Markus Andrews

Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseKeir Starmer has flown into an explosive row over reparations for the transatlantic slave trade at a summit in Samoa.Commonwealth leaders are preparing to defy the prime minister and agree plans to examine how there can be ‘reparative justice’ over the issue. The move comes despite Sir Keir’s call for the group to look to the future at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (Chogm), which begins in the pacific nation on Friday.The prime minister was expected to come under direct fire over slavery at the event, after the prime minister of the Bahamas Philip Davis said he was seeking a “frank talk” with Sir Keir about reparations. Diplomatic sources said officials are already negotiating an agreement to conduct further research and begin a “meaningful conversation”, which could leave the UK owing billions of pounds in reparations.British prime minister Keir Starmer on 22 October 2024 in Apia, Samoa More

Donald Trump has accused Sir Keir Starmer of election interference, claiming Labour officials are illegally campaigning for Kamala Harris in the US. This allegation hinges on two questions: Are Labour staff campaigning alongside Harris, and is the party funding these trips? Trump’s campaign filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission, citing a now-deleted LinkedIn post from Labour’s head of operations, which alleged nearly 100 staff are travelling to the US to support Harris. However, environment secretary Steve Reed clarified these individuals were volunteering in their spare time and that Labour had not financed the trips. More

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has hinted at a “challenging” Budget as she prepares to borrow tens of billions of pounds to invest in Britain’s crumbling infrastructure.In a new video, posted on X today (24 October), Ms Reeves said next week’s Budget will “fix the foundations and deliver change”.The chancellor says: “I’m going to be honest about the scale of the challenge we inherited, a decade of sluggish economic growth, deteriorating public services and a £22m billion black hole in public finances. “But, we must not be held back by the past and instead we should look to the opportunities of the future.” More

Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseSir Keir Starmer is under pressure to re-examine the UK’s relationship with the European Union, as a new group of MPs from across the political spectrum has formed to urge the prime minister to forge closer ties with the bloc. The group, which aims to “discover areas of mutual co-operation and interest” and probe the UK-EU relationship, held its first meeting on Tuesday,The Independent understands.The group will seek to “foster positive relationships with colleagues across Europe”, as well as “encouraging an open and honest dialogue for politicians of all stripes”, co-chair Dr Rosena Allin-Khan said. The meeting was attended by multiple prominent Labour backbenchers including Dawn Butler, Yasmin Qureshi and Marsha de Cordova.Prime Minister Keir Starmer shakes meets with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen at the European Commission headquarters during his visit to Brussels More

Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreClose Chipmaker Intel won a fresh victory on Thursday in a long-running battle against European Union competition watchdogs when the bloc’s top court confirmed a lower tribunal’s decision to overturn a billion-euro antitrust penalty. The EU’s Court of Justice said it upheld the decision to annul the fine issued more than a decade ago, dismissing an appeal from the European Commission, the 27-nation bloc’s top antitrust enforcer.The court said it “rejects all of the grounds of appeal raised by the Commission,” according to a press release summarizing the decision. Intel said in a statement that it’s “pleased with the judgment delivered by the Court of Justice of the European Union today and to finally put this part of the case behind us.”The case dates back to 2009, when the Commission slapped Intel with a 1.06 billion euro fine ($1.14 billion at current exchange rates) for allegedly using illegal sales tactics to shut out smaller rival AMD. The Commission accused Intel of abusing its dominant position in the global market for x86 microprocessors with a strategy to exclude rivals by using rebates.Intel scored a surprise win in 2022 when the EU’s General Court overturned the penalty, the decision that the Court of Justice backed on Thursday. The latest decision is still not the end of the road for the case, because the company is battling a separate 376.4 million-euro fine that Brussels imposed last year targeting some Intel sales restrictions that the General Court found were unlawful in its 2022 ruling. More

Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseThe UK government is planning to ban disposable vapes by summer 2025 – and we want to know if you back the move.The new legislation will reportedly give suppliers until 1 June 2025 to clear all stock across England, with the UK government expecting Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland to implement similar measures.Supporters of the ban argue that it will help curb the rise in vaping among children and reduce the environmental impact of single-use vapes, which are often discarded improperly. Research shows that the number of children experimenting with vaping has increased by 50 per cent in the past year. Health officials also note that disposable vapes are the preferred choice for young users.However, some critics argue that disposable vapes can help people quit smoking, and that the ban could push them back to cigarettes.On the other side of the debate, several people have suggested that broader regulations are needed for all vaping products, not just disposables. Some have also questioned whether the government should focus more on smoking regulations, such as banning smoking in outdoors, or revisit former prime minister Rishi Sunak’s scrapped plan to phase out smoking entirely by gradually raising the legal age to buy cigarettes.We want to know what you think: Is banning disposable vapes the right solution to protect young people and the environment, or should the government focus on more comprehensive measures?Share your thoughts in the comments — we’ll highlight the best responses as they come in.All you have to do is sign up and register your details — then you can take part in the discussion. You can also sign up by clicking ‘log in’ on the top right-hand corner of the screen. More

Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseDisposable vapes are set to be banned across Britain next year amid fears children are illegally buying the devices.New laws will reportedly give suppliers a deadline of 1 June 2025 to get rid of all stock across England, with the UK government expecting devolved nations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to follow suit.The number of children vaping has tripled in the last three years with a significant proportion (nine per cent) of 11 to 15-year-olds using the devices, figures show.“It is deeply worrying that a quarter of 11 to 15-year-olds used a vape last year,” health minister Andrew Gwynne said.“We know disposables are the product of choice for the majority of kids vaping today. Banning them will keep them out of the hands of vulnerable young people.”New laws will give suppliers a deadline of 1 June 2025 to get rid of all disposable vape stock across England More

Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseRachel Reeves will turn on the spending taps to upgrade Britain’s creaking infrastructure and invest in the clean energy transition, she will tell world leaders today.The chancellor is planning to change the government’s fiscal rules to free up billions of pounds of borrowing, which she will promise to spend laying “the foundations of future growth”.Attending her first International Monetary Fund (IMF) annual meeting, Ms Reeves will set the stage for next Wednesday’s Budget – which is also set to contain harsh spending cuts and tax hikes.Chancellor Rachel Reeves will deliver Labour’s first Budget since returning to power on October 30 (Stefan Rousseau/PA) More