64 h. ago The Climate 100 List: Pope Leo wants his followers to help save the planet

Ahead of the The Independent’s Climate 100 List being published later this month, we are celebrating some of the leading lights being honoured for their work tackling the crisis. Pope Leo XIV is determined to fight for the environment – and is providing an important counterbalance to Donald Trump, writes David Callaway

Politics

69 h. ago Athletic trainer receives experimental pig kidney transplant ahead of new human trials

More than 100,000 people are on the US transplant list, most who need a kidney, and thousands die waiting

Politics

6 d. ago The Climate 100 List: John Clarke Mills and the battle against wildfires

Ahead of the The Independent’s Climate 100 List published later this month, we are celebrating some of the leading lights being honoured for their work tackling the climate crisis and protecting nature. David Callaway speaks to the unintentional climate advocate, who is making vital information available to millions

Events

7 d. ago No Abba, no meatballs? Sweden’s new cultural canon is a listicle that will soon be forgotten | Gabriel V Rindborg

We should always be suspicious when states try to define a national culture – especially when the arts are in crisisSweden is often associated with a large and efficient bureaucratic apparatus. It is also often associated with minimalist interiors furnished by simple pale woods such as birch and pine. It was therefore fitting that, after two years of preparation, the Swedish cultural canon committee presented – in an anatomical theatre from the 17th century – its list of 100 works, ideas and brands that define Swedishness. In direct contrast to the anonymous grey conference rooms usually favoured by Swedish government officials, this unusual list was unveiled in a rather un-Swedish fashion. The contradiction is striking. It says something about how we think about culture, nationhood and identity today – not just in Sweden, but across the west. It also tells us why this canon is doomed to fail and yet for its creators, unfortunately, it has already succeeded.Originally a pet project ...

Politics

8 d. ago Outcry as Swedish ‘cultural canon’ snubs Abba and anything since 1975

Critics argue ‘shared map’ of Swedish culture is ‘very exclusionary’ and a ‘nationalist education project’The Gustav Vasa 1541 bible, Pippi Longstocking, Ikea, the right to roam, paternity leave, Sámi joiks, the Nobel prize and works by Ingmar Bergman and August Strindberg all made it into Sweden’s long-awaited, much-criticised proposal for a “cultural canon”.However, notable omissions from the list of 100 works and references that have formed Sweden’s culture and history – intended, its creators said in Uppsala on Tuesday, to establish a “shared map and compass” for Swedish citizens and new arrivals to Sweden – included Abba and anything from after 1975, a period that has seen Sweden transform into an international, multicultural society. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Rachel Reeves heartthrob Special Adviser tops the Standard's VERY bizarre list of 100 sexiest Londoners

Neil Amin-Smith is often spotted with an open collar by the Chancellor's side - and has been known to 'turn treasury heads like hungry owls' according to London's Standard, who compiled the list.

Politics

2 w. ago Meet the water sommeliers: they believe H O can rival wine – but would you pay £19 a bottle?

A restaurant in the English county of Cheshire has launched a water menu, as have a number of US establishments. Is it really possible, though, to tell one terroir from another?For diners at a fancy restaurant in Cheshire, there is now a new twist to the usual routine. First comes La Popote’s menu, created by the owners, the chef Joe Rawlins and Gaëlle Radigon, who live upstairs with their children. Next comes the wine list, which includes more than 100 bottles. And then, in what is very much a first for Cheshire, a water list.Rawlins, 32, presents the new menu as I get comfy in the dining room in a converted redbrick barn in Marton, a village halfway between Manchester and Stoke-on-Trent. A choice of seven waters ranges from a £5 bottle of Crag, which comes from the nearby Peak District, to Vidago, a mineral-rich water from a Portuguese spa town, which will cost you £19. Continue reading...

Economics

2 w. ago All rise for the sexiest Londoner of 2025: Rachel Reeves advisor Neil Amin

Neil Amin-Smith has been described as ‘the hottest SpAd in Westminster’

Politics

3 w. ago Nominate your unsung climate hero for The Independent’s 2025 Climate 100 List

The final five spots on the list are reserved for your input, readers of The Independent. Lauren MacDougall explains how you can get involved

Politics

3 w. ago Full eligibility list of who can get 100% discount on council tax

Certain groups of people can get either a full or partial discount on this annual bill

Politics