The Litvinenko story returns to the limelight in this morning’s papers

According to the Times

Poison trail leads back to Moscow

“The Kremlin was at the centre of another poison mystery last night after the family of a Russian former Prime Minister claimed that he had been struck down by unknown toxins.
Yegor Gaidar, who is linked to the former spy Alexander Litvinenko, was at a conference in Dublin when he began vomiting blood. “This was an unnatural poisoning,” an aide said. “Doctors do not see natural causes of poisoning involving any substance known to them.” Mr Gaidar’s daughter, Maria, said that her father had succumbed to “a poison unknown to civilian medicine”.
The Telegraph meanwhile details what it terms the bungled plot

“What the killers may not have reckoned with is that the polonium 210 that killed Alexander Litvinenko, believed to be the only man ever killed with a nuclear poison, left a powerful radioactive "scent" as it was brought to London and inflicted on him.

New developments in the fast-moving tale that has echoes of a spy thriller included the revelations that:

• The assassins were so bungling that they dropped the polonium on the floor of a London hotel room, a senior government source told The Daily Telegraph yesterday.
• Scientists at the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston are believed to have already identified the nuclear plant which made the polonium.
• Anti-terrorist officers at Scotland Yard believe the polonium was brought into London on a British Airways flight from Moscow on Oct 25, a week before Mr Litvinenko fell ill.
• The Home Secretary told the House of Commons that 12 sites had shown traces of radioactivity and four aircraft were being searched by scientists with sophisticated tracing equipment.

The Guardian reports on today’s autopsy

“The medical team conducting today's autopsy into Alexander Litvinenko's death is likely to wear full protective clothing including space suit-style helmets. The post-mortem examination will be carried out at the Royal London Hospital by a Home Office-approved pathologist.
It will also be witnessed by an independent pathologist who will file a confidential report to be made available to the defence if there is a criminal trial, and a third pathologist appointed by Mr Litvinenko's family.”

Meanwhile the Sun leads on the continuing efforts to trace people that flew on the aircraft at risk from radiation

Under the Headline

SEB GLOW

"SEB Coe and Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell are facing health tests after flying on one of the jets caught up in the Russian spy radiation scare, The Sun can reveal.
The plane is one of TWELVE places now feared contaminated by the polonium-210 used to kill Alexander Litvinenko.
Lord Coe and Ms Jowell took the British Airways flight from London to Barcelona for an Olympic fact-finding trip.
They are among 33,000 people who took 221 flights across Europe with the airline and may have been exposed to radiation.


The Telegraph has two front page leads this morning

Halt inquiry or we cancel Eurofighters

Claiming

“Saudi Arabia has given Britain 10 days to halt a fraud investigation into the country's arms trade - or lose a £10 billion Eurofighter contract.”
“The Saudis are said to be "outraged" by the probe into the activities of companies linked to BAE Systems. The investigation concerns alleged illegal payments made to members of the Saudi royal family and their agents.”

And in advance of today’s report on transport it claims

“A comprehensive road-pricing scheme, in which motorists would pay up to £1.28 a mile to drive at the peak of the rush hour, is inescapable, the Government's transport adviser told ministers today.”

In his long-awaited report, Sir Rod Eddington, said that without such a scheme in place by 2015 the taxpayer would face a vast bill for a new road-building programme to cope with the mounting congestion.

The Guardian headlines on a report that claims private individuals will be able to invest in a new build of private prisons.According to the report

“The public are to be offered the chance to purchase shares in new prisons under a "buy to let" scheme being considered by the Home Office, it emerged yesterday.

The idea has been floated in an attempt to overcome the refusal of the chancellor, Gordon Brown, to find the extra money needed for 8,000 new prison places at a time when the service is at breaking point.”

It is world aids day today and the Independent devotes its edition to the cause:

The suffering that betrays a world divided

“Today is World Aids Day. It was first marked in 1991, an attempt by the international community to alert humanity to the terrible scale of the threat posed by the disease.
Yet despite advances in medical science and a growing political consensus over the need to act, the epidemic shows no signs of abating. In fact, it is getting worse.
According to the United Nations, some 25 million people have already died from Aids. A further 40 million men, women and children are living with HIV. Since the turn of the millennium, 24.2 million people have been infected, 15.6 million have died.
If the world continues on its present course, Aids is set to surpass the Black Death of the 14th century as the deadliest outbreak of disease in human history.”

According to the Times

“The US Government has warned financial insitutions of an al-Qaeda plot to mount a cyber-attack on online stock trading and banking websites starting today. The plot, details of which appeared on an Islamist website on Monday, calls on supporters to bombard Wall Street institutions with computer viruses hidden in e-mails through the “infidel New Year”. But there was doubt about the extent of organisation behind the scheme. Experts pointed out that the financial services sector is well protected against cyber-attacks, and Wall Street shrugged off the alert. “As New Yorkers, we learn to live with this threat of terrorism,” one bank employee said.”
Steven Hawking was yesterday presented with Britain’s highest scientific award and his comments are widely reported

The Telegraph headlines

We must leave Earth, says Hawking

“Mankind will need to venture far beyond Earth to ensure the long-term survival of our species, Professor Stephen Hawking said today.

The Cambridge University cosmologist said that spacecraft propelled by the kind of technology popularised in Star Trek would be needed to colonise hospitable planets orbiting alien stars. He also disclosed his own ambition to go into space, saying: "Maybe Richard Branson will help me."

The Virgin tycoon hopes to use the privately-built SpaceShipOne for tourists from 2008.”

The Independent reports his interview on the BBC where he said

“scientists may be within 20 years of reaching the prediction in his book, A Brief History of Time, that mankind would one day "know the mind of God" by understanding the laws governing the universe.

He added that this knowledge may be vital to the human race's continued existence. "The long-term survival of the human race is at risk as long as it is confined to a single planet.
"Sooner or later, disasters such as an asteroid collision or nuclear war could wipe us all out. But once we spread out into space and establish independent colonies, our future should be safe. There isn't anywhere like the Earth in the solar system, so we would have to go to another star.

It is the first day of December and the Mail is launching its own xmas campaign.

Campaign for a real Christmas: Religious leaders unite against political correctness

“A campaign to save the traditions of Christmas from the interference of politically correct town halls was launched by an influential coalition of Christian and Muslim leaders yesterday.
Leaders of the two faiths warned that attempts to suppress Christmas bring a backlash and Muslims get the blame.

And they said that while Christmas causes no offence to minority faiths, banning it offends almost everybody.

Notorious local authority attempts to stamp out Christmas include Birmingham's decision to name its seasonal celebrations 'Winterval' and Luton's attempt to change Christmas into a Harry Potter festival by renaming its festive lights 'Luminos'.

However no matter what the season the Express continues its Diana crusade

“A MASSIVE Establishment cover-up will mean the true findings of the investigation into the death of Princess Diana may never be known, it was claimed last night.As speculation grows that former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Lord Stevens will conclude the crash was nothing more than an accident, accusations of a whitewash were growing.”

In its front page this morning.

The Mirror returns though to scandal

EXCLUSIVE: DATE OR NO DATE

“NAUGHTY Noel Edmonds is using TV quiz Deal Or No Deal to pick up women contestants.
Noel, 57, has dated at least three hopefuls after flirting with them on the hit show.
He took Kelly Napper, 27, on a weekend away after sending her a card asking for a date during filming.”

The shock eviction from the Jungle last night is reported in the Sun

Who would have Gest it?

“FAVOURITE David Gest was sensationally booted off I’m A Celebrity last night in the series’ biggest shock ever.
The bonkers star had been odds-on to win when he was axed shortly after sleazy ex-EastEnder Dean Gaffney was evicted.”