“First pagers explode, then radios as Hezbollah blasted” says the Metro as it reports on a follow-up attack on the armed group. Walkie-talkies blew up, a day after pagers exploded in Lebanon. As of Wednesday evening, at least at least 20 people were killed and more than 450 others wounded in the day’s attack.
The Daily Telegraph says Israel declared a new phase of war after it was accused of being behind the “walkie talkie blitz”. It reports hundreds of the devices began exploding during the funeral for Hezbollah fighters killed in the pagers attack. The paper adds Israel’s defence minister said the country was shifting its military focus towards the Lebanese border for a “new phase” of the war launched following the 7 October attacks last year. A large picture of former First Lady Melania Trump is pictured, with the headline “I’m proud of my nude modelling”.
A vehicle on fire in Beirut is the main picture on the front of the Daily Express. It reports radios, home solar systems and security locks also burst into flames yesterday during the attack. Ex-foreign secretary and Tory leadership contender James Cleverly is pictured. He says Sir Keir Starmer is to blame for the deaths of the 29 migrants who drowned in the Channel since he took power, the paper reports.
The Guardian’s main image is of relatives mourning at the funeral of a 10-year-old girl killed in Lebanon during Tuesday’s pager explosion. Its lead report says international observers are warning the explosion of thousands of communication devices may constitute a war crime. It also quotes the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemning the attacks and calling for restraint from both Hezbollah and Israel.
The Times writes that Hezbollah, proscribed as a terrorist group by the US and UK, has vowed to get revenge on Israel and fired missiles into the country. The paper’s off-lead picks up on a BBC exclusive about the salary of Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff Sue Gray – who it was revealed is earning more than the prime minister. The paper reports that Ms Gray is facing a backlash over this.
“Walkie-talkie bomb blitz” headlines the Daily Mirror. Meanwhile, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is also pictured as the paper reports on the “murky world of Diddy’s parties”. The rap mogul is accused of kidnapping, drugging and coercing women into sexual activities, charges he denies.
The Sun writes “death by walkie talkie” as it pictures a shattered device in a Lebanese street. The paper also reports Love Island contestants Joey Essex and Jessy Potts have split.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Labour of undermining Israel and attacked the party’s “misguided” policies. It also pictures Sir Keir’s advisor Ms Gray who they call a “champagne socialist”.
The i says Labour MP Jas Athwal is a director of a nursery firm which has been criticised by Ofsted inspectors. It comes after the BBC revealed Mr Athwal was renting out flats with black mould and ant infestations.
The Financial Times reports companies will be able to keep new hires on probation for up to six months after a government compromise. Labour had made an election pledge to introduce basic individual rights from day one – scrapping the existing two-year qualifying period for protection against some forms of unfair dismissal and one-year wait for parental leave, the paper reports. The broadsheet leads on the US Federal Reserve cutting its interest rates for the first time in more than four yeas in an effort to support the economy.
The Daily Star superimposes the head of the prime minster on to a picture of the King. The paper says Sir Keir has received £100,000 of “freebies gifts and tickets… more than any other party leader in recent times”.
Attacks in Lebanon are on most front pages. “Death by walkie talkie” is the Sun’s line, while the Daily Mirror and the Daily Telegraph describe the explosion of hand-held radios as a “walkie talkie blitz.” The Guardian says international observers have warned that the simultaneous detonation of thousands of booby-trapped communications devices may constitute a war crime.
An article by a Lebanese journalist in the Daily Mail describes how Beirut has collapsed into panic with wild rumours doing rounds that solar panels, batteries and fridges might also explode. But there is, he says, one small silver lining – a sense of togetherness, with people from Christian and Sunni neighbourhoods queueing to donate blood, even though many of them loath Hezbollah whose members are Shia Muslims.
Analysis in the Times says the apparent Israeli intelligence operation has humiliated Hezbollah. The paper says the blow will be felt across the organisation – from commanders to rank-and-file members, and many of them will now question the wisdom of their leadership.
In an interview for the Daily Mail Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, accuses the UK government of undermining his country. He says Britain’s decision to suspend some arms export licences to Israel sends “a horrible message” to Hamas. Mr Netanyahu also said it would be preposterous if the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest.
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Almost all papers report that Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, Sue Gray, earns £170,000 – £3,000 thousand more than the prime minister. The Times describes the leak as another embarrassment for Sir Keir and says it highlights dysfunction at the heart of No. 10.
In an editorial the Telegraph says the pay rise for Ms Gray points to what it calls “an arrogant propensity to lecture the rest of us about ethical behaviour our leaders singularly fail to observe themselves.” The paper says Labour chiefs taking big pay rises, just after they have cut the winter fuel payment for millions of pensioners is further evidence of this government’s breath-taking hypocrisy.
According to the i the Treasury is braced for bad news when the latest data on public finances is released on Friday. Last month’s figures showed the government borrowed £3bn more than forecast in the spring, and the paper says a similar higher-than-expected borrowing figure would add to the pressure on the chancellor to announce spending cuts and tax increases in the budget next month.
In an editorial the Sun calls for a change in the sentencing rules to ensure that paedophiles caught with the worst child sexual abuse images go to prison. The paper describes the suspended jail sentence handed down to the former BBC presenter Huw Edwards as a “shocking leniency” which it says should be the trigger for a new intolerance towards perverts fuelling a heinous global trade which destroys children’s lives.
And the Daily Telegraph says Donald trump’s wife, Melania, has defended her nude modelling in the 1990s. In a video for her new book she said the photoshoots were a “means of self-expression.”
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