David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, today announced that four Russian diplomats will be expelled following Moscow's failure to hand over the man suspected of murdering Alexander Litvinenko.The Russian foreign office has reacted by labelling the expulsion "immoral", and claims it will have serious consequences.Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Miliband said that Russia's failure to cooperate with the extradition of Andrei Lugovoi was "extremely disappointing". He told MPs that his decision was the "appropriate response" given the seriousness of the crime.
Cold war diplomacy is back as UK expels spies says the Guardian
The British government was last night bracing itself for an inevitable diplomatic backlash after expelling four Russian intelligence officers in protest at the Kremlin's refusal to hand over the prime suspect in the polonium-210 poisoning affair.
In an attempt to underline the government's anger and alarm over the murder of Alexander Litvinenko, the Foreign Office announced it was ceasing cooperation with Moscow on a range of issues, starting with the imposition of restrictions on visas issued to Russian officials seeking to visit the UK.
COLD WAR TWO says the Mirror
Prime Minister Gordon Brown sent a clear signal to Moscow he would not accept its refusal to extradite the main suspect Andrei Lugovoi.
His bold move last night threatened to plunge Anglo-Russian relations to their lowest point in years by creating a Cold War-style stand-off.
Moscow yesterday warned the expulsions were "immoral" and there would be serious consequences.
Boris Johnson's announcement that he is running for London mayor gets a lot of coverage
'I'll put the smile back on London's face': Boris confirms challenge to succeed Ken says the Independent
Boris Johnson, the Tories' blond bombshell, has formally entered the race to become his party's candidate for Mayor of London, telling David Cameron he will "get serious" if, as expected, he emerges victorious from the contest in the spring.
As nominations closed yesterday, the colourful Tory MP promised to put "the smile back on London's face". Senior party sources said he had vowed to dispel his image as a gaffe-prone politician and self-mocking TV quiz show celebrity.
While more than 50 Tories have applied, Mr Johnson is the hot favourite. His bid has the tacit support of Mr Cameron, who is remaining neutral in public.
Phooey! One-man melting pot ready to take on King Newt says the Guardian
The Tory MP for Henley hit the ground wobbling with a typically chaotic photo-call at City Hall, where he fled a scrum of photographers on his bike, and an article for the London Evening Standard which was weak on policy but strong on epigrams.
It's barmy Boris VS crazy Ken says the Sun
Rise of the £250,000 GP with half now on six-figure salaries is the front page of the Mail
Many GPs are being paid at least £250,000 a year, it emerged yesterday.
Official figures show that almost half of family doctors now have annual earnings in excess of £100,000, while one in ten receives more than £150,000.
Around 150 are being paid more than £250,000.
Average GP salaries in England have smashed through the six-figure barrier following a lucrative contract which came into effect in 2004.
The Times leads with
Labour peers named in Parliament access row
Peers are handing out exclusive access to the Houses of Parliament to lobbyists and pressure groups, who pay them thousands of pounds a year, The Times has learnt.
A list seen by this paper shows some members of the House of Lords are giving parliamentary passes intended for researchers and secretaries to representatives of the defence, transport, freight and legal industries.
The passes have clear commercial value, allowing lobbyists the opportunity to mingle with government ministers and MPs, use the bars and restaurants to impress clients, access the research services of the parliamentary library and avoid the lengthy security queues.
For the Independent,yesterdays violence in Iraq dominates
JUST ANOTHER DAY IN IRAQ,100 more Fathers,mothers,sons and daughters killed
The United States surge, the use of the American troop reinforcements to bring violence in Iraq under control, is bloodily failing across northern Iraq. That was proved again yesterday when a suicide bomber detonated a truck packed with explosives in Kirkuk killing at least 85 people and wounding a further 183.
The truck bomb blasted a 30ft-deep crater in a busy road full of small shops and booths near the ancient citadel of Kirkuk, setting fire to a bus in which the passengers burned to death and burying many others under the rubble. Dozens of cars were set ablaze and their blackened hulks littered the street. Some 25 of the wounded suffered critical injuries and may not live.
In Baghdad, at least 44 people were killed or found dead across the city, police said. They included the bullet-riddled bodies of 25 people, apparent victims of sectarian death squads.
Meanwhile The Guardian reports that
Bush launches peace bid with Middle East talks
President George Bush yesterday announced a US-led international conference which would take place before the end of the year to resolve what he said were all the outstanding issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The ambitious conference would bring together Israelis, Palestinians and Arab governments in an as yet unannounced location. Playing a central role would be the Middle East group to which Tony Blair has been made special envoy - the Quartet, which is made up of the US, the United Nations, Russia and the European Union.
Hamas left in cold as Bush backs Abbas to find peace blueprint says the Indy
Mr Bush depicted the conference, to be chaired by the US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, as part of a process which he insisted could " ultimately" lead to a final settlement of the Middle East conflict if Palestinians opted for "rejecting violence".
The idea is to provide Mr Abbas and his new Prime Minister, Salam Fayaad, with the "political horizon" they have been calling for to reinforce the authority of the new West Bank-based government over that of Hamas, which now controls Gaza after savage fighting last month
The Telegraph reports that
Income divide at widest for 40 years
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation also found that in parts of the South-East the "average" family is an endangered species. The result has been an increase in "urban clustering" of poor people in cities with wealthy households concentrated on the outskirts.Poor, rich and average households became less and less likely to live next door to one another between 1970 and 2000," the report said.
Danny Dorling, professor of human geography at Sheffield University, who led the study, said: "Rich people are less likely to come into contact with poor people and vice versa. People don't see people who are beneath them."
Brown backs a European Treaty without referendum reports the Independent
Gordon Brown began his first trip abroad since becoming Prime Minister with a pledge to introduce the European Treaty without calling a referendum in Britain.
Mr Brown, who was in Berlin yesterday for dinner with Chancellor Angela Merkel, said it would be possible to make rapid progress on setting a date for the treaty agreed in principle at last month's Brussels summit. "We will not require a referendum on this. It is something that can be worked on closely by Parliament. I think we can make progress quickly on this," he said.
Mr Brown was welcomed at the Berlin chancellery with full military honours by Ms Merkel. However, the two leaders did not indulge in any of the flamboyant gestures employed in the Franco-German relationship. In keeping with their shared upbringing as children of churchmen, Mr Brown and Ms Merkel simply shook hands.
The Express leads with the news that
VALUE OF HOUSES GOING UP £50 A DAY
HOUSE prices are soaring at nearly double their rate last year, official figures reveal today.
The average cost of a home went up by 10.9 per cent to £211,056 in the year to May.That is an increase of £50 a day from £209,454 in April and up from the 5.7 per cent rise recorded in May last year. The increase was driven by a jump in the price of flats, which rose by 1.8 per cent during the month.
The Guardian reports that
Police swoop on three football clubs over corrupt transfer allegations
Newcastle United were at the centre of a corruption investigation last night after morning raids by police on three football clubs as part of an investigation into transfer dealings. Officers from the City of London force, which is leading the biggest-ever criminal inquiry into British football, raided the club's offices at Newcastle as well as the offices of Glasgow Rangers and Portsmouth.
The homes of two individuals were also searched. They were believed to be businessmen involved with Newcastle.
Raids cast new shadow over game says the Telegraph
The operations were the first major actions in an eight-month inquiry which is "totally independent" of the investigation into football 'bungs' carried out by Lord Stevens. A spokesman for the City of London Police said: "The focus of the inquiry is corruption in football and its impact on owners and shareholders."
Police have been secretive about the investigation, refusing to confirm the names of the clubs, the nature of the allegations or even disclose the name of the detective leading the inquiry
Caught on camera - and found on Facebook reports the Times
It has become as much a part of student life as hangovers and essay crises. But now Facebook, the social networking website, is being used as a disciplinary tool by university authorities.
Staff at Oxford University are searching the website, collecting photographs of students who they say have broken rules on post-examination celebrations, and handing down fines. The student union has branded the move a “disgraceful” intrusion into privacy and has e-mailed every common room advising how to prevent dons viewing the photographs.
Last week the university’s disciplinary officers, the proctors, began e-mailing students whose profiles contained pictures of “trashings”, where students spray each other with champagne, flour or worse, to celebrate finishing their exams.
THE EARLY RELEASE FIASCO claims the Express
THE controversial early release of prisoners has descended into chaos, it was claimed yesterday.
It emerged that dozens have had to be recalled, others have vanished and some have even been wrongly released.Ministers were accused of a shambolic handling of the emergency measure which saw more than 1,700 prisoners released early in the first week of the scheme to ease overcrowding in jails.Almost a quarter of them were violent yobs. Thirty had to be recalled to prison within days of being let out, including six for committing new crimes.
Who Dares Is Binned says the front page of the Sun
THE commander of the SAS is to be axed for being too BRAVE, it was revealed yesterday.
The tough Who Dares Wins regiment’s CO will be relieved for defying top brass — who ordered him to stop going on “gung-ho” ops with his men. The move has left his loyal soldiers “spitting blood”.
Meanwhile as with many papers it covers
Knife raid hostage Kerry's hell
TERRIFIED Kerry Katona had a knife held to her throat yesterday by a masked burglar — who threatened to kill her and her baby.
The former Atomic Kitten, five-month-old Heidi and husband Mark Croft were held captive by three thugs in balaclavas.
The gang broke into their mansion in Wilmslow, Cheshire, at around midnight — armed with the knife, a crowbar and a sledgehammer.
They grabbed loot worth £150,000, including the couple’s wedding rings, Kerry’s engagement ring, other jewellery and electrical goods — and fled in the family’s blue BMW M5 sports car.
Doctor at centre of MMR controversy accused of paying children at party for blood samples says the Guardian
The doctor who linked the MMR jab to autism, prompting one of the biggest medical controversies of the past 10 years, paid children attending his son's birthday party to donate their blood for his research, it was alleged yesterday.
The charge is one of more than 40 laid against Andrew Wakefield, a surgeon who became a gastroenterologist, at the General Medical Council yesterday. Many of them related to giving children interventions such as lumbar punctures, barium meals and colonoscopies which allegedly they did not need.
Langham 'took my virginity when I was 14' reports the Telegraph
A woman allegedly seduced by Chris Langham, the award-winning comic actor, when she was 14 told a court yesterday that she had sex with him because "he was nice and I trusted him".
Now 25, she said Langham had introduced her to the world of showbusiness, taking her to parties where she was photographed with the likes of Bill Nighy and Harriet Thorpe, who played Fleur in Absolutely Fabulous.
The Mail reports that
Actor Chris Langham seduced a 14-year-old fan by telling her a kiss would help her understand Shakespeare, a court heard yesterday.
Teenager loses High Court battle against school ban on chastity ring reports the same paper
A Christain girl has lost her High Court battle to be allowed to wear a silver chastity ring at school.
Lydia Playfoot's pastor father faces a £20,000 legal bill after a judge rejected her claim for equal rights with Muslim pupils allowed to wear headscarves.
To Lydia, 16, the ring represented a symbol of her faith and her commitment to remain a virgin until she marries.
But to the Millais School in Horsham, West Sussex, it was simply jewellery and flouted strict rules on pupil uniforms.
Lydia challenged the decision in the High Court, claiming it had breached her human rights.
The last Harry Potter book is out shortly and the Mirror leads with
MADDY POTTER
THE parents of Madeleine McCann yesterday said they were delighted to link her campaign to the new Harry Potter book - because she adores the boy wizard's adventures.
Mum Kate, speaking as it was revealed posters of Madeleine will be displayed in every shop in the world selling the novel when it is released on Saturday, said: "I got her a DVD and like most kids she is a fan.
"We look forward to reading the books to all three children."
The Sun meanwhile asks
Is No7 already out on the web?
IS this the final Harry Potter book? The internet was awash with rumours last night that the long-awaited novel had been leaked days before its release.
Photographs of pages said to be from the US edition were on a number of websites.
And thousands of fans were online in a bid to find out who dies in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — hoping that the “leak” is not a hoax.
We have featured the first page of Chapter One — The Dark Lord Ascending — showing a cloaked man with a snake wrapped around him. The words have been obscured to avoid disappointing fans if it is genuine
Abe seeks redemption in earthquake rubble according to the Times
Two huge earthquakes and a series of powerful aftershocks ripped through central Japan yesterday, causing a radioactive leak at a nuclear power station and leaving more than 20,000 homes without water or electricity.
They brought unexpected chaos to the first weekend of campaigning for critical Upper House elections on July 29 – an already messy battle that has become a referendum on Shinzo Abe, the Prime Minister, and the 52-year rule of his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
Hundreds of houses in the mainly rural prefecture of Niigata caved in as the first tremor, registering 6.8 on the Richter scale, turned walls to powder. Seven people were reported killed and at least 800 injured, mainly by objects hurled around by the shaking. Hours later a second earthquake, registering 6.6, struck the Sea of Japan.
Finally the Indy reports on
When two great fertility symbols collide ...
The Cerne Abbas Giant is used to having things his own way. Not only does he wield two mighty clubs - one military, one anatomical - but he stands 55m tall, and has been considered a fertility symbol for four centuries. Indeed, so potent is the Giant's chalky mojo, that couples struggling to conceive are still said to visit his hillside home for a grassy liaison. But yesterday there was a new alpha male in North Dorset. He wields a doughnut instead of a club. He has four fingers on each hand and four toes on each foot. Only three hairs sprout from his bulbous head. And his unmentionables are, mercifully, covered by the world's largest pair of Y-Fronts. His name is Homer Simpson.
The new chalk drawing is the brainchild of the publicity team behind The Simpsons Movie, which premieres in Britain next week. The artist Peter Stuart was commissioned to create a rival "chalk man" next to the Giant, and Stuart, a self-confessed Simpsons fan, leapt at the chance. The work - which, at 70m by 50m, required 200 litres of biodegradable white paint - started two days ago.
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