England’s victory over Australia to reach the final of the women’s World Cup dominates the front (and back) of Thursday’s papers.
The Daily Express says the Lionesses “look ready to end England’s 57 years of hurt” – a reference to the fact this is the first time either the men’s or the women’s side has got to a World Cup final since 1966. The thought prompts the paper to ask “dare we dream?” about Sunday’s final. The Daily Telegraph is more confident, with the headline “football’s coming home”, saying only a fool would bet against England.
Some papers also report that the tournament is expected to give the UK economy a £185m boost as fans head out to celebrate. The Times says some pubs are struggling because, while the final against Spain kicks off at 11am UK time, their licences do not permit the sale of alcohol before noon on a Sunday. Hospitality groups say there is nothing to stop these venues opening for breakfast and serving soft drinks.
England triumphed over Australia on Wednesday to progress to the final of the women’s World Cup
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan is urging absent pupils to return to school, saying in the Daily Telegraph that it is her top priority for the next academic year.
Figures show more children than ever are missing from the classroom after the Covid pandemic. Ms Keegan says she would not describe what is happening with attendance as truancy, more that some young people have lost their confidence – but stresses support is available.
Defending his economic plans, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has told the Times he is “really optimistic” that people across Britain will feel better off next year. He says he “passionately” believes he can bring down inflation and revive economic growth. Figures published on Wednesday show inflation went down from 7.9% to 6.8% in July.
“PM stands by pension triple lock despite surging costs,” is the headline in the Guardian. The paper says there are signs the scheme could cost the Treasury an extra £10bn next year – £2.5bn more than was estimated in the spring budget. Mr Sunak says the government is committed to the policy.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is to visit the UK for the first time since the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, according to the Times
The Times reports that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is expected to visit Britain this autumn. The paper says the move to, as it says, “welcome the prince back into the international fold” could be contentious. It would be the Crown Prince’s first trip to the UK since the murder of the journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. A Downing Street source says no date is in the diary.
The Daily Mail features a story about pen pals who have met for the first time – 68 years after they started writing letters to each other.
For her 80th birthday, Patsy Gregory from Lancashire was given tickets by her children to make the 4,000 mile journey to visit Carol-Anne Krause at her home in the US state of South Carolina. They described meeting each other as emotional but natural – as they had discussed their daily lives with each other for almost seven decades.
