>

Alan Rusbridger

No wonder the Tories (and 12 detectives) are out to get Angela Rayner

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<p>Winehouse was so much more than the chaos that swirled around her</p>

First Person

‘I was Amy’s close friend, to know her you need to understand her relationship with women’

Voices

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Has Barcelona gone loco in its battle against tourists?

<p>Rishi Sunak pointed out that the total bill for this part of the welfare budget is now more than we spend on schools</p>

John Rentoul

Rishi Sunak is right to face up to the rise of long-term sickness

<p>Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, is ‘simply one of those vivid characters who are more newsworthy whatever they do’ </p>

The hounding of Angela Rayner is a declaration of class war

The Longer Read

<p>‘Jamie Oliver’s Air Fryer Meals’, basically a two-hour-long advert for Tefal, has become a talking point – and not in a good way </p>

In Focus

Even Jamie Oliver’s ridiculous show can’t kill off the air fryer trend

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<p>Mary, unlike her husband, was keen to stay away from the chaos of British politics </p>

Longer Read

My uncle was Mary Wilson’s companion – she had her own secret life too

<p>Lily-Rose Depp’s choice of cigarettes over vapes is becoming more typical of Generation Z </p>

Smoking is back in fashion for Generation Z - and a ban won’t stop it

Politics Explained

<p>The PM giving his speech on welfare reform in central London on Friday </p>

Politics Explained

Is Rishi Sunak playing politics or do benefits need to be reformed?

<p>Oliver Dowden gives a speech on Thursday at Chatham House about economic security</p>

Politics Explained

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<p>Nigel Farage, honorary president of Reform UK and former MEP, at the National Conservatism conference in Brussels on Tuesday</p>

Politics Explained

Should we be worried by the rise of the national conservatives?

<p>Katharine Birbalsingh argues that the interests of the Michaela school community take precedence over the needs of the individual</p>

Politics Explained

What does the Michaela court ruling mean for religion in schools?

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Editorials

19 April 2024

The Independent View

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18 April 2024

The Independent View

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<p>We believe it to be wrong in principle that adults should be prevented by law from engaging in activities that are not harmful to others</p>

The Independent View

Smoking ban: On balance, this illiberal measure deserves to fail

Culture

<p>Edwards and Thompson in ‘The Ballad of Hattie and James’</p>

The Ballad of Hattie and James spins a story from a St Pancras piano

<p>Don’t call it a comeback: Mel Gibson in ‘The Beaver’, Johnny Depp in ‘Jeanne du Barry’ and Lindsay Lohan in ‘The Canyons’ </p>

Johnny Depp and the rich history of the shambolic comeback film

<p>A still from John Akomfrah’s ‘Listening All Night to the Rain’, 2024</p>

John Akomfrah’s British Pavilion at Venice Biennale is an epic display

Travel

<p>A couple’s tour to Japan was paid for at a much higher exchange rate than experienced in the country on their trip </p>

Can we claim rate rebate after the yen dropped while we were in Japan?

<p>The ruins of a Roman apartment block go unnoticed in the shadow of Rome’s Il Vittoriano and Santa Maria Aracoeli</p>

Beyond the Trevi Fountain: an the ancient roman’s guide to secret Rome

John RentoulThe Independent’s chief political commentator

<p>Like Rishi Sunak, Cameron has been guilty of overclaiming </p>

Smooth Cameron returned to bolster Britain abroad – it hasn’t worked

<p>Queen Elizabeth greets Liz Truss after she was elected leader of the Conservative Party </p>

Mea Culpa: Facing up to royal mortality

<p>The former PM has released her memoir, ‘Ten Years to Save the West’ </p>

Truss’s memoir exposes one fatal flaw on the path to becoming PM

Andrew GricePolitical columnist who keeps his ear to the ground inside Westminster

<p>Rishi Sunak offered his MPs a free vote in an attempt to dilute the impact of the Tory rebellion, but his ploy didn’t work</p>

Congrats on the smoking ban, Rishi, but it won’t do you any favours

<p>A Boeing 767 that was scheduled to depart for Rwanda stands grounded at Boscombe Down airbase on 14 June 2022 following the last-minute intervention of the European Court of Human Rights</p>

Politics Explained

Can the government expand the Rwanda scheme to other countries?

<p>‘Where there is division…’: Margaret Thatcher gives her first speech in Downing Street after her 1979 general election win </p>

Why Keir Starmer should emulate Margaret Thatcher, not Tony Blair

Chris Blackhurst

<p>That sinking feeling: the City spoke of Britain paying a ‘moron premium’ for the craziness caused by Liz Truss, </p>

Going for broke: the tragicomedy of Trussonomics

<p>Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves says a crackdown on tax avoidance could raise £5bn a year by the end of the next parliament </p>

Good luck closing tax loopholes – the rich will always find a way

<p>Nigel Farage at his birthday party with Aaron Banks and finger-flipping ex-minister Andrea Jenkyns </p>

Cheers, Nigel! Brexit pain gets worse – and shoppers pay the price

News analysis

<p>Demonstrators wave Iran’s flag as they gather in front of the British embassy in Tehran</p>

Could conflict between Israel and Iran trigger a third world war?

<p>Israel has been encouraging clan militia groups to take over the security vacuum created in areas from which Hamas has been driven out</p>

Chaos and indiscipline are undermining Israel’s war, say insiders

<p>People gather around the ruins of a car used by US-based aid group World Central Kitchen that was hit by an Israeli strike</p>

Israel’s war is at a tipping point – and risks spinning out of control

<p>Protests outside Elbit Systems’ factory in Leicester on 20 March</p>

What are arms sales to Israel worth and could they be stopped?

Sport

<p>Taylor Swift has been supporting partner Travis Kelce throughout the playoffs </p>

As the NFL grows, could the Super Bowl soon touch down in London?

<p>The number of parents opting their children out of rugby is growing</p>

Is playing rugby really a form of child abuse?

Mary DejevskyExpert on foreign affairs, Russian politics and diplomatic relations between the Kremlin and the west

<p>Iranians protest in Tehran after Israel’s ‘limited’ attack on a strategically important military air base in Isfahan</p>

Iran and Israel won’t stop fighting, but WW3 has been averted… for now

<p>The attack was unprecedented not just in its scale, but in being, for the most part, launched directly from Iran</p>

The three urgent questions that arise from Iran’s assault on Israel

<p>An Iranian woman holds a poster of the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during an election campaign</p>

The world is watching Iran – so what will be its next move?

America

<p>Joe Biden speaks in Belfast on 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement</p>

Biden says Brexit deal can bring ‘significant’ US investment to NI

<p>Such leaks remind countries like Russia – as well as US allies – of the sheer scale and reach of Washington’s operations</p>

The diplomatic damage done by the Pentagon leak won’t last long

<p>Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley wrote a tweet attacking ‘weak and woke’ ideology the day she declared her candidacy</p>

Republicans are running on ‘wokeism’ – but don’t know what it is