The Guardian leads this morning with

Titan Rain - how Chinese hackers targeted Whitehall

Chinese hackers, some believed to be from the People's Liberation Army, have been attacking the computer networks of British government departments, the Guardian has learned.
The attackers have hit the network at the Foreign Office as well as those in other key departments, according to Whitehall officials.
The Ministry of Defence declined yesterday to say whether it had been hit. An incident last year that shut down part of the House of Commons computer system, initially believed to be by an individual, was discovered to be the work of an organised Chinese hacking group, officials said.

The Independent continues to report from Basra

The soldiers' tales is its lead

The soldiers of the 4 Rifles Battle Group spoke for the first time yesterday about their night-time evacuation from the palace and also how, for five months, they had been living under a state of siege with attacks around the clock and patrols being hit by roadside bombs.
After their experience, the vast aridness of the airport, with its comparative security, air conditioning and showers was a welcome respite. Cpl Frank Taylor, a 29-year-old from Fiji, said: "This actually feels like a holiday. I am actually quite relaxed. We have been through some pretty difficult times, and, yes, I have been scared.

The Guardian meanwhile reporting that

US commander hints at Iraq rollback next year

America's leading military commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, last night signalled that the Bush administration may be ready to reverse its troop surge in Iraq and begin pulling soldiers out as early as next March.
Only days before he is to deliver his progress report to Congress on the 'surge', Gen Petraeus told ABC television he did not forsee maintaining present troop levels in Iraq because of the strain on the military. "The surge will run its course. There are limits to what our military can provide, so my recommendations have to be informed by, not driven by, but they have to be informed by the strain we have put on our military services," he told ABC during an interview in Baghdad.

Perhaps though we should take note of a story in the Telegraph

George Bush 'not engaged' in crucial decisions

The latest book published about George W Bush reveals that the US president was not fully engaged in key policy areas, including the disbandment of the Iraqi army and the build-up to Hurricane Katrina.
Dead Certain: The Presidency of George W Bush, by Robert Draper, highlights both its subject's strong convictions and the poor communication and weak leadership within the administration.
It suggests Mr Bush was unaware the Iraqi army was to be broken up by Paul Bremer, the head of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, in May 2003, a decision seen as one of the biggest post-invasion mistakes as it put hundreds of thousands of armed men on the street.

It leads with

Heads can 'prosecute' parents of errant pupils

From this week, they can apply for a civil order requiring mothers and fathers of wayward pupils to take parenting classes, with fines if children continue to step out of line.
This is an escalation of the Government's hardline policy on unruly behaviour and problem parents.
There could also be a criminal record and £1,000 fine for parents of children found roaming the streets after being excluded from school.
In a further move, the parents of suspended pupils will be hauled before head teachers for a "reintegration interview" before their child is allowed back into class.

Most of the papers cover the death of Jane Tomlinson,the Mirror leads with

SHE INSPIRED US ALL
JANE TOMLINSON 1964-2007

Brave Jane Tomlinson, who inspired millions by raising £1.75million while battling breast cancer, lost her seven-year fight for life yesterday.
Jane, 43, won admirers worldwide with gruelling fundraisers - including an epic cycle ride across the US.
Husband Mike and children Suzanne, Rebecca and Steven said at home in Leeds: "We are heartbroken. We feel honoured to have been blessed with such a wonderful person."

An inspiration to the end says the Mail

She was diagnosed with terminal cancer seven years ago, but defied her illness to take part in gruelling challenges, including the New York Marathon and a 4,200-mile bike ride, for charity.
Jane received an CBE in June. Her husband and children said: "We are heartbroken at this loss. Jane said her family has been the greatest joy in her life and we feel honoured to have been blessed with such a wonderful person."
Gordon Brown recalled Jane's "amazing spirit and strength". Here, her friend pays tribute.

The paper's front page though goes with

Police to be issued with traffic warden-style ticket machines

Police are to get ticketing machines to issue on-the-spot fines to shoplifters and vandals.
But there are fears that the devices, which will lead to even more of the controversial £80 fixed-penalty notices being handed out, will reduce the status of officers to that of traffic wardens.
The machines have also been criticised for encouraging "soft justice" because police can - at the push of a button - issue a fine, which carries no criminal record, and avoid time-consuming prosecutions.


House prices and the great affordability gap is the lead story in the Times

Mortgage payments are making up the biggest share of take-home pay for 17 years, according to figures released today.
The affordability gap has grown because property prices have risen three times faster than salaries in the past decade. Homeowners are spending a bigger proportion of their salary on the mortgage than at any time since the summer of 1990, according to a bleak assessment by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
First-time buyers must spend almost five times more than they did a decade ago to get on the housing ladder, with poorer families having to save almost a year’s salary for stamp duty and a deposit.

A model immigrant, betrayed by Britain reports the Indy

When Damilola Ajagbonna first sat down in a British classroom eight years ago his thick Nigerian accent earned him the nickname "fresh off the boat", while in the playground he was shunned because he didn't own a tennis racket.
But Mr Ajagbonna, now 19, was determined to succeed, and last year he was offered a place at Cambridge University to study social and political science.
Today Mr Ajagbonna, described by a judge as a "remarkable" young man, faces being forcibly removed to Nigeria because he was six weeks late claiming British citizenship under immigration rules for children.

The Express also leads with immigration


THOUSANDS of illegal immigrants were last night queueing to sneak into Britain – and officials in France are preparing to help them on their way, the Daily Express can reveal.
French politicians are plotting to build a new Sangatte-style camp in the port of Cherbourg in north-west France.
Last night riot police were placed on stand-by as scores of refugees headed to a squalid shanty town in hills overlooking the docks.



According to the front page of the Sun

CROCS CAN KILL

AN urgent ban on hospital staff wearing Crocs was ordered after the trendy shoes put THREE life-saving machines on the blink.
A patient’s vital respirator and two other key pieces of equipment were knocked out by static electricity caused by the hugely popular footwear.
The incidents in a Swedish hospital have triggered an alert in Britain after medical experts were stunned at the effect the footwear had on vital, life-saving equipment.

Staying with the Sun as with many of the papers it reports

Gord: I'm just like Thatcher

CHEEKY Gordon Brown yesterday compared himself to Lady Thatcher — to humiliate Tory leader David Cameron.
The Prime Minister accused Mr Cameron of being a hostage to the Tory old guard instead of showing leadership.
And to further twist the knife, he lavished support on Conservative ex-Premier Maggie — just as a senior Tory accused Mr Cameron of “trashing” the Iron Lady’s record.

The Independent reporting his words

"I think Lady Thatcher saw the need for change," he told a Downing Street press conference. "Whatever disagreements you have with her about certain policies – there was a large amount of unemployment at the time which perhaps could have been dealt with – we have got to understand that she saw the need for change." He added: "I also admire the fact that she is a conviction politician... I am a conviction politician like her."



Brown backs medal campaign reports the Mirror

Gordon Brown yesterday promised to listen "sympathetically" to growing calls for a medal to honour soldiers killed or wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In a victory for the Mirror's Honour The Brave campaign, he said he wanted to recognise their sacrifice.
But he said he had to talk to military chiefs before an announcement.


Most of the papers carry the story that

Daredevil record-breaker missing in light aircraft

The Times reporting that

Steve Fossett, one of the greatest adventurers of modern times and the first person to achieve a solo balloon flight around the Earth, was missing last night after his aircraft disappeared.
Fossett, who teamed up with Sir Richard Branson to achieve several world records, was last seen taking off solo in an aerobatic aircraft from western Nevada, the most mountainous state in the US, shortly after 9am local time on Monday.
He took off from a private ranch in a single-engine Citabria Super Decathlon with four full tanks of fuel, enough for four or five hours’ flying time. He was not wearing a parachute.

The Guardian reports on

The figure that shows it pays to be a man

The gender pay gap among managers across Britain has widened for the first time in 11 years as women, from trainees to chief executives, have failed to keep pace with the rise in male earnings, the Chartered Management Institute disclosed yesterday.
In a survey of more than 42,000 managers in every sector, it found women averaged £43,571 last year, while the men averaged £49,647.
The gap had been shrinking, from 13.6% of earnings in 2003 to 11.8% in 2005, as more women have broken through the glass ceiling blocking career progression. But last year it widened to 12.2% among managers of all grades - and at director level the gulf was even more pronounced, increasing from 20% to 23%.

The Times meanwhile tells us

Big increase in funding for schools does little to improve performance

The figures, from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), show that, despite a decade of reforms when education spending nearly doubled, exam results did little better than keep pace between 1996 and 2006.
While spending on education increased by 83 per cent in cash terms from £27 billion in 1996 to £49.9 billion last year, productivity of state schools only increased by an average of 1 per cent.

Union calls off London Tube strike says the Telegraph

The news will come as a welcome relief for millions of commuters who were left stranded during the walkout, which was estimated to be costing the capital £50 million a day.
Buses were overcrowded and rail stations were in chaos after nine of the 12 London Underground lines were halted.

THE MAN WHO BROUGHT LONDON TO A HALT says the Express

THE union leader who has crippled London and brought misery to millions of stranded commuters was unrepentant yesterday.
Bob Crow, with his “bovver boy” looks and a baseball cap pulled down over his balding head, said he was “delighted” his union’s members had caused widespread chaos in the capital.

205mph but still three minutes late reports the Guardian

The sun shone brightly, Eurostar 9021 flashed along by the Thames and, at last, we could blame the French. For 13 years, our neighbours have relaxed on 186mph trains on their side of the Channel tunnel and arched a Gallic eyebrow at the branch line trundle through the green fields of Kent.
Yesterday, the first passenger train to take the new £5.8bn, 68-mile high-speed British track from the tunnel into the revamped St Pancras International was all set to smash the two-hour mark between Paris and London until track maintenance at Calais forced it to slow down.

Va-va voom: Paris-London 2hrs says the Sun

Stab sister warned: "You're gonna get it reports the Mirror

A girl of 14 stabbed her 16-year-old sister to death during a frenzied row after lunging at her with a carving knife and yelling: "You're gonna get it," a court heard yesterday.
They fought after the younger girl insulted the elder's boyfriend, branding him a good-for-nothing waster.
Their mum sobbed yesterday as she told how she initially managed to drag the pair apart - but the 14-year-old then returned with a 20cm knife and attacked her sister. The mother said: "They started struggling but I couldn't see the knife. I just saw blood spraying up the wall."


According to the Mail

Britain slips to 17th place in the quality of life league table

Britain is slipping down the world rankings for quality of life, a survey suggests.
The UK is now only 17th in the international league table, a fall of two places from last year.
Norway remains the best place to live, according to the authoritative research, followed by Iceland and Australia.
Britain shares 17th position with Italy, one place behind France.
The research is based on the United Nations' Human Development Index, which looks at adult literacy, life expectancy and income levels.


Pakistani army hit as suicide bombers kill 25 reports the Independent


Suspected suicide bombers brought carnage to the heart of Pakistan's military establishment yesterday as twin explosions near the army headquarters in the garrison town of Rawalpindi left at least 25 dead and 70 injured.
Body parts, blood and shredded clothes were spread around the sites of the blasts. Both exploded in market areas in the morning rush hour next to the national military headquarters in Rawalpindi, adjoining the capital Islamabad.

The Guardian reporting that

Four dead as Hurricane Felix hits land at 160mph

Hurricane Felix battered central America yesterday, killing at least four people and raising fears of a catastrophe in a region with few resources to prepare for its arrival or cope with its consequences.
Felix smashed into Nicaragua's desperately poor Miskito coast near the town of Puerto Cabezas before dawn yesterday, with sustained winds reaching 160mph. It was expected to enter Guatemala early today, local time, and then head north into Chiapas state in Mexico.

The Sun claims an exclusive

TELLY favourite Sharon Osbourne plans to quit The X Factor next year, The Sun can reveal.
The feisty TV judge has told pals she has had enough — and is keen to move on to other projects.
The move comes after show boss Simon Cowell brought Dannii Minogue on board, and with Sharon said to feel increasingly “out of the loop”.

Finally the Indy reports

Happy birthday Viagra

Exactly 15 years ago, Michael Allen took a call from a doctor in a small Welsh town that gave the first hint of a revolution to come. The doctor had been running a small clinical trial testing a new drug to treat angina. The future for the drug, known as UK-92480. was looking bleak: other trials had showed that it did not have much impact on the disease, and indeed was less effective than existing treatments.

Adding

When the doctor gave his progress report to Allen, clinical project manager at drug giant Pfizer, he mentioned some side effects among the healthy volunteers in the trial in Merthyr Tydfil. These included indigestion, back pain – and, the doctor added, erections.
Five years and much research later, Pfizer applied for marketing approval for the drug – not for angina, but for male impotence. Ten years on, and Viagra has been used by more than 30 million men worldwide for erectile dysfunction.