The i describes the latest attacks on Beirut as “Israel’s warning to Iran”. Its columnist, Patrick Cockburn, suggests Benjamin Netanyahu is probably “igniting a fire in the region that will never go out”.
The Guardian says the apparent attempt to kill the Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, even if he wasn’t harmed, “marks a staggering escalation on the Israeli side”. Its analysis online also calls it “an emphatic slap in the face” for the Biden administration and its efforts to secure a temporary truce.
Commentary in the Financial Times suggests “US diplomacy appears adrift and impotent”.
The Daily Telegraph describes targeting Hezbollah’s secretary-general as “a gamble extraordinaire,” challenging Tehran to hit back. The broadsheet says Iran will be mulling over whether a US-led coalition will come together again to shoot down a counter-attack as it did in April.
According to The Times , there are proposals to increase the cap on university fees by 13.5 per cent over the next five years to £10,500. A Whitehall source says there are “live discussions” between ministers, but that any final decision would need to be approved by the chancellor.
Boris Johnson’s memoir, Unleashed, which is being serialised in the Daily Mail, reveals how the former prime minister initially ignored doctors’ advice to go to hospital, despite being so ill with Covid that he couldn’t read, face any food or in his words “barely think”.
He describes trying to avoid sleeping in the intensive care unit in case he “never woke up”. Without the two nurses there, he writes he fears he “might have carked it”.
ReutersMost front pages carry tributes to Dame Maggie Smith, described by the Daily Mirror as “a true legend” and by The Sun as “Magnificent Maggie.” The Guardian’s film critic Peter Bradshaw said she was the “grandest of grandes dames.” While writing in the Daily Express, the theatre critic, Neil Norman calls her “a world class performer whose appeal crossed generations”.
Elsewhere, the Financial Times reports that Germany and France are calling for an urgent rethink of plans to roll out the EU’s biometric border on the tenth of November.
They say the main computer system won’t be able to cope with the new entry exit system that will require all non-EU citizens, including British visitors, to register their personal details, including their fingerprints.
The European Commission said it was in close contact with member states who were working hard to ensure the system could start on time.
And The Times considers research suggesting that receiving a Michelin star may be “more of a curse than a blessing” for a restaurant. A study of highly rated venues in New York found those with Michelin stars were more likely to close down than those without.
The paper says the findings are replicated in London and France. It seems staff may seek higher wages after an award and landlords more rent. The paper asks if chefs focus too much on pleasing the guide, rather than their customers.
