Friday newspaper roundup: Pele, tax super-rich private jet travel, house prices, Blair support for Putin
Pelé, the Brazilian virtuoso whose captivating skill and athleticism ensured he was universally regarded as one of football’s greatest players, has died at the age of 82. Pelé, who had a colon tumour removed in 2021, was readmitted to Albert Einstein hospital in São Paulo in November amid deteriorating health. A hospital statement on Thursday confirmed the death of “our dear King of Football” at 3.27pm local time, “due to the failure of multiple organs, a result of the progression of cancer of colon associated with his previous clinical condition.” - The Guardian
The super-rich should be forced to pay an extra tax each time they fly on “hugely damaging” private jets to help fund better and cleaner public transport, a charity has said. The Campaign for Better Transport (CfBT) called on the government to introduce a “super tax” on private jet travel, saying it is “about time that these individuals started paying for the damage their flights cause and the proceeds used to help improve public transport for communities up and down the country”. - The Guardian
The average price of houses in York rose more this year than anywhere else, having put on more than 23%, according to Halifax, the country’s biggest mortgage lender. That makes for an average cash increase of about £70,000. Prices in the city are now 41.9% higher than they were at the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020. Then houses sold for an average of £192,000; now the figure is just over £300,000. Among the other hotspots this year was Woking, Surrey, where prices rose by 19% over the year. - All papers
Tony Blair gave President Putin silver cufflinks for his birthday 20 years ago and argued that he should be given a seat at the international “top table” despite deep misgivings about the new Russian leader. The gift is revealed in confidential papers released by the National Archives in Kew, which also disclose how the Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi wanted to send Putin to resolve the crisis between India and Pakistan which threatened to develop into war. His suggestion that other Nato leaders should join Putin was dismissed as a “terrible idea” by Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state. - All papers