What the papers say: Thursday's front pages

ireland
What The Papers Say: Thursday's Front Pages
All the lead stories from the day's national newspapers.
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Leo Varadkar's shock resignation leads all of the national papers on Thursday.

The Irish Times quotes his speech, delivered outside Government Buildings on Wednesday afternoon, in which he said he is "no long the best person for the job".

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The Irish Examiner joins the Times in speculating as to who might fill Mr Varadkar's shoes, with Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris emerging as the early favourite.

The Echo focuses on calls for an early general election to be held following Mr Varadkar's announcement, and reports Minister for Enterprise Simon Coveney has ruled himself out of the race to become the next Fine Gael leader.

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The Irish Independent claims Mr Varadkar 'blindsided' the Coalition with his decision, while the Irish Daily Mail sums up Wednesday's bombshell with: 'Varadkar stuns the nation by walking away from power'.

Finally, the Irish Daily Star sets aside some room on its front page to cover the sentencing of All-Ireland winning hurler Kyle Hayes.

The 25-year-old received suspended sentences in respect of two counts of violent disorder and was ordered to pay compensation to the victim.

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The sentence was handed down at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court shortly before midday on Wednesday, just as news of Mr Varadkar's announcement was beginning to break.

In Britain, the shape of the economy takes centre stage on the front of several newspapers on Thursday after a fall in inflation.

The Financial Times and the i say the fall to 3.4 per cent means a cut in interest rates remain on the cards for the summer.

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The FT looks westwards for its lead image, however, showing Mr Varadkar descending the steps outside Government Buildings ahead of his shock announcement.

The impact of the fall on homeowners occupies the front pages of The Independent and the Daily Mail, which says the economy is finally turning a corner.

The Daily Express also turns its attention to financial matters as it says UK prime minister Rishi Sunak will commit to the pension triple lock which will remain in the Conservative manifesto ahead of the next general election.

Mr Sunak suffered a fresh blow as the UK's House of Lords dealt a string of defeats on the UK government’s Rwanda Bill, according to The Times.

The Daily Telegraph turns its focus to UK work and pensions secretary Mel Stride after he said there is a danger that a “more open approach to mental health … has gone too far.”

“Fentanyl phantom” Luke D’Wit features on the front page of the Metro after he was found guilty of poisoning a couple to steal their business.

The husband of former Coronation Street star Julie Goodyear tells the Daily Mirror of his heartbreak as she “is slowly fading away” due to dementia.

The Sun leads with a picture of what it says is Street star Tina O’Brien.

And the Daily Star says the Shropshire Hills could be set for a gold rush after a detectorist discovered a nugget.

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