15th November

The broadsheets have a variety of front pages this morning but the Mirror and the Sun both agree on their main headline

KILLED IN THEIR BEDS

“A GREAT aunt of massacre victims Steven and Abigail Sobo last night collapsed in tears as she tried to come to terms with the tragedy that has torn her family apart.”
Says the Mirror

Stabbed to death one by one

“THREE of the four family members slaughtered in their home yesterday would have heard the sounds of their loved ones being killed.
The two women and two children were stabbed to death one by one and their bodies left in different rooms.
Police had not officially named them last night. But they were thought to be cabbie Neil Crampton’s former partner Elizabeth Sobo, 36, their daughter Abigail, 12, and son Steven, five, and Elizabeth’s mother Omotunde Sobo, who was Nigerian.”

The Telegraph’s front page deals with the story that :

“Premature babies born after only 22 weeks in the womb or earlier, should not be routinely resuscitated a report on the care of sick and disabled babies will say today.”

“The controversial report from the Nuffield Council on Bioethics will set out guidelines for doctors and parents for dealing with very premature babies whose survival chances are low and in whom the risk of disability is high.”

The Guardian reveals

Crackdown on firms stealing personal data

“Richard Thomas, the official privacy watchdog, said he was investigating a number of organisations that have bought personal data such as details of bank accounts, tax returns and mortgage payments. He warned of raids and prosecutions after the conviction yesterday of a husband and wife who made £140,000 a year selling private financial information obtained by deception.”


The Times meanwhile concentrates on the Banks
New fees signal an end to free banking

With the news that

“THE free banking enjoyed by tens of millions of people is under threat after a leading bank became the first to announce that it would charge for a current account.

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First Direct, the online arm of HSBC, the UK’s largest bank, is to levy a £10 monthly fee on its current accounts. Only customers who deposit £1,500 a month or who maintain an average balance of £1,500 will escape the fee.”

Yesterdays Mass kidnapping in Baghdad is featured heavily

The Independent reports
Desperate search after mass-kidnapping of Sunnis ends with hostages found alive

The Guardian reports that

“Five senior Iraqi police officers were arrested last night after gunmen in police uniforms seized scores of people at a prominent scientific research institute in Baghdad in an audacious operation that underlined the lawlessness gripping the Iraqi capital and the threat it poses to the country's tottering education system.

As many as 80 armed men took part in the morning attack, which netted male academics, employees and visitors to the ministry of higher education's scientific research, scholarships and cultural relations directorate in Baghdad's relatively peaceful Karradah district.
Last night, reports indicated that most if not all of the hostages had been released in police raids across the city.
But the episode, one of the biggest mass kidnappings since the 2003 war, raised pointed questions about the reliability of the Iraqi security forces.”

The news that Drivers of the so called Chelsea Tractor are to be penalised is featured in the Telegraph

Driving a 4x4? That'll be £25 a day, please

According to the Express

"THE Chelsea Tractor was given a death sentence on its home territory yesterday, when London mayor Ken Livingstone pressed ahead with plans for a £25-a-day congestion charge.He called for the charge – more than three times the present fee of £8 a day, and five times the original charge – to be levied on the most-polluting vehicles.And the 90 per cent resident’s discount for drivers who live inside the charging zone, will be withdrawn for these cars."

The Mail claims that

Leading member of Muslim extremist group working at the Home Office

“Abid Javaid is a 'senior executive officer' in the IT department at the scandal-hit Immigration and Nationality Directorate which processes tens of thousands of asylum and visa applications every year.

But he is also an activist in the fundamentalist Islamic group Hizb-ut Tahrir which believes in a worldwide Islamic state under Shariah law.

This is despite Tony Blair calling for the group to be banned last year.”

The Independent is back on the subject of climate change.Its front page exclaims

Britain’s C02 targets-Who stands where
Looking forward to todays Queen’s speech

“The Government is to set five-yearly targets for reducing Britain's carbon dioxide emissions in an attempt to head off the mounting pressure for a law to enforce year-on-year cuts.
Under a climate change Bill to be announced in the Queen's Speech today, ministers will promise to monitor annually progress towards the five-year milestones, in order to deliver a 60 per cent reduction on 1990 levels by 2050.”

Previews of which are obviously featured in most of the papers

The Mirror reports that

“TONY Blair will today launch his final crusade against thugs and terrorists before he quits as Prime Minister next year.

His last Queen's Speech will be dominated by anti-lout measures, crackdowns on crime bosses and counter-terror powers.

He said: "We will put forward an ambitious legislative programme designed to tackle the most serious long-term challenges we face."

It comes as Home Secretary John Reid yesterday revealed dramatic new eviction powers to eject yob homeowners from their houses in 48 hours. “

The Sun headlines

Blair: I'll tighten our borders

The Guardian telling us that the Pm will

“use a Labour party broadcast to encourage members of the public to email or text their questions on the Queen's speech and other political issues. Patricia Hewitt, Ruth Kelly and other ministers will be ready and waiting and have promised to call back for a chat on policy or reply online. Half a dozen of those who text or log on to the party's website will be invited to parliament later this year to meet Mr Blair and other members of the government. The broadcast begins with voters talking about Labour's achievements in government, ranging from investment in the health service to economic stability, before the prime minister outlines measures included in the Queen's speech.”

Back to the tabloids now and after two days of the jungle the Star and ITV are desperately trying to spice things up

“SOAP faves Malandra Burrows and Dean Gaffney are heading into the jungle to sex up I’m A Celebrity.ITV1 chiefs want the duo, who are both single, to add spice and much-needed love action.Network chiefs revealed last night that the pair will be parachuted in as late arrivals – just as the Daily Star exclusively predicted.”

The Mirror reveals that

“TOM Cruise flew into Italy today in preparation for his wedding to Katie Holmes on Saturday.”
Last Nights Bond premier is also featured

The Sun headlining

007 meets Q at Royale premiere

In the Mirror

BOND'S GIRLS
But glam beauties leave new 007 Dan looking glum

“THEY say that Bonds have more fun. But new 007 Daniel Craig looks downright miserable as he arrives for the premiere of Casino Royale.”

The back pages feature extensively Marcus Trescothicks return from Australia after a reoccurrence of his stress related illness.

Writing in the Telegraph Geoff Boycott warns

“Marcus Trescothick left the Ashes tour yesterday due to stress but if you think this is a one-off then think again. It is just the beginning – more players will crack up in the future.”
There is a quick and easy way of stopping this happening but it would involve the game's administrators taking the one step that they dread – cutting back on the amount of international cricket.
Sadly the game is led by people with one thing on their minds – making lots of money. They are no doubt well-meaning people who love the game, but they lack one quality – the experience of playing at the top level.”
The Independent says

Trescothick's career in ruins after stress forces pull-out

Stephen Brenkley writes,

“Trescothick, it transpired, had not recovered from the stress-related illness which was diagnosed during the summer (while he still managed to play international cricket), but first apparently manifested itself during the tour of India in March when he left for home in the middle of a warm-up match.
Many reasons and explanations have been put forward: a viral illness he picked up in India which exacerbated other problems, a severe accident suffered by his father-in-law during the first tour of last winter to Pakistan (from which, happily, his father-in-law recovered), the birth of the Trescothicks' first child early last September. All doubtless contributed to his state of mind.”