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Voices

<p>Protesters in Iran are risking everything for freedom</p>
Shabnam Nasimi

Stop calling Iranian protestors ‘foreign‑backed’ – they’re not puppets

As Iranians, particularly the women, risk everything for freedom, too many in the West prefer conspiracy theories and scepticism to solidarity – and are repeating the language of the regime they claim to oppose, says Shabnam Nasimi

<p>Ava Vidal on Mock the Week</p>
Ava Vidal

Appearing on Mock the Week was a nightmare I won’t repeat

<p>The PM is undermining his credibility within the group he needs the most: the parliamentary Labour Party</p>
John Rentoul

Do Starmer’s U-turns really matter if he ends up in the right place?

<p>‘Over a million Rohingya languish in refugee camps in Bangladesh, robbed of their dignity as international aid dwindles, many without hope, waiting to die’</p>
Chris Gunness

The Myanmar trial is a test case for international justice credibility

<p>‘Apple is planning to call upon Google’s Gemini models for the next generation of Siri and Apple Foundation Models, despite the gazillions it has been pouring into AI itself’</p>
James Moore

Elon Musk is right about Apple and Google deal – that should worry us

    <p>An autistic Barbie doll has been created</p>
    Victoria Richards

    Mattel’s new 'autistic Barbie' could be the doll's greatest outing yet

    <p>People protest outside the proposed site of the new Chinese embassy in London</p>
    Professor Anthony Glees

    Don’t say we weren’t warned about China’s ‘super-embassy’ plans

    <p>Reform UK leader Nigel Farage unveils Nadhim Zahawi as the latest Tory defector</p>
    Simon Walters

    Why Farage may live to regret welcoming ‘loyal’ Zahawi into the fold

    <p>US president Donald Trump has turned his sights on Jerome Powell, who was his nominee to become chair of the US Federal Reserve</p>
    Chris Blackhurst

    Why Trump is gunning for the Fed’s Jerome Powell

    <p>Home secretary Shabana Mahmood</p>
    John Rentoul

    Gimmicks get in the way of Shabana Mahmood’s migrant arrest record

    <p>‘Musk is likely betting that a UK ban on X would be politically explosive and diplomatically fraught with the US, making it hard for either the UK government or Ofcom to stand up firmly to him’</p>
    Chris Stokel-Walker

    The knight vs the edgelord – can Keir Starmer stand up to Elon Musk?

    <p>Hamptons estimated that in 2025, almost 15 per cent of sellers in London sold their home for less than they had paid</p>
    James Moore

    Negative equity is back – is this the reason you can’t sell up?

    <p>David Carrick, who received 37 life sentences, was able to join the Met Police despite a history of allegations</p>
    Leroy Logan

    Message to the Met: predators still serve on your force, lying low

    <p>‘Nit Blitz’: Laura (Emily Lloyd-Sani) helping to stop the spread of nits as it sweeps the school in BBC’s ‘Motherland’ in 2021</p>
    Charlotte Cripps

    Am I being scammed by Big Nits?

    <p>How do we teach critical thinking to young children who dismiss history as fake?</p>
    Jonathan Margolis

    What ‘AI slop’ is really doing to distrusting Gen Alpha kids

    <p>Alfonso Ribeiro, Will Smith and Daphne Reid in ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel Air' played a dysfunctional family</p>
    Dear Vix

    A friend has dropped me because of an argument between our kids

    The Independent’s agony aunt Victoria Richards is here to help. Email dearvix@independent.co.uk for advice on love, work, family and relationships

    <p>The City of London prefers greater flexibility over closer ties with the EU</p>
    James Moore

    The City’s message to Starmer: we move faster without the EU

    <p>America the undutiful: ‘Donald Trump’s mass withdrawal from a broad swathe of global diplomacy might be seen as the international counterpart to the Department of Government Efficiency’</p>
    Mary Dejevsky

    America rarely feels it should abide by international rules

    Explore news for you

    More Voices

    <p>‘Trump is of an age when he can well remember what happened to President Jimmy Carter when a daring rescue raid to release Americans held hostage in the US embassy in Tehran failed so humiliatingly back in 1980’</p>
    Voices

    Trump has stumbled on a proper target for his ugly tariff war

    Voices

    Trump has stumbled on a proper target for his ugly tariff war

    Sean O'Grady
    <p>‘Trump is of an age when he can well remember what happened to President Jimmy Carter when a daring rescue raid to release Americans held hostage in the US embassy in Tehran failed so humiliatingly back in 1980’</p>
    <p>‘Such has been the ferocity of the violence ordered by the supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, that some people may be too frightened to take to the streets, with the high risk of immediate death attached’</p>
    The Independent View

    The eyes of the world are on Iran – and Donald Trump

    <p>Nigel Farage said he would simply “break” any such deal</p>
    Brexit

    Why readers say EU is right to futureproof any Brexit reset deal

    <p>The anonymity of people using Grok and X to make and publish such images is to be removed</p>
    The Independent View

    Elon Musk’s inhuman AI is stripping women of their most basic rights

    <p>Iran’s UN ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani, listens at an emergency meeting in the United Nations Security Council chamber</p>
    Voices

    If Iran falls, the United Nations will be first to feel the shockwaves

    <p>Iran’s UN ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani, listens at an emergency meeting in the United Nations Security Council chamber</p>
    Voices

    If Iran falls, the United Nations will be first to feel the shockwaves

    <p>US president Donald Trump has is discussing options for acquiring Greenland</p>
    Voices

    What if Trump’s not bluffing about invading Greenland?

    <p>Rubina Aminian, the 23-year-old fashion student, was shot dead in Tehran by Iran’s security forces</p>
    Voices

    When Tehran falls, it will be due to brave women like Rubina Aminian

    Most commented

    Iran latest: US activity at military base after Tehran threatens major escalation

    221 comments

    Ukraine war latest: Multiple oil tankers struck off Russian Black Sea coast

    328 comments

    Ukraine war latest: Trump envoys ‘to meet Putin in Moscow for peace talks’

    226 comments

    Trump-Iran latest: President threatens ‘very strong action’ if protesters are hanged

    531 comments
    Join the Conversation

    More Voices

    <p>For many long-term partnerships, the earliest signs of trouble are everyday moments of emotional withdrawal that go unnoticed</p>
    Love & Sex

    ‘Unhappy do us part’: Readers reflect on marriages that didn’t last

    <p>Iranians gather while blocking a street during a protest in Tehran, Iran</p>
    The Independent View

    Trump’s military threats risk sabotaging Iran’s moment of change

    <p>US President Donald Trump vowed to end America’s wars</p>
    Voices

    Trump promised to end wars, yet the US acts like a rogue superpower

    <p>Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei</p>
    Voices

    This Iranian uprising could be as pivotal as the French Revolution

    <p>Wayne Williams, Leroy Douglas, Abdullahi Suleman, Shaun Anton Lloyd and Joshua McRae are just some of those given IPP sentences</p>
    The Independent View

    Life in prison for stealing a phone? End this outrage, prime minister

    <p>The prime minister’s plan to ease the ‘cost of living’ is a familiar policy </p>
    Voices

    Keir Starmer’s plan for 2026 looks familiar – and risky

    <p>Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei</p>
    Voices

    This Iranian uprising could be as pivotal as the French Revolution

    <p>Wayne Williams, Leroy Douglas, Abdullahi Suleman, Shaun Anton Lloyd and Joshua McRae are just some of those given IPP sentences</p>
    The Independent View

    Life in prison for stealing a phone? End this outrage, prime minister

    <p>The prime minister’s plan to ease the ‘cost of living’ is a familiar policy </p>
    Voices

    Keir Starmer’s plan for 2026 looks familiar – and risky

    <p>A poster mourning Renee Nicole Good is pasted to a light pole near the scene of her shooting in Minneapolis, Minnesota</p>
    Voices

    Poets are dreamers and idealists: It’s what makes them so dangerous

    Voices

    Poets are dreamers and idealists: It’s what makes them so dangerous

    David Lister
    <p>A poster mourning Renee Nicole Good is pasted to a light pole near the scene of her shooting in Minneapolis, Minnesota</p>
    <p>A collage of prisoners jailed using IPP</p>
    Voices

    Indefinite jail terms are indefensible – why are thousands trapped?

    <p>Women are leaving the social media platform X due to deepfake sexualisation of their pictures</p>
    Voices

    If women quit X over Grok deepfakes, predators win – so I’m staying

    <p>Donald Trump demonstrated last weekend, in the new world order, that ‘international law is for chumps’</p>
    Voices

    Trump has ushered in a new era of chaos and mindless militarism

    <p>Vladimir Putin</p>
    Voices

    Russia’s shadow war with us is just starting – be ready for trouble

    <p>Vladimir Putin</p>
    Voices

    Russia’s shadow war with us is just starting – be ready for trouble

    <p>Iranian forces use teargas to disperse anti-government protesters in the Tehran bazaar</p>
    The Independent View

    Regime change in Iran would be welcome

    <p>Ed Davey, Liberal Democrat leader and our preferred coalition PM (PA)</p>
    Voices

    The surprise winner of the ‘least unpopular’ PM prize? Ed Davey!

    <p>Many of us will have done our best to erase the memory of her ill-fated 49 days in No 10</p>
    Voices

    The Liz Truss Show is deeply odd – but prompts this serious question

    <p>US president Donald Trump said the only constraint to his powers is ‘my own morality, my own mind […] I don’t need international law’</p>
    Voices

    If the only thing stopping him is his own mind, how far will Trump go?

    <p>A domestic owl tests the idea of tundra and returns to the warmth of the kitchen </p>
    Voices

    The snowy owl who chose the Rayburn

    <p>Volodymyr Zelensky, Emmanuel Macron and Sir Keir Starmer pictured at the summit </p>
    Home News

    Have your say: How ready is the UK to send troops to Ukraine?

    <p>Sudanese families displaced from El-Fasher reach out as aid workers distribute food supplies</p>
    Voices

    The world cannot look away from the horror unfolding in Sudan

    <p>Voters must wonder what happened to judicious policymaking that Labour once promised</p>
    The Independent View

    Rachel Reeves’s pub reprieve is nothing for Labour to cheer about

    <p>Elon Musk is under fire after his AI tool Grok was used to ‘digital undress’ photographs of women</p>
    Voices

    Grok digitally undressed me on X – it’s time Elon Musk was accountable

    <p>Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE officer in Minneapolis</p>
    Voices

    ICE killing takes America a step closer to George Orwell’s nightmare

    <p>A housing development in Oxfordshire - we need more of these </p>
    Voices

    Labour’s going to build 1.5 million homes? In their dreams…

    Voices

    Labour’s going to build 1.5 million homes? In their dreams…

    James Moore
    <p>A housing development in Oxfordshire - we need more of these </p>
    <p>Nigel Farage with Reform’s candidate for the 2028 London mayoral race, Laila Cunningham</p>
    Voices

    Sadiq Khan – and Labour – must see that Reform is no longer a bad joke

    <p>Teetotal? Independent readers have been debating plans to lower the alcohol limit for driving</p>
    Motoring News

    ‘Road safety is more than drink-driving’: Readers debate lower limit

    The Independent View

    Megaphone diplomacy with Trump only makes things worse for Greenland

    <p>Young people not in employment, education or training are paying the price for the national wage increase</p>
    Voices

    I’ve always backed the minimum wage – but not anymore

    <p>Young people not in employment, education or training are paying the price for the national wage increase</p>
    Voices

    I’ve always backed the minimum wage – but not anymore

    <p>Keir pressure: ‘Yvette Cooper and Rachel Reeves, on either side of the prime minister, looked as if they were wondering whether to resign’</p>
    Voices

    Badenoch had Starmer on the ropes – so why no knock-out blow?

    <p>We are still a long way from ‘reversing Brexit’, insists Keir Starmer</p>
    Brexit

    ‘Benefits for everybody but us’: Readers on UK’s post-Brexit struggle

    <p>According to research, when drinks units are made slightly smaller, people end up consuming less (Yui Mok/PA)</p>
    Voices

    If a pint puts drivers over the limit, it’s time for smaller measures

    <p>Polls suggest Kemi Badenoch’s Tories – not Starmer’s Labour – are now best placed to dent Reform </p>
    Voices

    Are the Conservatives now the official opposition to Farage’s Reform?

    <p>Iranian authorities have used tear gas to quell the anti-regime protests that continue to grip the entire country</p>
    Voices

    I had to flee Iran – now my country is on the brink of freedom

    <p>Jonathan Carley, 65, has been fined £500 after admitting to dressing as a navy admiral without permission</p>
    Voices

    I’m troubled by the Fake Admiral’s excuses for dressing as a war hero

    <p>French president Emmanuel Macron and prime minister Keir Starmer at the so-called ‘coalition of the willing’ summit</p>
    The Independent View

    A divided coalition of the willing is no use to anyone

    <p>Health secretary Wes Streeting has hailed the rollout of new NHS online hospitals as ‘everyone wins’</p>
    Voices

    NHS online hospitals are a good idea – but they can’t save Starmer

    <p>The UK’s FTSE 100 has risen above 10,000 points (John Stillwell/PA)</p>
    Voices

    Does the FTSE 100 breaking the 10,000 barrier mean a prosperous 2026?

    <p>The American-born Pope Leo XIV has been a vocal critic of his country’s president, Donald Trump</p>
    Voices

    The only person who can stop Donald Trump now is Pope Leo

    <p>Readers broadly agreed that weight loss is not complicated in theory</p>
    Fitness and wellbeing

    ‘Ban empty calories’: Readers on the UK’s weight loss problem

    Fitness and wellbeing

    ‘Ban empty calories’: Readers on the UK’s weight loss problem

    Independent
    <p>Readers broadly agreed that weight loss is not complicated in theory</p>
    <p>China’s president Xi Jinping and Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro arriving at the Great Hall of the People, in Beijing, China 2023</p>
    China

    From Caracas to Taiwan: How Venezuela has changed China’s calculations

    <p>Keir Starmer is one of the Western leaders who manages to command Donald Trump’s respect and attention</p>
    The Independent View

    Even after Venezuela, the West must speak softly to Donald Trump

    <p>President Nicolas Maduro was captured by Donald Trump’s US Delta Force in his compound in Caracas and extradited to New York on Saturday</p>
    Voices

    Venezuelans like me are too busy celebrating to worry about Maduro

    <p>US president Donald Trump posted over 80 times in the early hours following Nicolas Maduro’s capture</p>
    Voices

    After Venezuela, does Trump’s social media use hint at what’s next?

    <p>US president Donald Trump posted over 80 times in the early hours following Nicolas Maduro’s capture</p>
    Voices

    After Venezuela, does Trump’s social media use hint at what’s next?

    <p>Research shows 20 per cent of Mumsnet users intend to vote Reform UK at the next election, which would put the party ahead of Keir Starmer’s Labour</p>
    Voices

    If Mumsnet is now backing Reform UK, it’s over for Starmer’s Labour

    <p>According to a survey, one in 10 British workers plan to quit their jobs this month </p>
    Voices

    It’s ‘resignation day’! But don’t quit your job before you read this…

    <p>Many argued that Burnham’s appeal stems from his role outside Westminster</p>
    UK Politics

    ‘Burnham is not the answer’: Readers on Labour’s leadership dilemma

    <p>US president Donald Trump capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro has triggered alarm among some allies</p>
    Voices

    After Venezuela, it will be even harder to change Donald Trump’s mind

    <p>Keir Starmer was left in the dark over the capture of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela</p>
    The Independent View

    Starmer’s Venezuela dilemma exposes Britain’s post-Brexit weakness

    <p>‘I live in London. I work. I pay taxes. I contribute. I speak, write, explain, justify, contextualise my own grief endlessly so that others might find it comfortable. And yet I remain trapped in a world that demands Palestinians be patient, polite, and silent – even as it excuses the machinery that crushes our lives’</p>
    Voices

    My new year’s resolution is to hug my parents before they die

    <p>The ‘Unite the Kingdom’ march in London went beyond protest and challenged the moral fabric of our society</p>
    Voices

    Extremism is tearing Britain apart - we should choose hope over hate

    <p>‘Trump has announced a policy not of blissful isolationism, as his Maga movement yearned for and expected, but of neo-imperialism. America will not only “run” Venezuela, but make the Venezuelans pay for it from their own oil wealth’</p>
    Voices

    The people of Venezuela are exchanging one old tyrant for another

    <p>Venezuelan president Nicolas Madura was captured in a US-led operation</p>
    The Independent View

    Trump’s Maduro gamble must be turned to Venezuela’s advantage

    <p>’How many national leaders will be tempted to ask themselves why, if the US can mount such unilateral action against a sovereign country in pursuit of what it may justify in terms of its own national security, they should not do the same?’</p>
    Voices

    How the capture of Nicolas Maduro will upend the global order

    <p>Venezuela’s president Nicolas Maduro has been captured during a US operation</p>
    Voices

    Who is Nicolás Maduro? From Chávez’s heir to Venezuela’s undoing

    Voices

    Who is Nicolás Maduro? From Chávez’s heir to Venezuela’s undoing

    Michael Day
    <p>Venezuela’s president Nicolas Maduro has been captured during a US operation</p>
    <p>Nigel Farage has questioned whether the UK would be better off without the OBR</p>
    Voices

    Scrapping the OBR could be Nigel Farage’s Liz Truss moment

    <p>‘Was Alaa wrong to make those remarks? Indisputably. But to somehow suggest that he should therefore have his citizenship revoked is the height of political cynicism’</p>
    Voices

    The Alaa Abd el-Fattah I know is a humanitarian

    <p>Actor Claire Foy says she doesn’t have “authority to discuss or proclaim about anything other than what I do as an actor”</p>
    Voices

    Claire Foy is right – stars should try philanthropy, not deep speeches

    <p>In October, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled plans that could see the company spend more than $100bn on AI projects this year</p>
    Voices

    Zuckerberg is taking a huge bet on AI. The results will be spectacular

    <p>In October, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled plans that could see the company spend more than $100bn on AI projects this year</p>
    Voices

    Zuckerberg is taking a huge bet on AI. The results will be spectacular

    <p>‘We’ll hear a lot about American Exceptionalism over the coming year ahead, but it is exceptionalism for all the wrong reasons’</p>
    Voices

    Why 2026 is the year Trump and Maga could be in trouble

    <p>This most stoic of prime ministers must be wondering what he can do to lift his government and his party out of its unprecedented unpopularity</p>
    Voices

    Keir Starmer’s promise to deliver should have brought results by now

    <p>Nigel Farage was visibly campaigning ahead of the Caerphilly Senedd by-election to spread the party’s plans ahead of the Welsh elections next year</p>
    UK Politics

    ‘Tired of broken promises’: Readers on the rise of Reform in Wales

    <p>Frieda Hughes hits the gym</p>
    Voices

    Pumping iron has the power to lift my spirits

    <p>Lotte Jeffs has returned to university after a high-flying media career</p>
    Voices

    Why over-40s like me are quitting careers and heading back to school

    <p>People leave flowers in Crans-Montana, the upscale ski resort in southwest Switzerland where 47 people were killed in the New Year’s Day fire</p>
    Voices

    I use psychics – I’m taking Nostradamus’s 2026 predictions seriously

    <p>Protesters march in downtown Tehran, Iran</p>
    Voices

    Is this the endgame for Iran’s ayatollahs?

    <p>‘The close proximity of Christmas to birthday seemed to somehow make both feel less generous. Having two brothers didn’t help. I was once given a left-handed glove for Christmas and the right-hand one for my birthday’</p>
    Voices

    Winter is the best time to have a birthday. Romance is for the spring

    <p>People leave flowers in Crans-Montana, the upscale ski resort in southwest Switzerland where 47 people were killed in the New Year’s Day fire</p>
    Voices

    I use psychics – I’m taking Nostradamus’s 2026 predictions seriously

    <p>Protesters march in downtown Tehran, Iran</p>
    Voices

    Is this the endgame for Iran’s ayatollahs?

    <p>‘The close proximity of Christmas to birthday seemed to somehow make both feel less generous. Having two brothers didn’t help. I was once given a left-handed glove for Christmas and the right-hand one for my birthday’</p>
    Voices

    Winter is the best time to have a birthday. Romance is for the spring

    <p>To manage new year anxiety, focus on gentle, realistic goals instead of overwhelming resolutions</p>
    Voices

    How do I stick to my 2026 resolutions without feeling like a failure?

    <p>‘Franz Kafka and Joseph Heller described absurd moral universes of totalitarianism and war that seem a long way from Britain in 2026. Yet there are people in this country, this year, who are trapped in an unjust system as extreme as any in fiction’</p>
    The Independent View

    The nightmarish catch-22 at the heart of a burning injustice

    <p>Over 40 political parties, including the NLD, have been dissolved by the regime and banned from contesting the elections</p>
    Voices

    The UK must act against Myanmar’s shameful sham election

    <p>‘The Queen talked publicly for the first time of her own attack at the hands of a young man on a train when she was just a teenager’</p>
    Voices

    Queen Camilla’s radical honesty shows the good this monarchy can do

    <p>Bingo for the future: 2026 looks set to be filled with fireworks</p>
    Voices

    On my bingo card for 2026? No alarms and no surprises, please

    <p>Making new year’s resolutions often leads to guilt</p>
    Voices

    New year, same me: my resolution for 2026? Not to make any

    <p>Between 2020/21 and 2024/25, almost 1.4 million A&E attendances were for a cough, while 1.2 million sought help for a sore throat</p>
    Health

    ‘Only way to be seen early’: Readers on A&E visits for minor problems

    <p>‘If anything justified the decision to call a halt, however, it was the history of the appalling project management of a scheme that had become a boondoggle for construction companies and a vast secondary economy of consultants’</p>
    The Independent View

    The never-ending fiasco of HS2 is a case study in how not to build

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