What the papers say: Wednesday's front pages

Wednesday's front pages are dominated by Russian plans to invade Ukraine and the settlement of the civil sexual assault claim against Prince Andrew.

The Irish Times reports that Russia is willing to continue talks, as Moscow has said it is withdrawing some troops from the Ukraine border.

Some 1,000 elderly people are waiting on a hospital bed each day, according to the Irish Examiner.

The front page of today's Irish Examiner and @ExaminerSport.

Subscribe today at https://t.co/MHATHcTVpc pic.twitter.com/NbWxI0fjnH

— Irish Examiner (@irishexaminer) February 16, 2022
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The Irish Independent leads with a report that fuel hikes are now adding €600 per year to the cost of running a car, with petrol now costing €1.80 a litre.

The Irish Daily Mail leads with comments from Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe that the State needs more international property funds in order to solve the housing crisis.

And the Irish Daily Star leads with Tina Cahill being released from prison after being jailed for the death of David Walsh in Australia.

Elsewhere, the Belfast Telegraph reports that a 13-year-old girl came face to face with a man just minutes after he was suspected of stabbing a young mother to death.

Morning readers! Stay with @beltel for all your breaking news. Here's a look at the front page of the Belfast Telegraph this morning:https://t.co/ZFlfbJQwqj pic.twitter.com/mCUXWwdDZt

— Belfast Telegraph (@BelTel) February 16, 2022

In the UK, Andrew settling the civil sex assault claim against him for a reported multimillion-pound sum dominates the papers on Wednesday.

The Daily Mirror reports the Duke of York “does £12m deal to halt sex claim”, with The Guardian saying the move spares the royal the “humiliation” of going on trial.

Tomorrow's front page: Andrew does £12M deal to halt sex claim #TomorrowsPapersToday https://t.co/gaaDCSzbeQ pic.twitter.com/DHr36lsAQq

— The Mirror (@DailyMirror) February 15, 2022

Guardian front page, Wednesday 16 February 2022: Prince settles Giuffre sex assault case out of court pic.twitter.com/y6sVSChpm9

— The Guardian (@guardian) February 15, 2022

The Daily Mail uses “humiliation” in its headline, while the story is also covered by The Independent and i, as Metro says the the duke “pays up at last”.

Wednesday's @DailyMailUK #MailFrontPages pic.twitter.com/iAt7AIfSKZ

— Daily Mail U.K. (@DailyMailUK) February 15, 2022

INDEPENDENT: Prince Andrew agrees to settle US sex abuse case #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/EXhWRUDyDP

— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) February 15, 2022

Wednesday's front page: Prince pays to settle sex assault claims #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/DScsAKEO62

— i newspaper (@theipaper) February 15, 2022

Wednesday's front page:

DUKE PAYS
UP AT LAST#tomorrowspaperstoday #BBCPapers #skypapers pic.twitter.com/Qny9d9weCA

— Metro US (@MetroUS) February 15, 2022

“Royal wrong ‘un pays out to sex victim he’s never met. As you do”, states the headline of the Daily Star, with the Daily Express warning “there’s no way back”.

Tomorrow’s front page: Royal wrong 'un pays out to sex victim he's never met. As you do #TomorrowsPapersToday https://t.co/xwthfKbvKP pic.twitter.com/ibJ2asc27d

— Daily Star (@dailystar) February 15, 2022

EXPRESS: Andrew cuts sex case deal #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/8frsMTQWKY

— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) February 15, 2022

The Daily Telegraph reports the Queen will help pay for the settlement, with The Sun calling the resolution Andrew’s “final disgrace”.

🗞️The front page of tomorrow's Daily Telegraph:

'Queen to help pay for £12m settlement'#TomorrowsPapersToday

Sign up for the Front Page newsletterhttps://t.co/x8AV4Oomry pic.twitter.com/NZFiibXQYx

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— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) February 15, 2022

Tomorrow's front page: Shamed Prince Andrew agrees a payout of up to £12 million to settle his sexual abuse lawsuit with Virginia Giuffre https://t.co/BpwCuGLc2t pic.twitter.com/CHa99MxHNV

— The Sun (@TheSun) February 15, 2022

Meanwhile, the Financial Times says Russian leader Vladimir Putin withdrew some of his troops from Ukraine’s border to enable dialogue with the west.

FT UK: Putin open to talks but prolongs invasion threat against Ukraine #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/oYl00H14Nd

— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) February 15, 2022

But The Times covers US president Joe Biden’s doubt about the supposed withdrawal.