The crowning of Gordon Brown makes the headlines in a number of the papers.

Britain's two prime ministers says the Guardian

Britain began an unprecedented six week transitional government yesterday as Gordon Brown accepted his landslide nomination as Labour leader and an invitation to a series of briefings with Whitehall permanent secretaries, police chiefs, defence chiefs and senior public service professionals.
After giving a speech in which Mr Brown described being "truly humbled", his aides accepted the transition had parallels with those normally associated with a change of presidency in the US.
Mr Brown, nominated by 313 Labour MPs and therefore declared sole candidate for the leadership, said he would also consult and talk with Mr Blair over the next six weeks, including on the three key foreign policy issues - Iraq, a new European Union treaty and the G8 summit that is likely to be dominated by combating climate change.


Brown: A quest fulfilled says the Independent

After waiting 13 years to acquire his crown, Gordon Brown is king without a contest. For more than a decade Brown endured phases of misplaced hope when he assumed that Tony Blair was about to stand aside. Even worse, there were periods when he wondered whether he would ever get the top job. Yet when the moment arrives the victory is secured in advance. At yesterday's news conference, Brown's every word and phrase were chosen to address the strange challenge of an easy victory. In his opening sentence he declared he was humbled at the level of support. He was careful not to convey delight or complacently arrogant euphoria

Adding that

More self-aware than his forbidding reputation suggests, Brown knows there are dangers even now. He must wait six weeks before he becomes Prime Minister. The media will get restless. Voters might turn away. He repeated several times that he would listen to voters.

Brown assumes mantle of power says the front page of the Telegraph

Despite being nominated as the next Labour leader by an overwhelming 90 per cent of Labour MPs, Mr Brown has been placed in unprecedented constitutional limbo by having to wait until June 27, when Mr Blair formally hands over power instead of following the tradition of quitting immediately a successor is chosen.
The delayed exit, intended to allow time for a leadership election and for Mr Blair to burnish his legacy, brought demands from Labour MPs for a "dual premiership" - with Mr Brown given a veto on important decisions.

A LEADER BORN TO SERVE US says the Mirror

ONE is in power but not in office, the other in office but not in power. Gordon Brown is to devote 40 days and 40 nights readying himself for the highest calling in politics.
The son of the manse, a leader who believes he was born to serve the people, will succeed Tony Blair on June 27.
The clamour from Labour MPs is for the old Prime Minister to go sooner, abandon a world tour, so the new Premier starts earlier

I am humbled to become PM says the Sun

TRIUMPHANT Gordon Brown last night insisted that he is “humbled” to become PM.
The Chancellor promised to “do his best” and work tirelessly for the good of Britain.
He rejected calls for him to take over as Premier immediately and insisted he is happy for Tony Blair to stay in No 10 until the end of June.
Mr Brown said the PM had earned the right to leave under his own timetable in 40 days from now. But he wants Mr Blair to work hand-in-hand with him over a new EU treaty.
He is determined to ensure the Premier’s last act is not to sign away Britain’s veto on criminal justice

Of the heavies only the Times chooses a differerent lead

Rapid rise in global warming is forecast the paper reporting that

The oceans are losing the capacity to soak up rising man-made carbon emissions, which is increasing the rate of global warming by up to 30 per cent, scientists said yesterday.
Researchers have found that the Southern Ocean is absorbing an ever-decreasing proportion of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The excess carbon, which cannot be absorbed by the oceans, will remain in the atmosphere and accelerate global warming, they said.
The reduced ability to absorb carbon is thought to be a result of high winds acting on ocean currents bringing deeper waters that already contain high levels of carbon to the surface.
The higher winds are themselves believed to have been caused by climate change due to a combination of changes in the ozone layer and carbon emissions.

The current Pm though is also in the news

Is Bush to blame for Blair's fall? 'Could be!' says the Telegraph

It began with a shared preference for Colgate toothpaste. It ended today with President George W Bush shrugging when asked if he was responsible for Tony Blair's demise.

I haven't polled the Labour conference," he laughed. "But, could be!"
Reacting tetchily to the funereal tone of questions asked at their final press conference, Mr Bush accused British reporters, on the day Gordon Brown was declared Labour leader, of showing disrespect to Mr Blair.
"You're trying to do a tap dance on his political grave," he complained. The British "don't understand how effective Blair is, I guess", the president ventured.
But for Mr Bush, who said he had hoped Mr Blair could continue to the end of his second presidential term in January 2009, the Prime Minister could do no wrong.

Bush and Blair stand shoulder to shoulder for one last time reports the Independent.

In their farewell joint appearance here, George W. Bush and Tony Blair yesterday delivered a resounding defence of the US-British alliance, and stood squarely behind their decision to invade Iraq. But in a sign of how heavy a political price they have paid, Mr Bush seemed to abandon Paul Wolfowitz, a prime architect of the war, in his apparently doomed struggle to remain president of the World Bank.
Mr Blair's latest visit to Washington was - barring unforeseen events - his last in office. If Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan featured on the agenda, complete with a videoconference yesterday with their ambassadors and military commanders in Baghdad, the key topics were global warming, the plight of Africa, and the Middle East, where civil war appears to be descending on the Palestinian territories.

The Guardian reports on the latest problems from the Middle East

Israeli airstrikes add to turmoil of factional violence on Gaza streets

Israel launched three air strikes against Hamas targets in Gaza yesterday, killing three and wounding dozens after a week of intense fighting between rival Palestinian factions. In one strike, the Israeli military hit the headquarters in Gaza City of the Hamas executive force, an armed security group that has operated in the Gaza Strip since the Islamist movement won elections last year. The Israeli military described the building as a "terrorist headquarters".
The Israeli attacks came after about 80 makeshift rockets were fired this week from Gaza into Israel, particularly at the town of Sderot, where two people were seriously injured and several others suffered lesser injuries. A number of houses were damaged. Hamas claimed responsibility for some of the rocket attacks, although other armed groups, notably Islamic Jihad, are also known to be responsible for firing the Qassam rockets.

Hamas threatens renewed suicide bombings says the Telegraph

The Middle East was on the verge of war last night after Hamas, the Palestinian militant organisation, threatened to renew suicide bombing on Israel. It did so after Israel launched air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip.

All options are open, including martyrdom operations (suicide attacks)," Abu Obeida, a spokesman for the military wing of Hamas, said.

The Independent believes it has uncovered more abuses in Iraq

Kidnap and torture: new claims of Army war crimes in Iraq

The British Army is facing new allegations that it was involved in "forced disappearances", hostage-taking and torture of Iraqi civilians after the fall of the regime of Saddam Hussein.
One of the claims is made by the former chairman of the Red Crescent in Basra, who alleges he was beaten unconscious by British soldiers after they accused him of being a senior official in Saddam's Baath party.
The family of another Iraqi civilian claims he was arrested and kidnapped by the British in order to secure the surrender of his brother, who was also accused of being a high-ranking member of the party. He was later found shot dead, still handcuffed and wearing a UK prisoner name tag.
Both cases are being prepared for hearings in the High Court in which the Government will be accused of war crimes while carrying out the arrest and detention of alleged senior members of the Baath party.

According to the Times

Time running out to end crisis in Middle East, says King of Jordan

The world is losing its last hope of making peace in the Middle East and could face the real danger that the conflict between Israel and the Arab and Muslim worlds will continue indefinitely, according to King Abdullah II of Jordan.
Speaking to The Times near the ancient Nabatean ruins of Petra, the Jordanian monarch admitted that the dire circumstances in the region made progress very difficult. But he concluded that he and other world leaders had no option but to try.
“Now people can say this is not the right time. You have an end of an Administration in the United States, you have got changes in Europe [France, Britain]. You have a very confused situation in Israeli politics,” said the King, who is hosting a World Economic Forum conference by the Dead Sea today, at which regional leaders will gather to take up the debate.

But it is not just the Middle East where there are problems,the same paper reveals that

Zimbabwe’s inflation hits 3,700%

The cost of living doubled in Zimbabwe last month, lifting the annual rate of inflation above 3,700 per cent, a stark sign of the economic turmoil blamed on government policies. Prices of food – which make up one third of the consumer basket used to calculate inflation – domestic power, fuel and public transport fares contributed to the steep rise, according to Zimbabwe’s Central Statistical Office.
Economists forecast that inflation will continue to spiral out of control. Tony Hawkins, an independent economist in Harare, said: “It will be well above 10,000 per cent by the end of the year, probably nearer 15,000 per cent.”

To the tabloids and the Sun continues to cover the fall out from the Prince Harry affair

DISTRAUGHT Prince Harry was last night reeling from a SECOND devastating blow in 24 hours — a ban on visiting nightclubs.
The party-loving Army officer — still shattered after being told he will not be joining his men in Iraq — has been ordered to “lie low” while his unit is away.
He was given a pep talk by Royal and military advisers who fear a terrible backlash if the Prince is pictured boozing in London while soldiers from his Blues and Royals squadron are under fire.

The Mirror meanwhile continues to lead on the Maddy affair

MADELEINE: 25 MILLION HEARTS GO OUT TO YOU is its front page

HER bravery and dignity in the face of the most appalling loss have touched the hearts of the entire country.
And yesterday the whole world showed its support for Madeleine McCann's mother Kate as a website set up by the family received 25MILLION hits in 24 hours.
As Kate, 38, left church wearing a yellow ribbon in her hair in tribute to her missing four-year-old daughter, emotional messages poured on to www.findmadeleine.com

Whilst reporting that

'MURAT NEEDED HIRE CAR IN A HURRY'

POLICE hunting missing Madeleine McCann are probing claims that suspect Robert Murat hurriedly hired a car two days before he was arrested - despite already having two vehicles.
Hire firm worker Maria Rocio says Murat rang her on Saturday and asked to rent a Hyundai Getz for three days, insisting he needed it immediately and could not wait.
Maria added: "Robert said to me, 'I need to rent a car for myself because the English people who are looking for the little girl need to borrow my car. They need to put information posters on it.'"

Madeleine: Russian claims he didn't speak to suspect for a year. So why did they talk the night she vanished? asks the mail

Police are investigating new links between the prime suspect in the hunt for Madeleine McCann and a Russian computer expert.
Robert Murat phoned Sergey Malinka on his mobile at 11.40pm on the night the four-yearold disappeared - despite both men claiming they hardly know each other.
In an interview with the Daily Mail's sister paper, the Evening Standard yesterday, Mr Malinka denied any contact with Mr Murat, saying: "I have not spoken to him for around a year."

It leads with the story that

Chemo-free cancer cure 'will save thousands'

New drugs for breast cancer could save thousands of lives a year without the need for gruelling chemotherapy.
Trials have shown that hormone therapy drugs are at least as effective as chemotherapy in women under 40 - but with fewer side effects.
It means younger cancer patients could still be able to have children.
Experts believe up to 5,500 women each year who develop breast cancer before the menopause would benefit from drugs such as Zoladex, which is given once a month as an implant under the skin of the stomach.

The paper also reporting on

Police get green light to set speed cameras wherever they want

Motorists face a random speed camera blitz under new laws that give police the power to site them on roads with no history of accidents.
Under new Government regulations, mobile police squads will set up randomly to catch "surfing" drivers who slow down at camera sites before speeding up again.
The aim is to create "uncertainty" in the minds of drivers and promote the sense that they could be prosecuted at any time in any place.

For the Express,a familiar theme

HOUSE PRICES TO RISE BY 8%

HOUSE prices are set to rise by up to eight per cent this year as the property bonanza shows no signs of slowing.
The relentless surge in prices has pushed mortgage lending to record levels as potential home owners borrow to the hilt to try to keep up.And the boom is expected to continue despite the raft of interest rate rises which have seen the cost of borrowing go up from 4.5 to 5.5 per cent in just 10 months.

Whilst the downside according to the paper is

£200-A-DAY FINES IF YOU BREAK HIP LAWS

HOUSE sellers who fail to get a Home Information Pack could rack up huge fines, it emerged yesterday.
A £200 penalty can be issued daily by the Trading Standards Institute to those estate agents and private sellers who market a home before a HIP is in place.And with only half the 2,000 necessary inspectors trained before the June 1 deadline, many individuals and businesses could fall foul of the legislation.

MI6 takes mystery out of recruitment with Guardian advert

Gone are the days of the tap on the shoulder. Tomorrow for the first time the Secret Intelligence Service, or MI6, will place an advertisement in the Guardian.
It is part of a drive by Britain's spymasters to attract recruits from a much broader talent pool. MI6, says its recruiters, wants "to reflect the society we serve".
Unlike MI5, the domestic security service, MI6 officers gather secret intelligence abroad, mainly by running foreign agents. Their task is to defend British interests in crisis and conflict zones.


I am afraid that the story still hasnt gone away according to the Sun

Jose: My dog is in St Tropez

JOKER Jose Mourinho teased cops who wanted to take away his dog — saying he had sent it to St Tropez.
First the Chelsea boss sold police a pup by telling them he needed to make a phone call — and instead carried the family pet to his garden.
Then, said a source, he hopped over a neighbour’s wall to hide the Yorkshire terrier and got a driver to pick it up.
Last night he sensationally admitted HIDING the dog.