Scotland's papers: P&O subsidies and Putin's 'parties'
The fallout over P&O Ferries sacking 800 seafaring staff features on several front pages. The Herald leads with details emerging of the company having received more than £50m in UK government contracts and subsidies in two years. The paper also highlights whether P&O can be pursued under British employment law to have the redundancies reversed.
The Daily Record speaks to two long-serving P&O Ferries workers who are among the 800 staff being replaced by agency staff. They say they were sacked without notice "and barely a thank you" despite putting their health on the line by continuing to work during the pandemic.
Elsewhere, many of the papers lead with Vladimir Putin's continued aggression in Ukraine, contrasted by the charm offensive he has launched in Russia. The Scotsman leads with a warning from the UK's intelligence chief that Mr Putin "has embarked on a deadly war of attrition". Lieutenant General Sir Jim Hockenhull also says Moscow has turned to the "reckless and indiscriminate" use of firepower which could last for weeks.
Putin parties, Ukraine burns" is the i weekend's headline as the paper reports on the Russian president's "huge war rally" that was held in Moscow. The paper notes that some have said that the crowds were government employees brought in from across the country. In the besieged south-eastern city of Mariupol in Ukraine, street fighting is preventing the rescue of hundreds of people - including children - who are buried under the rubble of a theatre that was hit on Wednesday, an official tells the paper.
UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has told the Times that the Kremlin is using peace talks with Ukraine as a "smokescreen" while it prepares to carry out more "appalling atrocities" and war crimes. "If a country is serious about negotiations, it doesn't indiscriminately bomb civilians that day," Ms Truss told the paper. She predicted that Mr Putin will resort to "worse and worse" methods as his progress in Ukraine falters.
US President Joe Biden has warned that Beijing will face "consequences" if it provides Russia with weapons to help in its invasion of Ukraine, the Daily Telegraph reports. But Chinese President Xi Jinping said the US was responsible for the war. US officials have alleged that Russia is seeking military support from Beijing, including armed drones, surface-to-air missiles, armoured vehicles and intelligence gathering technology.
The plight of Ukrainian refugees has inspired the Royal Family to offer "practical support", according to the Daily Express. It adds that aides are looking into what steps senior royals can take to help those who have fled Ukraine.
Also in royal news but away from the war in Ukraine, the Daily Mail says that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have had to cancel their first big engagement on their Caribbean tour after villagers described the visit as "colonialism". The paper reports that the couple were due to start their visit to Belize with a trip to a sustainable cocoa farm on Sunday, but local people have staged a protest, calling the visit a "slap in the face".
And the Sun reports that the Queen intends to spend "much more" time at Craigowan Lodge, on the Balmoral estate. The Highlands cottage is one of the 95-year-old monarch's favourite homes, the paper adds.
The National leads with SNP MSP Rona Mackay saying suspending work on a Scottish independence referendum because of the invasion of Ukraine would be like handing Putin "an effective veto over democracy in Scotland".
The Daily Star emphasises that it will be "Hot! Hot! Hot!" as temperatures are expected to exceed Ibiza in the next few days. "Scots set for 20C sizzler as spring arrives early," the paper adds.
The Press and Journal leads with a locum doctor at Dr Gray's hospital in Elgin being struck off after he faked timesheets to claim £150,000 in payments.
The Edinburgh Evening News has an interview with a couple whose baby daughter was born at home after her arrival into the world took them - and hospital staff - by surprise.
The Glasgow Times says four closed Glasgow Life venues have moved a step closer to being run by community groups after talks over leases were approved. Negotiations over the future of Langside Hall, Woodside Hall, Glasgow Club Drumoyne and the Molendinar Community Centre will now take place.
The Aberdeen Evening Express leads with a former Dyce Academy pupil who is accused of a shooting in the United States winning his fight against extradition on the basis that it would infringe his human rights.
