This Sunday morning,the Newspapers are looking at the outbreak of Bird flu,and the continuing Honours for Cash inquiry.





The Independent's Front page leads with





H5N1: The deadly strain of bird flu is here. But we're told: Don't panic

The first major outbreak of bird flu to hit Britain was confirmed yesterday, sparking fears that the virus will spread throughout the country and prompting a cull of 160,000 possibly infected birds.
As vets and scientists tried to trace the source of the country's first infection of the H5N1 strain of the disease, which has killed 164 people in Asia, government scientists sealed off the farm at the centre of the alert.





The Observer reports that





World braced for huge surge in bird flu cases





As the authorities responded to the outbreak in Suffolk, local residents questioned why it had taken some 48 hours after the first chicks died last Tuesday for the government's Department of Food and Rural Affairs, Defra, to be informed. But there was also wider concern. Japan and Nigeria have reported a series of cases of the lethal virus, and China, Egypt, Russia, South Korea and Vietnam have also revealed outbreaks in birds and in humans in the past two months. Indonesia began a mass bird cull in the capital city of Jakarta last Wednesday. At least 164 people are now known to have been killed by the disease across the globe.

The Mail reports that

Bernard Matthews took 48 hours to report turkey deaths

Villagers in the picturesque village of Holton watched as the site was taped off by police who closed roads and enforced a three kilometre protection zone and a 10 kilometre surveillance zone to keep poultry away from any wild birds.
And one, Lillian Foreman, 43, voiced the fears of many of them by saying: "If turkeys started dying on the Tuesday why weren't the authorities notified then? They should have been notified sooner. I am worried for people who work at the factory. What will happen to them?"

A sentiment also expressed in the Telegraph

Fury at government delays after bird flu outbreak

There was mounting anger over the official response to the outbreak of bird flu at a poultry farm last night after it was confirmed that the strain of disease is the deadly H5N1 virus.
As scientists verified that the virus at the Bernard Matthews farm was the deadliest strain, it emerged that the first 71 birds died last Tuesday. But the outbreak was not reported to government vets until Thursday evening, after another 1,000 died.
It took a further two days before European Union scientists managed to conduct tests and were able to confirm that the virus at the farm, in Holton, near Halesworth, was H5N1.

And finally on this topic back to the Indy which asks

He survived the Twizzler, but will H5N1 finish off Bernard Matthews?

In 2005, the company's most notorious product, the Turkey Twizzler came to symbolise everything that was wrong with British school dinners, and last year the company announced a drop in operating profits to £26.7m, from £40.4m the year before.
Conditions inside Bernard Matthews turkey farms were highlighted in September when two employees were secretly filmed playing baseball with live birds at a turkey shed in Haveringland. Both men admitted ill-treatment, but claimed they had been caught up in a "culture of cruelty" at the farm.

The Sunday Times changes the lead topic with the story that

Olympic cost will double to £5 billion

THE cost of the London Olympics will be more than double the price quoted in the bid document that helped Britain to win the 2012 Games, according to the official budget to be released next month.
The increase to £5.1 billion will provoke controversy because the government will have to raid at least £1.7 billion extra from lottery good causes and public funds to bail out the Games.

The admission follows intense pressure on ministers to come clean over the costs. Last week the National Audit Office warned that the lack of an agreed funding package, 18 months after London won the Games, posed a “major risk” to the success of the project.

Not suprisingly the papers are full of speculation about the continuing cash for honours investigation,The Indy reports that

'Ten files of evidence' submitted in cash for honours inquiry

The Independent on Sunday can reveal that the Crown Prosecution Service has been helping the police devise questions to ask witnesses being questioned on suspicion of perverting the course of justice. The latest "submission" was made on the day of Tony Blair's recent interview by police, which is believed to have been taped by Scotland Yard.
Sources close to the investigation say that aides of Mr Blair are expected to be interviewed again. The police are understood to be examining "contradictory" evidence given by Labour figures in the inquiry.

The Observer reports that

Blair aide: cash probe poisoning politics

One of Tony Blair's most senior aides has attacked the police investigation into cash for honours, saying that repeated delays in winding it up have poisoned British politics. In a remarkable admission from the heart of Number 10, the aide said the result was a 'blight' not just on Labour and the Prime Minister, but on the whole of democracy.
The aide is understood to be reflecting feelings in Downing Street that the length of the police investigation, which has been running for nearly a year, is frustrating and unnecessary. There has been growing tension between the government and the police inquiry team, led by Assistant Commissioner John Yates.

A nightmare on Downing Street

The Times reports on

Honours ‘cover-up’ meeting revealed

SCOTLAND YARD detectives who are investigating the cash for honours scandal have uncovered a private meeting held last summer at which key Downing Street aides allegedly plotted a cover-up.
The meeting was attended by four of Tony Blair’s closest aides, including Jonathan Powell, his chief of staff, Lord Levy, Labour’s chief fundraiser, and Ruth Turner, a senior adviser.
It is understood that Levy was questioned about a note of the meeting, said to have been held at Downing Street, when he was arrested last week for allegedly conspiring to pervert the course of justice. One source described the note as setting out an “action plan” for dealing with the police inquiry.

The Mirror reports that

EXCLUSIVE: BLAIR PROBE ‘CONSPIRACY’

TONY Blair’s allies are fighting back in the cash for honours scandal with claims it is a politically motivated conspiracy.
As the Prime Minister faced renewed calls to reveal when he will step down, a senior minister accused police of trying to humiliate Mr Blair.
He told the Sunday Mirror the 10-month probe into whether honours were offered to rich Labour backers for cash has “fundamentally damaged relations between the government and the police, which is dangerous for any democracy”.He added: “It is a politically motivated conspiracy.”
Mr Blair insisted yesterday he would not be knocked off course by the honours storm. But even his closest allies now believe he should reveal when he plans to quit – and should set a date before the local elections in May. Police strongly denied the conspiracy claim amid rising speculation that a file outlining possible charges will be sent to the Crown Prosecution Service within weeks.

Away from the affair the Mail's front page announces more trouble for the PM

70 arrests as police raid Blair friend

Government race adviser with close links to Cherie Blair is at the centre of a major investigation into an alleged illegal immigrant employment racket.
Police and Immigration Service officers stormed the £3.5million home of Nighat Awan on Friday night as part of a nationwide swoop on Indian restaurants, including those owned by her and her husband. A total of 70 men were arrested in the raids.

The Express is rather more foreright in its opinions of the Pm with a front page

BLAIR TOLD: 'GO NOW' which according to an ICM poll

As the beleaguered Prime Minister again insisted he would ride out the cash-for-honours storm, an exclusive poll for the Sunday Express reveals 56 per cent of voters think he should quit now, months before his planned exit in the summer.Mr Blair, fighting for his political career, yesterday admitted for the first time that he was rattled by the Scotland Yard investigation but declared he would not be blown off course.Almost half of Labour supporters polled – 43 per cent – backed calls for the Premier to go immediately as the Government was accused of “paralysis” and the Prime Minister’s authority haemorrhaged in the teeth of growing revolt.

The weeks arrests in Birmingham are also dealt with in the papers

Security forces 'foil terror plot every six weeks'

Twice as many Islamist terror plots have been disrupted since the July 7 suicide bombings as has previously been made public, Britain's security services insist.

further six plots, which have been kept secret until now for security reasons, had been planned by groups across Britain since the London Underground and bus bombings in 2005.
Whitehall sources refused to provide precise details on security grounds.
The revelation demonstrates the scale of the task facing MI5 and the police, who are now discovering or disrupting some kind of terrorist plot in the United Kingdom every six weeks. Up to 12 plots of all kinds have been discovered in the past year and a half.

The Times reports that

Al-Qaeda tells British cells to carry out wave of beheadings

ISLAMIC terror cells in Britain have been instructed to carry out a series of kidnappings and beheadings of the kind allegedly planned by the nine terrorist suspects arrested in Birmingham last week.
The “strategic” assassination instruction was issued by Al-Qaeda’s leaders in Pakistan and Iraq to dozens of their followers in this country. It was uncovered by MI5 last autumn, senior security sources say.
As a result police are on standby for multiple attempts by terrorists to kidnap and then behead people across Britain. MI5 is conducting a counter-terrorism surveillance operation to prevent such an attack.

Meanwhile The Mail reports

Police chief's fury over 'Labour leaks on beheading plot'

The senior policeman leading the investigation into an alleged plot to behead a Muslim British soldier believes the inquiry has been "hijacked" by the Government.
Assistant Chief Constable David Shaw was "seething" when he discovered Whitehall officials leaked sensitive details of Operation Gamble to the media in an apparent attempt to divert attention from the problems engulfing Tony Blair.

The Observer paints a rather black picture

Britain's bleak vision of the next decade

A disturbing vision of the dangers threatening the UK is to be revealed by the Prime Minister tomorrow when he unveils a landmark foreign policy review. Tony Blair will lay bare the challenges facing Britain, which include:
Threats to security the danger from both foreign extremists and 'home-grown' terrorists has risen since the September 2001 al-Qaeda attacks.
Weapons of mass destruction - a 'serious challenge' with the immediate focus on North Korea and Iran, but one which could well get worse as other countries turn to nuclear technology as part of the fight against climate change. So far, the paper says, there is 'no clear solution'.

The Indy reports on

Baghdad's worst bomb outrage kills 135 and injures 305

A suicide bomber driving a truck loaded with a ton of explosives struck a market in a predominantly Shia area of Baghdad yesterday, killing 135 people in what was the deadliest single bombing in the capital since the 2003 invasion.
The explosion, which wrecked food stalls and shops, setting some on fire, was the latest in a series of attacks against mainly Shia commercial targets. Police said 305 people were wounded in the blast, which left bodies of shoppers strewn across the streets.

The Observer reports from Italy

Italian football reels after Sicily riot death

It took around three hours for Filippo Raciti's heart to stop beating after a hurled missile exploded in his face during clashes on Friday between fans of Catania and Palermo, Sicily's top football teams.
'Don't worry, it's nothing, but take me to the hospital. I don't feel well,' were the 38-year-old policeman's last words as the baroque streets of Catania filled with smoke, and helicopters swooped to disperse mobs of masked teenagers to let ambulances reach him.

At the end of a week when the Environment once again hit the headlines,The Mirror reports from

DIRTIEST PLACE ON THE PLANET

THE air is blue-black with coal dust, ash falling from the sky like sleet. Huge chimneys belch out their poison 24 hours a day, creating a choking fug of sulphur and carbon.
It is an atmosphere that burns your eyes and makes your nose bleed, one which is made worse by the refuse, industrial waste and animal carcasses that litter the verges of the roads.
If there is a Hell on Earth, this is it. Welcome to Linfen, the coal powerhouse driving China's economic boom and officially the most polluted city in the world.
A report by environmental charity the Blacksmith Institute has revealed that Linfen, population 3.5million, now rivals Chernobyl.

Amongst the Red Tops,the News of the world reveals on its front page that

FA SEX scandal secretary Faria Alam is a secret £8,000-a-night hooker,
The 40-year-old Asian beauty — recently seen by millions moralising about the Celebrity Big Brother race row on TV — stripped to her bra and knickers and offered our undercover reporter sex for cash on Friday night.

And continued

I am pretty good at what I do," she promised as she greedily watched wads of £20 notes being counted out for her in a luxury apartment in London's Mayfair.
The busty Bangladeshi had demanded so much money she had difficulty stuffing it all into her cream designer handbag.
She then spread herself across the bed and offered our man a range of the kind of sordid "party tricks" she had played on her most famous conquest, former England boss Sven Goran Eriksson.

The Mirror continues with the story of Kylie's relationship breakups

KYLIE HEARTBREAK: WHAT A PHONEY

LOVE rat Olivier Martinez dumped Kylie Minogue by phone, told his family he was distraught about it… and then spent the night with a mystery brunette.
The girl is the THIRD woman been flaunted by the heartless Frenchman in as many days.
Friends say Kylie is “utterly devastated” at being jilted by womanising Martinez, with whom she had dreamed of spending the rest of her life and starting a family.
At midnight on Friday, his aides announced the split, claiming it was mutual and said the pair would remain good friends.
They said in a statement: “Olivier Martinez and Kylie Minogue have officially confirmed that they are no longer a couple.
“They have made it clear that the decision to go their separate ways was mutual and amicable. The two remain very close friends.”

The News of the World reports on

THE BLAIR BABE WHO DRANK HERSELF TO DEATH

FALLEN Blair babe Fiona Jones was found dead on her bed surrounded by 15 empty bottles of vodka, the News of the World can reveal.
The glamorous former MP, once the female face of New Labour, drank herself to death after her political career collapsed in turmoil.
In a frank and damning exclusive interview with the News of the World, grieving husband Chris — who discovered her body last Sunday — tells of forgotten Fiona's tragic last hours.

The same paper reveals some details of Prince Harry's love life reporting

BESOTTED Prince Harry has confessed his love for Chelsy Davy – on a website used by millions. The prince posts intimate messages on Facebook, a new MySpace-style social network, to keep in touch with Chelsy. Harry, 22, uses the codename Spike Wells and calls Chelsy “Chicken.”
Spike was the name on his T-shirt at Chelsy’s 21st. He has never spoken of his love for Chelsy, apart from calling her “special”. But after leaving London’s Cuckoo nightclub three weeks ago, Harry got out his laptop and wrote on Facebook: “Spike is TAKING OFF ALL HIS CLOTHES, waiting for chicken!”

The People's front page switches the celeb gossip to Madonna

WORLD EXCLUSIVE: MADONNA MARRIAGE PEACE PACT

POP Queen Madonna and husband Guy Ritchie have saved their troubled marriage by forging a remarkable love pact, The People can reveal.
Madonna, 48, and film director Guy, 38, have told friends they are “happier than ever” after settling difficulties over work and family life that had rocked their seven-year union.
The pair thrashed out their marriage problems after visiting renowned therapist Tricia Barnes.

The Telegraph reports on the influence of You Tube on the US presidential candidates saying

Calamity just a click away for US presidential front-runners

Front-runners campaigning for the White House are getting to grips with a difficult dilemma: how to handle their "YouTube moment".
From Hillary Clinton, who decided to ignore hers, to John McCain, whose team opted to fight back hard, candidates for next year's American presidential election are waking up to the fact that a single gaffe or unguarded moment captured on video may be downloaded from the internet and watched by millions.

Describing Hillary's moment

Sen Clinton was on her first high-profile campaign trip to Iowa last weekend when she was recorded singing The Star Spangled Banner, America's notoriously difficult national anthem, distinctly out of tune. The clip of the melodically challenged former First Lady was rapidly uploaded on to YouTube, the popular video-sharing online site that Google bought for $1.65 billion (£878 million) in November, and was viewed 660,000 times in the first 24 hours - the most-watched footage that day.

Finally the return of Johnny Wilkinson to the England Rugby team is hailed by the papers

Wilkinson makes dream return says the Telegraph

England 42 Scotland 20: Wonder of Wilkinson: a split lip and the Calcutta Cup

Says the Indy which goes on to say

It appeared to be a gamble on a scale that would make a supercasino look like a bookie's corner shop, but Jonny Wilkinson repaid the Red Rose faithful with a vintage performance. Wearing an England jersey for the first time since landing the drop goal in Sydney 39 months ago that won the World Cup, the stand-off looked as if he had never been away. By the time Brian Ashton replaced Wilkinson in the 74th minute he had contributed 27 points. Not bad for a player who has spent much of his career operating not so much on a knife-edge as a scalpel.