Northern Rock and Crime are the main topics for this morning.

Northern Rocks £24b bonds right off agreed says the front page of the Guardian adding that

The government has also set potential bidders a two-week deadline, and admitted that the deal will have to be cleared by the European commission – another potential hurdle in its attempt to end the long-running crisis.
The idea to issue government-backed bonds was proposed by Goldman Sachs after it was unable to raise enough money to allow a private company, such as Virgin or Olivant, to take Northern Rock over.
Jeremy Batstone-Carr, analyst at Charles Stanley, said that it illustrates "the extent that there is risk-aversion in the market".

£54b question says the Independent

Should Branson be allowed to profit at our expense?

For six months Mr Darling and Gordon Brown have endured the mocking headlines and the cruel "Northern Crock" jokes as the Government found itself propping up the debt-ridden Northern Rock bank to the tune of £54bn. All of the money came, of course, from the British taxpayer. Both Mr Brown and Mr Darling knew that situation could not last indefinitely. So the Chancellor has come up with what he clearly believes is a cunning plan. Whether it will wash with the voters is another matter.

Brown denies rock deal with Branson says the Telegraph

Gordon Brown faced fierce criticism over his rescue plan for Northern Rock last night, as he was forced to deny allegations that he had used a trip to Asia to clinch a "sweetheart deal" with Sir Richard Branson over the stricken bank

The paper changes tack with its lead story

Random breath tests planned for motorists

Motorists face being subjected to random breath-testing as part of the biggest shake-up of drink-drive laws since the introduction of the breathalyser 40 years ago, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.The proposed changes would allow breath tests to be carried out at any time, with roadside checkpoints being set up at points where police were confident they could catch lawbreakers.

The Sun leads with a text of a letter it received

THE time for talking is over – it is now time to act.
The Sun today urges its army of readers to heed the rallying call of former school head Dr Stuart Newton – and fight to take back our streets, towns and parks from the violent young thugs terrorising Britain.
Nearly 11 years after Labour came to power on a pledge to be “tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime,” gun gangs roam our cities and knife crime among youngsters has trebled. urging its readers to

to fill in the coupon on Page Five of today's Sun newspaper and send it to PM Gordon Brown, or join our campaign online by clicking on the link above. You can also take follow-up action by writing to your MP or going to their weekly surgery

The Mail leads with the comments of the Home Secretary made in yesterday's Sunday times

Skewered says the front of the paper

Jacqui Smith suffered a barrage of criticism yesterday after admitting she would not feel safe walking the streets after dark.
Opposition MPs said the Home Secretary had made an "admission of failure" to the millions of shift-workers who have no option but to brave the threat of violence.
Aides of Miss Smith compounded her gaffe with a desperate attempt to undo the damage by claiming she had recently popped out in the evening to "buy a kebab in Peckham".

The minister, Jacqui Smith, street strife and a late-night kebab in Peckham says the Times

The Home Secretary had planned to introduce an initiative on knife crime, strike a tough position on police pay and set out her arguments for detaining terrorist suspects without charge for 42 days.
Instead, she called the Government’s law and order record into question by saying that there were parts of the capital where she would not venture on her own after dark. “I just don’t think that’s a thing that people do, is it really?” she told The Sunday Times. David Davis, the Shadow Home Secretary, said her remarks were “an astonishing admission”.

Each detected crime costs £10,000 reports the Telegraph

The number of crimes being solved by police has fallen or ground to a halt in nearly two thirds of forces in England and Wales, The Daily Telegraph has learned.
Experts said the poor record on catching criminals called into question the effectiveness of the extra billions of pounds spent by Labour on policing over the past decade.


The Mirror leads with the news that

War veterans told: Pay back pensions

Stunned Armed Forces veterans have been ordered to give back a staggering £1.7million in pension overpayments.
Bungling MoD officials admit it was their bureaucratic error that led to 98 ex-service personnel being given too much each month.
But they insist the veterans, many of whom have been invalided out, must now refund the cash - leaving them with an average bill of £17,000.

Most of the papers run with the story that

Man 'killed himself' after being shot with Taser gun ,the Indy reports that

A man who died after being shot by police with a stun gun had fatally injured himself, detectives said last night. Armed officers were called to an incident in the Goldington area of Bedford at 7pm on Saturday after reports of a dispute between a mother and a son, Bedfordshire Police said. Officers used the Taser gun after the knife-wielding man, who was in his thirties, threatened police outside a terraced house.
The injured man retreated inside the house where he was discovered a short while later with "self-inflicted injuries", a force spokeswoman said. The injuries from the Taser gun were "minimal", she added.

The Guardian reports that

Brown backs UN security council seat for India

Gordon Brown last night backed calls for a permanent place on the UN security council for India as he prepared to announce measures designed to modernise international institutions for the 21st century.
The prime minister was applauded when he endorsed India's claims at an event to promote entrepreneurship at the Indian Institute of Technology. Britain has long backed India's security council ambitions and now UK officials described it as "an idea whose time has come", aimed at making the council "representative of 2008 rather than 1945".

Gaza in power cut as blockade bites reports the Telegraph

Gaza City residents have rushed to stock up on batteries and food amid power cuts caused by Israel's blockade of fuel supplies into the beleaguered territory.
The area's only electrical plant began switching off its turbines at about midday and was expected to cease operating completely, sending parts of Gaza into darkness.

The Times reporting

As the power failed, 1,000 men, women and children held a candlelit procession in Gaza City to protest at the breakdown of their basic services. Some carried posters calling on the international community to come to their aid, others condemned the state of siege that they are living under.
“I appeal to Egypt to break the siege because our children and sick people are dying,” Umm Raed, a 52-year-old housewife, said. Egypt has a border with Gaza, but has mainly shown solidarity with Israel in enforcing an embargo on the Hamas-run territory.

The same paper looks at the aftermath of the weekends primaries

I’m not the favourite, says winner with history on his side

John McCain was reluctant yesterday to assume the tattered mantle of Republican front-runner, even as he celebrated a win in the South Carolina primary that laid to rest the ghost of a bitter defeat in the same state eight years ago.
His campaign is now gearing up for the next battle, promising to spend “seven-figure” sums on TV advertising from today in Florida, which votes on January 29. Mr McCain yesterday also announced plans for six new offices in the delegate-rich state which will test candidates’ financial and organisational muscle before “Super Tuesday” on February 5, when more than 20 primaries will be held.

Clinton and Obama struggle for support of party faithful says the Guardian

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were pitched yesterday into a struggle for the key components of the Democratic power base - women, African-American and Latino voters - as the race for the White House fans out across a national stage.
Saturday's Democratic caucus in Nevada - which Clinton won with 51% of the vote against 45% for Obama - set the parameters for the coming showdown both in demographic terms and on election issues. It also brought a new level of divisiveness and rancour to the Democratic campaign.

The Times reports from Serbia where

Nationalist takes poll victory

A pro-Russian former ally of Slobodan Milosevic won the first round of the Serbian presidential election last night, setting up a second-round head-to-head clash with the pro-Western incumbent.
Tomislav Nikolic, 55, a hardline nationalist, led the field of nine candidates with 39.6 per cent of the vote, as the future of the Serbian province of Kosovo hung in the balance. His main rival, Boris Tadic, the President, is keen to maintain good relations with the EU in the difficult months ahead for Kosovo, the leaders of which are expected to declare independence within weeks.

Great Rail Rip-Off: Passengers in Britain pay highest fares in Europe says the Mail

British train passengers are victims of a "Great Rail Rip-Off" that sees them paying the most expensive fares in Europe, a damning report reveals today.
They are charged up to 14 times more than their counterparts on the Continent in a Government policy that is "pricing people off the railways", says research from the Liberal Democrats.

Following yesterday's exclusives the Express leads with

SIGHTINGS OF WANTED MAN FLOODING IN

MADELEINE McCann’s parents were buoyed last night as witnesses came forward claiming to have seen the man they believe may have abducted her.
Dozens of calls started flooding in immediately after this striking image was released yesterday, giving fresh hope to Kate and Gerry McCann


Is that wood oak or is it a beach asks the Sun

The scene at Worthing was repeated along a ten-mile stretch of Sussex coast as planks up to 33ft long washed ashore from the Greek vessel Ice Prince, which sank off Portland Bill, Dorset, in rough weather last Tuesday.
Police say anyone stealing the wood – which will be sold – faces a fine of £2,500. But that didn’t stop people loading vans.

Finally the Mirror reports that

Today is the most miserable day of the year

If you're easily depressed, don't bother getting out of bed today - because it's officially the most miserable day of the year.
Post-Christmas blues, failure to keep New Year's resolutions, debts and bad weather all combine to make the Monday of the last full week in January the gloomiest in the calendar. And just to cheer you up, the weather forecast today is... HEAVY RAIN.
Researchers at Cardiff University studied all the factors that depress people on what is traditionally known as Blue Monday.