UK prepares for swine flu threat
Reported April 29, 2009
UK preparations for the possibility of a swine flu pandemic are covered in Wednesday’s papers.
The Daily Express reports growing fears that “Britain is ill-prepared”, with the government reportedly struggling to order sufficient protective face-masks.
“32 million flu masks please,” says the Sun’s front page headline. The paper says other countries have snapped the masks up ahead of Britain.
Several papers quote a prediction that four in 10 Britons could get the bug.
‘Last throw’
“Four years, 52 dead, £100m – no convictions,” is the Guardian headline after three men were cleared of helping to plan the 7/7 London suicide attacks.
No-one will now be brought to justice, security officials reportedly believe.
The trial was “the last throw of the dice”, writes Scotland Yard’s former head of counter-terrorism, Andy Hayman, in the Times.
Possible witnesses within Leeds’ Muslim community are thought to have been “actively dissuaded” from speaking out.
Autism breakthrough?
“Have we found the key to autism?” is the question screaming out from the front page of the Daily Mail.
The paper hails a “monumental” breakthrough, comparable to the unravelling of cancer’s genetic causes.
The lives of hundreds of thousands of Britons could be improved, the National Autistic Society tells the paper.
The Daily Telegraph suggests a growing Labour rebellion is putting “intense pressure” on the government to allow all former Gurkhas to retire in the UK.
Money worries
Some of England’s top universities warn their world-class status is at risk from funding shortfalls on teaching, reports the Financial Times.
Oxford and Cambridge are among the universities saying they are running deficits of up to £7,000 per student.
“This mourning,” headlines the Daily Mirror report of a cull of presenters planned at ITV1’s This Morning show.
“Even star presenter Phillip Schofield may be forced to take a pay cut,” the paper is led to believe.