Several papers report on the stabbing of a soldier in Gillingham in Kent. The Daily Express reports that the serviceman – believed to be a lieutenant-colonel – was stabbed up to 12 times in front of his wife. The paper pictures the “dramatic moment” a 24-year-old man was arrested minutes after the attack.
The attack was a “stabbing frenzy” that happened in a quiet street, according to the Daily Mirror. The paper quotes one local man as saying he heard a “piercing scream” as it unfolded. The victim, in his 40s, is in a serious but stable condition in hospital, the Mirror adds.
Former minister Tom Tugendhat announces he is running to be the next Conservative leader in the Daily Telegraph. The newspaper focuses on Mr Tugendhat’s pledge that he is willing to leave the European Convention on Human Rights, if the institution stops the UK being able to control its borders. The Telegraph says taking this position on the ECHR is an attempt to challenge Kemi Badenoch, one of the frontrunners in the race.
Elsewhere in politics, the i newspaper reports that former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is hoping to build a group of rebel independent MPs to pressurise Sir Keir Starmer on issues like the two-child benefit cap. It comes after several allies of Mr Corbyn were suspended from Labour for rebelling against the government and voting against the cap.
The Daily Mail says the future of 1p and 2p coins has been “thrown into doubt”, as the Treasury says it has no plans for more copper coins to be minted in the coming years. Some people are critical of the move, the Mail says – with one former minister saying that phasing out copper coins would hit poorer pensioners the hardest.
The Times also reports on the future of copper coins. But its top story looks ahead to an announcement from Energy Secretary Ed Miliband on Thursday to build thousands of offshore wind turbines on the seabed around the UK. The government will lease land owned by the Crown Estate, a business owned by the King, for the wind farms – meaning a “significant rise in revenue” for the royals, the paper adds.
But the Guardian has a more negative outlook on the UK’s energy record. It says it has seen exclusive data that shows there is a surge in new oil and gas licences being granted this year around the world – with the richest countries like the US and UK leading the way. The paper says rich countries are best placed to lead the move to clean energy – but instead they’re “spearheading the drilling frenzy”.
The Metro reports the latest on the car crash in West Yorkshire that killed six people, including four members of the same family. A man has been arrested and police are seeking footage of a “mystery” grey Porsche 911 that was seen being driven near the scene of the collision, the paper says.
The Daily Star reports that a shark has been spotted in the Thames in London, near Hammersmith Bridge. “Would somebody mind letting Chief Brody know,” the paper says, referring to the police chief in the thriller Jaws. The journalist who wrote the story has also been given the title “chondrichthyes correspondent” – the class of fish that includes sharks.
The Financial Times reports that a recent slump in the US technology sector is deepening, after tech stocks sank sharply on Wednesday. The paper says overnight results from Tesla and Google’s parent company Alphabet were “lacklustre”. Investors are fleeing stocks that have been boosted by the promise of AI and are instead going to smaller companies, the FT adds.
[ad_1] Watch: D-Day veterans set sail for FranceD-Day veterans have departed the UK for France to join commemorations marking the 80th anniversary of the Normandy
