The Times leads with its latest opinion poll which shows that

Labour claws back over handling of economy

Labour’s natural supporters are returning to the fold, giving the party a nine-point lead over the Conservatives as the most trusted to deal with the recession, a poll for The Times reveals.
Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling are favoured over David Cameron and George Osborne by 40 per cent to 31 per cent — a six-point jump in their lead since the Pre-Budget Report was presented on November 24.
The boost has improved Labour’s position generally, with the overall Conservative poll lead narrowing to four points and the number of Labour voters who are considering switching to the Tories dropping markedly.

The Telegraph looks at the effects of the recession reporting that

Middle class professionals who lose their jobs during the recession will be helped with Government money to study for a Masters or business qualification while they are out of work.

The Express meanwhile tells us that a tank of petrol is now £18 cheaper

MILLIONS of motorists are now saving about £18 on every full tank of fuel thanks to plummeting pump prices since the summer.
Diesel crashed below the land landmark £1-a-litre price yesterday for the first time in a year, while the cost of unleaded petrol keeps on falling too.

Brown and Sarkozy nudge Germans towards fresh economic measures says the Guardian

Gordon Brown and the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, were yesterday holding out hopes of a fresh German economic package early next year to minimise the impact of the recession after an informal Franco-British summit in London again put the case for a European-wide reflation.

It leads though with the news that

Gordon Brown and the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, were yesterday holding out hopes of a fresh German economic package early next year to minimise the impact of the recession after an informal Franco-British summit in London again put the case for a European-wide reflation.

The Telegraph reports that the Alleged 9/11 mastermind wants to confess to plot

In an abrupt reversal of previous attempts to defend themselves, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his four co-defendants indicated to a judge in Guantánamo Bay they want to plead guilty.
The move is being seen as an apparent attempt to push through their prosecution and execution for multiple murder charges.

Make us martyrs, 9/11 suspects dare President Bush says the Times

In a letter to the judge, the five described how a decision had been taken on November 4, the day Barack Obama was elected, to abandon all efforts at defence and instead ask that their confessions be accepted in full with immediate effect. The request appeared to be designed to accelerate their trials and dare the US Government to impose the death sentence before President Bush leaves office.

There is much coverage of yesterday's Commons debate,the Independent reports that

The Commons Speaker, Michael Martin, suffered another blow last night when his proposal for an inquiry into the Damian Green affair descended into farce. Tories and Liberal Democrats vowed to boycott his plan for an MPs' investigation into the police raid on the office of Mr Green, the Tory Immigration spokesman.

The raid on Stansted is also wdely reported,Heathrow next, warn activists who caused Stansted chaos says the Guardian

Environmental campaigners last night vowed to step up direct action against British airports after protesters breached the security fence at Stansted airport and closed its runway, resulting in scores of cancelled flights and disruption for thousands of passengers.
Members of a group called Plane Stupid, which campaigns against climate change and air travel, chained themselves to a makeshift barrier close to the airport's runway after cutting through the perimeter fence in the early hours of yesterday.

The Mail says that

A runway invasion by protesters yesterday left passengers at Stansted Airport facing three miserable days of uncertainty and delays.
Armed police were forced to restore order after check-in desks were surrounded by thousands of passengers demanding information about more than 150 disrupted flights.
Chiefly affected were Ryanair customers, who were advised to re-book online and told that services would be limited well into the week after the budget airline cancelled 52 flights. A further 100-plus flights were held up for hours as 30 other airlines were caught up in the disruption.

The Times reports that Carphone Warehouse founder David Ross quits in disgrace over secret share deals

David Ross failed to tell the company — run by his lifelong friend Charles Dunstone — that he had pledged the core of his fortune as collateral to support struggling commercial property investments.
The 43-year-old tycoon, who holds a 20 per cent stake in Carphone Warehouse, could face a criminal investigation by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) because he broke City rules on disclosure.
Mr Ross was also forced to disclose that he had covertly mortgaged shareholdings in three other companies.

The Sun is happy this morning,At Last is its headline as it reports that

SHAMELESS Baby P bungler Sharon Shoesmith was finally given the boot over a “fundamental loss of trust and confidence” in her ability, it was revealed last night.The decision to axe her as director of children’s services at Haringey, North London, was taken by councillors after she dug her heels in and refused to quit or apologise.

The Independent leads with a tirade against credit card companies

Credit card companies are facing an investigation by competition watchdogs after defying government warnings to improve their lending practices.
An analysis by The Independent has found that the cost of card borrowing has risen over the past three months despite three cuts to the Bank of England base rate. Cardholders are now facing average interest rates of 17.7 per cent on credit cards, up from 16.6 per cent 12 months ago.

Now Labour makes it even HARDER to sell your home is the lead in the Mail

In a move which triggered a furious backlash, Ministers have tightened the rules on the widely-condemned Home Information Packs.
They will now have to be available on the very first day a house goes on sale, rather than 28 days later.

The Guardian has the latest from the Greek rioting

Greek police are braced for more violence around the funeral today of a teenage boy shot dead by police, after rioting youths brought a third night of chaos to Greek cities.
The government denied reports it would declare a state of emergency, but last night the interior minister, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, signalled the authorities will take a firmer stance against rioters in the worst disturbances to hit the country since the collapse of military rule in 1974.

The Times reports that

International efforts to end Zimbabwe's misery by forcing President Mugabe out of office were blunted yesterday when a key African leader urged further mediation despite the power-sharing impasse in Harare.
As President Sarkozy of France called for a swift end to the Mugabe regime, Jacob Zuma, the head of South Africa's ruling ANC party, insisted that dialogue was still the best way forward.

The Independent reports that

Two die as Top Gun pilot crashes into San Diego suburbs

A US F-18 military jet crashed into a San Diego suburban neighbourhood yesterday, killing two people on the ground, while attempting to land at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station.
Neighbours saw the jet wobble overhead before it crashed in a ball of fire. The pilot, who managed to eject before the crash, was seen wandering around in a daze. He parachuted out of the jet and came down in the baseball field of a school. The pilot was on a training mission and officials said he attempted to aim the plane at a deserted canyon to avoid coming down on houses or the 805 Freeway.

Mother arrested as 'yuppie-flu' daughter is found dead after 16 years in bed reports the Mail

A mother who nursed her daughter for 17 years with the disease ME has been arrested on suspicion of her murder following what is believed to have been a 'mercy killing'.
Police sources revealed that Lynn Gilderdale, 31, died from a massive overdose of morphine after attempting suicide with the same drug at least twice during her battle with the debilitating condition.
Detectives arrested her mother Kay, 54, over suspicions that she helped administer the fatal dose after watching her daughter suffer since she was 14.

Finally the Sun reports that

THE beach-sex Brit who dodged jail in Dubai makes a drunken t** of himself — at the SAME bar where the scandal began.
Romeo IT boss Vince Acors planted a smacker on a busty brunette and grinned gormlessly as he gave a scantily-clad blonde a lift in his arms