Newspaper headlines: 'Crisis in Sudan' and Harry 'drags' William into hacking case

By BBC News
Staff
"Run for your lives" headlines Metro as it pictures the first RAF plane setting off to Sudan. The paper says the first planeload of Britons were evacuated from Sudan after they had to "dash unescorted" through the streets of Khartoum. It observes the move was a "rapid U-turn" on advice a day earlier advising stranded UK nationals not to go outdoors.
The i says it understands British troops are prepared to use force if it proves necessary to protect the UK nationals they will be evacuating. It reports 120 troops have been deployed in a bid to rescue 4,000 people.
Troops en route to Sudan are pictured on the Times front page. The paper says the prime minister said he could not guarantee that an airfield north of the Sudanese capital that is being used for the Cyprus-bound flights would remain open for much longer. The headline highlights that those hoping to get on one of the flights have been told to make their way to the airfield.
A picture of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex at at a basketball game features on the front of the Daily Telegraph as it reports on Prince Harry's court papers claiming that his brother, Prince William, was paid a "huge sum" by the owners of the Sun newspaper to settle his own historical phone-hacking claims. The Telegraph says it understands it was about £1m. The Sun's owners say Prince Harry's claim for damages should be scrapped because he had run out of time - and are applying to end his case.
The Guardian also leads with the Prince Harry case but opts for the headline that he claimed Queen Elizabeth II had herself threatened Rupert Murdoch's media firm with legal action - but was "undermined" by the then-Prince Charles.
US President Joe Biden's launch of his bid for re-election in 2024 is the lead story for the Financial Times. The paper notes the announcement ends months of speculation and "fires the starting gun" on a campaign that could see a rematch of the 2020 clash with Donald Trump.
"You need to accept you are poorer," headlines the Daily Mail as it carries quotes from the Bank of England's top economist Huw Pill. He told a podcast in the US that there was a "reluctance to accept that, yes, we're all worse off" and if they did not stop asking for more pay, prices will continue to rise. The Mail notes Mr Pill is paid £190,000 a year. It says a top City figure suggested he should "engage brain before opening mouth". The front page also features a bust of the King made from chocolate, with the Dahl-esque headline "Charles from the chocolate factory".
"Surely, a tax cut boost is now on the cards?" asks the Daily Express as it reports on Chancellor Jeremy Hunt being urged by Conservative MPs to cut tax as soon as possible to help people struggling with the cost of living. It carries a quote from ex-cabinet minister John Redwood who said: "Cut taxes now." The paper observes economists believe the chancellor has plenty of "wiggle room" to cut the highest tax burden on record.
"Food banks heartbreak" headlines the Daily Mirror. It says figures from the Trussell Trust charity reveal one million children needed emergency food parcels last year. It pictures Newcastle striker Callum Wilson who says he used foodbanks. "I was that child once," he explains.
And someone at the Daily Star is very put out by news that sci have named Jaffa Cakes as the best biscuit for dunking in tea - partly because the paper disputes whether the treat is even a biscuit to begin with. Not going over the top at all, the headline "Jaffa Cake horror" is accompanied by a sub-headline that labels the news "The sickest thing you'll read today". Perhaps revealing their own favourite, the headline writer reveals that Hob Nobs came a distant eighth in the "world's worst poll". The writer of the paper's "thought for the day" joins in the fun with the plaintive plea "Ginger Nut, anyone?"

There is a picture on the front of the Times of British Royal Marines, marching across a runway, as they head to Sudan to help UK nationals leave the country.

The headline is "make your own way to Sudan airlift, Britons told". It quotes an unnamed defence source denying that the UK abandoned its citizens when it decided to pull diplomats out first.

The i also leads on Sudan stating that UK troops will use force to defend the evacuation operation, if it is targeted by Sudanese militias. The Metro's front page has a photo of an RAF plane taking off from a base in Cyprus, on its way to the African country. The headline is "run for your lives". The Daily Express describes it as the "great escape". In a comment piece, the former British Army commander, Colonel Richard Kemp, warns that it is a "race against time" because the ceasefire could collapse at any moment.

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Around 40 UK nationals arrived on the first RAF flight from Sudan to Cyprus

Under the headline "end dithering", the Daily Mirror's opinion column accuses Britain of being "slow off the mark" in its response to the conflict in Sudan. It suggests the Foreign Office was "caught on the hop" and expresses hope that now the evacuation mission has begun it will be a case of, in the paper's words, "better late than never".

The Sun suggests that what it calls the "shambolic" response to the crisis may be because many Foreign Office staff are still working from home. Under the headline "shirk force" it asks: "how urgent and coordinated could any effort be to rescue thousands of Brits from an African war zone when key officials pad down the hall in slippers to 'work' from their spare room?"

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Joe Biden has announced his bid for re-election

The Financial Times focuses on President Joe Biden's announcement that he will run for another term in the White House. The paper's leader column describes the decision as "a high-risk gamble for the Democratic party, for America and for the wider world". This it argues is because of his age - 80 - which the FT believes makes him a "liability for the Democrats".

"Age is not disqualification to great office," says the Daily Telegraph, referring in its leader to both Gladstone and Churchill. It is more worried about Joe Biden's record in office, which it believes has "not been a success". It questions whether he would be up to the global challenge posed by, for example China invading Taiwan.

There is disgust in the Daily Mail about the prospect of Mr Biden battling it out with Donald Trump. Under the headline "American nightmare", the paper's leader column states that it is "dispiriting to think that the US may have to choose between "an octogenarian seemingly suffering from cognitive decline, and a puffed-up 76-year-old narcissist fighting to stay out of prison".

Finally, the Guardian is among several papers to mark the death of Harry Belafonte, whom it describes as a "rebel spirit, singer, actor and activist". In an interview, the British film maker Steve McQueen, who directed "Twelve Years A Slave", describes how he met Belafonte after the film was released, and the older man "became a mentor". McQueen tells the paper: "He meant everything to me".