A bit like Heathrow’s third runway, Amazon drone deliveries could be set to take off years after they were first mooted.
The Telegraph reports Amazon has unveiled plans to launch Britain’s first drone delivery service in Darlington despite recently US flights being grounded because of a series of crashes in wet weather.
The online retail giant says it would seek permission to launch drone deliveries from its warehouse on the outskirts of the County Durham town, which could mean packages arriving at doorsteps in as little as 15 minutes (sound familiar?).
With Amazon one of those in the frame for causing all the High Street doom and gloom, the possible sale of retail institution WH Smith continues to feature prominently in the papers.
The Guardian warns that the sale could turn many town centres into ”Post Office deserts” because of its role in porviding postal facilities.
The Standard also focuses on the decision to put 500 stores up for sale so the retailer can focus on its travel arm, including giving readers a full list of the first 17 stores that have been put up for sale.
After reports in yesterday’s Sun that the billionaire owner of HMV is considering a bid for the business, Sky News reports that Hobbycraft owner Modella is among private equity firms circling WH Smith.
The Telegraph also carries a wider piece warning that Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s property tax overhaul could “exacerbate” the high street’s decline.
It features new research from global tax consultancy Ryan Tax warning planned legislation will increase pressure on high street retailers already struggling to compete with online tech giants.
The Guardian, however, focuses on plans for a fightback by the much-maligned Chancellor, picking up on an earlier story in the FT on her vow for the government to go “further and faster” in pursuit of economic growth.
However, it says she has unnerved environment groups who fear climate change and net zero commitments will be sacrificed as a result.
Green-led Bristol city council has unnerved many residents with its own plans on the environment, with reports it could become the first to switch black bin collections to every four weeks. The council claims it could save more than £2m year and reverse struggling recycling levels, whereas residents’ groups warn of rat infestations.
A more familiar threat to the high street features in the Telegraph, although from an unusual source, with business owners in Surrey blaming “well-off, middle-aged women” for a crimewave in the area.
Independent traders in Haslemere said the problem had become so pervasive that a WhatsApp group had established to monitor the issue was filled with messages “every single day” and rertailers using CCTV footage of suspects.
Returning to the theme of US robot wars, several papers have the latest intelligence on the race to dominate the world on AI, with a blow to the Americans and Donald Trump in the form of a cheap Chinese version, for whom Trump tariffs are surely a matter of time.
The Times reports more than $700m was wiped off the value of US-dominated tech companies after the emergence of Deepseek as a rival to Open A1, which The Guardian hails as its very own Sputnik moment.
Trump himself inevitably continues to feature heavily with the Telegraph reporting how American retail giant Target has dropped its targets for diversity, equity and inclusion targets just days after his inauguration.
The corporation, it reports, has previously been accused of embracing a “radical transgender agenda” but has now cut short a series of measures which included plans to promote more ethnic minorities and women.
In very different waters, The Guardian reports a victory for Defra and producers of Scottish salmon after a court ruled they can drop the word “farmed” from the front of packs. The government amended so-called protected geographical indication (PHI) requirements last year but the move had been challenged by furious wildlife groups.
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