'Storm of the century' and 'Farewell, Sybil Fawlty'

BBC "Storm of the century: 185mph hurricane bigger than Katrina" reads the headline on the front page of The i Paper.

BBC

Many of Wednesday’s papers highlight Hurricane Melissa, which made landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday. I’m describing it as the “Storm of the Century” and reporting that the 185mph hurricane, the strongest hurricane on record for the Caribbean nation, will bring “catastrophic and life-threatening” flooding.

"pure anger" reads the headline on the Metro's front page.

For Metro, Melissa is “pure rage” with “carnage” before it reaches land and “terror” when it hits. There are “fears” for thousands of Jamaicans who are denied asylum, the newspaper reported.

"hell at 185mph" reads the headline on the front page of the Daily Mirror.

The Daily Mirror says Jamaica is “battered” by Melissa, who describes it as “hell at 185 miles per hour”. The newspaper also praises actress Prunella Scales as “a comic genius with a joie de vivre” following her death.

"Councils told to end four-day weeks" reads the headline on the front page of the Daily Telegraph.

The Daily Telegraph is also saying “goodbye” to Scales, best known for her role as Sybil Fawlty in the iconic 70s sitcom Fawlty Towers. A photo of the actress in a butter yellow shirt appears on the front page. Elsewhere, the newspaper reported that Labor had told councils to end so-called “four-day weeks”, with a government source describing them as “a waste of taxpayers’ money and damage to services”.

"Reeves vows to challenge pessimism after £20bn budget blow" reads the headline on the front page of The Guardian.

The Guardian pays tribute to “a truly great comic actress” with a photo of Scales as Sybil. The paper also includes comments from Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who wrote that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) was determined to “defy forecasts” after its productivity rating fell.

"OAPs must be given a 'fair deal' in the budget" reads the headline on the front page of the Daily Express.

Meanwhile, the Daily Express reports that television presenter Sue Cook has called on Reeves to give pensioners a “fair deal” in the upcoming budget. And in a newspaper exclusive, former Prime Minister Liz Truss issued a warning to the Conservative Party.

"Builders warn Labor will miss 1.5 million homes target" reads the headline on the front page of The Times.

Housebuilders are leading a warning to the Budget watchdog that the government will fail to meet its target of building 1.5 million new homes by the end of the decade, the Times reports. According to the newspaper, in a private letter written by British developers to the OBR, it is stated that forecasts for economic growth resulting from housing construction are too optimistic.

"Afghan arrested over dog walker's murder arrives in UK in truck" reads the headline on the front page of the Daily Mail.

The front page of the Daily Mail is dominated by the story of a triple stabbing in Uxbridge on Tuesday. The dog walker, identified locally as Wayne Broadhurst, died at the scene, while the police arrested an Afghan national. Police officers described the incident as a “shocking and senseless act of violence,” the newspaper said.

"Microsoft passes $4 trillion valuation after OpenAI restructuring" reads the headline on the front page of the Financial Times.

According to the Financial Times, Microsoft surpassed the $4 trillion valuation following the restructuring of OpenAI. A photo of recently elected Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi with US President Donald Trump also splashed across the front page; Trump hailed his “valuable alliances” during his visit to Tokyo this week.

"Save our bets" reads the headline on the front page of The Sun.

And the Sun is urging us to “hedge our bets”, reporting that Rachel Reeves’ Budget will increase betting taxes by 138%. Newspaper urges chancellor to ‘shelve’ [the] pressure on entertainment”.