The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning putting the Christmas getaway under threat by 80mph winds. Many regions of the country will be
Editorial 02.10.24
Wednesday’s front pages are dominated by last night’s escalation in the Middle East following Iran’s missile attack on Israel (in response to Israeli attacks on Lebanon and the killing of the Hezbollah leader) and Israel’s vow to respond. It has led to fears that an all-out war is on the horizon.
Many of the newspaper’s editorials and leader columns call on greater diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the crisis.
The Times features an image of the missiles streaking across the sky in the city of Ashkelon along with the headline: “Middle East erupts.” The paper also features an image of two men “on a rampage” in Tel Aviv. A shooting and knife attack left at least 6 people dead in what police say was a terrorist attack.
The paper says there will be heavy scrutiny of one disputed fact – whether or not the US was able to warn Israel about the missiles. Iran’s representative office at the UN is said to have originally denied alerting the US to the attack. But later U-turned and said there had been a notification. This, the Times suggests, would make it seem “Iran is still reluctant to take Israel head on”.
The Metro calls it “Iran’s new blitz at Israel” which follows a similar missile bombardment in April. The paper notes the attack is a “revenge attack” after Israel’s “raids on Lebanon.”
The Daily Mirror also notes “revenge” and suggests there are “fears of all-out war.” The i newspaper “fears of a new war.” “Hellfire” is how the Sun sums up Iran’s missile attack.
‘Israel vows to retaliate’
Several papers look beyond the Iranian attack and focus on Israel’s vow to retaliate whilst the editorials call for greater diplomatic efforts to end the violence
The Guardian says the conflict looks to be “spiralling out of control.” The paper’s editorial reports that Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has no exit strategy – and like most editorials – calls for diplomatic efforts to step up. The paper says without a diplomatic process, there are few limits to the crisis – only what the Guardian calls a “dangerous, fast‑growing, open-ended conflict”.
The Mail says Israel’s “Iron Dome” anti-missile defences held firm and now the country “vows vengeance.” The paper’s special correspondent, David Patrikarakos, says “the only surprise” was that the Iranian attack had not “come sooner”. By splitting resources between two fronts in Gaza and Lebanon, Israel is, he says, embarking on a “hard and brutal road”. And he warns a regional, and possibly global, war is now “all too real”.
The Express says the US has threatened Iran with a “severe response” following the attack on Israel. The paper says “the world watched in horror” as the missiles were launched.
In its editorial, the paper says “military action must not be divorced from diplomacy.” The Mirror also warns that while international diplomacy is failing we must not abandon hope.
The FT reports on the “Lebanon exodus” saying a million people are seeking shelter from the fighting. Elsewhere, former deputy head of Israel’s National Security Council Itamar Yaar tells the paper he thinks it is very unlikely Israel would attack Iran’s nuclear facilities without US support, something he suspects would not be forthcoming in the next few months as the US prepares for the November 2024 election.
The Daily Telegraph features an article written by a journalist on the ground who says “a rocket missed me by a minute.”
In its editorial, the paper says there are concerns about Israeli “mission creep” that could lead the entire Middle East into war. The paper says Tehran is the main cause of the region’s instability and the US and UK should decide what to do about Iran, not Israel.
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Although the government is telling everyone the economy is on the mend, the reality is the economy is still on the verge of a double dip recession.
The inflation figures don’t show the real picture. Yes, inflation has stopped rising as much as it did, but the metrics they share is a decline rate not a drop. To understand this imagine the economy as a plane, it would still be falling, just not as fast as it was before, but it’s still on its way down.
The reason for that is FTSE companies from insurance to netflix subscriptions has increased its price, in some cases without any real justification, yet wages for the average joe have not increased.
The interest rates are still higher than they should be, and they will have you believe you that it is inversely linked to inflation. But the government could have maintained a price freeze for everyday services. But boosting profits for corporates is costing the average taxpayer more.
It is true, big companies have a stranglehold around the government policies; not just with lobby groups, but as we saw with Liz Truss, by having the power to tank the stock market. This power comes from the amount of American companies that have taken over British companies; because they don’t really care about the Brits, they are just focussed on their bottom line.
With Christmas around the corner, they will need to be some changes, and the government will have to bring that ‘feel good factor’ back in the market to boost spending and confidence, in order to avoid this being labelled as the ‘winter of discontent 2′.
No winter fuel payments, fuel bills rising by £150 per household (today), higher credit cards payments and mortgages equals parents with no money for presents. This will make this winter, not only, one of the coldest but also a thrifty one.
Earlier this morning Israel launched its invasion of Lebanon, despite the calls and protests from world leaders. Netanyahu is determined to push forward his agenda for creating a greater Israel and gain more land.
Despite the conflicts with Starmer on the issue, this provides a political opportunity that politicians will exploit. First and foremost it will take the limelight away from domestic policies. So politicians will use every soundbite to talk about the issue.
Additionally, politicians will use this opportunity to drive home the cuts at home. Although they are determined not to use words like ‘austerity’ – Labour will be making big spending cuts starting with winter fuel payments.
Copyright WTX News 2024
