In an interview with the Times,the Iraqi Prime Minister tells the paper,

America’s refusal to give Baghdad’s security forces sufficient guns and equipment has cost a great number of lives, Nouri al-Maliki said the insurgency had been bloodier and prolonged because Washington had refused to part with equipment. If it released the necessary arms, US forces could “dramatically” cut their numbers in three to six months, he told The Times.

The Independent reports

Dozens killed in Iraq bombings as Bush admits 'a slow failure'

As new bombings killed dozens in Kirkuk and Baghdad yesterday, senior Democrats in America crafted a bipartisan Senate resolution opposing President George Bush's latest troop "surge", and lambasted the administration for its failure to take in more Iraqi refugees - many of them in mortal danger from the sectarian violence.
Less than 24 hours after co-ordinated explosions at a university in Baghdad killed more than 60 people, 17 more died in a suicide bombing at a market in the Shia district of Sadr City in the capital yesterday. In the northern city of Kirkuk, 10 people died in a car bombing at a checkpoint outside a police station.

The Guardian meanwhile reports that

Labour must admit Iraq errors, say ministers

The impetus for Labour to show contrition has come from admissions by four ministers, who have gone on the record to concede that a string of errors was made in Iraq. Hilary Benn, the international development secretary, told the Fabian Society: "The current situation in Iraq is absolutely grim, so let us be clear about that truth. Look, the intelligence was wrong, the de-Ba'athification went too far, the disbanding of the army was wrong and, of course, we should have the humility to acknowledge those things, and to learn. I am not insensitive to the huge well of bitterness and anger from lots of people in the party."

Yet it is Big Brother that continues to make the headlines,the same paper reports that

Racism, ratings and reality TV: now Big Brother creates a diplomatic incident

Three days ago it was merely the below par fifth season of a faltering reality TV franchise. But as the storm over the alleged racism of its participants intensified, Celebrity Big Brother yesterday sparked demonstrations on Indian streets, consternation in Downing Street, condemnation from the chancellor on a state visit to Bangalore and a police investigation.

The front page of the Sun describes it as a NATIONALDISGRACE

The Mirror headlines with

BEAUTY V BIGOT

THE disgraceful racist bullying of Big Brother's Shilpa Shetty reached a new low yesterday as Jade Goody told her to "go back to the slums".

And two-faced Danielle Lloyd said the actress should "F*** off home" before sidling up to her in quiet and declaring: "I don't want to argue with you."
The shocking treatment came as Channel 4 bosses AGAIN refused to step in to stop the bullying - while a million extra viewers tuned in. Complaints to TV watchdogs rose to 21,000 and Tony Blair and Gordon Brown and Indian politicians waded into the row.
The bitterness inside the BB house intensified after Jade - who is up for eviction against Shilpa tomorrow - laid into the Bollywood star and accused her of lying about buying an Oxo cube.

The Independent's front page tells us

Racism gets a reality check

The London Mayor, Ken Livingstone, said: "The mocking of Shilpa Shetty's accent, her Indian cooking and other aspects of her culture, as well as such basic things as repeated failure to get her name right and referring to her in extreme derogatory terms are completely unacceptable ... All cultures are welcome in London and we do not ask anyone to give up their culture or background in order to be welcome and to contribute to the city and its great prosperity. The treatment meted out to Shilpa Shetty is totally opposite to such an approach."


The Mail though reminds us

Britain's crisis issues - from the Iraq War to Home Office meltdown - have been bizarrely sidelined as politicians instead plunged into the row over Celebrity Big Brother.

The Guardian reports

University heads warn of £10,000-a-year tuition fees

Tuition fees for undergraduates in England will have to rise to £6,000 a year or more to cover teaching costs, according to a Guardian survey of university vice-chancellors and senior staff.
It reveals growing unease about the funding system which came into force last autumn, with suggestions that some science courses could cost students up to £10,000 a year when the current structure is reviewed.
Heads of more than 40 of the country's 100 universities responded to the survey, with most warning that fees would or could rise. Many also thought the Treasury would make student loans more expensive to repay, in part because the cost to the government of writing-off unpaid debts has risen to nearly £1bn a year.

The Telegraph relays the story of the

Treatment of coma wife 'alien and inhumane'

Her husband is demanding an inquiry after the High Court ordered that his wife, who was in a persistent vegetative state, be treated with an unproven drug against his wishes.

The woman had been in a coma for three years when the family asked for her feeding to be withdrawn so that she could be allowed to die.
But the Official Solicitor successfully applied to the court for the woman, who cannot be named, to be treated with Zolpiden, a treatment for insomnia that has been linked to patients in a persistent vegetative state (PVS) recovering some of their awareness.
The treatment, however, failed and now the dead woman’s husband is calling for an inquiry.
“What happened to Jessica was alien and inhumane,” Nick, 55, told The Daily Telegraph.

The Times reports on the continuing terrorist trial at Woolwich Crown Court revealing

How police took pictures of bomb suspects in the Lakes

They pitched their tents several hundred yards from the main campsite, where dozens of walkers and tourists were enjoying a Bank Holiday weekend in the Lake District.
But something about their activities in May 2004 attracted the attention of a Scotland Yard surveillance team.

Says the paper,

Pictures of some of the men under surveillance were released yesterday after being shown to the jury in their trial at Woolwich Crown Court, southeast London.

The same paper reports on

Rail commuters travelling at peak periods should expect to stand even if they have paid £5,000 for an annual season ticket, according to the head of railways at the Department for Transport.
Mike Mitchell was condemned by rail unions and passenger groups for saying that it was acceptable to stand for up to half an hour in peak periods. He said that it would be too expensive to provide seats for everyone and that commuters who did not want to stand should avoid the peak, which now extends from 6.30am to 10am on many lines.

The Express leads with

NHS now run out of beds

HOSPITALS are so short of beds that patients are being stranded in casualty departments, doctors warned last night.The NHS cash crisis means that too many patients are either having to wait more than the four-hour target in casualty or are being moved on to “inappropriate” wards.At the same time, other patients are being discharged too early in order to help hit the target, raising concerns about their future health.The shocking analysis, from a survey of accident and emergency doctors in England, raised fears that patients attending casualty departments now face the prospect of longer waiting times.

And as if there isnt enough bad news this morning,both the Indy and the Times report obn Steven Hawkin's comments yesterday,

Hawking warns: We must recognise the catastrophic dangers of climate change

Professor Hawking said that we stand on the precipice of a second nuclear age and a period of exceptional climate change, both of which could destroy the planet as we know it.

Says the Indy,

The Times reports his comments

“Since Hiroshima and Nagasaki, no nuclear weapons have been used in war, though the world has come uncomfortably close to disaster on more than one occasion,” Professor Hawking said. “But for good luck, we would all be dead.
“As we stand at the brink of a second nuclear age and a period of unprecedented climate change, scientists have a special responsibility once again to inform the public and advise leaders about the perils that humanity faces.
“We foresee great peril if governments and society do not take action now to render nuclear weapons obsolete and prevent further climate change.