A terrifying image of a large house in flames in Los Angeles is the lead image on the Guardian front page. The fast-growing wildfire has engulfed several Los Angeles neighborhoods, killing at least two people and destroying more than 1,000 buildings, the newspaper says. The newspaper says about 70,000 people were ordered to evacuate. Another story in The Guardian reports that Meta’s decision to remove fact checkers has set the tech giant on a collision course with legislators in the UK and EU, according to experts.
The Daily Telegraph headlines, “Treasury steps in to prevent market turmoil” as it reports the government is facing “growing concern over the impacts of Rachel Reeves’ budget and rising borrowing costs”. It has been forced to intervene to stabilize financial markets. A striking image on the front page shows a baby being born aboard a migrant dinghy while crossing between the West African coast and Lanzarote. It is reported that both the boy and the mother are healthy. According to newspaper reports, Piers Morgan has also left Rupert Murdoch’s media empire.
I say the Chancellor faces additional tax rises or cuts to public services because Britain’s “borrowing costs have become toxic”. The newspaper writes that economists are sending a warning to the Treasury over the “toxic combination” of factors affecting the UK. But the Treasury says it has a “tight grip” on the finances. Additionally, Reeves is pictured in front of a Chinese flag as I write that the Chancellor will put “the economy before human rights” on a visit to Beijing this week.
The Daily Mail has also led to the Chancellor drawing up contingency plans for emergency spending cuts or tax rises as government borrowing costs rise. Economists say the rate hike could leave the Treasury facing a £10bn a year increase in debt interest payments, the paper said. Treasury sources admitted Ms Reeves could be forced to take action by March if skeptical financial markets continue to drive up borrowing costs, the newspaper reports. At the top of the page, flames engulf an L.A. neighborhood. The newspaper compares it to an “apocalypse” as “stars run for their lives from burning houses”.
The Financial Times has warned European leaders against Donald Trump not to interfere with the continent’s borders, a day after the US president refused to take Greenland by force. The broadsheet quoted German Chancellor Olaf Scholz as saying borders should never be moved by force and France’s foreign minister saying the EU would not let any other country attack its borders. The newspaper’s second story said that Lloyds Banking Group Halifax will allow Lloyds and Bank of Scotland customers to use any branch across all brands, raising union concerns that it could lead to the closure of hundreds of locations and Preparing to eliminate jobs.
The Times has an interview with Trump’s counter-terrorism director, who says Britain should repatriate British members of the Islamic State held in Syrian prison camps. Sebastian Gorka told the newspaper that Britain must honor its “commitments”. The Times believes his intervention will alarm Downing Street and is the latest sign that Trump’s administration will “take a more forceful approach toward America’s allies”.
“Grounded by gangs… 14-year-old murdered on bus” is the Metro headline as the mother of a boy stabbed to death in south-east London speaks to the newspaper. Marie Bokassa told the newspaper that her son Kylian had been taken advantage of by gangs. A 14-year-old boy traveling on a bus in Woolwich died on Tuesday.
The Daily Express quotes the head of a review criticizing Labour’s three-year delay in reforming social care. Sir Andrew Dilnot said the wait was “unreasonably” long and would fail millions of people. Proposals on long-term funding of social care are unlikely to be delivered before 2028. Pictured is the Princess of Wales – who turns 43 today – and is celebrating a “quiet birthday” this year after a “brutal” year.
The Daily Mirror chose a similar headline to cover Kellyanne’s death. It reads that there is a suspicion that he was “deliberately targeted in a tit-for-tat war.” Apart from this, Colleen Rooney is also in front who says that her relationship with her husband Wayne is stronger than ever.
“Cheryl stalked by killer”, The Sun reports, as it writes that a convicted murderer has stalked the singer. The newspaper says Daniel Bannister, 49, who was jailed for murdering a man in a separate crime in 2012, has admitted breaching the restraining order by trying to contact the star. Sir Keir Starmer is also featured, as the Sun writes that Labor has been accused of being “in chaos” over the rape gang public inquiry controversy. It came as Labor MPs voted down an attempt by the Tories to officially demand a national inquiry.
The Daily Star makes fun of a man armed with a knife and fork ready to dig up a Christmas tree. Belgians have been warned not to turn their Christmas trees into food, the newspaper reported. A spokesman for the country’s federal agency for food chain safety said: “There is no way to be sure that eating a Christmas tree is safe – neither for people nor for animals.”
