“Last chance to escape the Taliban” is the headline on the front of the i – which says the US and the UK are set to leave thousands of Afghans “to their fate” after President Biden ignored the pleas of Boris Johnson and others to extend next Tuesday’s evacuation deadline.
“Joe’s No To BoJo” says the Metro – suggesting the prime minister was “snubbed” at Tuesday’s virtual meeting of G7 leaders.
PA MediaThe Spectator website describes it as a “failure” which showed the “resolve to invigorate the US-UK relationship” was “wafer-thin”.
The New Statesman website agrees – and thinks the sway Mr Johnson has over global-leadership matters looks “rather feeble”.
But the Daily Express says Mr Biden is most to blame, accusing him of lacking “international perspective” and pursuing the same “America First” policy for which he criticised his predecessor, Donald Trump.
Meanwhile, in Kabul, defence sources tell the Guardian that Britain’s military operation could end in the next 24 to 36 hours as UK troops need to leave before American forces pull out.
The Daily Mail says the final RAF evacuation flight could take off as soon as Thursday – “raising fears that potentially thousands of Afghan civilians eligible to seek sanctuary in Britain” may be left behind.
The Financial Times adds that the fear for many Afghans is that the Taliban will “persecute those who worked for Western militaries”.
Elsewhere, the boss of the Co-Op supermarket chain tells the Times that current food shortages are the worst he’s seen.
Steve Murrells says his company is reducing the range of products it offers to keep the shelves full, blaming a combination of issues linked to Brexit and the pandemic. He also reveals that the Co-Op is retraining staff as lorry drivers – to help meet the shortfall of hauliers across the industry.
The Daily Telegraph says that shortfall may be eased by the introduction of extra-long lorries on the roads as soon as next year.
The government has announced the results of a nine-year trial, which found that bigger trailers could save up to one in eight journeys by carrying the same amount of cargo in fewer trips, reducing pollution in the process.
But environmental campaigners accuse ministers of “greenwashing”, because longer lorries will have a negative impact on pedestrians and cyclists, and may even require roads to be widened.
Finally, pictures of Charlie Watts feature prominently on the front pages – following his death at the age of 80.
ReutersThe Sun calls the sharply-dressed drummer the “rock” behind the Rolling Stones, and believes his passing is a “sign that time is running out for the old guard who changed popular music forever” in the 1960s.
The Daily Mirror reflects on his “non-flashy nature” and his reluctance to tour relentlessly – once complaining that he “didn’t like playing outside shows as the wind made it hard to hit the cymbals”.
But the Daily Star says it was that down-to-earth attitude that defined Charlie Watts – who enjoyed a rich life outside rock and roll, even serving as president of the North Wales Sheepdog Society.
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