31/07/2014 The Papers

cricketers finally ended their long wait for a test victory. That is in

Sportsday in 15 minutes, after The Papers.

Welcome to our look ahead at what the papers will bring us tomorrow.

With this, old friends, the home affairs editor from the London

Evening Standard, I mean all that in long`standing! LAUGHTER And Louise

Cooper, financial analyst. Let's look at the front pages. The FT

reports European businesses starting to feel the effects of sanctions on

Russia. The Telegraph has a story about households being forced to pay

higher rates of stamp duty. The Metro carries a story about a TV

interview where a UN official broke down in tears saying his

organisation was at breaking point in Gaza. The Daily Mail leads on a

driver who killed a man using to mobile phones at the wheel of her

car. The Guardian reports of the conflict in Gaza, saying the number

killed is now greater than in both previous rounds of fighting between

Israel and Hamas. The express has a story on a funding boost for the NHS

to help cancer, and finally the Mirror describes how a car on wealth

Games cyclist from Sierra Leone was held in a collision for four days

before being cleared because of fears about Ebola virus ``

Commonwealth Games cyclist. We will start with the Guardian leading with

Gaza, saying the death toll has passed 1400. This is a hugely

relevant story still, but as we have just reported, there has been

breaking news in the last few minutes suggesting movement towards

a humanitarian truce armour and hopes of a durable cease`fire.

Because this is very surprising, isn't it, Martin, this news, because

it didn't seem that either side felt inclined even to start mentioning

the cease`fire at the moment. No, we had a short pause before, then it

resumed, and the Israelis since that time have said they are determined

to carry on until they finish their objectives, which include destroying

the tunnels and stopping rocket fire. It seemed like they were

determined to press on pretty much at all costs. And yes, as you say,

suddenly we have this three`day window, apparently, where there will

be an attempt to negotiate, which still raises quite a lot of problems

potentially, but it at least gives them some time, hopefully, to try to

resolve the key issues. Always tempting to clutch at reasons for

things happening in the Middle East, but it is a dangerous thing to do.

It does follow the US coming out with its strongest statement yet.

Exactly, and I find that interesting. I was reading a piece

from the Israeli point of view saying it depends who criticises us,

whether we take notice. Clearly the White House criticism is probably

the most important critic of their actions from an Israeli point of

view. I am sorry to be a pessimist about this, but when I look at this

deeply devastating, horrendous humanitarian mess, I just think... I

don't see, over the long term, any structural improvement. Cyclic

thing, it goes from slightly better do is likely worst, `` sick lately.

But over the long term has been been any improvement? When then Nobel

Peace Prize is given out to both sides ten, 15, 20 years ago, yet

guess what, we are back to one of the biggest death tolls we have seen

in the entire history of the two fides. And I think also of course,

that very point is made, but also the Israeli have `` have stopped

because it becomes clear that all they are achieving, they are

achieving something, stopping the tunnels, I can understand why they

want to do that, but there is a danger that they are just hardening

opinion, consolidating Hamas, which actually, Hamas's power and

influence in the Gaza Strip, actually was under threat fairly

recently after the kidnappings, the fallout from that, they were looking

weaker, and now they seem to have been strengthened by this, and as

you say, from a long point of view we might get a resolution. In the

short`term the station hostility which would be fantastic ``

cessation of hostilities. It seems so far away, even to get a

short`term cease`fire to stick would seem almost a miracle. What I was

surprised that was the numbers, 1400 dead in Gaza, Palestinian officials

say 8200 people have been wounded. That is an extraordinarily large...

Almost 10,000 people. Not that many people live in Gaza and that is an

extraordinary amount of people. Civilians and children in

particular. The Palestinian authorities say 80% were civilians.

One thing that does have to happen of course, it is quite hard to see

how this will happen, is that from an Israeli point of view, some of

these rockets have to be stopped us well in the long term, because that

keeps provoking, every couple of years, these attacks and these great

onslaughts. It is not the first time we have seen this. It is the worst

one but we have seen it two years ago and previously. Moving on to the

FT if we can, European companies feeling Russia paying. Ox wagon

voicing concern occurs the sanctions over Russia and Ukraine are biting

`` false wagon. What has changed over the last ten or 15 years are

European companies doing massive amounts of business in Russia, more

than ever. They were all told to do business there because it has great

growth and they are all doing business there and now they're

Russian business could be taken away from them. It is not just... You

have BT, Rosner, a third BP's oil production, Adidas selling a lot

there, so many big European companies earning good profits in

Russia, which could be taken away. Unintended consequences sometimes of

sanctions. They are not necessarily unintended. They are affecting

companies that wouldn't be targeted in the first instance. You wonder

about Adidas, what is behind that, because it cannot surely be

oligarchs. There is a consumer boom in Russia, the greater the middle

classes stop Lee I understand that the sanctions do not affect every

person in Russia. They backed currency exchange rates. And also

sentiment towards Western brands. `` affect currency exchange rates.

Europe can't afford `` I said Europe can't afford sanctions against

Russia but the downing of MH17 has changed that and I now wonder how

much damage they are willing to do to the European economy. I think we

should do some damage, actually, and I am not convinced that we are doing

as much damage overall as... We have just come out of the Eurozone

crisis, it could be significant. We will have fisticuffs outside!

LAUGHTER. I'm supposed to be in charge but it doesn't feel like it!

Thank you, Martin. The Daily Mail, what a judge has been talking

about, in his summing up, he jailed a woman who had killed a graduate

using two mobile phones `` she was using two mobile phones and said the

use of mobile phones in cars is a plague on society. We heard last

week police will have the power to confiscate phones they think have

been part of the problem in a car crash. Yes, everyone can see when

they drive around or walk around, people using their phones, looking

at them and so on, this is a particularly horrendous case with

this woman appears to have been using two mobile phones in a 70 mph

crash. There seems to be pressure for further action. The commission

of the Metropolitan police has suggested six penalty points, the

Transport Secretary suggested he might be willing to take that up, so

they could be pressure for tougher action. You see at all the time. You

do, and what I find quite encouraging is that she has been

jailed for six years, because for me this is pretty much manslaughter.

You know it is a dangerous thing to do. She was text thing on one and

phoning on the other at 70 miles an hour. That truly is astounding

behaviour. `` text in. Let's move on to the Telegraph, millions more

being forced to pay higher rates of stamp duty in the last decade, a

booming property prices pushing more people into the higher rate of stamp

duty, and the stamp duty threshold have not moved up property prices

have, have they? Guess what, in Ostia times when the government is

highly indebted, they will find all kinds of ways to relieve Britons of

their cash `` austere times. Clearly politicians like hidden ways to

relieve people of their cash, and this is exactly what you would

expect, therefore, so they haven't increased stamp duty, and as you

said, the amount therefore means that it has gone up massively as

property prices have recovered. And there is some speculation that the

Tories may give a sop to us and increase it, but I wouldn't hold

your breath. I wonder there will be tempted to move it because it is a

big earner. They might try to do a little bit but it is hard to keep

pace with the rapid rise in house prices for one thing and secondly,

`` secondly, the difficulty is they are raising a lot of money out of

it, financial constraints continue into the next election whoever wins,

and where will that money come from if they do change? Louise, Martin,

thank you very much, shorter than normal because of this breaking

news, but we will return for another look at the papers at 11:25pm. I

must tell you the joint statement from John Kerry and Ban Ki`Moon

regarding the developments in the Middle East. We urge all parties to

act with restraint and abide by the commitments during the cease`fire.

It is critical to give civilians a reprieve from violence. During this

period civilians in Gaza will receive humanitarian relief and the

opportunity to carry out vital functions including burying the

dead, taking care of injured and restocking food. Overdue repairs on

infrastructure can also continue. He talks about the delegations

immediately going to Cairo for negotiations with the Egyptian

government at the invitation of Cairo, aimed at reaching a durable

cease`fire. They will be able to raise all issues of concerns in

these negotiations. That is part of the statement from Ban Ki`Moon and

John Kerry. Now it is time for Sportsday.

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