‘Royal trips to woo Trump’ and ‘Gap year soldiers’
There are mixed stories on the front pages of Saturday’s newspapers. The Times, King III. Charles and the Prince of Wales are expected to visit the US in the new year as part of a royal “charm blitz” aimed at “wooing” President Donald Trump, reports have reported. The newspaper reported that this trip was accompanied by Queen Elizabeth II. It would be the first trip by a ruling monarch in nearly 20 years since Elizabeth accepted George W. Bush’s invitation in 2007.
Under the new paid Army gap year scheme, school leavers will be offered military training to prepare them for combat in war zones, according to i Paper. The volunteer program is modeled on Australia’s military system and aims to increase recruitment while equipping young people with basic life skills, the newspaper reported.
Shifting its focus to the NHS, the Daily Telegraph says Britain is “twice as dependent on foreign doctors” and is failing to recruit more domestic medics compared to other Western countries. Latest data from the General Medical Council reveals that around 42% of the country’s medical workforce is made up of foreign-trained doctors, compared to 15% in Germany and 11% in France. The top photo shows riders, horses and hounds taking part in the traditional Boxing Day hunt in Chiddingstone, Kent.
Staying in the health service, the Guardian reports that foreign doctors and nurses are “increasingly avoiding” the NHS as anti-immigrant rhetoric and increasing racism create a “hostile environment”. The newspaper quotes Jeanette Dickson, president of the Academy of Royal Colleges of Medicine, as saying that health professionals view the UK as an “unwelcoming, racist” country because of the government’s hard-line approach to immigration.
According to the Daily Star, scientists are working on a vaccine that will be available “within ten years” to prevent people from getting cancer, as part of a “groundbreaking breakthrough in the Oxford vaccine”. Clinical trials for a vaccine to prevent lung cancer are expected to begin next year, along with efforts to develop more vaccines to stop breast, ovarian and bowel cancers, the article states.
Sir Keir Starmer is moving into politics, reporting that Sir Keir Starmer has been urged to tackle the cost-of-living crisis as a top priority “in a fight Labor must win”, the Daily Mirror reports. The warning came from Trades Union Congress chief Paul Nowak, who said the Prime Minister must raise living standards or risk losing to Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, which would be “a disaster for working-class people”, the paper said.
According to the Daily Express, figures show more than 8,000 criminals were released between January and June this year under Labour’s early release scheme. Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick accused the government of allowing criminals to “roam our streets” over the Christmas period.
The Daily Mail leads the way with a “ghost number plate scandal” which revealed that one in 15 cars are fitted with number plates that are not visible to road cameras. The paper says a “loophole” in vehicle registration regulation allows people to use number plates designed to avoid detection and could pose a “serious national security risk”.
The Financial Times says investment banking fees have risen to their second highest ever, thanks to global mega deals worth more than $4 trillion this year. Elsewhere, the newspaper notes that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will “head to Florida” to meet with Donald Trump this weekend to discuss a U.S. peace proposal to be presented to Russia to end the war in Ukraine.
Finally, the Sun shares the “£40 million legacy” that the late boxing champion Ricky Hatton left to his children. The fortune from Hatton’s real estate empire will be divided among his three children, the newspaper says.
