The Independent

Leading article: Iran risks playing into the hands of its enemies

16 February 2012 12:00 AM

The way Tehran is upping the ante suggests a belief that it has nothing left to lose

Leading article: Not such a beautiful game

16 February 2012 12:00 AM

The saddest thing about Rangers FC's slide into administration is not the spectacle of a 140-year old footballing institution brought low. Nor is it the dire implications for the Scottish league if one half of the "Old Firm" rivalry with Celtic is fatally wounded. Rather, it is that Rangers are so far from being an isolated case.

Leading article: Calling time on super-cheap alcohol

16 February 2012 12:00 AM

There are some superficially reasonable arguments against the introduction of a minimum unit price for alcohol: the market should find its own level, say, or hiking prices penalises all drinkers, not just the problematic ones. But such points count for nothing against the wider social costs of super-cheap booze.

Leading article: Superpowers in search of the next world order

15 February 2012 12:00 AM

From the sidelines, the view is of the US and China warily taking each other's measure

Leading article: Not much economic wriggle room

15 February 2012 12:00 AM

The shadow Chancellor claims that Moody's decision to place Britain's triple-A credit rating on "negative outlook" proves that the Government is cutting too far, too fast. Meanwhile, George Osborne insists that the agency's warning shot – suggesting a one-in-three chance of a downgrade to come – is a "reality check" that reinforces his commitment to cutting national debt.

Leading article: A welcome move to take on whiplash claims

15 February 2012 12:00 AM

The most cursory glance at the statistics for whiplash injuries is enough to raise suspicions. There are now more than 1,500 insurance claims for whiplash every day. Indeed, claims have gone up by a third in recent years, even as accident rates have dropped, adding around £90 to ballooning car insurance premiums.

Leading: Now stand by for Act II of this Greek drama

14 February 2012 12:00 AM

The Prime Minister has to persuade an impoverished, angry and resentful population

Leading article: An unhappy record on reprocessing

14 February 2012 12:00 AM

That the costs of the new evaporator needed at Britain's nuclear reprocessing facility at Sellafield have spiralled from £90m to £400m is troubling enough. That the kit will not be up and running until at least 2014 – not only four years late, but only another four years before the closure of the Thorp reprocessing plant that will use it – borders on the farcical. The biggest concern, though, is that this is just one link in a chain of expensive, mismanaged nuclear decommissioning projects that have failed to deal with the backlog of radioactive waste from as long ago as the 1950s.

Leading article: Just don't mention any 'green shoots'

14 February 2012 12:00 AM

It all started, of course, with Norman Lamont. As Chancellor of the Exchequer, in 1991, he spoke cheerfully of the "green shoots of economic spring". And although within a year the economy was indeed showing signs of life, he made his speech just as it hit the bottom. Cue much – arguably justified – ridicule.

Leading article: Heat on The Sun can only intensify

13 February 2012 12:00 AM

After the exposure of the Milly Dowler affair, it seemed as if matters had become as bad as they could for Rupert Murdoch's media empire. Public fury in Britain about the hacking of the murdered girl's mobile phone was on such an epic scale that Mr Murdoch took what then seemed the drastic action of closing the offending newspaper, the News of the World.

Leading article: An anniversary that should shame us all

13 February 2012 12:00 AM

At a time when the US administration has only warm words for those brave enough to demand respect for their civil rights in the Middle East, it is sobering to be reminded of the US's own flagrant, continued abuse of human rights by detaining people without trial in Guantanamo – years after Barack Obama pledged to close the prison down.

Leading article: Why we need to keep an eye on players' hands

13 February 2012 12:00 AM

What's in a handshake? A lot, when it's a question of players from two football teams with as deadly a rivalry as Liverpool and Manchester United. Apologies from the former have flowed thick and fast after Luis Suarez refused to extend a hand to Patrice Evra at Old Trafford, which seemed doubly churlish given that Evra has been the victim of racist abuse from Suarez.

Leading article: A good idea hobbled by austerity

12 February 2012 12:00 AM

We agree with Iain Duncan Smith, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, that the welfare system is "broken, trapping in 'idleness' the very people it was designed to help", although we are not convinced that the Government is dealing with the problem the right way. Even before unemployment started its recent rise, many claimants were discouraged from seeking work and many children grew up in households where worklessness was a way of life. As Mr Duncan Smith says, writing exclusively for The Independent on Sunday today, "there is nothing progressive about destroying aspirations and limiting opportunities for the poorest".