Newspaper headlines: Syria air-strike plan, Greece latest and 'Goldfinger murder'

In the wake of the attacks on British and other European tourists in Tunisia, the question of the British response to Islamic State terror attacks is prominent in many papers.

The Sun's editorial says that Britain's military action against IS has been "feeble".

It calls for a "blitz" to be unleashed on the jihadists in Syria to "make life hell" for them.

The Independent's lead story reports on plans by Defence Secretary Michael Fallon to ask Parliament to sanction just such an action.

The paper adds that a full decision on whether to extend air strikes, which are currently only authorised on IS targets in Iraq, to Syria would be unlikely to be taken until Parliament returned from its summer recess.

"Previously Mr Cameron has shied away from going to Parliament for authorisation for air strikes against Isis positions in Syria after the government lost a vote in 2013 on military action against the regime of Bashar al-Assad," the paper adds.

A Downing Street spokesman tells the Independent that a "full spectrum" of options was being considered.

The paper says the pendulum could well swing in favour of air strikes against Syrian targets if a link between the Tunisia attack and Islamic state is proved.

The Daily Telegraph's defence editor, Con Coughlin, writes that the West's Arab allies in the fight against IS are "being hung out to dry".

He says a senior official from one of the Gulf countries told him: "There is simply no strategic approach. There is a lack of co-ordination in selecting targets and there is no overall plan."

Coughlin says friendly Arab states want the West to step up the fight, not only with more air strikes, but with special forces, support troops and supplies of heavy weaponry to forces fighting IS.

On its front page, the Telegraph reports that the US has been accused of "blocking" deliveries of heavy military equipment to Kurdish forces.

It says Washington is fearful of offending the Baghdad government, which insists it should handle all weapon deliveries.

The EU's Greek drama is still in full swing, with the Financial Times reporting on the developing war of words between the country's leaders and its international creditors.

The Greeks face a referendum on Sunday over whether to accept terms wanted by lending countries.

But Greek PM Alexis Tsipras - who is recommending the terms are rejected - says the creditors are trying to "blackmail" Greece by threatening to throw the country out of the eurozone, the FT continues.

Mr Tsipras called EU leaders "extremist conservative forces", it adds.

The FT poses the question of whether Mr Tsipras has a "grand plan to rescue Greece" or whether he is "an overwhelmed leader whose options are evaporating".

The Guardian reports that Germany is leading the hardline rejection of Greek compromise proposals.

It reports German finance minister Wolfgang Schauble saying: "Greece is in a difficult situation, but purely because of the behaviour of the Greek government.

"The Greek government is not doing its people any favours at all if it keeps making completely false statements.."

The paper's economics editor, Heather Stewart, says there has been a "fundamental breakdown in trust" between Greek and German negotiators at the various crisis talks.

"Berlin appears to have decided that no matter what message the Greek people think they're sending the world, it can't get down to serious talks until there has been regime change in Athens," she adds.

The Independent suggests German chancellor Angela Merkel is being pushed by members of her own party to countenance a "Grexit", despite her personal preference for keeping the eurozone intact.

"Public anger over Greece's failure to implement reforms... is mounting in Germany," the paper adds.

Columnist Jenni Russell in the Times says austerity has "delivered none of the rewards that lenders promised" to Greece.

Europe "must raise its eyes from its accounting ledger, acknowledge its own mistakes and Greece's reality and start offering imaginative compromises of its own," she concludes.

The publishing of the report by the Airports Commission recommending that a third runway is built at Heathrow leaves the PM with some major problems, the papers report.

Having delayed making a decision on the issue before, if David Cameron accepts the conclusion of the three-year study, he will not only have to go back on his own promise not to expand Heathrow, but he'll also earn the enmity of powerful opponents within his own party - mostly representing constituencies under the Heathrow flight path.

The Times reports that there is "turbulence" ahead for Mr Cameron, as he is caught between factions in favour of the Heathrow plan, led by Chancellor George Osborne, and its fierce opponents, led by Mayor of London Boris Johnson.

Gatwick Airport has said it is "still in the race" to be the location of a new runway, but the Times notes that Sir Howard Davies, who produced the report, has said it is "not in our race".

The paper's editorial backs Gatwick's claim saying that it was a "specious argument" to say that the Sussex airport was not used by long-haul carriers.

"This is like arguing that Chelsea cannot build a 60,000-seat stadium because the existing one seats only 42,000," it suggests.

The Independent shares the reservations about Heathrow.

It says the "densely populated" west London suburbs have suffered enough from noise pollution, while the economic advantages of a bigger airport might be more fairly centred somewhere else.

Its editorial thinks that the government will delay reaching a decision on the Davies report's recommendations "for as long as possible".

The paper's cartoon pictures a large jet called The Spirit Of Indecision with a logo of a blindfolded David Cameron on its fuselage, being threatened by a swooping Spitfire which looks remarkably like Boris Johnson.

The Daily Mirror's editorial says Mr Cameron is "running scared" of Mr Johnson.

It says the Davies report's claim that a third runway would create 70,000 new jobs and bring £147bn of economic benefits should be "filed under fantasy".

It wants the PM to make his mind up and stop "burying his head in the melting tarmac".

The Daily Mail finds one Londoner who favours the Heathrow option.

Its city editor Alex Brummer lives under the flight path, but writes that he accepts the inconvenience "for the greater good of the British economy".

The Financial Times' leader column has a similar vigorous support for an expanded Heathrow.

The Davies report makes a "credible and convincing case" for Heathrow and Mr Cameron should "lose no time" in approving it, the paper says.

It's a story which combines organised crime, a catchy nickname and an alleged curse - and is irresistible to the papers.

When convicted fraudster John Palmer was found dead in the garden of his Essex home last week he was said to have died of natural causes, but six days on, police have revealed that he was shot to death.

The Sun says the initial investigation was bungled and asks "how did they miss this?"

The paper quotes a retired detective who says, "It's one of the most terrible mistakes in policing I have ever heard of."

Retired Flying Squad commander John O'Connor adds: "When someone as notorious as John Palmer is discovered dead on your patch then surely it is common sense to be absolutely sure of the facts about how he died."

The Sun explains that because Palmer had recently undergone heart surgery and was at a high risk of death, a doctor may have issued a death certificate without a full examination of the body.

The 64-year-old former jeweller was known as Goldfinger due to his link to the proceeds of the 1983 Brinks-MATT robbery.

He was found to have melted down bullion from the raid, but was acquitted of knowing that the gold was stolen. He was later jailed over a timeshare con.

At the time of his death he was facing charges in Spain relating to another timeshare fraud and firearm and money laundering offences, the Daily Telegraph reports.

His death is the sixth fatality among people alleged to be connected to the Brinks-MATT case, sparking talk of a "curse" around the crime, the paper adds.

In times gone by, the headline would be something like "phew what a scorcher", but today's papers manage to report the heatwave more inventively.

Yesterday was the hottest July day since records began - or, if the Daily Express and Daily Telegraph are to be believed, the hottest for 160 years.

The long-memory specialists at the Telegraph stick to Fahrenheit to report that at 98F in places, Britain had welcomed July with temperatures exceeding those in Mumbai.

The Matt cartoon on the front of the paper reflects on the scorching temperatures on commuter transport.

It shows a red-faced man calling his wife from the train to tell her, "hello, luv, I'm at Gas Mark 8, for 35 minutes."

The Daily Express says Britain's bosses have reported a 25% surge in absenteeism as Britons enjoy the uncharacteristic heat.

It says employers should gird themselves for more of the same, as a brief cooler interlude at the end of this week will be followed by another "blowtorch plume" of hot air from the south next week.

The Daily Mirror says London ambulance crews reported being called out to a third more fainting incidents than usual.

Rail companies were also feeling the heat, the paper continues, with buckled rails causing delays on the Henley-on-Thames line and other bottlenecks caused by overhead power line problems.

The Mirror adds the weather is also blamed for a blaze on a lorry carrying explosives on the M1 in Derbyshire and a solar panel igniting on a property in Lincolnshire.

The Times has advice for workers feeling the heat: more may mean less.

"Covering up skin can actually make you feel cooler than exposing it to direct sunlight," fashion blogger Simon Crompton tells the paper.

He recommends a pair of linen trousers and a lightweight cotton shirt.

Veteran observers of hot weather stories will know that there is usually a shark involved somewhere, and so it proves this time.

The Daily Star - among others - reports that beaches in Herne Bay, Kent, cleared when bathers reported seeing a 6-8ins fin cutting through the North Sea.

The Star suggests the sighting might have been a Great White Shark.

"Ever since Steven Spielberg's 1975 thriller movie Jaws the lethal predator has sparked fear wherever it has been seen," it continues.

However it illustrates the story with a picture of a shark-like shadow that looks neither great nor white.

Kent's equivalent of police chief Brody may not be required.

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