‘Abramovich clings on to $2.5bn’ and ‘Ban doctors strike’
There are mixed stories on the front pages of Thursday’s newspapers. The prime minister, who is leading the Metro, said he would sue England’s former Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich if he does not give the £2.5 billion he received from the sale of the club to war victims in Ukraine. The Russian billionaire has pledged to donate the money to war victims in 2022, but there has been a delay in its release due to disagreement over exactly how the money, currently frozen in a British bank account, should be used.
Times’ comment: “Abramovich has $2.5 billion in hand.” The newspaper says the Russian billionaire believes he has a “watertight legal case” to ensure that funds from the sale of Chelsea Football Club are donated on his terms. According to the Times report, the police also promised to suppress pro-Palestinian supporters’ slogans of intifada, which means uprising in Arabic, and said they would “act decisively” on the use of this slogan.
Britain’s deal to rejoin Erasmus, the EU student exchange programme, could cost more than £8bn, according to the Daily Telegraph. The newspaper says continued membership will be much more expensive than the price previously announced by the government, as Brussels plans to increase funding for the program from 2028. Elsewhere, a Matt cartoon looks at the doctors’ strike in the week before Christmas and shows a nurse telling a patient: “Just four more sleeps until I get a visit from the junior doctor.”
The Daily Mail also remains committed to the Erasmus agreement and reports that the Prime Minister’s critics accuse him of “throwing billions of dollars away” on the project. Sir Keir’s ministers defended the decision, saying it would bring “invaluable benefits” to students hoping to study abroad.
The Financial Times is leading the ongoing bidding war between Paramount and Netflix to acquire Warner Bros Discovery. The newspaper reports that Warner Bro Discovery’s board of directors is urging shareholders to reject Paramount’s $108 billion offer, calling it “less than” terms agreed with Netflix. In the top photo, panda diplomacy is “bearing the brunt” of the political dispute between China and Japan. For the first time in more than half a century, a panda at the Toyko zoo scheduled to be returned to China in January will not be replaced by a furry new resident, the paper says.
The UK military has begun “advanced preparations” to send a peacekeeping force to Ukraine, iPaper reports. The newspaper notes that officials are hopeful that a peace agreement is “closer than ever” and that the Ministry of Defense has initiated the “notification of action” process to send troops if requested.
The Daily Express shifts its focus to the doctors’ strike. The paper includes Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch calling on the Prime Minister to “show some backbone” and ban doctors from striking. The newspaper also said he accused the government of “failing patients” at a time when the NHS was struggling to cope with strikes.
The Guardian also marked the doctors’ strike with photographs of junior doctors on duty outside St Thomas’ hospital in London on its front page. Also prominent is the news in the newspaper that Belgian politicians and senior financial managers were subjected to an “intimidation campaign” allegedly organized by Russian intelligence.
The Daily Mirror highlights the news that scientists who helped find the first drug to combat Covid have now joined the search for a cure for the superbug that is affecting the NHS. The newspaper quotes one of the leaders of the Recovery study as saying: “We have more treatments for Covid than for flu.”
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola’s restaurant will close, the Sun has said. The team behind the venue attribute the closure to “extraordinarily difficult” trading conditions and rising costs, according to the newspaper.
Finally, the Daily Star publishes plans for German darts fans to take over the World Championship next year, with the event moving to a larger arena at Alexandra Palace. The title is “Herr we throw”.
The Daily Telegraph says England could face a bill of almost £9bn To re-participate in Erasmus, the EU’s student exchange programme. The government has agreed a one-year deal but the newspaper says continued membership will be much more expensive as the EU plans to increase the cost significantly. A government spokesman said the £570m deal for 2027 was a “good deal” for taxpayers.
It’s in the Daily Mail A different figure of £6 billionA front-page headline claimed this was the price of what he called Sir Keir Starmer’s “new bid to swallow Brussels”. Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel is quoted as accusing Labor of “throwing away millions”. In response, EU affairs minister Nick Thomas-Symonds said rejoining the Erasmus program was a “big win for young people”.
The Guardian says European intelligence agencies told it: The Kremlin is organizing an intimidation campaign Against Belgian politicians and financial managers. He states that the aim of the campaign is to prevent the country from freezing billions of pounds of Russian assets and use them to help Ukraine.
According to iPaper, the British military Preparing to send peacekeepers to Ukraine Hopes are rising that a deal to end the war with Russia is near. The kit has been purchased and plans for the movement of troops have been finalized, the newspaper says.
An appeal to Sir Keir from Kemi Badenoch “show some spine” and banning doctors from striking are highlighted by the Daily Express. Writing in the newspaper, Badenoch said that his party would pass legislation that would prevent doctors from striking. Health Secretary Wes Streeting is quoted as saying he was doing “absolutely his best” to avoid industrial action.
And the Times reports that the government put Export ban on 220-year-old Union flagIt flew at the Battle of Trafalgar to prevent its acquisition by an overseas buyer. The paper says it hopes the three-month ban will give a gallery or museum time to raise the £450,000 needed so it can be preserved for the nation.
