Strikes to bring ten days of flights chaos reports the Times this morning

More than a million airline passengers face cancelled flights in the new year after a union announced strikes that could force seven airports, including Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, to close.
Additional cabin crew strikes on Virgin Atlantic mean that passengers face more than a week of disruption from January 7 to 17.

The Telegraph reports that

The travel plans of more than a million people have been thrown into disarray by a planned walkout by workers at seven of the country’s largest airports.The difficulties will be heightened thanks to a walkout on the same days by PCS, which represents white collar managerial staff at the airports.

The Guardian leads with

Ministers ordered to assess climate cost of all decisions

Coal-fired power stations, airport expansions and new road schemes could all be put on hold following a decision by Gordon Brown that ministers must in future take account of the true economic cost of climate change damage.
Ministers have been instructed to factor into their calculations a notional "carbon price" when making all policy and investment decisions covering transport, construction, housing, planning and energy.

The Independent's front page announces

London, capital of the world

London has topped the most exhaustive comparison ever compiled of the world's great cities in a finding that sees Britain's capital outstrip global rivals as a centre of economic performance and cultural significance.
Following months of research of population figures, financial markets, tourism trends, transport facilities and data relating to sports and arts events and transport, the study comes to a dramatic conclusion: London is the world's capital city.

The Tabloids all lead with the same story and the same headline

'Be brave sweetheart'

The Mail reporting that

Kate McCann sent her missing daughter a heart-rending Christmas message last night, telling her: "Be brave sweetheart.
"Our only Christmas wish is for you to be back with us again and we're hoping and praying that that will happen. Love you Madeleine."
Her face lined with exhaustion and despair, 39-year-old Mrs McCann also made an extraordinary appeal to any abductor holding the four-year-old girl, begging them to end "all this despair and anguish".
She struggled to control her emotions as she said: "You hold the key. At this time of year, when so many families are coming together, we beg you to help us be reunited with Madeleine.

The Sun adding that

Filming stopped several times as Kate struggled to hold back her tears.

Omagh acquittal prompts review of DNA cases reports the Independent

An urgent review into thousands of criminal cases was launched by the Crown Prosecution Service yesterday after the credibility of an advanced form of DNA testing was called into question by the judge in the collapsed Omagh bomb trial.
All current cases in which Low Copy Number (LCN) DNA testing forms part of the evidence will be immediately scrutinised after the acquittal on all charges of Sean Hoey, the only man brought to trial for the 1998 attack in which 29 people died.

The Guardian reporting that

Tony Lake, chief constable of Lincolnshire who speaks for the Association of Chief Police Officers on forensic science matters, said the police were studying the implications of the Omagh case which was thrown out over doubts about the low copy number evidence. "Whilst this is being considered, the police are operating an interim suspension of the use of the LCN DNA testing service," he said.

Ian Blair 'never considered resigning' over de Menezes says the Telegraph adding

The family of Mr de Menezes, 22, who was shot dead by police marksmen the day after a series of failed suicide bomb attempts on London underground, said Sir Ian's remarks were "deeply offensive".

The Times reports that

First-time buyers are scarcer than at any time for 30 years

The number of first-time buyers has fallen to its lowest since 1980 as rising house prices have forced prospective homeowners to rent properties or live with their parents.
About 300,000 people bought their first home this year, down from 532,000 in 2002, a report from Halifax, the UK’s biggest mortgage lender, shows.

High Street stores slash prices in attempt to lure Christmas shoppers says the Mail

Prices have been slashed by up to 75 per cent at some of the country's biggest chains in a last-ditch effort to get consumers spending.
Many families have been squeezed by the impact of higher interest rates and household bills, particularly for food and transport.
Retail analysts say desperate measures are needed to counter the fact that shopper numbers this week have been running below last year.

ELBOWS AT THE READY FOR SALES OF THE CENTURY says the Express

STRUGGLING stores are resorting to “brutal” price cuts in an attempt to boost dismal pre-Christmas sales.
Shoppers heading out for last-minute presents over the next three days will enjoy a bargain bonanza.

Meanwhile the Telegraph reports that

Two-week break to cost economy £21bn

The financial blow will be £3 billion worse than last year because many bosses plan to give their employees all or part of Christmas Eve off, even though it would normally be a working day.
The Christmas exodus gets under way today amid warnings the country's groaning infrastructure will grind to a halt.

The Independent reports that

Japan abandons humpback whale hunt after international outcry

Japan dropped the planned taking of 50 humpbacks at the behest of the United States, which chairs the International Whaling Commission (IWC), said Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura. He said the suspension would last a year or two but that there would be "no changes" to Japan's stance on research whaling itself.

Songbirds fly free as China turns its back on 2,000 years of history reports the Times

A new law banning the trade in seven species of wild birds takes effect on January 1. The aim is to try to save China's dwindling numbers of birds. It will also undermine the bustling local markets that are a familiar sight across Chinese cities and towns.
The change in rules signals the likely demise of an integral aspect of Chinese life that dates back to the Han dynasty. Anyone who already has a bird will be allowed to keep it.

50 killed in suicide bombing at mosque reports the Guardian

More than 50 people were killed yesterday when a suicide attacker detonated a bomb at a crowded mosque near the home of Pakistan's former interior minister on one of Islam's major holidays.
The bomber blew himself up as worshippers held prayers on the holy day of Eid al-Adha at the mosque inside Aftab Khan Sherpao's compound in Sherpao, a village 20 miles from Peshawar, in Pakistan's North-West Frontier province. The holiday marks the end of the annual hajj pilgrimage in the city of Mecca.

$40bn Putin 'is now Europe's richest man' says the Telegraph

President Vladimir Putin of Russia has been likened to an African plutocrat after a controversial political scientist claimed that he had acquired control of £20 billion in energy assets - enough to make him Europe's richest man.

Staying with the paper it tells

All heart transplants suspended in Scotland

after mortality rates more than doubled. Four patients out of 11 who have received transplants at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary - the only heart transplant unit in the Scotland - this year died within a month of the operation.

Queen is poorly educated and philistine, says Starkey reports the Guardian

in a week in which the Queen overtook Victoria as Britain's longest-lived monarch, Starkey has delivered a less than rose-tinted verdict on the head of state, accusing her of philistinism and being uninterested in her predecessors, largely due to being poorly educated.
"I think she's got elements a bit like Goebbels in her attitude to culture," the historian told the Guardian. "You remember: 'Every time I hear the word culture I reach for my revolver.' "

The Sun continues to rack up the Man United party

3 Man U stars roasted girl No 2

THE girl “roasted” by Manchester United players at their Christmas party bragged drunkenly afterwards: They said I was great in bed.
The pretty reveller, aged around 19, had just had sex with five or six men, including three United players.
Their jeers and her moans were overheard by a sickened party guest.

Staying on the football front the Mail reports

Lineker clinches £10m TV deal - and is caught in a clinch with stunning girlfriend half his age

As you shiver into the weekend, facing travel chaos and festive frenzy, spare a thought for Gary Lineker.
Having just signed a new deal with the BBC for about £10million, he's been strolling in the Florida sunshine with a stunning model nearly half his age on his arm.
Yes, it's tough – but someone has to do it.

Finally many of the papers carry the story of

REAL-LIFE FAWLTY IS FLOORED BY A GUEST the Express reporting

A REAL-life Basil Fawlty was beaten up by a hotel guest in an attack that mirrored an episode of the TV sitcom.
Eccentric Andy Hageman was punched and kneed in the groin by the man who complained of late-night noise.
Magistrates heard how he was wrestled to the floor at the reception by the man who said a wedding party had turned the Mortons House Hotel into “bedlam”.