Newspaper headlines: Hong Kong 'turmoil' and Lionesses 'ready to roar' By BBC News

Staff Published duration 2 July 2019

image copyright Reuters

Striking images of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong appear on many front pages.

The Financial Times shows protesters inside Parliament defacing the Hong Kong crest with spray paint. It believes the crisis poses one of the biggest challenges to Beijing's authority since China took control of the territory 22 years ago.

"Anarchy in Hong Kong" is the how the Daily Mail sums up events after hundreds of protesters stormed the parliament building.

The Daily Telegraph says it is a time for cool heads and the UK has a role in seeking to convince Beijing to avoid any heavy-handed response.

The Guardian warns that if the crisis deepens, the greatest fear is that China's leaders may resort to brute force as in Tiananmen Square 30 years ago.

The South China Morning Post - which is based in Hong Kong - says the territory has entered uncharted waters and that its future hinges on the restoration of law and order.

Coverage in the China Daily merely highlights a promise by Hong Kong's leader, Carrie Lam, to make "greater efforts to develop its economy and improve people's livelihoods".

image copyright Getty Images image caption The Daily Telegraph reports that Boris Johnson is considering merging the department run by Amber Rudd - who has backed Mr Johnson's Tory leadership rival Jeremy Hunt - with the Treasury.

The Tory leadership race remains in the headlines with Daily Telegraph claiming Boris Johnson is considering plans to cut the size of the Cabinet by half - and scrap several ministerial departments - after key backers urged him to slim down the government if he became prime minister.

The paper notes that many of the departments in line to be abolished or merged - such as Work and Pensions under Amber Rudd - are run by ministers who have refused to back Mr Johnson's Tory leadership bid.

The Telegraph's Matt cartoon focuses on Jeremy Hunt's promise of massive financial help for fishermen and farmers if Britain leaves the EU without an agreement.

"Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day", it says. "Teach a man to fish and he'll receive £6bn in no-deal Brexit support".

image copyright Getty Images

"An arms race of tax and spending" is how the Times sees the pledges made by Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt in their rival bids to become prime minister. And both men come in for stinging criticism.

The Daily Mail accuses them of acting "like drunks in a bar fecklessly swilling away their pay packets as they make ever more extravagant spending promises".

The Daily Mirror calls them a "pair of charlatans" and says only fools would buy the empty promises of rivals who behave as if they have discovered forests of money trees".

The Guardian's sketch-writer, John Crace, says there was a time when Jeremy Hunt positioned himself as the Conservatives' voice of reason. Now - he says - we are in what he calls "an apocalyptic, Heart of Darkness brexit death spiral in which Mr Hunt and Boris Johnson compete to see who is sufficiently deranged to lead the Tory party".

The Daily Express , however, is pleased that both candidates now seem equally determined to get us out of the EU as soon as possible, with our without a deal. "That's more like it" - the paper says.

The Guardian , in its lead story, says new fears have emerged about the scale of abuse suffered by children and vulnerable adults. It has obtained figures from Scotland Yard which reveal that police officers in London are raising concerns with safeguarding authorities, such as social services, 700 times a day on average.

The paper says the figures underline the demand on police forces to deal with issues beyond traditional policing at a time when budgets and officer numbers are being squeezed.

Several papers including the Times and the Daily Mail carry the findings of a scientific study suggesting that food eaten during the average family barbecue is responsible for creating as much greenhouse gas as a ninety mile car journey.

The estimate is based on the burning of charcoal and the energy used to produce the food.

The Daily Telegraph says beef burgers are the worst culprits, causing nearly five times as much damage to the environment as a portion of chicken.

Many papers look forward to the England Women's World Cup semi-final against the USA - with photos of players gracing the front of the Metro, Daily Star, Sun and Daily Mirror.

The "Lionesses are ready to roar", says the headline in the Daily Express.

media caption Wimbledon 2019: Emotional Cori Gauff, 15, reflects on beating 'hero' Venus Williams

Meanwhile, the newspapers love a rising star and they have found one in the 15-year-old American, Cori Gauff, who grabs the front and back page headlines with her stunning victory over Venus Williams on the opening day of Wimbledon.

"Teenager eclipses Venus" declares the Guardian , while the Metro sums up its shock with "Cor Blimey".

"In the night sky above Wimbledon, a new star rose over Venus" - declares the Mirror's man at the All England Club.

The Metro points out that the teenager was not even born when Williams won the first two of her singles titles.

The Sun claims the schoolgirl's teachers did not even know she played tennis before she pulled off Wimbledon's biggest giant-killing.

Cori Gauff's success was not the only surprise on the opening day of the championships.