In this issue

May 06, 2022

Bank hikes interest rates as 40-year inflation high looms

Inflation will spiral to more than 10 per cent by October - the highest rate in 40 years - as Britain risks being pushed into recession with millions facing higher bills.

4 mins

How the interest rate rise and inflation will affect you

Interest rates are rising for the fourth time in six months, meaning higher monthly payments for around 2 million homeowners.

3 mins

Johnson braced for loss of hundreds of council seats

Boris Johnson is today braced for the loss of hundreds of council seats in crucial local elections expected to trigger fresh Conservative infighting over his future.

2 mins

“The man is a clown': voters decide in London boroughs

Rory Sullivan talks to people in Wandsworth while Barnet's polling-day temperature is taken

3 mins

True global Covid death toll is estimated near 15 million

Almost 15 million people have died as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic around the world, new figures from the World Health Organisation (WHO) reveal.

2 mins

Evacuations begin again from Mariupol steelworks

A fresh operation started last night to free scores of civilians still trapped in underground bunkers in the Azovstal steelworks, the last holdout in the devastated city of Mariupol.

3 mins

Shell profits almost triple to £7.3bn as global prices rise

Shell's profits have nearly tripled to $9.1bn (£7.3bn) at the start of this year as energy prices soar amid the war in Ukraine.

2 mins

BP and Shell signal future UK investment regardless of calls for a windfall tax

BP and Shell have indicated they are committed to investing billions in Britain's renewable energy despite calls for a windfall tax on their bumper profits - weakening the government's claims that a levy could deter future funding.

2 mins

Life on earth: how lunar soil could help us exist in space

Moon soil can convert carbon dioxide into oxygen, raising the possibility that it could be used to support human life in space, a study has found.

1 min

The Queen set to miss this year's royal garden parties

The Queen is to miss this year's traditional royal garden party season, stepping down from her usual hosting duties at Buckingham Palace and Holyroodhouse.

1 min

Johnson's attack on lawyers ‘dangerous and misleading’

Boris Johnson's fresh attack on lawyers over attempts to ship asylum seekers to Rwanda has been condemned as “misleading and dangerous”.

2 mins

Ryanair admits error to deny boarding to boy

Passengers booked on Ryanair whose British passports comply with European validity rules should no longer face being denied boarding.

2 mins

Compensation is on the horizon for passport mess

Over the past couple of years I have reported on some strange inventions in the world of travel.

2 mins

Kenyan citizens petition royal family for reparations

More than 100,000 citizens of Kenya have petitioned the British royal family for an apology and reparations following “brutal” atrocities committed during the colonial period.

3 mins

Palestinian evictions from West Bank confirmed after a decades-long legal battle

Israel's Supreme Court has ruled more than 1,000 inhabitants will be removed

2 mins

Head hunted: 2,000-year-old bust of Roman general found in Texas thrift store

The head is thought to have been looted in Germany during the Second World War (Bavarian Administration of State-Owned Palaces, Gardens and Lakes)

3 mins

Man sets record by working for same company for 84 years

Walter Orthmann began work at Reneaux View when he was 14

2 mins

Waiting a week to end my pregnancy was awful - but the choice was mine to make

It's more than 15 years since I was told the baby I was carrying had a rare type of neural tube defect. I still remember every detail of that day.

2 mins

Free childcare costs childcare more under this government

Every parent and carer will know the constant juggling that comes with raising a family.

2 mins

Abraham downs Leicester as Roma reach ECL final

Tammy Abraham, centre, celebrates as the Italian team go through 2-1 on aggregate

2 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.