The Independent – How I survived 11 months of torture in Putin’s worst gulag
The Independent’s front page leads on an exclusive with Vladimir Kara-Murza, one of the faces of Russian opposition to Putin alongside Evan Gershkovich. They sits down with the paper for the first time since being freed in a historic prisoner swap.
Elsewhere, a banner article writes Israel has bombed southern Lebanon, calling it a ‘major strike’. The paper reports Hezbollah has said the electronic device explosions ‘cross all red lines’.
Kremlin prisoner-swap exclusive: How I survived 11 months in Putin’s gulag
A British-Russian dissident and opponent of Vladimir Putin, freed in the most high-profile prison swap since the end of the Cold War, has described the brutal treatment he suffered during 11 months of solitary confinement in Siberia.
Vladimir Kara-Murza spent 23-and-a-half hours a day in a tiny cell as part of his 25-year sentence for speaking out against Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine.
The 43-year-old, who served two-and-a-half years of his total sentence before being released in August, spoke of talking to walls and willing away the days “no longer understanding what’s real and what’s imaginary”.
In an exclusive interview with The Independent hours after touching down in Britain for the first time since the historic US-brokered prison deal with the Kremlin, the Cambridge-educated activist relived his horrifying experience in unflinching detail.
Israel-Lebanon latest: Israel hits 100 Hezbollah rocket launchers in new strikes as fears rise of all-out war
At least 100 Hezbollah targets have been destroyed in the Israeli military’s most extensive airstrikes on southern Lebanon since the start of the war in Gaza.
Israel said it had hit Hezbollah’s rocket launcher barrels and other sites across the region after around 9pm on Thursday as fears of an all-out war in the region rise.
The barrage followed a series of suspected Israeli attacks earlier in the week that blew up the militia group’s radio and pager devices, killing 37 people and wounding at least 3,000 others.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah accused Israel of “crossing all of the red lines” and warned the attacks “could be considered a declaration of war.”
US president Joe Biden called for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah as the White House spokesperson said Washington was “afraid and concerned about potential escalation”.
Today’s news summary – Paper Talk
If you are someone who reads every perspective of a story, here is a news summary of all of today’s front pages from today’s newspapers; summarised in a 2-minute read
Editorial 20 September 2024.
For a third day, the latest developments in the Middle East find a prominent place on the UK front pages. Many of the papers report the latest strike is taking the region a step closer to an ‘all-out war.’
A BBC investigation into Mohammed Al Fayed – the former owner of Harrods – makes several of the front pages. The papers report the BBC’s investigation found more than 20 female ex-employees say Mr Al Fayed sexually assaulted or raped them.
Friday’s papers also feature a dash of domestic politics as the Tory leadership race heats up and speculation over the upcoming Budget continues to cause fear and worry.
