Front pages here
Gaza
Express
Hezbollah, proscribed as a terror group in the UK, has been involved in skirmishes with the Israeli military on the border with Lebanon since the conflict between Tel Aviv and Hamas started on October 7.
The political leader of Iran-backed Hezbollah warned “all scenarios are open” including a wider conflict in the Middle East, as tensions at the Israeli northern border continue to grow.
The secretary-general of Hamas-supporting Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, warned in an incendiary speech coinciding with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s latest visit to Israel that Washington would “pay a price” for the “crimes committed” by the Tel Aviv government unless he stopped the ongoing war in the Middle East.
Israel, which has been launching retaliatory airstrikes on Gaza since Hamas carried out a terror attack on October 7, has refused a ceasefire and hasn’t yet committed to humanitarian pauses to allow delivery of aid to the Strip.
Nasrallah added: “To the Americans directing your threats at us in Lebanon, your naval fleets cannot and will not cause us to fear. We have prepared for them with whatever it takes.
ITV News
Arab leaders decrying the deaths of over 9,000 Palestinians in Israel’s war with Hamas pushed for an immediate cease-fire Saturday.
However, they clashed with US secretary of state Antony Blinken, who warned that such a move would be counterproductive and could encourage more violence by the militant group.After an afternoon of talks with Egyptian, Jordanian, Saudi, Qatari and Emirati diplomats and a senior Palestinian official, Mr Blinken held a joint press conference with his counterparts from Jordan and Egypt.The dissonance in the messages was evident, with Arab ministers repeatedly calling for the fighting to stop now and condemning Israel’s war tactics.“We cannot accept the justification as considered as the right of self-defense, collective punishment” of Palestinians in Gaza, Egypt’s Sameh Shoukry said. “This cannot be a legitimate self-defense at all.”
London demos
Telegraph
A hard-Left activist who was filmed leading chants of “from the river to the sea” at a pro-Palestinian rally is an adviser to the police on their response to protests over the Israel-Hamas conflict, The Telegraph can disclose
Attiq Malik, a solicitor who has also railed against “global censorship by the Zionists”, was present in the police operations room during protests last month.
A video uncovered by The Telegraph shows Mr Malik instigating chants of “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” in 2021, a slogan described by Downing Street as “deeply offensive” to many.
The disclosure of his role is likely to further embarrass the Metropolitan Police after weeks of criticism of the force’s handling of protests at which officers took no action in response to calls for “jihad”.
It comes after The Telegraph revealed last week that Mohammed Kozbar, a prominent mosque chairman who praised the founder of Hamas, has been advising the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) as part of a “scrutiny panel” on hate crime.
The CPS is now understood to be carrying out an urgent review of the panel’s membership.
Homeless
BBC News
The home secretary is proposing new laws to restrict the use of tents by homeless people, arguing that many of them see it as a “lifestyle choice”.
Suella Braverman’s plan would introduce new penalties in England and Wales for homeless people who authorities believe have rejected offers of help.
The plan was to stop “those who cause nuisance… by pitching tents in public spaces,” she said.
Housing charity Shelter said: “Nobody should be punished for being homeless”.
The plan is expected to be included in the King’s speech on Tuesday, which sets out the government’s legislative agenda and is expected to focus heavily on law and order.
Independent
Suella Braverman has prompted outrage after she vowed a crackdown on tents used by the homeless and described rough sleeping as a “lifestyle choice”.
The home secretary claimed streets risked being “taken over” and that without action British cities would see “an explosion of crime, drug taking, and squalor”.
She added that many of those living in tents were “from abroad”. Those who were genuinely homeless would always be supported, she said.
But in a raft of criticism over her remarks, she was accused of “disgraceful” politics and of blaming the most vulnerable for her government’s failings.
Even former Tory MPs condemned her push to fine charities who give tents to the homeless – part of proposals pitched to be included in the King’s Speech on Tuesday.
Extremism
Guardian
Government officials have drawn up deeply controversial proposals to broaden the definition of extremism to include anyone who “undermines” the country’s institutions and its values, according to documents seen by the Observer.
The new definition, prepared by civil servants working for cabinet minister Michael Gove, is fiercely opposed by a cohort of officials who fear legitimate groups and individuals will be branded extremists.
The proposals have provoked a furious response from civil rights groups with some warning it risks “criminalising dissent”, and would significantly suppress freedom of expression.
One Whitehall official said: “The concern is that this is a crackdown on freedom of speech. The definition is too broad and will capture legitimate organisations and individuals.”
Russia
Express
Vladimir Putin faces “domestic trouble” after his attempts at seizing momentum in Ukraine backfired badly on the Russian military at the frontline.
Vladimir Putin’s latest attempt at securing a wartime victory in Ukraine ended in humiliating disaster.
The Russian military’s assault on the Donbas region has “floundered,” according to Britain’s Ministry of Defence.
The MoD said the Kremlin has lost around 200 armoured vehicles during its assaults on Avdiika over the past three weeks.
Russia has poured substantial military resources, including soldiers, artillery, and tanks, into an attack on the Donetsk city.
This comes as experts warn that a faltering economy and frustrated youth in Russia could spell the end of President Putin’s grip on power.
The latest MoD intelligence briefing said: “In the south, the Ukrainian advance remains relatively static between the two main lines of Russia’s well-prepared defensive positions.
Libel law
Mail
Rishi Sunak will scrap a controversial law that could make newspapers pay legal costs for both sides in libel and privacy cases – regardless of who wins.
Ministers have been concerned about the threat to free speech posed by the ‘draconian’ legislation, known as Section 40. Now a repeal of the law will be included in Tuesday’s King’s Speech, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
A Government source told the MoS that a free press is ‘a key part of our democracy’ – and that ‘forcing publishers to pay the costs of legal actions, win or lose, risks undermining press freedom’.
Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act – to give it its full name – means that news publishers would have to pay the costs of any court judgment if they are not a member of an ‘approved regulator’, whatever the outcome of the case.
But no national newspapers have signed up to the only state-approved regulator, Impress, which was established with funding from Max Mosley, in the wake of the Leveson Inquiry into the press.
Peanut butter
Mirror
Peanut butter could trigger the next global pandemic after scientists found an alarming connection to zoonotic disease, it has been revealed.
Researchers discovered the mass production of the nutty spread could make the world more open to outbreaks of zoonotic disease, which is an infectious disease that can be transmitted between humans and animals. The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Veterinary Science, highlighted a strong link between pandemics and deforestation – which sees dozens of trees destroyed so the land can be used for other reasons.
This has a devastating impact on animals as they are forced to escape their natural habitat and find a home nearer to human dwellings such as forests or jungles. But in doing so, it can increase the chances of spreading the disease, much like the cross-species jump thought to have sparked the Covid-19 pandemic in a Wuhan market, China, in 2019.
One of the leading causes of deforestation is the obtaining of palm oil found in palm trees. This oil is used to produce a huge number of goods including cosmetics, cleaning products and, yes, peanut butter. In fact, palm oil can be found in approximately 50% of all packaged household products.
Blinkin’ Useless: told to fly a kite by Nettingyahoo, ridiculed in front of the press by Jordan and similar. Reminds me of a clueless prime minister touring eurrope, who responded by not even throwing him a bone, some years ago.
Vladimir Putijn:- he died *again* just a month or two ago Y/No?
Russia losing – how bizarre, especially as earlier this year the dwarf leader approved a (now mainly filled) half million plot cemetery outside Kiev. How many plots outside other Ukr cities – ask the thousands of military age Ukr men claiming asylum in Britain.
No mention of the Penis Piano Playing midget – aka Bearded tramp (nowadays in black). Zelensky has just fired his two top military generals – worried about a coup d’état and or their running against him at next years elections. Surprised that didn’t make the papers, well discussed among Ukr acquaintances.
Be afraid, very afraid:- peanut butter. Yor avin a larf right? God knows what pickled onions can do! Caruthers, bring me my brown, corduroy, trousers, . . . too late. Or was it the five pints of draft Bass last night?