Newspaper headlines: 'US sends warships' and 'pawns of terrorists'

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By BBC News
Staff
EPA

Smoke was seen rising following an Israeli air strike on Gaza City

The Daily Mail's front page has photos of some of the Israeli civilians who have been kidnapped - including two mothers with their young children who are missing, and an 84-year-old woman who was taken from a kibbutz - with the headline "pawns of merciless terrorists".

The Daily Express has a full-page image of buildings on fire in Gaza, surrounded by billowing smoke after what it calls the "backlash" of an Israeli airstrike. The i newspaper uses the same photo, but focuses on concerns that Israel will not be able to rescue the missing hostages because their locations are "unknown".

"Stunned Israel goes to war" is the headline in the Times which reports that Israel is massing tanks and troops near Gaza. The paper also carries a photo of 20-year-old Nathanel Young, the British man killed while fighting with the Israeli Defence Forces. The Daily Telegraph's front page details the support being given to Israel from one of its key allies - the US. The paper says President Joe Biden has deployed his navy's most advanced aircraft carrier, six other ships and a "raft" of advanced fighter jets to the Eastern Mediterranean.

A photo of the shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool features on the front page of the Daily Mirror. "Put your trust in me", the headline says, as the paper reports her promise to put more money in the pockets of ordinary people, if Labour wins the next election. In an interview with the paper she outlines that growth - to her - means "a thriving high street, good jobs where you live, and paying a wage you can afford to support a family on".

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Under the headline "humans can smell colours", the Daily Telegraph reports the findings of experiments from scientists at Liverpool John Moores University which show it says that strong smells can change the way we perceive colours.

The paper explains that participants who were asked to select "neutral grey" chose a more red-brown colour when they smelt coffee, and a bluer version when the smell of caramel was pumped into the room. The smell of peppermint also reportedly encouraged participants to select warmer colour shades - proof, the paper says, that our senses are "interlinked".

And there is a warning in the Daily Mail that fans of Ferrero Rocher chocolates may find their top treat hard to come by, or more expensive this Christmas. The paper reports that low rainfall and "insect problems" in Turkey are threatening supplies of its key ingredient hazelnuts.

Turkey, the Mail says, is responsible for 70% of the world's crop of the nuts and the shortage has led to prices "soaring". In a line which may strike terror into the hearts of some parents, the paper reminds us too that the Italian-owned confectionery firm Ferrero also uses hazelnuts in its chocolate spread Nutella.