The papers have this morning some differing views on the budget.
The Independent sees it as
Brown opens way for early election with unexpected cut in income tax
2p or not 2p is its headline
Gordon Brown announced tax cuts for Labour's heartlands and Middle England as he gave himself the option of calling a general election in the autumn of next year.
In his 11th and final Budget, the Chancellor unveiled a dramatic cut in the basic rate of income tax from 22p to 20p in the pound, the lowest for 75 years. But the Tories accused him of a "tax con" because his give-and-take package also abolished the 10p in the pound bottom rate of tax, currently paid on the first £2,150 of taxable income.
In his 11th and final Budget, the Chancellor unveiled a dramatic cut in the basic rate of income tax from 22p to 20p in the pound, the lowest for 75 years. But the Tories accused him of a "tax con" because his give-and-take package also abolished the 10p in the pound bottom rate of tax, currently paid on the first £2,150 of taxable income.
The Mirror agrees
BUDGET: NO10 THIS WAY
GORDON Brown yesterday paved the way for his triumphal march into No10 - by delivering a sensational 2p tax cut that left David Cameron and his cronies reeling.
As the Chancellor stood to deliver his final budget, the Tories waited eagerly to ambush him over revelations that a top civil servant had likened him to Soviet tyrant Joe Stalin.
But as Mr Brown reeled of a series of handouts that will make the average family £250 better off a year and poor households £425 richer, panic began to seep through Tory ranks.
As the Chancellor stood to deliver his final budget, the Tories waited eagerly to ambush him over revelations that a top civil servant had likened him to Soviet tyrant Joe Stalin.
But as Mr Brown reeled of a series of handouts that will make the average family £250 better off a year and poor households £425 richer, panic began to seep through Tory ranks.
The Twopenny Budget: Brown cuts tax and prepares for a poll says the Times adding that
He also gave himself the power to take key decisions — as future Prime Minister — about health and defence spending by delaying the publication of the three-year Comprehensive Spending Review until the autumn. In an openly political performance the Chancellor tried to outflank David Cameron by ridiculing his plans to increase tax on air travel and restore the married couples allowance.
The Guardian reports that
Brown into the limelight with a budget aimed at Cameron
Wrong-footing David Cameron for the first time since he became opposition leader, the chancellor sought to nullify middle England criticism of previous Labour stealth taxes by streamlining the tax system and using the £8bn raised from abolishing the 10p tax band to fund the £8bn cost of cutting the basic rate to 20p.
The Mail though calls it
What Gord giveth,Gord taketh away
Critics said the cut will effectively be cancelled out by his other measures, including raising the ceiling for National Insurance and scrapping the 10p starter rate of income tax, and a lot of people will actually be slightly worse off.
A similarly generous-looking giveaway to business, a 2p cut in the rate of corporation tax, was undermined by the abolition of valuable reliefs and allowances for companies.
A similarly generous-looking giveaway to business, a 2p cut in the rate of corporation tax, was undermined by the abolition of valuable reliefs and allowances for companies.
The Telegraph calls it
Gordon's tax con trick
But last night both the Conservatives and the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies claimed that many middle-class families and even lower earners would face higher bills. Up to one family in five is likely to lose out, according to independent financial experts.
Whilst the Express headlines
TAX CUT: IT'S JUST A BIG CON
In his final Budget yesterday, the smirking Chancellor squeezed billions more in hard-earned cash out of middle-income families while pretending to cut taxes.
Elsewhere the death of Cricket coach Bob Woolmer is attracting the attention of the papers
A suspicious death, say police, as the rumours of murder or accident abound reports the Guardian
Jamaican detectives investigating the death of former England cricketer Bob Woolmer will resume their questioning of hotel staff and players today after announcing that they are treating his death as "suspicious".
Former Scotland Yard chief superintendent Mark Shield, who is leading the investigation, said police were trying to piece together the final hours of the Pakistani coach, who was found collapsed in his hotel room on Sunday morning.
"We're going through a process of speaking to people, including members of the team," he told Jamaican Radio.
Former Scotland Yard chief superintendent Mark Shield, who is leading the investigation, said police were trying to piece together the final hours of the Pakistani coach, who was found collapsed in his hotel room on Sunday morning.
"We're going through a process of speaking to people, including members of the team," he told Jamaican Radio.
Was cricket coach Woolmer murdered? asks the Telegraph
Rumours about how he died swept the Caribbean and the wider world of cricket yesterday after police said they were treating it as a suspicious death, raising the possibility of murder or suicide as well as natural causes. The former Pakistan pace bowler Sarfraz Nawaz said Mr Woolmer had been murdered by the "match-fixing mafia". "The theory going around in West Indies police circles is that Woolmer might have been killed by those who wanted to silence him on the issue of match fixing," Mr Nawaz was reported as saying.
Although The Sun reports
No conspiracy says widow
BOB Woolmer’s widow last night dismissed claims her husband had been murdered.
Gill Woolmer said at her home in Cape Town, South Africa: “I don’t see any conspiracy in his death.”
She also rubbished suggestions that he had taken his own life or been involved with match-fixing. Gill added: “Doctors originally said he may have had a heart attack or died of stress.
“I never thought my husband would have killed himself. It’s crazy to suggest suicide. It is abhorrent to suggest Bob may have been overdosing on drugs and booze — that is just ridiculous.
Gill Woolmer said at her home in Cape Town, South Africa: “I don’t see any conspiracy in his death.”
She also rubbished suggestions that he had taken his own life or been involved with match-fixing. Gill added: “Doctors originally said he may have had a heart attack or died of stress.
“I never thought my husband would have killed himself. It’s crazy to suggest suicide. It is abhorrent to suggest Bob may have been overdosing on drugs and booze — that is just ridiculous.
The Times reports that
Two crew die after explosion on nuclear submarine under Arctic
Two sailors were killed yesterday by an explosion on board a Royal Navy nuclear-powered submarine as she took part in an exercise deep under the Arctic ice-cap.
The accident on HMS Tireless, a Trafalgar Class hunter-killer submarine, happened about 200 miles (320km) north of Prudhoe Bay in Alaska.
One submariner was killed in the blast and the second victim died from inhaling fumes. Next of kin were told of the deaths.
Soon after the explosion, the submarine, with 110 crew members on board, surfaced through the ice so that the hatches could be opened to let out the fumes.
The accident on HMS Tireless, a Trafalgar Class hunter-killer submarine, happened about 200 miles (320km) north of Prudhoe Bay in Alaska.
One submariner was killed in the blast and the second victim died from inhaling fumes. Next of kin were told of the deaths.
Soon after the explosion, the submarine, with 110 crew members on board, surfaced through the ice so that the hatches could be opened to let out the fumes.
The Guardian reports from Iraq where
Iraqi insurgents blow up car with children inside
US commanders in Baghdad said yesterday that they were investigating an incident in which two children appeared to be used as decoys to get past an American checkpoint in a car that was then blown up with the pair still inside.
The attack, which was reported to have happened last weekend in the mainly Sunni neighbourhood of Adhamiya, killed the children and three bystanders. It comes amid concern that insurgents are adopting headline-grabbing tactics to counter the Baghdad security offensive.
If confirmed, the incident is thought to be the first time children have been used in such a way in a suicide bombing in Iraq.
The attack, which was reported to have happened last weekend in the mainly Sunni neighbourhood of Adhamiya, killed the children and three bystanders. It comes amid concern that insurgents are adopting headline-grabbing tactics to counter the Baghdad security offensive.
If confirmed, the incident is thought to be the first time children have been used in such a way in a suicide bombing in Iraq.
Africa also attracts the headlines this morning.the Independent headlining
Bodies of Somali soldiers burned in street by Islamists
Islamic insurgents dragged the bodies of soldiers through the streets of the Somali capital and set them on fire, drawing crowds who threw rocks and kicked the smouldering remains during a surge of violence that killed at least 16 people and wounded dozens.
Yesterday marked some of the heaviest fighting in Mogadishu since the Council of Islamic Courts was driven out in December after six months in power. But the group has promised to launch a guerrilla war, and mortar attacks pound the capital nearly every day.
Yesterday marked some of the heaviest fighting in Mogadishu since the Council of Islamic Courts was driven out in December after six months in power. But the group has promised to launch a guerrilla war, and mortar attacks pound the capital nearly every day.
Whilst the Times reveals that
Angola sends ‘Ninja’ paramilitaries to bolster Mugabe’s security forces
About 2,500 Angolan paramilitary police, feared in their own country for their brutality, are to be deployed in Zimbabwe, raising concerns of an escalation in violence against those opposed to President Mugabe.
Kembo Mohadi, Zimbabwe’s Home Affairs Minister, confirmed their imminent arrival, with 1,000 Angolans expected on April 1 and the rest in batches of 500. Angola is regarded as the most powerful military nation in Africa, after South Africa.
The deployment comes amid reports of concern in President Mugabe’s Government over the capability of the country’s own police force to suppress outbreaks of unrest, which are mostly in Harare’s volatile townships.
Kembo Mohadi, Zimbabwe’s Home Affairs Minister, confirmed their imminent arrival, with 1,000 Angolans expected on April 1 and the rest in batches of 500. Angola is regarded as the most powerful military nation in Africa, after South Africa.
The deployment comes amid reports of concern in President Mugabe’s Government over the capability of the country’s own police force to suppress outbreaks of unrest, which are mostly in Harare’s volatile townships.
The rehabilitation of Al Gore seems complete
Reinvented Gore returns to Capitol Hill says the Indy
Yesterday, after a twisting, reflective journey of reinvention, Mr Gore returned to deliver a message not only for President George Bush, the man who defeated him, but the entire world. His topic, typically enough for Mr Gore, was the danger of climate change. Whether his appearance was also part of an as yet undeclared "ghost" campaign for next year's presidential contest remains to be seen.
"I want to testify today about what I believe is a planetary emergency a crisis that threatens the survival of our civilisation and the habitability of the Earth," Mr Gore told a joint meeting of two House committees.
"I want to testify today about what I believe is a planetary emergency a crisis that threatens the survival of our civilisation and the habitability of the Earth," Mr Gore told a joint meeting of two House committees.
Message in hand, Gore returns in triumph to Congress reports the Guardian
It was a bittersweet homecoming. The last time Al Gore was in Congress was in January 2001, to see George Bush confirmed as president after a vitriolic election campaign and count. One of the reasons he lost was his lack of passion, having listened to advice from campaign managers to focus on the economy and avoid the one issue that animates him: the environment.
He returned yesterday in triumph, the man who could have stopped Mr Bush now transformed into an Oscar winner and one of the world's leading campaigners on the dangers of global warming. He is bulkier, greyer and wrinkled. But he is also less buttoned-up, more emotional. He spoke fluently and knowledgeably, mostly without notes, showing the kind of president he might have been and, possibly, might yet be.
He returned yesterday in triumph, the man who could have stopped Mr Bush now transformed into an Oscar winner and one of the world's leading campaigners on the dangers of global warming. He is bulkier, greyer and wrinkled. But he is also less buttoned-up, more emotional. He spoke fluently and knowledgeably, mostly without notes, showing the kind of president he might have been and, possibly, might yet be.
Finally the Times reports on the rush to owm the new playstation
Crowds play waiting game for PS3
At 5am today most 17-year-olds were asleep in bed. Not Ritatsu Thomas. Hunched in a sleeping bag, a woolly hat pulled around his ears, the teenager lay on the floor of Oxford Street’s Virgin Megastore. At midnight tonight he is set to become the first person in Britain to own a PlayStation 3.
In America the introduction of the coveted console brought muggings, brawls in shopping centres and a drive-by shooting. But Sony is hoping for a more civilised affair as the product goes on sale in Britain.
The store opened its doors at midday yesterday for gaming fanatics prepared to queue for 36 hours. Extra security and police have been drafted in amid fears that youngsters leaving the store in the early hours of tomorrow could fall prey to marauding hoodies.
In America the introduction of the coveted console brought muggings, brawls in shopping centres and a drive-by shooting. But Sony is hoping for a more civilised affair as the product goes on sale in Britain.
The store opened its doors at midday yesterday for gaming fanatics prepared to queue for 36 hours. Extra security and police have been drafted in amid fears that youngsters leaving the store in the early hours of tomorrow could fall prey to marauding hoodies.
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