Syria: Can past horrors be reconciled?
Welcome to the ITV News digest bringing you the best of our original journalism, insight and analysis from across the nation, regions and the world.
Hello, I’m Emma Murphy, ITV News’ International Editor.
There’s a great quote by Ernest Hemingway about going bankrupt.
In his 1926 novel, The Sun Also Rises, the protagonist is asked: “How did you go bankrupt?” His reply: “Two ways, gradually and then suddenly.”
It sums up how the bankrupt regime of Bashar al-Assad came to an end - 14 dreadful years where time after time it seemed he couldn’t continue but did and then suddenly he was gone.
And so myself, Lutfi Abu-Aun and Simon Matthews found ourselves Syria-bound in the early hours of Sunday.
The journey was via Beirut, where we have spent so many months, but this time not where the story was. A ceasefire there made for a much easier journey to a border we wouldn’t normally dream of crossing, wouldn’t be able to cross under the Assad regime.
But this was no longer Assad’s era and so within an hour we were through the border and in Damascus. The bodies and uniforms of Syrian Army soldiers on the roadside told of a very different days.
The city, even in the first hours of a new regime, was slowly gathering itself and trying to resume normal life.
It was without the euphoria of Libya, that other Arab Spring revolution, but then Syria has lost so much more over so long.
Where will the Islamist rebel leaders take this country? Will they really rule inclusively? And what of those with huge scores to settle? Will they find a way to reconcile with the horrors of the past?
This is a moment of hope and jeopardy for this nation. I can only hope for the people of Syria that the revolution which has cost them so much is worth the pain.
ITV News has been on the ground in Syria as the momentous events unfold:
'I carry a hole in my soul'
An investigation by ITV News has found that nearly 200 babies are buried in unmarked graves across England, amid allegations of neglect and poor treatment at church-run homes for unmarried mothers in the 1950s, 60s and 70s.
Burials were often carried out in secret, and without the knowledge of families, our Social Affairs Correspondent Sarah Corker has learned.
Freedom of Information data shows infants are buried in mass burial grounds in at least ten different cemeteries across England, from Newcastle to Hampshire.
Sarah’s latest report can be seen on ITVX.
Horizon scandal: Police chief not ruling out corporate manslaughter
In an exclusive interview, Commander Stephen Clayman said the Post Office Horizon investigation is not ruling out corporate manslaughter charges against the Post Office.
"We're focusing on perjury and perverting justice, but I'm not ruling out other offences if that evidence comes to light," he told our Investigations Editor Daniel Hewitt.
You can catch up on what else Cdr Clayman had to say on ITVX.
Exclusive: Family fears illegal ‘weight loss drops’ led to young mum's death
Sarah Thompson, from Wales, was found dead at home by her teenage daughter in September this year. The 34-year-old had struggled with her weight after recovering from throat cancer.
In an exclusive interview with ITV News Health Correspondent Rebecca Barry, Sarah’s family revealed how she began using weight loss drops labelled "fat burning serum" - drops they fear led to her death just weeks later.
Watch Rebecca’s powerful filming with Sarah’s family on ITVX.
AI in policing: Why using facial recognition is proving controversial
The Met says facial recognition has helped them arrest hundreds wanted for criminal behaviour, but campaigners claim it's "stop and search on steroids".
Police have hailed its impact but others are taking legal action. ITV News reporter Sejal Karia was invited to film with the Met in London…
The hidden reality for veterans living with traumatic brain injury
Craig Harrison is rightly proud of his army career. In 23 years with the Household Cavalry he qualified as a parachutist and sniper, fighting in Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan.
But, alongside the medals and accolades, there is a darker legacy of his service; an invisible injury to his brain.
While fighting in Afghanistan, Craig was shot in the head. His helmet saved his life, but the kinetic energy from the bullet knocked him out. ITV News tells his story here.
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'Constant fear': The school where excessive force was used against pupils
Harvey Benson was 13 when he started attending Wings School in Milnthorpe, Cumbria. He’s one of several former student who say staff regularly used physical restraints on them and other pupils at the independent residential establishment.
An exclusive investigation by ITV Border reporter Barnaby Papadopulos reveals police attended the school 86 times in the ten years between 2013 and 2023, following allegations of assault.
In June, Ofsted Inspectors carried out a surprise inspection of Wings School - it was closed just days later.
The three-year wait in Wales for dementia diagnosis
People in Wales experiencing symptoms of dementia have had to wait up to nearly three years for a formal diagnosis despite the target being 12 weeks, an ITV Wales investigation has found.
Using Freedom of Information laws, ITV Wales asked all of Wales' health boards for data on the longest waits patients had experienced in the last 12 month period.
The Alzheimer's Society, said the data uncovered by the FOI request, "paints a really bleak picture of the journey to diagnosis for people in Wales".
What’s coming up…
Monday December 16: Parole hearing for William Dunlop - first person to be tried after ‘double jeopardy’ laws revised. He was jailed for life in 1989 for murdering pizza delivery driver Julie Hogg in Co Durham
Monday December 16: Closing statements begin at the Post Office Horizon scandal public inquiry
Thursday December 19: Water watchdog Ofwat to publish final decision on water company plans - including how much they can up bills
Thursday December 19: Bank of England decision on interest rates - midday
And finally… Enigma secrets revealed during Sunday lunch
Marjorie Dodsworth kept her secret life hidden away from her family for 50 years.
That was until, sat around the dinner table for Sunday lunch, she was finally able to reveal: “I was a codebreaker at Bletchley Park.”
Her son, Ian, tells ITV Channel: "She signed the Official Secrets Act with a gun on the table, so she felt she had to keep it.”
Marjorie’s family reveal more of her remarkable life on ITVX.