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Highlights

‘Bring back Loaded magazine? No thanks (and I used to be its editor)’

Head shot of James Brown

As it’s announced that the magazine is being brought back for the original Loaded lad now turned dad (who might want to ogle some beautiful women), James Brown says good luck for trying – but if the new version really wants to attract midlife blokes, it might be better off featuring blankets and useful flasks...

<p>‘The success of the original had far more to do with the self-deprecating humour and range of subjects than the porn mag-in-disguise trope that is constantly trotted out’ </p>

<p>George Green with his wife Nancy, who both went to Spain during the civil war </p>

In Focus

First hunt in Spain for remains of Britons who fought against Franco

<p>Billions of sites have already disappeared from the web </p>

Parts of the internet are disappearing – and they may be lost forever

<p>Lucian Freud photographed with his children Rose and Ali Boyt</p>

Rose Boyt on father Lucian Freud: ‘Reading my diary was horrifying’

Voices

<p> The Conservatives have learnt the hard way that Rayner is a more formidable opponent than they thought</p>

John Rentoul

Shame of the Tories who tried to smear Angela Rayner as a tax crook

<p>A leaked report said Pope Francis referred to gay men in Vatican seminaries as ‘frociaggine’ – an offensive homophobic Italian collective noun</p>

With one slur, the Pope has shown his true colours on homosexuality

<p>Trump has spent the majority of his time as a criminal defendant sitting nearly motionless, for hours, leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed</p>

Jon Sopel

It’s crunch time for Trump – but will he go to jail or be a free man?

The Longer Read

<p>Gut reaction: keeping this vital organ running nicely is all the rage </p>

Health and Wellbeing

For the best gut health, is it time to ditch Zoe and go Dutch?

Professor Tim Spector has revolutionised midlife health, but many people are now swearing by a new method which looks at how our hormones are affecting our microbiome too. Isobel Mohan reports

<p>Commander Magnus Frykvall of the P18 Gotland regiment in Sweden </p>

The Longer Read

What Sweden tells us about how military service might work here

<p>German troops stand in line at Alderney quay </p>

The Longer Read

Finally, the truth behind the Nazi concentration camp on British soil

Politics Explained

<p>Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves visiting the Rolls-Royce aerospace campus in Derby on Tuesday</p>

Politics explained

Can Keir Starmer really be called a socialist?

<p>Sir Keir Starmer says Labour will ‘change Britain for the better’</p>

Politics Explained

Can slogans change the minds of voters before the general election?

<p>Starmer: ‘If you can work, if you can pay tax, if you can serve in your armed forces, then you ought to be able to vote’ </p>

Politics explained

Is Labour trying to rig election system with plans for votes at 16?

<p>Julie Etchingham hosted a particularly crowded election debate in 2019 </p>

Politics explained

Will TV debates help or hinder the 2024 general election?

Most Commented

Diane Abbott ‘to be banned from standing for Labour’ after race probe complete

533 comments

General election latest: Starmer calls for closer ties with EU as Abbott ‘banned’

454 comments

Israel condemned as ‘barbaric’ strike on Rafah refugee camp kills at least 50

1127 comments

Israel bombards Rafah amid international condemnation – as tanks reach heart of city

219 comments

Editorials

<p>Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has made the most of an open letter signed by 121 business leaders endorsing Labour’s plans </p>

The Independent View

It is a coup for Labour to position itself as the party for business

<p>Opinion polls show a steady but inexorable decline in the public’s perceptions of Rishi Sunak </p>

The Independent View

This election must not be allowed to descend into personal abuse

<p>Rishi Sunak proposed the introduction of national service for 18-year-olds</p>

The Independent View

National service plan is a host of contradictions

Culture

<p>‘A Confederacy of Dunces’ was eventually published 11 years after Toole’s death</p>

Book of a lifetime: A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

<p>Michelle Terry as the lead in ‘Richard III’ at Shakespeare’s Globe</p>

Michelle Terry’s controversial Richard III takes aim at toxic men

<p>Clockwise from top left: ‘Shirley Valentine’, ‘Woolf Works’, ‘Sleepova’, ‘Coppélia’ </p>

The Week on Stage, from Shirley Valentine to Sleepova

Travel

<p>Isle of wonder: just off the coast of Sicily is an archipelago steeped in myths </p>

A real-life journey through the mythical lands of the ‘Odyssey’

<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?

John RentoulThe Independent’s chief political commentator

<p>Prime minister Rishi Sunak has pledged to upgrade the state pension ‘triple-lock‘ to a ‘triple lock-plus’, by raising the tax-free allowance</p>

Sunak’s latest tax cut for pensioners is a sign of Tory desperation

<p>For many voters, TV debates will be the first time they have paid attention to the choice between Sunak and Starmer as prime minister </p>

Will the TV debates help change Rishi Sunak’s fortunes?

<p>Labour leaders: (from left) Harold Wilson, James Callahan, Tony Blair, John Smith, Keir Starmer, Clement Attlee </p>

Does Starmer really have what it takes to be a great Labour leader?

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

<p>Keir Starmer has already ruled out rejoining the EU – but in office he would ‘lead from the front in transforming the post-Brexit relationship’ </p>

The secret EU agenda Starmer’s keeping quiet to avoid upsetting voters

<p>Keir Starmer at the launch in Essex of Labour’s general election campaign </p>

Starmer’s ‘six steps’ are not a final offer. He has more up his sleeve

<p>This week, the Labour leadership met union bosses to agree to ‘the biggest levelling-up of workers’ rights for a generation’ </p>

Could banning zero-hour contracts be Labour’s downfall?

Chris Blackhurst

<p>Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves delivers a speech during a visit to Rolls-Royce in Derby</p>

Will Rachel Reeves’ charm offensive with the City work for Labour?

<p>The business sector faces an exodus of companies if things don’t change </p>

London’s existential crisis is its own doing – boosterism won’t help

<p>It’s a rich man’s world: turns out Abba were right on the money... </p>

Business Comment

Sweden has more billionaires per capita than the US – why?

News analysis

<p>David Cameron meeting Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Friday</p>

Why the UK should not rule out sending troops to Ukraine

<p>Buyers are reluctant to pay through the nose for houses, and prices have been falling month on month </p>

House prices are falling – but what does it mean for the future?

<p>Rishi Sunak welcomes Rwanda’s president Paul Kagame to Downing Street earlier this month </p>

Is the capital of Rwanda really safer than London?

<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?

Sport

<p>Tyson Fury, left, and Oleksandr Usyk will finally clash in Saudi Arabia months of negotiations </p>

Why Fury and Usyk aren’t just fighting for belts and bragging rights

<p>A sodden Erik ten Hag leaves the pitch after Manchester United’s defeat by Arsenal</p>

Crumbling Old Trafford is perfect theatre for Ten Hag’s broken dreams

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

<p>Chair of the Infected Blood Inquiry Brian Langstaff with victims and campaigners outside Central Hall in Westminster, London</p>

Is the NHS behind the slow response to the infected blood scandal?

<p>Slovakian prime minister Fico was shot in an attempted assassination on Wednesday </p>

Could the Robert Fico shooting lead to a wider conflict in Europe?

<p>McVey is unhappy with public sector workers advertising their personal affiliations or sympathies while in the office </p>

Politics Explained

What’s behind Esther McVey’s attack on civil service lanyards?

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