'Brits shot in West Bank' and 'coronation invites'
BBC NewsStaff
A mix of stories make up the front of Saturday's newspapers. The Daily Telegraph leads with the shooting of two British-Israeli sisters in the West Bank. The pair were driving through the Jordan Valley hours after Israeli war planes carried out air strikes in Gaza and Lebanon. The paper reports they were killed by a Palestinian militant. Its front page also reports retired public sector workers will receive a "gold-plated" pension increase, outstripping the average pay rise this year.
For not the first time this week, the King is making the front pages. Following on from coverage of his support for research into the links between slavery and the monarchy, the focus is turning to the coronation. Under the headline 'Crowning Glory for Our Real Heroes', the Daily Mirror says King Charles will break with "centuries of royal tradition to invite 850 local heroes to his People's Coronation". It reports 13-year-old Max Woosey, who camped in his garden for three years to raise money for a local hospice, will be among them.
The Daily Express goes with the same lead, reporting the King is "shunning tradition by inviting hundreds of charity workers to witness the historic moment he is crowned".
A different type of royal story makes the front of the Daily Mail. Its headline is based on claims made in a new book by royal correspondent Robert Jobson, with allegations about strains in the relationship between the the Prince and Princess of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Under the headline "Housing targets scrapped', the front of The Times reports the country is "facing a house-building crisis", claiming fifty local authorities scrapped planning targets and reporting that the number of housing projects granted in England last year was at the lowest level since 2006. However, the government says the number of homes completed last year was the third highest in 30 years.
With this weekend marking 25 years since the signing of the historic Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland, former prime minister Tony Blair - who was one of the architects of the agreement - features on the front of the i newspaper with a warning not to take peace in the region for granted. He is speaking ahead of a visit to Northern Ireland by US President Joe Biden next week.
The Financial Times leads with a story about a business registered "to a small house in a north London suburb" which it says has been responsible for the sale of about $1.2bn (£970 million) worth of electronics into Russia since its invasion of Ukraine at the start of last year. The paper also reports that "fried shark fillets" could be returning to menus of fish and chip shops after the lifting of a ban. Sold as 'rock salmon', it comes as the "fish and chip industry suffers from rising input costs and a 35 per cent levy on imports of Russian seafood".
Under the headline "Sun's Out Bun's Out", the Daily Star reports warmer Easter temperatures are on the way for the UK, with it being a "sunny bank holiday weekend for most of us".
The front page of the Guardian leads with a potential breakthrough in cancer treatment. It reports "ground breaking personalised vaccines for diseases such as skin cancer could be ready in as little as five years", quoting a top pharmaceutical company as saying it could save "millions of lives". It also carries a report about the Royal Family making money from the sale of horses received as gifts.
