The Independent - December 10, 2024

In this issue

December 10, 2024

Families crowd Assad torture jail after regime falls

Relatives hunt for loved ones missing under Syrian dictatorship as Britain says collapse is humiliation for Iran and Russia but doesn't guarantee peace - and Israel bombs chemical weapons facilities over fears of dangerous power vacuum

1 min

Syrians scour torture prison in hunt for the disappeared

Families of those imprisoned by Bashar al-Assad’s brutal regime desperately searched the filthy cells of Syria’s most notorious prison yesterday for any signs of their loved ones as the country came to terms with the toppling of his rule.

4 mins

Assad fall may make Syria a draw for Islamist extremists

The US bombing of Syria so quickly after the rebels seized power suggests nervousness in the West about what's coming

4 mins

UK to pause Syrian asylum claims as Assad regime falls

The UK has paused decisions on Syrian asylum claims due to the uncertainty following the collapse of the Bashar al-Assad regime. It follows the decision of other countries, including Germany, Austria and Sweden, in suspending application decisions, after 13 years of civil war saw a coalition of rebel groups seize Damascus on Sunday.

3 mins

Reeves vows to stick to EU red lines after Brussels talks

Rachel Reeves has stubbornly insisted that the Labour government will stick to our red lines” over the Brexit reset with the EU despite growing evidence that a more fundamental change is needed in the relationship.

2 mins

No 10 suggests growth is a priority over human rights

Economic growth is more important than protecting human rights, Downing Street has suggested, amid questions over Sir Keir Starmer’s meeting with Saudi Arabia’s crown prince yesterday.

2 mins

Why does the civil service get targeted for reform?

Suddenly, radical reform of Whitehall is in fashion again. Sir Keir Starmer spoke last week of civil servants lingering in the \"tepid bath of managed decline\" and now his de facto deputy, cabinet office minister Pat McFadden, has urged departments to behave more like tech startups by adopting the \"test and learn culture” of the best digital companies, bringing in outsiders, and abandoning “mind-bogglingly bureaucratic and off-putting” application processes for civil service jobs.

3 mins

Thousands being 'harmed' by cardiac surgery backlog

A national probe has been launched into the deaths and harm of thousands of NHS patients waiting for cardiac surgery, as doctors and experts warn of a \"crisis in heart care\", an investigation by The Independent has revealed.

5 mins

Family of Briton jailed in Dubai for 16 years pleads with PM to end 'nightmare'

Starmer urged to use UAE visit to push businessman's case

4 mins

Student accused of murder was 'fascinated' by killing

A criminology student butchered” a woman by stabbing her to death in a random attack on Bournemouth beach after researching methods of murder, his trial has heard.

4 mins

Teenage boy killed girl after teddy bear row, court hears

A teenage boy stabbed 15-year-old Elianne Andam to death ina fit of white-hot anger” at perceived disrespect in public by girls” after failing to hand over her friend’s teddy bear, a court has heard.

3 mins

Suspect in CEO's murder arrested after McDonald's employee identifies him

Luigi Mangione was found with a ghost gun’ and fake ID

3 mins

South Korean president banned from foreign travel

South Korea’s justice ministry has imposed a travel ban on president Yoon Suk Yeol while an investigation into his brief declaration of martial law is ongoing.

2 mins

Jay-Z denies raping 13-yearold girl with Diddy in 2000

Jay-Z has denied allegations that he drugged and raped a 13year-old girl along with Sean \"Diddy\" Combs during an MTV Video Music Awards afterparty in 2000.

3 mins

It's foolish to think Assad's fall will make Europe safer

Four hundred years ago, Sir John Harington explained: Treason doth never prosper. What’s the reason? If treason prosper, none dare call it treason.” Maybe, terrorism is never successful as Western governments insist for much the same reason.

3 mins

A giant of UK civil rights you've likely never heard of

On Friday, I said goodbye to my godfather civil rights activist and Black Englishman, Dr Paul Stephenson OBE. A small private family funeral was held in Bristol’s Lord Mayor’s chapel for this very public figure who changed the course of UK race relations. But you may not even know his name.

6 mins

The last thing civil servants need is to babysit tech bros

There is a deep irony in a government that has kept making the same sort of mistakes now lecturing its civil servants who have to deal with the consequences) that they should adopt the test-and-learn culture” of the best digital companies and first-class” government projects.

3 mins

GCSE English is dying, this is how we bring it back to life

Pearson, one of the three leading exam boards in the UK, has warned that urgent reform at GSCE level is needed. If English (as a subject) is to survive at both A-Level and higher education, it needs to be less pale, male and stale.

4 mins

BATTLE OF THE BEIGE

As one social media star sues another for stealing her clean girl’ aesthetic, Rachel Richardson looks at a legal fight that has the potential to change the landscape of influencers

5 mins

BAH. HUMBUG

It may seem Scrooge-like but, as overconsumption runs wild, refusing to buy pointless Christmas presents is more radical political act than cost-cutting exercise, argues Helen Coffey

4 mins

Understanding the life and tragic death of Sam Cooke

The lingering conspiracies surrounding the soulful Sixties crooner threaten to overshadow a life of music and civil rights activism, writes Mark Beaumont, not to mention a voice that would influence Otis Redding and Tina Turner

8 mins

EU requires more than just honeyed words from Reeves

Labour keeps talking about 'resetting' our relationship with Europe but then turning down chances to advance, writes James Moore. It's time they actually did something concrete

3 mins

Slot downplays the obvious: Liverpool are Europe's best

If Jurgen Klopp turned mantras into catchphrases and viceversa, Arne Slot has a less memorable way with words. Klopp talked of mentality monsters, of turning doubters into believers, of their identity being intensity, of Liverpool 2.0.

4 mins

Ashes to Ashworth: inside the Man U power struggle

Departure of sporting director after five months shows the soap opera at Old Trafford has just got itself a new storyline

4 mins

New generation gather pace amid England inconsistency

Are England good? Consistently inconsistent across the whole of 2024, it is anyone's guess where England's true mean lies. But in a year where they have waved goodbye to Stuart Broad, Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow and James Anderson, a new generation has officially emerged.

3 mins

Tackling the darker side of England's finest moment

It should have been a night of celebration. As they gathered together at the Dorchester Hotel, Sir Clive Woodward's heroes of 2003 were meant to commemorate a World Cup triumph that still represents the acme of English men’s rugby. But, as Matt Dawson explains, there was a strange atmosphere in the room. As he caught up with his colleagues two decades on from reaching the mountaintop, what became clear was just how many were struggling on the other side.

5 mins

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