The final search

The Independent's Morning Headlines email [The Independent]( June 22, 2023 [View online](   [Morning Headlines]( 1 /Frantic final search for stricken Titanic submarine as oxygen levels dwindle](//link.e.independent.co.uk/click/31864009.37574/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaW5kZXBlbmRlbnQuY28udWsvbGlmZS1zdHlsZS9yb3lhbC1mYW1pbHkvcHJpbmNlLWhhcnJ5LXRyaWFsLW1lZ2hhbi1tYXJrbGUtYjIzNTMyMjEuaHRtbA/583d2887487ccd777a8b7489B0c118feb The frantic last-ditch search for the [stricken Titanic tourist submarine](has ramped up, with more ships joining the rescue effort as oxygen levels on board dwindled. It is hoped that the additional personnel will be enough to save the five crew members on the [OceanGate Expeditions]( sub before oxygen runs out at around 10am UK time on Thursday. Mysterious “banging” noises beneath the surface had offered hope after being detected on Tuesday and then again on Wednesday, but the US Coast Guard has now admitted searchers “don't know what they are”. The expanded search zone has grown “exponentially” and now covers an area twice the size of the US state of Connecticut – an area bigger than Wales – and 2.5 miles deep. Five additional vessels heading for the area are not expected to arrive for the next 24 to 48 hours, with some set to arrive after the grim oxygen deadline. This emerged after the Coast Guard[rejected an offer of help from a UK firm](, which experts say could provide the “best hope” of finding the missing submarine, because it said its deep-sea submersible craft was too far away.   2 /[Rishi Sunak warned of ‘serious shock’ for mortgage holders as Bank of England poised to raise interest rates]( Experts warn 1.4m homeowners will see a fifth of their disposable income wiped out by soaring mortgage rates 3 / [Joe Biden defends son Hunter Biden after deal with DoJ to plead guilty to federal charges]( President Joe Biden’s son will plead guilty to three federal charges, the Justice Department said in a court filing on Tuesday morning 4 /[Scammers target victims of easyJet cancellations]( Exclusive: An imposter social media account, @_easyJets, claims to be “the onlly [sic] official twitter account” 5 / [Heatwave to return as mercury set to hit 30C this weekend]( Britons could once again face a heatwave THE BIG QUESTION Why has the rate of inflation frozen? Inflation unexpectedly held fast at 8.7 per cent last month in defiance of expectations of a gradually improving picture. The Office for National Statistics said rising prices for plane tickets, recreational and cultural goods and services caused the rate to stay unchanged. Worryingly, core inflation – which strips out volatile price items such as food and energy – increased to a 31-year high of 7.1 per cent, up from 6.8 per cent in April. May’s headline figure, higher than economists had predicted earlier in the year, dashed hopes of a fall in inflation for the third consecutive month. Analysts had expected the Consumer Prices Index, which peaked at 11.1 per cent in October last year, to fall back to 8.4 per cent. But the fact the rate remained unchanged last month will add to growing concern that rising prices are becoming embedded in the economy. 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