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An Israeli air strike killed at least seven people in a medical facility in the heart of Beirut in the early hours of Thursday, the deepest strike to hit the capital since fighting began.

The strike hit close to Lebanon’s parliament building and the seat of government in a densely populated neighbourhood far from the capital’s southern suburbs that Israel has pummelled over the past two weeks.

The medical facility was linked to Iran-backed militant group Hizbollah, and the bombing killed seven emergency responders and paramedics, the group said, and wounded several others.

The Israeli military said it had launched a “precise strike” but did not disclose its target. Several air strikes were also reported in the city’s southern suburbs.

The strike came two days after Israel announced a land offensive into southern Lebanon and suffered its heaviest losses there in almost a year of fighting. The Israeli military said eight soldiers were killed and several injured in clashes with Hizbollah militants inside Lebanon.

It came as Israel stepped up its offensive against Hizbollah, even as the region braced for its response to Tuesday’s attack by Tehran, which fired 180 missiles at Israel and intensified fears of an all-out war. The US has said Israel has the right to respond, although US President Joe Biden said any response should be “in proportion” and that he was opposed to attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Iran said its missile attack on Israel was in retaliation for the Israeli assassination of Hizbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah last week and the killing of Hamas’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July. 

The Israeli military has launched regular, devastating strikes on the densely populated southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh, where Hizbollah has a major presence. It has only targeted a site within the city limits once in this conflict, when it killed three Palestinian militant group leaders with an apparent drone strike that destroyed one floor of an apartment building.

Israel’s assault has killed more than 1,000 people in Lebanon in the past two weeks, according to Lebanese authorities, which said 46 people had been killed and 85 wounded over the past 24 hours.

In the early hours of Thursday, a large blast was heard across the city, with footage from the scene showing smoke rising over the night-time skyline and ambulance sirens wailing. Footage from Lebanese news outlets showed the blast had also damaged a cemetery.

“Another sleepless night in Beirut. Counting the blasts shaking the city. No warning sirens. Not knowing what’s next. Only that uncertainty lies ahead. Anxiety and fear are omnipresent,” said Jeanine Hennis, the UN special co-ordinator in Lebanon, on X.

The National News Agency also tallied 17 Israeli bombing raids across neighbourhoods in south Beirut. 

Beyond its militant activities, Hizbollah has a political party and sprawling network of social services for its constituency that runs parallel to state institutions. These include schools, social welfare organisations and healthcare facilities such as the one struck on Thursday.

Additional reporting by Ahmed Al Omran in Jeddah

The clock is quickly counting down to the Budget on 30 October. But most of us are approaching this day with some trepidation.

The government has been very clear. Public finances are in dire straits, with a surprise £22bn ‘black hole’ meaning it will be forced to take action it hadn’t ‘advertised’ in its election manifesto.

It will no doubt be looking for solutions that deliver big savings, or increased tax revenues, in quick time – not easily done.

The controversy surrounding the means-testing of the winter fuel payment shows the solution doesn’t necessarily have to be popular. Labour likely has the majority to ride out any storm.

It comes as no surprise that cutting upfront higher-rate tax relief on pensions is receiving considerable airtime as a possible solution. As the National Insurance (NI) and pensions tax relief bill comes in at just under £50bn, it’s natural to think it could offer up some big savings.

As we get ready for this ‘painful’ Budget, let’s hope the government does its homework

But the government needs to resist knee-jerk reactions and think carefully through any change.

Introducing a single rate of pensions tax relief cannot be brought in easily or simply.

Sure, it’s an easy fix for employees’ contributions into relief-at-source schemes, such as Sipps, where the 20% payment from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) could easily be changed.

But add into the mix changing tax relief on employer contributions and the whole confusion around net-pay schemes, and we are looking at rafts of new complexity, including tax adjustments and charges for pension savers, employers and, importantly, HMRC.

The last government spent some considerable time allaying the National Health Service unions’ anger over pension charges, such as the annual allowance. The new government will not want to pick up that discussion.

The temptation to scrabble around for quick wins must be intense. But not all that glistens is gold

The temptation may be to adopt a slapdash approach by tackling only relief-at-source schemes. But that is grossly unfair and, quite frankly, won’t reap the cost saving rewards needed.

Only by tackling the tax relief and NI contribution relief given on employer contributions can the Treasury get even close to a meaty saving.

The government needs to cast more widely for ideas. There may be areas of pensions that can be changed to be more equitable without the complexity a single rate of tax relief would bring.

For example, the tax treatment on passing on pensions on death is relatively generous. But all solutions should be considered thoroughly without rushing in.

In the meantime, if the government wants a consumer-focused reform that will benefit investors and the wider economy it should look at Isa simplification.

We deserve a Budget where the proposals have been thoroughly thought through, are equitable and can balance cost cutting with helping the nation save for later life

As a first step, it should combine cash and stocks and shares Isas (the two most popular versions of Isas in the UK), reducing upfront choice complexity and creating a more flexible system in which consumers could move easily between cash savings and investments.

HMRC data suggests there are around three million people in the UK with £20,000 or more invested in cash Isas and no money invested in stocks and shares Isas. If just half of that money was invested for the long term, an additional £30bn of investment would be unlocked.

Given around half of Isa assets on our platform are invested in UK companies or UK-focused funds, domestic firms should disproportionately benefit as a result, with the potential for additional retail investment to deepen liquidity and support higher valuations for UK businesses.

The government could also make two simple changes to iron out the kinks in the design of Lifetime Isas to make it more attractive to first-time house buyers.

Data suggests there are around three million people in the UK with £20,000 or more invested in cash Isas and no money invested in stocks and shares Isas

First, set the early withdrawal penalty as 20%, so it simply returns the upfront government bonus, instead of imposing an unfair 6.25% ‘exit penalty’. Second, update the maximum property purchase price from £450,000 to reflect house price inflation.

As we get ready for this ‘painful’ Budget, let’s hope the government does its homework. For those working in the Treasury, the temptation to scrabble around for quick wins must be intense. But not all that glistens is gold.

Instead, we all deserve a Budget where the proposals have been thoroughly thought through, are equitable and can balance cost cutting with helping the nation save for later life.

Rachel Vahey is head of public policy at AJ Bell

A GROUP of assassins gunned down a man at a packed Cancun beach before fleeing on jet skis in a horror attack.

The 30-year-old victim was shot dead by four armed thugs in front of terrified tourists at the five-star resort.

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Two of the gunmen fled the scene outside Hotel Riu on jet skis while the other two left on foot.

Shocked holidaymakers ran for cover as the men attacked the man who has been identified as a Mexican national, according to local media.

Shortly after the attack, the hotel released a statement to clarify the victim was not a hotel guest or an employee.

 The man was reportedly in charge of the jet skis, Turquesa news reports.

Authorities have not identified him yet but paramedics at the scene confirmed his death.

Footage after the attack shows panicked guests at the hotel.

The horrific shooting comes months after a 12-year-old boy was shot dead by gunmen who also fled on jet skis in Cancun.

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THE exact date households could start getting free cash to help with their energy bills has been revealed.

Cold Weather Payments is a type of support set up by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to help with energy costs when temperatures drop.

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To be eligible for the cash boost you must be on state benefits such as Universal Credit or Income Support.

Temperatures also must hit zero degrees Celsius or below over 7 consecutive days for the sum to be paid out.

You do not need to apply for the scheme as the money will be paid into anyone who qualifies account within 14 days.

If you meet the requirements, you will receive £25 for each seven day period of incredibly cold weather.

These payments will start on November 1 and will be available up until March 31.

Who is eligible for a cold-weather payment?

You will receive the payment if you meet the criteria and on any of the following benefits:

• Pension Credit
• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Universal Credit
• Support for Mortgage Interest

You may also have to meet one or more of these additional criteria:

• Have a disability or be in receipt of pension premium
• Have a child who is disabled
• Be in receipt of child tax credit that includes a disability or severe disability element
• Have a severe or enhanced disability premium
• Be in receipt of a limited capability for work amount
• Have a child under five living with you

How do I apply for the payment?

You do not have to apply for the payment as it is paid automatically to those you are eligible.

However, if you are worried about your energy bills this winter then it is worth checking if you are missing out on benefits that could help you qualify for the payment.

Using a benefits calculator can be an easy way to do this.

There are a number of these tools online and they are free and anonymous to use.

For example, charity Turn2Us’ has a benefits calculator that works out what you could get.

Entitledto’s free calculator determines also whether you qualify for various benefits, tax credit and Universal Credit.

You can also use Policy in Practice’s calculator to determine which benefits you could receive and how much cash you’ll have left over each month after paying for housing costs.

If you do not want to do this online you can visit your local Citizens Advice and speak to an advisor.

You can find your local Citizens Advice by visiting its website, which can be found by searching, www.citizensadvice.org.uk/wales/about-us/contact-us/nearby.

What other help is available

A number of energy firms have support for struggling customers.

Many gas and energy suppliers offer grants and schemes for customers who are struggling.

For example, British Gas has a fund open to pre-payment meter and credit customers who have found themselves in debt worth up to £1,700.

The Individual and Families Fund was first set up in 2021 to help households struggling with energy debt.

This scheme’s support is available to British Gas and non-British Gas customers.

You might be able to get help with essential costs from your local council through a programme called the Household Support Fund (HSF).

The funding is designed to help people who are vulnerable or can’t afford to pay for necessities like energy bills, water bills, and food.

Some councils offer food vouchers to families during the school holidays, as well through the scheme.

Eligibility criteria varies by council, so you need to check your local authority’s website to see what’s available and how to apply.

The Sun recently published an article on all the bill help worth over £5,000 which you can check out here.

A new court brief filed by Special Counselor Jack Smith on Wednesday provides extensive detail about how Donald Trump “resorted to crimes to try to stay in office” after the 2020 election, and Trump himself is pitching a fit over it.

Drawing from his usual tired collection of stock phrases and attacks on critics, Trump lashed out at “deranged” Smith and “Washington, D.C. based Radical Left Democrats” in multiple incoherent rants posted on Truth Social

To start, Trump complained that the filing is “falsehood-ridden, Unconstitutional,” and then slipped in an irrelevant insult against Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz. After that, he swerved into randomly capitalized accusations that Democratic Presidential nominee Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden are the ones trying to “Weaponize American Democracy, and INTERFERE IN THE 2024 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.”

This culminated in a somewhat lazy effort to fling the court filing’s words back, when he said his enemies are “HELL BENT on continuing to Weaponize the Justice Department in an attempt to cling to power.

Then the former president followed that up with another Truth Social rant in which he insisted — referring to himself in third person of course — that he “is dominating” the 2024 race, and before you ask, yes he claimed that he’s polling ahead of Harris (as of this writing, he’s not). He also threw in his traditional references to “Deep State” and “Witch Hunt.”

After that came a lengthier ALL CAPS tirade that reads less like the statement of a functional former U.S. President, and more like MAGA Mad Libs, which we’ll quote verbatim:

“WHETHER NOW THE FULLY DEBUNKED RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA, IRAN, IRAN, IRAN, UKRAINE, UKRAINE, UKRAINE, 51 INTELLIGENCE AGENTS, SPYING ON MY CAMPAIGN, IMPEACHMENT HOAX NUMBER ONE, IMPEACHMENT HOAX NUMBER TWO, OR ANY OF THE OTHER SCAMS, THIS ILLEGAL ACTION TAKEN BY THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT, INCLUDING THEIR RAID ON MAR-A-LAGO FOR A CASE THAT WAS DISMISSED, WILL END JUST LIKE ALL OF THE OTHERS – WITH COMPLETE VICTORY FOR ‘PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP.’ MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” he posted.

Trump concluded by metaphorically taking his ball and going home, fuming “I didn’t rig the 2020 election, they did!”

Trump is not accused of rigging the election, he is being prosecuted for actions that were witnessed by millions: His efforts in 2020 and early 2021 to illegally overturn the election results, culminating in his incitement of the deadly Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack.

The prosecution of these crimes was delayed earlier this year thanks to the Supreme Court’s astonishing ruling in Trump v. U.S. that created a previously nonexistent concept of presidential immunity from criminal prosecution. This immunity was conferred upon vaguely defined “official” acts that SCOTUS said would need to be defined by lower courts, imposing delays that have virtually guaranteed Trump won’t face trial until after this year’s election.

Special Counselor Jack Smith submitted a revised indictment in August that accounts for Trump v. U.S.; the 165-page motion filed on Wednesday lays out the new case in (frequently redacted) detail.

It’s divided into four key sections. In the first, prosecutors describe their evidence against Trump. In the second, the legal issues surrounding presidential immunity are described. The third section expounds upon what is and is not covered by presidential immunity and emphasizes that “nothing the Government intends to present to the jury is protected by presidential immunity.” The fourth and final section describes why the court should rule Trump stand trial.

“The defendant asserts that he is immune from prosecution for his criminal scheme to overturn the 2020 presidential election because, he claims, it entailed official conduct. Not so,” the brief begins.

“When the defendant lost the 2020 presidential election, he resorted to crimes to try to stay in office,” the filing also reads. “His efforts included lying to state officials in order to induce them to ignore true vote counts; manufacturing fraudulent electoral votes in the targeted states; attempting to enlist Vice President Michael R. Pence, in his role as President of the Senate, to obstruct Congress’s certification of the election by using the defendant’s fraudulent electoral votes; and when all else had failed, on January 6, 2021, directing an angry crowd of supporters to the United States Capitol to obstruct the congressional certification.”

The common theme was “deceit” the filing continues.

“At its core, the defendant’s scheme was a private criminal effort,” Smith writes later in the filing. “In his capacity as a candidate, the defendant used deceit to target every stage of the electoral process, which through the Constitution, ECA, and state laws includes the states’ notification to the federal government of the selection of their representative electors based on the popular vote in the state; the meeting of those electors to cast their votes consistent with the popular vote; and Congress’s counting of the electors’ votes at a certification proceeding.”

Prosecutors believe Trump told his advisers in the weeks before the election in the event that many Democrats would cast their votes by mail and therefore their votes would be counted after Election Day, he would “simply declare victory before all the ballots were counted and any winner was projected.” An adviser, who remains unnamed, began to put the plan into motion.

Trump is also accused of having asked former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani to challenge the election’s integrity. Trump’s campaign also attempted to challenge Biden’s wins in swing states Arizona, Georgia and Michigan. The campaign then pushed claims of fraud that were untrue and attempted to appoint other electors in response.

“As late as January, the conspirators attempted to keep the full nature of the elector plan secret,” the filing also explains.

You can read the entire filing in full here.

The post Trump Erupts in Incoherent Rants After New Court Brief Details How He ‘Resorted to Crimes’ to Defy 2020 Election appeared first on TheWrap.