Independent 12,430 by Kairos

Young(=Will Young, winner of the first series of Pop Idol) + E{uropean} r{iver}

CH(=c{old} and h{ot} taps) + app(=phone program) + i.e.(=that is)

(Neat epic)*

Hidden in burlar I attacked. A lariat is a type of lasso.

(Pix I need ten)*

Hom of pare(=cut back). Conference is a type of pear.

C{aught}(=cricket abbrev) + ling(=type of fish)

Odd letters of Chicago

(A trusty plan)*. Refers to the film Ferris Bueller's Day Off in which the titular character plays truant from school.

(R{eturn} O{n} I{nvestment}) after Oct{ober}(=31 days). An octroi is a kind of local consumption tax.

On(=dealing with) + the(=article) + job(=Biblical book)

Pâté(=meat) + all*

Que(=Spanish for which) + chu[m](=friend losing last letter) + a. Quechua is a native people and language of Peru.

Wiser(=shrewder) around Oman(=gulf state)

Hidden in apprentices

DD

Challenge(=test) + r[ainwater]. The Challenger was a WW2 tank.

Optic(=device for measuring spirit quantities in a pub) around era(=age)

MI(=Motorway) + LAN(=local area network)

Read(=study, as in "read law") + mission(=purpose)

Pic(=film) + (call(=title) around i{ndependent}) + l{ight} i{nfantry}(=group of soldiers)

(Pastor bug)*

Er<(=hesitation raised) + porter(=old railway worker)

Age(=time) + (c[hairman] in N{ew} Y{ork}(=city))

OC(=officer commanding) + TA(=territorial army, the old form of the Army Reserve) + l{eft}. Octal refers to a numbering system based on 8 rather than 10.

H{usband} in tug(=boat). Tough can be used as a noun meaning a thug e.g. "I hired a couple of toughs to scare them off".