One story seems to dominate this morning,the Independent leads with

Mary Ewert: 'Why I want the world to see my husband die'

As the final moments of a terminally ill man who committed suicide in a Zurich clinic are shown on television, his widow explains the reasons why

The Mail also leads with the story

The harrowing moment a retired university professor dies in an 'assisted suicide' will be shown on television tonight.
Craig Ewert, 59, is filmed turning off his ventilator and taking a lethal dose of drugs washed down with apple juice.
Just minutes before his death, Mary, his wife of 37 years asks him: 'Can I give you a big kiss?'

Suicide documentary: Euthanasia debate or sick ratings boost? asks the Mirror

Craig, 59, travelled from his home in Yorkshire to a Swiss suicide clinic because he did not want to be trapped in a body he described as “a living tomb.”
But yesterday a row was raging over whether Sky TV’s decision to film and show the suicide was designed to encourage a debate about euthanasia – or ghoulishly boost its ratings.

The Times leads with the same topic reporting that Prosecutors have washed their hands of the laws on assisted dying
The Guardian adds that

The Crown Prosecution Service yesterday effectively ruled out the prosecution of relatives who assist the terminally ill to commit suicide after announcing it would take no action against the family of rugby player Daniel James, despite having sufficient evidence to do so.
In his first decision as director of public prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC stated he would not prosecute the parents and a family friend of the 23-year-old, who was paralysed in a training ground accident, for assisting his death.

It leads with the report that

Britain's six-year occupation of south Iraq will begin drawing to a close in March, and the last troops will leave Basra by June, a senior defence source disclosed yesterday.
But instead of handing over to Iraqi authorities, the British will be replaced at their Basra airport base by a large force of US troops, who will set up their own headquarters there, the source revealed.

The Telegraph says that

With the Americans formulating their final exit plans with the Iraqi Government, that will be finalised once the President-elect, Barack Obama, takes power, the British are expected to conclude the final state of their forces in Iraq in the coming weeks.

It leads with the story that

Contraceptive Pill to be available without doctor's prescription

Pilot sites are being set up in areas of London with the highest teenage pregnancy rates to see if the programme is feasible before being rolled out nationally.
Ministers said the aim is to increase access to contraception and reduce the number of unintended pregnancies although critics were concerned that relying on the Pill does not protect against sexually transmitted infections which are at epidemic proportions.

The continued violence in Greece is covered in many of the papers,

The streets of Athens resembled a battleground last night after the funeral of a teenager shot dead by police triggered a fourth consecutive day of rioting and violent clashes.
Amid the worst civil unrest since the fall of the military junta in 1974, pressure grew on the government of Costas Karamanlis: trade unions rejected the Prime Minister's appeal to call off a general strike planned for today and the main opposition demanded the government's resignation. Mr Karamanlis began emergency meetings with the Greek President, Karolos Papoulias, and party political leaders to explore ways to lower the temperature as he struggled to contain the crisis.

reports the Independent

The Telegraph adds that

Protesters threw whatever came to hand, even grabbing oranges off ornamental trees in the main square and lobbing them at lines of police.
They taunted the police by clutching their crotches in the traditional Greek gesture of contempt.
"It's not just young people throwing rocks, older people are fed up with this government as well," said Zeus Stellas, 23.

Governor tried to auction Obama's old seat, says FBI reports the Guardian

The day before the historic day in November that would hand Barack Obama the keys to the White House, the Illinois governor, Rod Blagojevich, had a conversation with one of the candidate's advisers about who might replace Obama in the US Senate if he won the presidency.
Illinois law gives the governor sole authority to appoint a successor. Blagojevich left the aide in no doubt that his blessing would come at a price. A seat in the Senate, he explained, is "a fucking valuable thing, you just don't give it away for nothing".

The Times adds that

The arrest of Rod Blagojevich and John Harris, his chief of staff, cast a light on the home state of the President-elect, which has a history of endemic corruption.
The charges include allegations that the Democratic governor, who has served two-terms, conspired with Antoin “Tony” Rezko, a former friend and political donor of Mr Obama, in schemes requiring individuals and companies to pay kickbacks in return for state contracts.

Mumbai murderers are named reports the Independent

Police in Mumbai released what they said were the names of the nine men, along with images of eight of them. Several photographs were gruesome and apparently taken after death. One gunman had been so badly burnt no image was released. Officials said most of the attackers were from Punjab province and all were between 20 and 28. The sole surviving militant, 21-year-old Ajmal Amir Kasab, is also originally from a village in that province.

An exclusive in the Times

Teachers 'beat and abuse' Muslim children in British Koran classes

Students have been slapped, punched and had their ears twisted, according to an unpublished report by an imam based on interviews with victims in the north of England. One was “picked up by one leg and spun around” while another said a madrassa teacher was “kicking in my head - like a football”, says the report which was compiled by Irfan Chishti, a former government adviser on Islamic affairs.

The Mail reports on the case of Parents who locked up daughter and treated her like 'Dickensian slave' escape jail sentence

The 15-year-old was starved of food, love and attention and banned from playing with her younger siblings or reading books - her major passion.
For years, she was forced to use an outside toilet and her bedroom was regularly searched to make sure she had not hidden any school books, a court heard.

Meanwhile the Independent reports that

Hundreds of children have disappeared from council care homes without a trace during the past 10 years, a damning report into the plight of child "runaways" has found.
A survey of 172 local authorities in England and Wales who care for 28,000 children found between 376 and 389 young people were missing and councils did not know where they were. The true figure is probably higher because six authorities said they did not keep records of missing children.

Almost a billion people go hungry each day after food price rises pushed 40 million more people around the world into the ranks of the undernourished, the UN food agency reported yesterday.

reports the Guardian

According to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), food prices have more than halved from their historic peaks a few months ago, but the cost of basic staples measured by an FAO index is still high: 28% higher on average than two years ago.

Freak out reports the Sun

BUG-EYED beast Michael Donovan gets a taste of his own medicine yesterday as he is restrained by handcuffs and a chain. The 40-year-old oddball, who tethered kidnap victim Shannon Matthews with a noose during her 24 days in captivity, was manacled to a guard for a hospital visit.
Donovan, uncle of nine-year-old Shannon’s stepdad Craig Meehan, was let out of jail to have treatment on the jaw broken by a fellow prisoner during his trial.

Cameron wants election to decide recovery plan reports the Independent

Britain is at a "fork in the road" with a choice between Labour's "borrowing binge" and a Tory government that would try to halt Labour's tax rises, David Cameron said yesterday.
The Conservative leader tried to regain the initiative amid jitters in his party that Labour's claims the Opposition would "do nothing" about the recession have hurt his opinion poll ratings

The Guardian meanwhile reports that

The EU should offer the incoming administration of the US president-elect, Barack Obama, a transatlantic economic pact to combat the global recession, José Manuel Barroso, European commission president, said yesterday.
Calling for a joint EU-US stimulus programme, Barroso said: "That would be a good objective. Why not, after the new administration comes in, articulate a common transatlantic response to the economic crisis, which could be the basis for a global response?"

The Express reports that cheaper home loans are on the way

Rock bottom interest rates have forced loans down to their lowest level for two years and even cheaper deals are on the way

Benefits to be paid only to those who show they are looking hard for work reports the Times

Unemployed people will have to prove that they are taking practical steps to return to work in return for state benefits, under changes to the welfare state to be announced by ministers today.
The only exceptions will be carers, parents of very young children and anyone who is severely disabled. All other claimants will have to show that they are preparing for work with activities ranging from updating a CV or finding out about childcare through to full-time training or work experience

Finally the Sun continues its persuit of Sharon Shoesmith reporting that the

AXED Baby P boss smirks in the street yesterday — before heading off to a swish Italian restaurant.
The 55-year-old former head of Haringey children’s services was fired on Monday after overseeing catastrophic failures which saw the death of the abused tot.
But that didn’t stop her giggling as she made her way to the diner from her luxury mansion flat in Holborn, central London, along with three pals.