Summarize this content to 1000 words The main image on the Financial Times shows CCTV capturing the moment a bag held by a man exploded in a supermarket in Lebanese capital Beirut. The broadsheet writes pagers belonging to Hezbollah members exploded across the country on Tuesday killing at least eight people and injuring more than 2,700 in an “apparent sabotage” of the devices, which the militant group uses to evade Israeli surveillance. It adds the Iranian-backed group blamed Israel, but the Israeli military declined to comment. The Daily Telegraph reports that Israel is suspected of being behind what it calls “an audacious attack”. It observes it is unclear whether the pager attack “was designed to weaken the terror group before a possible invasion or was simply a show of strength” by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “appease hawks in his country”. Elsewhere, the broadsheet says teachers will be allowed to work from home under Labour plans to tackle recruitment woes in schools. The Guardian writes Hezbollah “vows to strike back” against Israel. It adds 10-year-old girl was killed in the attacks according to Lebanon’s health minister. Also pictured is a Gisèle Pelicot, whose husband admitted drugging her so that he and dozens of strangers could sexually assault her at her home. The paper quotes Dominique Pelicot saying: “I am a rapist, like the others in this room.”An injured bloodied man lays on the ground on the front of the Times newspaper. Security analysts say it was possible pagers used by Hezbollah had been rigged with explosives and primed to be detonated remotely, it reports. Other experts said the devices’ lithium batteries may have been made to overheat triggering a blast. The Times off-lead says ministers are quietly ignoring rules requiring civil servants to be in the office three days a week. The Daily Mail says the Middle East is “holding its breath” following the pager attack. It reports on the harrowing scenes as the devices exploded, writing that victims were “writhing in agony with hideous injuries to their faces, abdomens and even their groins”. “Exploding pager hell” headlines the Daily Mirror as it too covers what it calls a “bizarre attack” in Lebanon. The Daily Express says campaigners are warning of “disaster” if the government does not restore the winter fuel allowance. It writes a study found pensioner deaths this winter may be even higher than feared because many stripped of the payment will stop using heating. “Courage of crossbow carnage victim” headlines the Metro as it reports on the court case involving Kyle Clifford, who is charged with murder of Carol Hunt, Hannah Hunt and Louise Hunt, the wife and two daughters of BBC racing commentator John Hunt. Prime Minister Keir Starmer appears alongside zombies as the tabloid writes the living dead could be a possibility. It says a study showed zombie-like cells in a dead organism can keep working.The Middle East is “holding its breath” according to the Daily Mail after what it terms an “astonishingly audacious attack” on Lebanese armed group Hezbollah. The paper describes victims “writhing in agony with hideous injuries” when their handheld pagers exploded. The New York Times quotes American officials as saying that Israel intercepted a shipment of the devices, planted explosives inside them, and then detonated them with a message. The Financial Times calls the attack a “humiliating blow” to Hezbollah, but it warns that it will heighten tensions. The Times reports that Hezbollah maintains it is “prepared for war”, but this latest attack could leave it wondering “what else Israel has in store”.The Daily Mirror features an exclusive interview with the man it says sparked “the downfall” of Huw Edwards. The 21-year-old – who sent explicit photos to the former presenter – says he was groomed. He also expresses disgust that Edwards was not sent to prison, after admitting having indecent images of children in court case this month. On its front page, The Sun says that Edwards is “just one of a growing number of online paedophiles spared jail”. Its investigation reveals that such criminals “got away with hoarding” more than a million child abuse images “without serving a single day in jail”. The paper says the justice system “must be rebuilt”, demanding there are “no more slaps on the wrist”.Getty ImagesA Lebanese army soldier gestures to an ambulance rushing wounded people to hospital in BeirutSources tell the Daily Telegraph that the government is drawing up legislation which would allow water companies to raise their bills to help fund a bailout of Thames Water. The paper reports that, under the plans, the full £10bn cost of intervention would be charged to firms, which could then pass it on to customers. But government insiders insist this would be a “last resort”.In the Daily Express, campaigners warn of a “disaster” if the government does not restore the winter fuel allowance for all pensioners – claiming that many will die because they will not use their heating. In its leader column, the paper warns that the government is “running out of time to avert a humanitarian nightmare”. The Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall has told the Commons that the Household Support Fund has been extended to help pensioners.Getty ImagesThe Times asks whether the UK should “call time on the pint”Several of the papers give their verdicts on Sir Ed Davey’s speech as he brought to a close the Liberal Democrats’ party conference. The Daily Mail’s sketch describes it as a “gumbo of sentimental tripe”, while the Guardian says the event was a “happy place where where money was no object and the NHS and economy were as good as fixed”. The i calls on the Lib Dems to show they can “truly be a proper opposition” – warning that “their ship risks running adrift with no clear landing strategy in sight”.And the Times asks whether the UK should “call time on the pint”, to reduce alcohol intake. The paper reports that a study, by the University of Cambridge, has found that beer consumption dropped by 10% when pubs replaced pint glasses with those two-thirds of the size. But drinkers in London, who spoke to the Guardian, were not so keen on the idea saying “if you want to get drunk, it’ll just take six instead of four”.
rewrite this title ‘Exploding pager hell’ and ‘Middle East on brink’
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