16th November

The Independent announces on its front page that

Blair finally anoints Brown his successor at No. 10

During the debate on the queen’s speech yesterday

“Mr Blair took everyone in the Commons, including the Chancellor, by surprise by making clear he saw Mr Brown as his inevitable successor during fiery exchanges on the Queen's Speech with David Cameron.
A beaming Mr Brown patted Mr Blair on the back at the close of his speech as the impact of the Prime Minister's words sunk in. "Everyone knew what it meant," said one Brown ally. "It wasn't choreographed. We weren't expecting it."

The speech is obviously well reported across all the papers but the anointing of Gordon Brown has taken the headlines

The Guardian proclaims
'Heavyweight' Brown gets nod as Blair lays out his final battleground

Whilst also reporting on what they hope will be the start of the demise of David Cameron

“Mr Blair predicted the demise of the insubstantial Mr Cameron: "The next election will be a flyweight versus a heavyweight. And however much he may dance around the ring, at some point he'll come within the reach of a big clunking fist. He will be out on his feet, carried out of the ring - the fifth Tory leader to be carried out - and a fourth-term Labour government still standing."


The Times also adds

“TONY BLAIR predicted that Gordon Brown would lead Labour to a fourth successive term yesterday, suggesting that the next election would be fought between a “flyweight” David Cameron and the “heavyweight” Chancellor.”

The Front page of the Guardian must dash the hopes of those wanting a withdrawal from Iraq,
US plans last big push in Iraq

“President George Bush has told senior advisers that the US and its allies must make "a last big push" to win the war in Iraq and that instead of beginning a troop withdrawal next year, he may increase US forces by up to 20,000 soldiers, according to sources familiar with the administration's internal deliberations.
Mr Bush's refusal to give ground, coming in the teeth of growing calls in the US and Britain for a radical rethink or a swift exit, is having a decisive impact on the policy review being conducted by the Iraq Study Group chaired by Bush family loyalist James Baker, the sources said.”

With the Telegraph reporting that

“The US Army's senior general in the Middle East delivered a blunt warning to Democrats yesterday that setting timetables for troop withdrawals would damage America's attempts to win the war in Iraq.”

It though leads with a religious story

“The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has reopened the debate on women priests by suggesting that the Anglican Church may one day "think again" about the issue.”

Amongst the Tabloids,we again have a variety of headlines

The Mirror’s front page is dedicated to Michael Jackson who

“ walked off stage to a chorus of boos last night just four lines into his first UK performance for nine years.
The troubled star had picked up a gong at the World Music Awards in London minutes before his embarrassing comeback.

The Sun meanwhile described his appearance as:

“ a WACKO Michael Jackson’s plastic surgery-ravaged face looks like it is melting as he arrives at the shambolic World Music Awards last night.”

Its front page though is a far more serious affair

Girl, 13, raped at TV circus

“A TRAINER on telly circus hit Cirque De Celebrite has been charged with raping a 13-year-old girl, The Sun can reveal.
Mohamed Alshelbt, 20, is alleged to have attacked the teenager in his caravan.
The Moroccan big top star helps celebrities prepare their acts for the reality show.
The girl is believed to have gone to see last Sunday night’s show in a circus tent on Woolwich Common, South London.”

And in an exclusive the paper also reveals

More babies for a sponger dad

“A JOBLESS dad of 15 is expecting two more kids — after getting his wife and mistress pregnant.
Mick Philpott, 49, who lives on benefits, had already sparked outrage by demanding a bigger council house to cope with visits from his kids.”

The Express leads with the story

Danger in millions of eggs from abroad

“EGGS from abroad are putting millions of Britons at risk of food poisoning.Tests have uncovered deadly salmonella bacteria in one in every 30 boxes of imported eggs, the Govern-ment’s health watchdog warned yesterday.It means around 47 million eggs a year consumed in the UK could be contaminated with the bug.Experts urged shoppers to buy British eggs wherever possible as most of our laying hens are vaccinated against salmonella.”

Meanwhile in the jungle

"LUSTY Lauren Booth has revealed how she would like to see some girl-on-girl action in the jungle.The outrageous hack said if she was a lesbian she would love to frolic in the Outback with another lass.Naughty Lauren, 39, said: “I think if I were a lesbian I would ‘lez’ it up for viewers. It’s what they’d expect.”She confessed her saucy secret during a chat with Phina Oruche."

Courtesy of the Star

An interview with OJ Simpson to be aired in two weeks is already causing controversy.The

Times reports

“Mr Simpson, who was controversially acquitted 11 years ago of the murder of his estranged wife, Nicole, and her companion, will detail over a two-hour interview how he might have carried out the crimes had he been the killer.”

What life might be like in fifty years according to a survey commissioned by the New Scientist is featured in the Telegraph

“Humans will be able to read the minds of fish, routinely have full-body transplants or just grow back a missing limb, and it could all happen in the next fifty years, according to the world's leading scientists.”

The Guardian concentrates on the fact that we might not be alone

“Freeman Dyson at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton is undeterred by our failure to find any cosmic neighbours so far. He told the magazine: "That proves life is rarer than we hoped, but does not prove that the universe is lifeless." Once we find proof of extraterrestrials, further discoveries will follow quickly, as we will know what we are looking for, he said.
Paul Davies, a physicist at Arizona State University in Tempe, speculated that we may not have to look far. "There could be aliens right here, under our noses. Most life is microbial, and you can't tell just by looking whether a microbe is 'our' life or alien," he said. "The search for terrestrial aliens has only just begun. If they are here, they could be identified soon."

The Independent reports from Congo where the results of the recent elections have come out

Calls for calm in Congo after Kabila emerges as the victor

“Joseph Kabila was last night set to become Congo's first democratic head of state in more than 40 years after the country's independent electoral commission announced provisional results of the central African country's historic vote.
Kabila, who has been president since 2001 when his father, Laurent, was assassinated, won 58.05 per cent of the vote, while his challenger, former warlord, Jean Pierre Bemba, won 41.95 per cent.”

England’s friendly in Amsterdam is covered on the back pages

CASINO ROOYAL

Says the Mirror

“WAYNE ROONEY broke his year-long international scoring drought last night to ease the pressure on England coach Steve McClaren.”

Amsterdamn

“STEVE McCLAREN blasted his critics and insisted England were back in business.
The under-fire boss saw his side draw in Amsterdam last night as Wayne Rooney scored his first international goal in 12 MONTHS before Rafael van der Vaart’s late strike.
Mac insisted: “I’m not bothered about answering personal criticism. The only things that bother me are performances and results. “

Was the verdict in the Sun