More bad news for the government on the front pages of the newspapers this morning

How much worse can it get? asks the Mail

The man at the centre of Labour's illegal donations scandal claims he received a handwritten letter from the party only yesterday asking for more money, raising more questions over who knew about the payments.
Property developer David Abrahams claims he was sent a letter from Gordon Brown's chief fundraiser, former lobbyist Jon Mendelsohn, asking for a meeting and thanking him for his 'help and support over the years', which he took as a clear invitation that the party wanted more donations.

Funding scandal engulfs Labour says the Times

Harriet Harman was under growing pressure in the sleaze row engulfing Labour last night as she was forced to pay back £5,000 given to her by a property developer who has secretly bankrolled her party to the tune of £600,000.
Ms Harman had taken the money to help to pay off the debts from her successful Labour deputy leadership campaign. But yesterday she looked vulnerable after it emerged that Hilary Benn, a fellow candidate, had rejected similar offers from a “middleman” acting for David Abrahams – as had Gordon Brown’s leadership campaign team.

A similar theme in the Guardian

Harman clings on as donation row escalates whilst reporting

Abrahams told Newsnight he had used conduits to ensure his anonymity, and expressed his frustration at the events of the last few days, saying: "This is a total fiasco." He added he could not tell for sure who inside the Labour party apart from Watt knew of his arrangements.

Brown must say where illegal payments came from headlines the Telegraph

Brown: We broke law says the Mirror

his reign was plunged into further crisis when it was revealed the Crown Prosecution Service could bring charges against the party after being told the donation broke election rules because it was not lawfully declared.

The front page of the Independent carries a picture of the donor standing behind Tony Blair under the headline

The man behind Labour's troubles and asks

So what did he want in return for £601,975? David Abrahams and his network of allies – now notorious as Labour's "Friends in the North" – systematically targeted Gordon Brown and some of his most senior cabinet ministers, offering huge donations by proxy to a cash-strapped party. Last night Labour Party MPs and officials were asking themselves with some trepidation: why?

The scandal knocks the news of the Middle East peace talks off the front pages

Olmert and Abbas give themselves one year to solve it all reports the same paper

In a joint statement, in doubt until the moment President George Bush read it out at the start of the Middle East conference here, the two foes vowed to "bring an end to bloodshed, suffering and decades of conflict between our peoples" and to build a peace "based on freedom, security, justice, dignity, respect" between two independent states living side by side. The announcement made, Mr Bush then clasped hands with Ehud Olmert and Mahmoud Abbas, before the Israeli Prime Minister and the Palestinian President shook hands separately. "We are off to a strong start," the US President said.

Peace talks set one-year deadline for an end to Israel-Palestine conflict says the Times


Rhetoric and reality: Bush's battle for the future of the Middle East says the Guardian

George Bush told the Annapolis summit yesterday that a battle was under way for the future of the Middle East as events on the ground underlined the difficulties ahead for Israeli-Palestinian peace talks that were relaunched after seven years.
Iran, on cue, said it had developed a new long-range ballistic missile, while thousands of supporters of the Islamist movement Hamas protested in Gaza, chanting "Death to America", "Death to Israel" and scorning the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, as a "collaborator". In the West Bank, Palestinian security forces shot dead a demonstrator.

The Telegraph reports on another crisis developing

Kosovo on the brink as talks in Baden fail

Serb and ethnic Albanian leaders are facing each other over the negotiating table for the last time today before a December 10 deadline for a settlement on the future of the disputed province of Kosovo.
Without an agreement in the town of Baden, near Vienna, the Balkans will face renewed confrontation and the possibility of more bloodshed.

The Guardian reports on another

Police say Paris rioters are armed as clashes escalate

Officials in Paris last night warned that rioters in the suburb of Villiers-le-Bel were armed with hunting rifles and air rifles as clashes with police continued to escalate.
More than 70 police officers were injured on Monday night, three of them seriously, in clashes with rioters armed with molotov cocktails and firecrackers. One officer was shot in the shoulder with an air rifle.
"We're dealing with an urban guerrilla tactic, with the use of conventional arms and hunting rifles," said Bruno Beschizza, of the Synergie police union.

Back to the Uk and the Mail reports that

Morning postal deliveries are killed off by stealth...now we'll have to wait until after midday

Postal watchdogs have quietly given the go-ahead to Royal Mail's plans to scrap traditional morning postal deliveries.
Despite fierce opposition to the changes, industry regulator Postcomm failed to make a public statement about its decision to approve the scheme.
The only notification of its stance is a document buried on the watchdog's website.

The Telegraph reports that

Commuters facing 14pc rail fares rise

Rail passengers will be hit by fare increases of up to seven times the current rate of inflation in the new year. The worst affected routes are run by train operator Southeastern running from Kent and south east London into major London stations.
The company announced yesterday that commuters from Hayes in Kent will face a rise of 14 per cent where a weekly, rail-only season ticket will jump from £24.80 to £28.50.

And just to finish us off many of the papers report that

UK population may grow to 108m by 2081 according to the Guardian

The Office for National Statistics said that, based on high estimates of growth in immigration, fertility and longevity, the current population of 60.5 million could rise to 75 million by 2031 and 108.7 million by 2081.
But the projections drawn up by the Government Actuary's Department to help Whitehall plan pension and welfare provision also show that in a scenario of low fertility, low life expectancy and low migration, the population would increase to 66 million by 2056 and then dip to 63 million by 2081.

Both the Mirror and the Express lead with the latest on Maddy

MCCANNS SHOULD BE 'CURSED' is the headline in the Express

KATE and Gerry McCann were yesterday told they deserve to be "cursed" in an astonishing attack by a lawyer.
The solicitor acting for Robert Murat, the first official suspect after their daughter Madeleine vanished, condemned them for leaving their children alone in their holiday apartment.

I saw Maddy dragged away by vicious man says the Mirror

A British expat insists he saw Madeleine McCann hours after she vanished - being cruelly dragged towards a marina by a couple.
George Burke said a small girl, who bore a remarkable resemblance to Madeleine, was being hauled along by a "vicious-looking" man and a woman.
He added: "It was dark and they were hurrying towards the marina. There was no-one else around at the time and they looked very suspicious."

There is a lot of coverage from Sudan on the teacher facing prosecution,the Telegraph reporting that

Teddy bear row teacher could be spared jail

Hopes that a British teacher could be cleared of blasphemy charges in Sudan after naming a teddy bear Mohammed have been raised after an embassy official said the "minute" matter would be resolved very quickly.

BOY BACKS TEDDY BRIT says the Sun

A PUPIL of the British teacher facing 40 lashes for naming a teddy bear Mohammed leapt to her defence yesterday.
The seven-year-old said he suggested the name – after HIMSELF, not the Islamic prophet.
And he says he would be upset if jailed Gillian Gibbons never came back to teach at Unity High School in Sudan’s capital Khartoum.

It leads with football claiming that

JOSE Mourinho last night told The Sun he WOULD consider becoming the next England manager.
And the ex-Chelsea boss said: “I rule nothing out.”
Mourinho’s interest will be music to the ears of England’s despairing soccer fans.
The Special One is the people’s choice to succeed axed flop Steve McClaren, being backed by more than 70 PER CENT of Sun readers.

According to the Times

Conrad Black 'could get just five years in jail'

A confidential pre-sentencing report gives Lord Black of Crossharbour hope of a jail term that is decades shorter than demanded by prosecutors in his US fraud case.
The report, prepared by a probation officer, limits the scope of Lord Black's fraud to $6.1 million rather than the $32.15 million estimated by the prosecution.

The Guardian claims

A twisty trail: from Northern Rock to Jersey to a tiny charity

Northern Rock is facing a Charity Commission investigation after it emerged that the bank exploited the name of a charity for disabled children while creating an elaborate financial arrangement for maximising profits from home loans.
The inquiries will centre on the bank's unusual structure. For while Northern Rock appeared to be a uncomplicated mortgage lender employing thousands of people in the north of England, three-quarters of its key assets are owned by a Jersey-based offshore trust called Granite.

MANHUNT AFTER MEAT CLEAVER ATTACK reports the Express

Police are hunting a man after an attack on a woman with a meat cleaver.
Said Dirir, 30, from the Peckham and Camberwell areas of south east London, is considered to be violent and suffers from mental health problems.
Scotland Yard warned the public that under no circumstances should he be approached.

The Mail reports on the

British woman mauled to death by pack of wild street dogs in Bulgaria

Ann Gordon, 56, was walking her pet Alsatian near her home in south eastern Bulgaria when eight savage animals began biting her legs.
Local children are believed to have tried to help her but were also attacked by the wild dogs.

According to the Telegraph

Health and safety 'ruins' holiday staff parties

The office Christmas party is dying out because of fears that workers could sue over other employees' drunken antics and a prevailing "Scrooge" mentality.A third of companies will not hold a staff party this year, according to a survey. This is twice as many as in 2002.

Finally back to the main story and the Mirror reports

Truth is in hand signals

While Gordon Brown gave the outward impression of being calm, collected and in control, you only needed to look at his hand gestures to find out what he was really feeling.
The Prime Minister began his press conference hands open, palms upwards, a way of laying himself open and beseeching us to trust him again.
But as soon as he started facing the questions he turned his knuckles to the public, a defensive gesture showing us he's fighting back and is still in control of himself and the government.
Although he kept his emotions in check, sometimes masking them with a smile, there were a few places when his actions betrayed his inner turmoil.