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The sharp rise in the number of flu patients is the focus of many of the front pages. The Guardian says the NHS is “bracing” itself for its “worst winter crisis” with cases expected to surge in the next fortnight. The Sun calls it a “super flu-nami”. The i Paper reports that health leaders are urging those who are vulnerable to get vaccinated. The Daily Express says resident doctors are coming under “mounting pressure” to call off a planned five-day strike, due to start in England next week, to avoid putting further pressure on the health service.
The Daily Telegraph reports that the armed forces minister, Al Carns, has said Britain must stop relying on the United States when it comes to defence. He says the country has depended on US security guarantees for the last sixty years, but he’s now warning that President Trump’s White House may pivot away from Europe.
According to the Financial Times, HSBC has closed a “prestigious” fast-track management scheme that dates back to the bank’s founding 160 years ago. The International Manager programme was set up to develop the next generation of HSBC executives, but sources have told the paper it’s been closed to new recruits to help cut costs.
The outrage of football fans at ticket prices for next year’s men’s World Cup is the focus of the front page of the Daily Mirror. Its headline is “World Cup of greed”, after it emerged that the cheapest tickets for the final in the USA cost more than £3000.
And a couple of the papers pick up on a study which says pop music has become gloomier over the past fifty years. Researchers from the University of Vienna have analysed more than 20,000 songs which appeared in the American charts between 1973 and 2023. The Times highlights that recent songs were found to contain more words linked to stress, and that lyrics were simpler. The Telegraph sums up the headline “pop takes a dark turn”.
