Today’s coverage includes the story that the final five bodies of the 30 Britons who died in the Tunisia beach attack last week will be flown home today on board a Royal Air Force C17.
Also making the news today: Iran has signalled that it is ready to help the rest of the world to tackle ISIL if a deal can be reached on its nuclear programme. The BBC report that Iran’s foreign minister has used a YouTube posting to say that a comprehensive agreement has “never been closer“.
Broadcasters are also reporting that an event to celebrate the 4th July at RAF Feltwell in Norfolk has been cancelled by the US Air Force as a result of a most recent assessment of threat levels. The event was due to feature the Red Arrows.
Gloomy soldiers
The Daily Star reflects the contents of a new survey, which supposedly reveals that 53% of all Armed Forces personnel hate being in the forces. The short article suggests military personnel are “fed up” with service life, low pay, having to put on a uniform and spending long periods separated from their families. The article concludes that the majority of troops – 77% - remain proud to serve. No detail is provided on who commissioned this report.
Household Cavalry
BBC Breakfast this morning reports as expected that the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment (HCMR) have exercised their horses on the beach at Holkum in Norfolk. This exercise is conducted annually.
Whilst on the surface the beach ride looks like a frolic, it actually serves a serious purpose. The nature of their role means that the horses need to be familiar with all sorts of environments. The beach ride gets them accustomed to another surface in the soft sand and also the water, which many of them will not have encountered before. This also presents challenges to the riders in controlling their horses as well as riding without a saddle, a skill in itself.
ISIL
The Times reports this morning that militants linked to ISIL have carried out bombings in Gaza and rocket attacks on Israel as they, the paper suggests, try to destabilise Hamas, and goad it and the Israelis into another war.
Former editor of the paper Charles Moore questions in today’s Daily Telegraph how ISIL can be an "existential threat" to the Western way of life, as described by David Cameron. He argues that, while unable to launch a physical attack that could defeat the UK militarily, ISIL represents more an existential threat to our values and way of life, and therefore the phrase "existential threat" fits.
Ebola
The Ebola virus that killed more than 11,000 people has returned to Liberia, almost two months after the country was declared free of the disease reports The Times. A 17-year-old boy has died and two others have tested positive for Ebola, amid fears that they may have contracted the virus from eating dog meat in a village 30 miles north of the capital, Monrovia.
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