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Media Summary

UK and Iran renew full diplomatic ties after a five year hiatus

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The Telegraph, i and the Independent report on a serious construction accident in the Ramat Hachayal area of Tel Aviv yesterday. An underground car park under construction collapsed, killing three people and injuring at least 24 with several still reported missing. The search for people continued through the night and the reason for the accident remains unclear. The Ramat Hachayal area is home to a large number of hi-tech businesses, offices and a hospital.

The Times and City AM say that the Israeli company Spacecom, which manufactured the Amos 6 satellite, is likely to request £38m in compensation from SpaceX. Last week, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded on the test pad at a Florida launch site, destroying the Israeli satellite.

The Times reports that West Yorkshire Police are conducting an investigation into comments made via social media by Labour’s Bradford MP Naz Shah, which appeared to endorse the deportation of Jewish Israelis to the US. The episode led to Shah being temporarily suspended from the party earlier this year, during which time she issued an apology for her comments.

The Guardian and the online edition of the Telegraph report that the UK and Iran have renewed full diplomatic ties after a five year hiatus. The two countries yesterday exchanged ambassadors, with the current UK Charge d’Affaires Nicholas Hopton becoming the envoy in Tehran. The respective embassies were closed in 2011 after a mob ransacked the UK embassy in Iran’s capital.

In Syria, the Guardian says that ISIS has claimed responsibility for six suicide bombings in government held areas, leaving at least 40 people dead. Meanwhile, the online edition of the Times and the Independent cover the breakdown in talks between the US and Russia over a common approach to enemies in Syria, including ceasefire arrangements. US President Barack Obama said that “gaps of trust” exist with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on the issue.

In the Israeli media, the front pages are dominated by the Tel Aviv building collapse yesterday. It is the top story in Yediot Ahronot, Maariv, Haaretz and Israel Hayom, which calls the incident a “fiasco”. Although the cause of the collapse has not yet been established, Yediot Ahronot sites a report that the construction company opted to use an architect rather than a construction engineer in order to save costs. Israel Radio news says that rescue efforts are continuing this morning and that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the scene of the accident last night.

Writing in Maariv, Ben Caspit says that it is part of a wider “culture of slipshod work, cutting corners, shortening waiting times, lowering costs and holding human life cheaply”. He compares lax oversight of construction to Israel’s poor road safety record, saying: “There is no budget, no manpower, it is of no interest to anyone. The bodies pile up and everything goes on as usual.”

Meanwhile, Israel Radio news says that Israel’s Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman will today travel to London. He is scheduled to meet UK Defence Secretary Michael Fallon and US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter tomorrow.

In another Israel Radio news item, it is reported that Israeli soldiers came under fire last night near the Gaza border. There were no injuries and the IDF responded by firing on two Hamas positions.