Avoid 'risky activity' during ambulance strike, public told

The Independent's Morning Headlines email [View online]( December 21, 2022 [Morning Headlines]( 1 / [Public warned against ‘risky activity’ as ambulance strikes send NHS into meltdown]( Britons have been warned not to take risks – including drinking, driving or playing certain sports – as ambulance services descended into chaos hours before a planned strike. At least seven of 10 ambulance trusts declared “critical incidents” amid “unprecedented” pressure on services, while NHS leaders warned they could not guarantee patient safety during Wednesday’s walkout in England and Wales. However, patients were urged to still call 999 for emergencies. Junior health minister Will Quince warned the public to avoid unnecessary car journeys, contact sports and any other “risky activities”, while health chiefs urged people to “drink responsibly”. But No 10 would not be drawn on what constituted “risky activity”. Mr Sunak’s spokesperson said: “I’m not going to get into a list.”   2 / [Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky expected to address joint session of Congress]( It is believed to be his first trip out of his country since Russian invasion 3 /[‘Worse than feared’: Brexit to blame for £33bn loss to UK economy, study shows]( Exclusive: Economy 5.5 per cent smaller than if referendum hadn’t happened, says think tank 4 / [Taliban bans all women from university in Afghanistan]( Institutions told to suspend access to women until further notice 5 / [Elon Musk says he will quit as Twitter CEO as soon as he finds someone ‘foolish enough’ to take the job]( ‘After that, I will just run the software and servers teams’     The Big Question Jingle hell: Will we ever be free of The Holiday? Christmas – the Most Wonderful Time of the Year – has gifted humanity some truly awful stuff over the past 2,022 years. Bitterly boiled sprouts. Brexit arguments around the dinner table. Mrs Brown’s Boys specials. But very few reach the depths of the festive season’s most cringe-inducing nadir: the sight and sound of [Cameron Diaz]( in the 2006 romantic comedy The Holiday belting out a drunken rendition of The Killers’ “Mr Brightside”, writes Tom Fordy. Ordinarily, that’s the exclusive domain of beered-up dads, and usually an expression of having no discernible taste in music. In The Holiday, it’s an expression of a sister doing it for herself in a man-free zone – until [Jude Law]( appears at the door and gives a wounded, single-dad sob story. At which point Diaz’s scorned sister realises that she needs a man after all. Yes, welcome to The Holiday, an interminable Christmassy non-treat (all two hours and 16 minutes of it) in which two heartbroken women – Diaz’s movie trailer producer, Amanda, and [Kate Winslet](’s doe-eyed Daily Telegraph journalist, Iris – swap homes for Christmas. (“Are there any men in your town?” “Zero.” “When can I come?”). Inevitably, they find love on opposite sides of the pond: Amanda with pseudo-complicated Graham, played by Law, in the British countryside; and Iris with irritatingly innocent movie composer Miles, played by [Jack Black](, in glitzy LA. “I like corny,” says Iris. Which is just as well, really. [For the full story click here >](   Enjoying this newsletter? Unlock unlimited, ad-free reading on the website and in The Independent app when you subscribe – plus, benefit from our [welcome offer when you join today](. Watch/ [What have we learnt from the nurses strikes? | You Ask The Questions](   NUMBER OF THE DAY 1 in 10 Just one in 10 people blame nurses for the [NHS]( strike as pressure mounts on the government to negotiate. A new poll released on Tuesday as the effects of the strike bite shows net support for nurses has actually risen by 7 per cent since stoppages were announced in November. [Read more here](   QUOTE OF THE DAY “We have seen Priti Patel’s lack of basic human decency time and time again – why should we expect anything less at Christmastime?” – Alistair Carmichael, the Liberal Democrats’ home affairs spokesperson, as [Priti Patel]( has been accused of lacking “basic human decency” after sending out a Christmas card showing her as a fairy magicking up deportations to [Rwanda](. [Read more here](     Other stories you might like   [Trump wrote ‘shockingly gracious’ handover note to Biden, new book claims](   [‘Chilling contempt for lives’: Families left to suffer in uncertainty over Syria deaths](   [Argentina players abandon World Cup parade after fan jumps into open-top bus](       Articles available exclusively to subscribers John Rentoul, The Independent -[What I got wrong in 2022: How badly Conservative Party members wanted to believe in fairytales](   Other newsletters you might like [The Race Report] The Race Report Fortnightly, 7am (UK time) Written by Nadine White [Sign up]( [Inside Politics] Inside Politics Weekdays, 8am (UK time) Written by Matt Mathers [Sign up](   If you can spare a minute we’d love your [feedback]( on our newsletters. [The Independent]( Join the conversation or follow us [Facebook]( [Twitter]( Please do not reply directly to this email You are currently registered to receive The Independent's Morning Headlines newsletter. 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