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'Business blames budget' and 'UK economy takes hit'

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The Times front page with headline: "UK economy takes hit after Labour tax increases"
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Several front pages lead with the UK economy taking a hit, with the Times reporting on a new survey of businesses which shows private sector activity falling to a 13-month low. The paper reports businesses had "given a thumb's down" to the government's choice to increase employer National Insurance contributions in the Budget.

FT Weekend front page with headline: "Business blames budget for gloom"
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The FT Weekend also leads with the survey results, reporting that the private sector has "warned that confidence in the Labour government has been badly damaged". The pound fell to its weakest level against the dollar since May following the release of the new data, the paper adds.

The Daily Mail front page with headline: "Private sector shrinks after Labour budget"
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Labour has been "accused of wrecking UK growth" by the Conservatives, according to the Daily Mail's front page. The paper says the poor outlook comes following Chancellor Rachel Reeves's decision to carry out a "damaging tax raid" on businesses, which a Tory shadow minister described as a part of "Labour's Budget of broken promises".

The Daily Express front page with headline: "Disastrous raid on social care"
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The Daily Express leads with warnings from social care campaigners that the Budget may be the "final straw" for millions of people. Rising tax receipts and wages combined could be "potentially disastrous" for private businesses providing care, an expert has told the paper.

The Daily Telegraph front page with headline: "Trump threatens sanctions on ICC"
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Away from economic news, the Daily Telegraph leads with US President-elect Donald Trump's threats to sanction the ICC over its recent decision to issue an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu. The paper reports the Hague-based court is "facing a major international backlash" over its plans to charge the Israeli prime minister over alleged war crimes in Gaza.

The i Weekend front page with headline: "Weight loss jab hospital cases surge - after rush to buy slimming drugs online"
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The number of people being hospitalised after adverse reactions linked to weight loss injections is "four times higher than previously reported" - with hundreds hospitalised, reports the I. The paper says at least 274 people have needed treatment following purchases of weight loss injections made over social media.

The Sun front page with headline: "Kate's gift of love".
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Princess Kate has invited children who survived the Southport stabbings to her Christmas carol concert, according to the Sun splash. The Princess of Wales met the survivors privately last month and will be reuinted with them at Westminster Abbey on 6 December, the paper says.

The Daily Mirror front page with headline: "King to tour India"
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The King is planning a major tour of Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, according to the Daily Mirror's reporting. The paper says the move is a sign he is returning to full duties following cancer treatment, adding that the original tour of the subcontinent was cancelled after the Queen's death in 2022.

The Daily Star front page with headline: "£72 million for a man to sit in a chair?"
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The Daily Star criticises the "astronomical" cost of the King's coronation to taxpayers, which it says is the same amount which could have been spent on an extra 2,057 nurses.

The Daily Telegraph's lead says Donald Trump is considering sanctions against the International Criminal Court, external, in response to its arrest warrant for Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The paper's editorial column is troubled by the ICC's decision, external, taken on the basis that Israel might have committed war crimes in its conflict with Hamas. The Telegraph argues that it "raises worrying questions" for other democratic countries, including the UK, which could find themselves engaged in war.

But the Guardian has no such reservations. Under the headline "accountability for war crimes is necessary for meaningful global justice", external, it suggests the move ends what the paper describes as "decades of impunity" for Israel's leadership. And it describes the issuing of the warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant as a signal that "even the most powerful nations must answer for breaches of humanitarian law".

"Private sector shrinks after Labour Budget" is the Daily Mail headline, external. The paper says that more than 80 retail bosses have written to Chancellor Rachel Reeves, warning that her decision to raise employers' National Insurance contributions "will cost jobs and lower wages".

The i Weekend warns that there's been a "surge" in hospital admissions, external involving people who've had negative reactions to weight-loss drugs. It reports there's been a surge in the number bought online, adding that there have been nearly 15,000 "adverse reactions" linked to the injections, according to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. The paper says experts are particularly worried about black market jabs, sometimes sold on social media.

"King to tour India" is the Daily Mirror's lead, external, reporting that such a trip is a sign that his recovery from cancer is "going well". The paper quotes an unnamed royal source, saying that a tour of the Indian subcontinent will be "of huge political and cultural significance for Britain on the world stage".

The Sun has the Princess of Wales on its front page. It says Kate has invited survivors of the Southport mass stabbing - and the families of those who died - to her Christmas carol concert at Westminster Abbey, external. The headline is: "Kate's gift of love".

Finally, the Times pops the cork on the return of a wine craze that "readers of a certain vintage" will remember, external. In the 1970s and 1980s, fans of Beaujolais Nouveau, believed to be the world's most rapidly bottled and drunk wine, would rush to bring the latest vintage to the UK from France.

But over the years "Beaujolais Nouveau Day" fell out of favour. The paper reports that it's making a comeback, as connoisseurs learn to appreciate the wine's "light and fruity" qualities.

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