Gordon Brown,James Baker and Mars are the main stories in the Press this morning.

The Chancellor’s pre Budget report dominates most of the headlines

Tax and spend

Says the Times

"Gordon Brown laid down his battle lines with David Cameron yesterday by announcing a £36 billion outlay to rebuild schools, and portraying himself as the leader who would rather spend without shame on the public services than cut taxes."

Brown's 2020 vision: billions for schools and benefits for unborn

"Gordon Brown pledged an education crusade yesterday as he disclosed that a rise in taxes will be used to help rebuild every school.

Says the Telegraph whilst the Mirror headlines

GB UK: GORD'S SPENDING BID TO CRUSH TORIES

"The Chancellor set out his goals for a brighter future with reduction of carbon emissions top of the agenda as well as rain forest preservation and cleaner coal to tackle choking greenhouse gases.
Mr Brown slapped 1.25p on a litre of fuel from midnight last night, putting average petrol prices up to about 88p. But pump prices could jump by as much as 6p per litre in the Christmas period.

The Guardian though takes a more critical stance on the so called green budget

Brown has failed green test say critics

"Gordon Brown came under strong attack from opposition parties and green lobby groups last night after responding to the government's own warnings on climate change with a modest £1bn package of green taxes in his pre-budget report.
Little more than a month after the prime minister described the report into climate change by the Treasury economist Sir Nicholas Stern as the most important since Labour came to power, the chancellor's decision to double air passenger duty and to raise duty on petrol by 1.25% was derided by environmentalists and tax experts. The £1bn tax increase amounted to less than 0.1% of GDP, compared with the 1% of GDP Sir Nicholas said would be necessary to curb carbon emissions."

The Baker commission reported yesterday on the sitaution in Iraq.The Indy unsuprisingly devotes its front page to its findings

Apocalypse now: 79 recommendations and a President forced into a corner

"A gauntlet was thrown at George Bush's feet yesterday when a long-awaited report on Iraq recommended that he seek the help of Iran and Syria, significantly bolster Iraqi forces and prepare to withdraw most US troops within 14 months.
It warned that finding a way forward had to be part of a broader Middle East settlement that established a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestine conflict and provided peace for Lebanon."

A message given starkly in the Guardian

"President Bush was warned yesterday that his policy in Iraq was "not working" and that to have a chance of avoiding a regional disaster he would have to repudiate much of the foreign policy he has pursued over the past six years."

The Times doesnt hold back either

"President Bush was confronted yesterday with the stark choice of abandoning his foreign policy or being “doomed to failure” in Iraq and across the Middle East.
The prospects for the countrywere “grave and deteriorating”. By the end of the day at least ten more US soldiers had been killed. "

The Independent also reports on last night's Dimbleby lecture given by the former head of the army

"British troops are being put at risk by underfunding and "overstretch" in Iraq and Afghanistan General Sir Mike Jackson, the former head of the British Army, said in an attack on the Government.
General Sir Mike Jackson criticised defence ministers for "considerable inertia" for failing to recognise that pressures on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan had grown beyond initial expectations."

The Telegraph reports that

"He also accused ministers of turning the military into a political football and warned of the current "febrile atmosphere" in which the Army would always remain loyal to the Sovereign.
The lecture will acutely embarrass Tony Blair, the Prime Minister, as over the past three years the officer was at the heart of the operations and planning for Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Guardian concentrates on home matters reportinmg that

Asbos failing to rein in hard core of persistent offenders,

"Antisocial behaviour orders are ineffective with a hard core of persistent offenders whose behaviour is blighting communities across Britain, according to a report by the government's official spending watchdog published today.
Over 55% of those given an Asbo did not comply with its conditions and a hard core of 20% breached them more than five times, the National Audit Office report said. One youngster breached his Asbo 25 times."

The Mail adding that

"The proportion of juveniles ignoring the orders - which were introduced by Tony Blair as a key weapon in tackling yobbish behaviour - is even higher, with 57 per cent of 10-to-17-year-olds failing to comply.
The statistics also show a big rise in the use of Asbos, with nearly 10,000 issued, 1,172 of which were in London. "

The Telegraph asks

Is this the water mark of life on Mars?

"Dramatic new pictures suggest Mars has flowing liquid water on its surface, increasing the possibility of current life on the planet."

According to the Guardian

"Mars formed more than 4.5bn years ago and scientists generally believe it went through an early wet and warm era that ended after 1.5bn to 2.5bn years, leaving the planet extremely dry and cold.
Water cannot remain a liquid for long on the planet because of sub-zero surface temperatures and low atmospheric pressure that would turn it into ice or gas.
But some studies have pointed to the possibility of liquid water flowing briefly on the surface through an underground water source that could shoot up periodically like an aquifer. "

The Sun has a good news story on its front page

Little Miss Courage's walk of life

"BRAVE meningitis victim Ellie Challis waves happily from a swing — in a picture her mum feared she would never see.
Surgeons removed both legs and part of each arm to save the tot after the killer disease poisoned her blood.
But Ellie, three, has bounced back after specialists at the world-famous Dorset Orthopaedic Clinic fitted her with £20,000 prosthetic legs — paid for through a fund-raising drive by locals in Romford, Essex.
She is gleefully walking again using a special frame — and will be able to move unaided once she perfects her balance.

The Express returns to one of its main themes

"BRITAIN is facing a terrible winter with the worst storms for decades, experts warned last night.Killer winds of up to 100mph will blow in this month, followed by two months of the worst blizzards for years.The weather will gather force and build up to a crescendo in the final days of 2006. It will make this the stormiest December in 50 years after the warmest autumn ever, and an unseasonably mild start to winter, said forecasters."

As the climax of X Factor draws closer the Star headlines with

Plot to nobble X Factor babe

"SIMON Cowell leapt to the defence of X Factor favourite Leona Lewis last night and insisted: “Someone’s out to get her.” Photos of her with two vocal coaches were leaked to sabotage her chances, he claimed.He said: “It’s just not fair.”

Other news from around the world of showbiz includes

"MEL B learnt she had been dumped by Eddie Murphy - when friends phoned to tell her." according to the Mirror

The Sun reports on the latest from Pete Doherty

"A TOP comedian has urged police to investigate foul play after his pal Mark Blanco died just minutes after a row with Pete Doherty.
Jerry Sadowitz, 45, who knew Mark for ten years, said he would NEVER have taken his own life.
The amateur actor died when he plunged from a second-floor balcony at a party, soon after arguing with Kate Moss’s lover."

The Mail tells us that

"Heather Mills has taken the extraordinary step of representing herself in court to reduce mounting legal bills in her divorce from Sir Paul McCartney.
Ms Mills has dispensed with barristers charging as much as £15,000 a day in her latest legal action against McCartney. "

Back to the serious news and the Independent as does the other papers reports

"The death of the former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko is now being treated as murder, Scotland Yard said last night.
The announcement is likely to increase the diplomatic tension surrounding efforts to catch those responsible for poisoning the exiled former spy."

The Telegraph reports from Thailand on the final chapter of the Tsunami

Burial for hundreds of unknown tsunami dead

"To the quiet sounds of Buddhist, Muslim and Christian rites for the unknown dead, Thailand yesterday began burying the last unidentified bodies and sets of remains left unrecognisable by the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami."

Adding

"Almost 5,400 corpses were recovered in the aftermath, and a vast victim identification effort, involving police from scores of countries, has since put names to 3,273 victims, matching dental records, DNA, and fingerprints from the remains with samples gathered from relatives or the homes of the missing."

Finally some more Xmas stories.The same paper reports

Christmas is no longer in the shop window

"In an era when the traditions of Christmas are increasingly under fire, many shops appear to have abandoned their traditional displays in favour of less "culturally specific" images.
Instead of wise men, Santas and reindeer, shoppers are being enticed with topiary, skeletons and suspenders.
Church leaders believe the move reflects a worrying trend in Britain to turn Christmas into the secular celebration of Winterval."

Xmas does appear to be in full swing in Dubai where the Sun tells

Ding dong merrily Dubai

AS Britain’s manic PC brigade try to take the fun out of Christmas . . . MUSLIM Dubai shows how to celebrate properly.
Shoppers at the posh Wafi mall in the Arab state are greeted by a massive Christmas tree, covered with dazzling lights and decorations.
And despite being non-Christians locals delight in the “Winter” wonderland — even if the temperature outside was 20°C (68°F) yesterday.

Which it contrasts with Burnley where

"The centrepiece Christmas tree in the town’s Charter Walk market square has been axed because the anti-vandal box in which it sat was too expensive. Instead there is a crib scene made from a SHED which is tucked away under stairs. And shoppers have to make do with a Christmas tree near a branch of McDonald’s."