'Prince of Sadness' and 'Air we go again'
- Published
The final public farewell for Ozzy Osbourne and air traffic chaos across the UK dominate Thursday's papers. The Daily Star leads with a photograph of a heartbroken Sharon Osbourne supported by her children as they say goodbye to their "Prince of Sadness" in his home city of Birmingham.
Thousands of fans lined the streets with chants of "Ozzy, Ozzy, Ozzy" as the hearse carrying the Black Sabbath singer made its way through Birmingham, reports the Metro. Alongside is a photograph of the rock icon's name spelled out with purple flowers on his coffin.
"Sign of love" follows the Daily Mirror, as it spotlights Sharon Osbourne raising a peace sign in tribute to her late husband. The paper also quotes a fan at the farewell procession who remembered Ozzy as "the biggest legend we'll ever have".
"Air we go again" declares the Sun. The paper leads with the air traffic control tech failure that caused travel chaos for tens of thousands of holidaymakers in airports across the UK. The latest "meltdown" comes four months after the Heathrow fire in March.
The Daily Telegraph reports on the "huge knock-on effects in peak holiday season" as a result of the air system failure. The paper says the repercussions from hundreds of delays and cancellations "are expected to last for days".
The co-founder of Palestine Action can bring a legal challenge to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper's decision to ban the group under anti-terrorism laws, says the Guardian. The paper features a judge saying the proscription order against the group risked "considerable harm to the public interest". Elsewhere, Health Secretary Wes Streeting's comments saying the doctors' union "will lose pay war" with the government is also prominent.
The Times features a letter from some of the UK's top lawyers warning Sir Keir Starmer that his pledge to recognise a Palestinian state "risks breaking international law". Elsewhere, the paper spotlights a commanding photograph of actor Catherine Zeta-Jones at the London premiere of the second series of the Netflix hit Wednesday.
The i Paper reports that Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is lobbying global leaders to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to allow hundreds of aid trucks into Gaza. It says Sir Keir's message for allies stresses that it is "vital large volumes of aid reaches Gaza in the coming hours and days".
"Shame on you, Starmer" blares the Daily Mail as the paper reports on the "ferocious backlash" against the PM's plan to recognise a Palestinian state. The paper says victims of the 7 October attack told Sir Keir there could be no recognition "until every hostage is free".
Missing pages from a memoir by Moors murderer Ian Brady could shed light on where his final missing victim is buried, reports the Daily Express. The paper says the final 200 pages of Brady's manuscript are believed to be deposited with his solicitor. Brady and his accomplice Myra Hindley buried four of their five young victims on Saddleworth Moor in the 1960s.
Finally, the Financial Times leads with the US Federal Reserve holding rates steady despite pressure from President Donald Trump. In other Trump news, the paper also features his 25% tariff threat for India which could dent Apple's plan to source 60m iPhones sold each year in the US from India.
The Daily Telegraph says that the disruption caused by the air traffic control failure, external could last for days.
It says affected travellers are unlikely to qualify for compensation because the incident was out of the control of the airlines.
"Air we go again", external is the headline in the Sun, which links the failure with a similar incident in 2023, and a fire electricity substation in March that resulted in the closure of Heathrow.
The i Paper reports that Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is intensifying efforts, external to push Israel to open up its border with Jordan to allow convoys of aid lorries into Gaza.
It also says the British government is assisting Jordanian airdops into the territory.
The Times leads on a letter to Attorney General Lord Hermer, external from a group of peers, warning that the prime minister's plans to recognise a Palestinian state could break international law.
The paper says the signatories include some of the UK's most prominent lawyers - who say the territory may not meet the criteria for statehood - including a permanent population and effective government.
The Guardian says five million extra online age checks, external have been carried out every day since restrictions were placed on the viewing of adult content on the internet.
The Age Verification Providers Association has reported the surge in checks in the UK since Friday, when proof of identity became mandatory.
The UK's biggest fintech firm, Revolut, is considering buying a US bank, external in order to get a licence to operate in the country, according to the Financial Times.
The firm - which has 60 million customers worldwide, and was recently valued at almost £50bn - believes the move would allow it to expand more quickly than applying for its own banking licence.
Photographs from Ozzy Osbourne's coffin procession through Birmingham make the front pages of the Metro, external, the Daily Mail, external and the Daily Star, external - which reports that tens of thousands of people have signed a petition for Birmingham Airport to be named after the singer.
The Daily Mirror, external shows the singer's wife, Sharon Osbourne, crying and holding her hand in a peace sign in front of the crowds.
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