Newspaper headlines: 'World waits on Iran' and Sunak gets tough on benefits
- Published
The Daily Mirror is anxious, external about tensions in the Middle East, after Israel's presumed strike on Iran yesterday.
Under the headline "enemies on the brink", it states that the region has "edged closer to all-out war". It concludes that "these demonstrative strikes between Israel and Iran are some kind of tit-for-tat chess game to flex muscles".
The Financial Times has a front page picture, external of crowds of people on the streets of Tehran, demonstrating in the wake of the latest attack. But the paper is less worried by events - saying that "both sides were muted in their response to the assault, signalling that neither wanted further escalation that risked triggering a full-blown conflict".
In its leader, the Guardian suggests , externalthat the danger of the current situation is "not from wild or impulsive action, but from the considered decisions of men who believe they know what they are doing". It concludes that their confidence is not reassuring because previously their judgement has "fallen short".
The Daily Mail focuses on Rishi Sunak's speech, external yesterday on toughening up the benefits system. Its front page headline calls the prime minister's plan "the biggest welfare crackdown in a generation". Its opinion column states that Mr Sunak "deserves praise for identifying ways to help cure the insidious, ambition-sapping culture of welfare dependency".
Under the headline "national malady", the leader in the Times notes how , external some charities have lambasted Mr Sunak's plans. It points out that it's an "easy line of attack that a government lacks compassion for the vulnerable". But it goes on to say that -- with sickness absence in the UK skyrocketing - the prime minister's warning "should be acted on".
The i is not so sure, external. Its editor, Oliver Duff, says in his column that this is an "anxious time" for people who receive disability benefits. He argues that - with Rishi Sunak searching for clear dividing lines from Labour ahead of the election - the "detail" of the plan needs to be spelled out, as it could affect millions of lives.
The Sun is unimpressed, external by the case of the police officer who told a campaigner against antisemitism that he looked "openly Jewish". Gideon Falter was near a pro-Palestinian march in London at the time, and the Metropolitan force has had to apologise twice over the incident. Under the headline "lost the plod", the paper describes the remark as "appalling" - and argues that it suggests "something is rank within our police".
In its lead, the Daily Express reports that 200,000 people, external have now signed the paper's petition calling for MPs to have a free vote on assisted dying. The campaign is backed by the broadcaster Dame Esther Rantzen, who has lung cancer. She is quoted as saying that current legislation, which bans assisted dying for terminally ill people, is cruel and "must be changed".
Finally, the Daily Telegraph has details, external of how a couple renovating their 17th Century cottage found a hoard of rare coins under the kitchen floor. The paper explains that the stash uncovered by Betty and Robert Fooks, in Dorset, is worth around £35,000. Mrs Fooks describes the find as "amazing".
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