Newspaper headlines: Climate protests 'cause chaos' By BBC News

Staff Published duration 18 April 2019

image copyright Reuters

"No wonder police are accused of waving the white flag," declares the Daily Mail on its front page in a report on the climate change protests in London.

Next to the headline, it pictures three officers walking past some protesters who are playing drums as they block Waterloo bridge.

Conservative MP Andrew Rosindell tells the Mail the police have "surrendered the streets to these people".

But rank-and-file officers express their frustration in the Daily Telegraph . The Police Federation tells the paper that the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is aggravating the situation by offering protesters his tacit support.

In the Times , the federation suggests officers are twiddling their thumbs while awaiting instructions from the government and senior officers.

Meanwhile, an activist tells the Guardian they suspect the police don't have the staff to "come down hard" on them.

image copyright DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images image caption Oxford Street has been empty of traffic since activists parked a pink boat in Oxford Circus on Monday

Home Secretary Sajid Javid, is planning what the Daily Express calls an "Easter knife crime blitz".

The Express says he has given police £51m to "flood the streets" with extra officers over the Easter weekend.

The extra money is welcomed by police, but the head of the Ben Kinsella Trust, a charity fighting knife crime, cautions that the government should also consider how to support young people and divert them from crime.

image copyright PA image caption The home secretary pledged the extra money ahead of the Easter weekend

The coach crash in Madeira leads news websites in Portugal and Germany. The Jornal de Notícias shows CCTV footage of the moment the bus, which was carrying German tourists, overturns.

The German news site, Das Bild , describes the bus's roof being torn open. A local MP says it was an accident black spot.

Several newspapers report what the i calls a "huge blacklash" against the wealthy donors who pledged millions to rebuild Notre-Dame.

The Express calls it a "tax spat". Critics suggested donors could benefit from tax deductions of up to 66% of the sums given, the Times explains.

image copyright EPA image caption Workers consolidate the north face of Notre-Dame threatening to collapse in the aftermath of the fire

The Telegraph says the billionaire chief executive of Kering luxury goods has agreed to forfeit his rebate.

The Times points out in its editorial that the brief French solidarity over Notre-Dame has not ended the country's divisions.

The paper's Peter Brookes cartoon summarises the issue as it depicts a Napoleonic-looking President Macron carrying a Louis Vuitton bag, sporting an Yves Saint Laurent hat and an Apple phone, saying: "I get by with a little help from my friends."

The Sun reports schools will marked down by Ofsted and league tables if they don't enter the pupils for foreign language GCSEs.

At the moment, under half of students are taking the language exams in England and Wales. By 2025 the government wants this to rise to 99%.

Many of the newspapers report on what the Daily Star nicknames on its front page "The Yorkshire nipper". The paper claims there are "two fearsome duck-eating piranhas" in a lake near Doncaster.

The Daily Mirror explains that both fish were dead when found, and are assumed to be unwanted pets.