The death toll from the earthquake which hit Myanmar and Thailand on Friday could be in the hundreds, with the Daily Express reporting the 7.7 magnitude quake caused tremors as far away as India and China. Thailand’s capital Bangkok has been declared an emergency zone.
DAILY STAR
The striking photo of a skyscraper’s collapse at a work site in Bangkok features on a few front pages this morning, including the Daily Star’s. Their report warns the death toll could be much, much higher- in the tens of thousands of victims.
THE TIMES
While The Times features the quake photo, its main story is about police being sent to arrest a couple – one of whom is a Times journalist – after they complained about their kids’ school. Police detained the pair in a cell for eight hours and questioned them for harassment for sending emails to the school leadership and being critical in a WhatsApp group. The article quotes freedom of speech advocates and the couple saying they never used threatening language.
I PAPER
The i Paper leads on its own poll suggesting that following the welfare cuts announced this week, Rachel Reeves is less popular than the PM. The polling indicates half of the public oppose the measures – a level nearly as high as the 55% critical of Liz Truss’s “mini budget” in 2022. Some 41% are said to believe the policies will leave their household worse off, but there is narrowly more support from voters for public spending cuts compared with future tax hikes.
DAILY MAIL
The government’s budget policies are also criticised in the Daily Mail. Their front page story links hikes in council tax, water and energy bills to the latest measures. The tabloid says it has done analysis that shows families could face an extra £1,000 in bills. The paper also features an opinion piece from Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, taking her quotes critical of Labour directly for their headline: “They’re making April Fools of us.”
DAILY TELEGRAPH
Canada’s PM is accused on the Daily Telegraph front page of having plagiarised part of his Oxford economics thesis – an allegation Mark Carney has denied. His campaign team – he has called a snap election for 28 April – has called the plagiarism allegation an “irresponsible mischaracterisation” and his Oxford supervisor told the Telegraph there was “no evidence of plagiarism”.
FINANCIAL TIMES
Italy’s prime minister says her country shouldn’t have to choose between the US and Europe in an interview with the Financial Times, Giorgia Meloni’s first with a foreign newspaper. The far-right leader says she’s closer politically to Donald Trump than perhaps other European leaders and wants to avoid a transatlantic rift. She says the US “confrontation” with Europe on defence is a “stimulus” for the continent to take responsibility for its own security.
THE SUN
Manchester City footballer Erling Haaland is accused of having caused suspected whiplash and concussion to a woman who donned a team mascot costume after he playfully knocked the back of her head. A club inquiry has cleared him of wrongdoing and police say there is no need for further action, but the Sun reports the woman is “furious”.
THE MIRROR
And The Mirror shares the last filmed message from TV star Paul O’Grady, in a video they say was taken just 20 minutes before he died. In his final clip, the 67-year-old actor thanked his fans.
Photos from the earthquake make many front pages. The Guardian shows an injured survivor being carried by a rescue worker in central Myanmar. It says the isolated military government has made a rare request for help from “any country” and “any organisation”.
The Mail’s headline is “thousands feared dead”. The Daily Star describes the scenes as “hell on earth”. The Daily Express pictures the moment a high-rise block collapsed in the Thai capital, Bangkok.
It contains a first person account from the detained father, Maxie Allen, who writes “what happened was so bizarre and dystopian it all sounds as if we’re making it up or we’ve gone mad”. The paper says that he and his partner Rosalind Levine – who had already been banned from entering Cowley Hill Primary in Hertfordshire as well as attending its parents’ evening and its Christmas show – were told they would face no further action, by officers, after a five-week-long investigation. The school tells the paper it’s always happy for parents to raise concerns if they’re done in a suitable way.
The Sun says the UK’s digital services tax of 2% on the revenues of search engines and online markeplaces might be used as a bargaining chip in negotiations with the Trump White House over the imposition of tariffs. It says there’s a “mad scramble” to secure a deal before tariffs pour “more misery on the flatlining economy”.
Polling for the i Paper has indicated misgivings at the government’s handling of the economy. Its survey has suggested half of the public opposed this week’s spring statement – only slightly lower than the figure for those who opposed Liz Truss’s mini-budget in 2022.
However, the polling suggests 42% back the benefit cuts and there’s strong support for defence spending. The i says the Chancellor has defended Britain’s economic performance – pointing to figures which show an increase in disposable income.
The government’s offer of half a billion pounds was rejected by Jinye. Instead a consultation has been launched that could see its two blast furnaces close in the summer – threatening almost 3,000 jobs.
DAILY EXPRESS
DAILY STAR
THE TIMES
I PAPER
DAILY MAIL
DAILY TELEGRAPH
FINANCIAL TIMES
THE SUN
THE MIRROR
