The Independent leads this Sunday morning with the story of a

'Dirty bomb' threat as UK ships plutonium to France

Weapons-ready plutonium that terrorists could easily make into a nuclear bomb is to be carried hundreds of miles down the west coast of Britain in an unarmed ship, The Independent on Sunday can reveal.
Experts say that the plutonium dioxide powder, shortly to be taken to France from the Sellafield nuclear complex for the first time, would be an ideal material for creating a nuclear explosion and for use in a dirty bomb. One calls it "the worst possible material" to ship

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4 Al Qaeda cops claims the News of the World

A NEST of Al-Qaeda terror spies has been uncovered in Britain's top police force.MI5 agents have identified FOUR London Met officers after searching for a cell of fanatics passing Scotland Yard's secrets.
The spooks homed in on the officers in the past few weeks after working with anti-terror police to uncover "sleeper" agents in London's Met.
The News of the World has obtained the names of two of the men pinpointed during a painstaking Spooks-style undercover operation.

More revelations on the front of the Mail

Dog of War Simon Mann to name ministers in Africa coup plot

Channel 4 has won a legal battle to broadcast an interview with a mercenary in which he sensationally names British political figures, including Ministers, alleged to have given tacit approval to a plot to overthrow an oil-rich African state.
In testimony that could prove highly damaging to the Government, former SAS officer Simon Mann talks 'frankly' about the events leading to the botched attempt to topple Equatorial Guinea's president.
On Friday, Channel 4 dramatically overturned an injunction preventing it from transmitting the interview.

The paper adds

It is not clear exactly how much of the footage the broadcaster intends to screen, or when, but one source close to the case warned that "it will probably cause many people sleepless nights in the meantime".

The Sunday Times reveals

the plot to expand Heathrow

THE airports operator BAA colluded with government officials to “fix” the evidence in favour of a new third runway at Heathrow, an investigation has found.
Documents seen by The Sunday Times reveal that BAA executives prevented the use of data in the consultation document which showed that the expansion would cause unlawful levels of pollution and extra noise.
Instead, they gave civil servants amended data that showed the anticipated 230,000 extra flights a year at Heathrow would have a minimal impact on noise and pollution levels.
A leaked report shows the government’s own watchdog, the Environment Agency, has now criticised the Department for Transport (DfT) consultation document into the third runway as flawed and incomplete.

The papers carry tributes to Carol Barnes who died yesterday as the Telegraph reports

Carol Barnes, a face of television news for nearly three decades, died in hospital last night after a stroke.The 63-year-old ITN broadcaster was admitted to the intensive care unit at Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton last week.
Her death comes four years after her daughter, Clare, died in a skydiving accident that had a devastating affect on the newsreader.

The Observer says

Her son James described her as 'a beautiful, kind and delicate person - a person loved by many and whom I am desperately proud to call my mother. She did everything in her power to love, care and provide for me, my sister and all those close to her. I am eternally indebted to her for what she has given us. I will always love her and she will for ever be in my heart.'
Her former colleague, Sir Trevor McDonald, praised her as one of television's most talented personalities who had gone 'much, much too soon' and would be 'greatly missed'

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The paper leads with the story that

MPs back artificial sperm for childless

Mps are planning a change in the law to allow babies to be conceived from artificial sperm, a move described by opponents as playing God with human DNA.
A furious debate is building over how far to leave the door open to its use in IVF treatment, ahead of a Commons vote due shortly on the government's Human Fertilisation and Embryology bill. The legislation currently allows ...#8239;so-called artificial gametes in research, but imposes a blanket ban on their use in creating a human pregnancy.

The Independent reports that

Our children are missing: Most vulnerable youngsters are targeted

Hundreds of children are going missing from Britain's care homes and foster families each year, many falling victim to violent and sexual abuse, prostitution and drug addiction.
Some of the most vulnerable children in society, who are supposed to be safely in care, are instead singled out by predatory paedophiles or drug dealers and encouraged to run away repeatedly, according to child welfare campaigners

According to the Telegraph there are

A record 3,000 late abortions in Britain

The number of late abortions in Britain has reached a record level, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal.
Almost 3,000 were carried out on women who were at least 20 weeks pregnant, according to the latest annual figures in England and Wales, representing a 44 per cent increase in less than a decade.The vast majority were for "lifestyle" reasons; less than a quarter were because of a risk that the child would be born handicapped

Children’s oath to Queen reports the Times

SCHOOLCHILDREN are to be encouraged to swear an oath of allegiance to the Queen and promise to obey the law in ceremonies similar to those for new immigrants.
A review of citizenship by Lord Goldsmith, the former attorney-general, will say this procedure could strengthen children’s understanding of what it means to be British.
One idea is for immigrants’ citizenship ceremonies to be held in schools where children could also take part. Alternatively the event could be included in citizenship studies, which are part of the national curriculum.

The Mirror claims a

Crisis as officers quit Army

The British Army is so short of officers it is being forced to take on foreign commanders, according to a secret document leaked to the Sunday Mirror.
An exodus of majors and captains means military personnel will be drafted in from countries such as Australia and South Africa.
The document - marked "Restricted" - warns that by June this year the Army will be short of 242 captains and 193 majors - 32 per cent of all officers."

The Telegraph meanwhile leads with the story that there are

Calls for national Armed Forces Day

Former defence chiefs believe that such a day would allow the public to pay tribute to the Armed Forces and their families following years of sacrifice in Iraq and Afghanistan, where 264 servicemen and women have been killed and more than 1,000 injured.
The day would be marked by all Armed Services members, both on and off duty, being encouraged to wear uniform in public, open days held at barracks and announcements in school assemblies to make pupils aware of local troops and their service to the nation

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Now ALL the major political parties say they will raise taxes on alcohol, as they battle to look the toughest on binge drinking reports the Mail

A bidding war over "binge drinking" taxes broke out last night as duty on alcohol became a key political battleground ahead of this week's Budget.
By last night, all three parties had pledged to raise taxes on alcohol, with Chancellor Alistair Darling indicating that he will be hiking duties on wines and spirits in his debut Budget on Wednesday.

Much news about next week's budget,the Times reports that

Darling to hit family cars with £2,000 tax

Alistair Darling is planning a series of green taxes designed to force consumers to become more environmentally friendly. The centrepiece of the chancellor’s first budget is expected to be a levy on new cars, which could put £2,000 on the price of the largest “gas guzzlers

Budget will target high-carbon cars says the Observer

Manufacturers would have to reveal the environmental costs of 4x4s and high-performance sports cars in a form of environmental 'health warning'. Tax discs could also be colour-coded to indicate the car's rating for carbon emissions, enabling more councils to introduce higher parking charges or ultimately congestion charges for the most polluting cars, as already happens in parts of London.

Beer, wine and spirits set for inflation-busting Budget rises says the Mirror

Chancellor Alistair Darling will deliver the bad news on Wednesday in his first Budget since his predecessor Gordon Brown became PM.
Mr Darling is set to end a 10-year freeze on duty on whisky and other spirits.
The tax rises will be "across the board" and "above inflation" in a major drive against alcohol-fuelled crime and violence, senior sources say

Divisions over Kosovo cripple Serb government reports the Telegraph

The government of Serbia has collapsed amid increasingly bitter divisions within the country over the independence of Kosovo.Serbian prime minister Vojislav Kostunica admitted his government was no longer functioning and tendered his resignation, a day after accusing his coalition partners of abandoning the former Serb province

The Sunday Times reports that

Hamas wages Iran’s proxy war on Israel

A Hamas commander, however, confirmed for the first time that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard has been training its men in Tehran for more than two years and is currently honing the skills of 150 fighters.
The details he gave suggested that, if anything, Shin Bet has underestimated the extent of Iran’s influence on Hamas’s increasingly sophisticated tactics and weaponry.

Settlers vow revenge over Jerusalem massacre reports the Observer

Israel's far-right settler movement has set itself on a renewed collision course with the government of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, declaring that last week's massacre in a Jewish religious school had targeted them directly and vowing to build a new illegal outpost in the West Bank for every one of the killed students.
Amid a sense of spiralling crisis in Israeli and the Occupied Territories - which has stemmed from the impression that both Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are rudderless amid the climbing violence - Abbas performed yet another policy U-turn, calling for new talks with Israel after having earlier appeared to back away from peace talks.

The Independent reports from

Goa: Death, drugs and extortion: the ashes of a paradise lost

The secret of Goa got out a long time ago. Over the years the hippies have been joined by backpackers, gap-year students, techno addicts and now the two-week package tourists who congregate around the resort of Calangute. There is more commercialism, higher prices and a spate of hotel building in previous unspoilt areas. There has also been a large influx of Russians, who are said to be increasingly involved in the drug scene. The police are said to be unwilling or unable to crack down on much of the illegality that has resulted. Among the beach bars, I was openly offered everything from cannabis to cocaine, ecstasy and ketamine. "There are more drugs here than in other parts of India, but that is why the tourists come," said the dealer.

Drilling for oil to start in Falkland Islands reports the Telegraph

After 10 years of frustrating delays since oil fields containing up to 60 billion barrels of "black gold" were discovered off the islands, oil companies are planning to start drilling within the next 12 months.
The move follows the conclusion of lengthy, but successful, tests by geologists and significant cash injections by two major oil companies which plan to bring rigs to the islands by as early as autumn

The front page of the Express warns that

The big storm blows in

Britain is bracing itself for the worst storm in 20 years tonight, with hurricane-force winds and devastating floods.
Millions are being warned to stay indoors as 80mph gales batter the country, threatening widespread destruction and rush-hour chaos tomorrow.
A giant cyclone sweeping across the Atlantic is expected to carve a 300-mile trail of damage as it moves southwards, bringing down power lines and causing havoc on the roads and railways. What is worrying the emergency services is that the storm will coincide with high spring tides

Seven die in road horror after convicted drink-driver crashes head-on into a family's car while overtaking reports the Mail

Jason Brain smashed into a VW Passat, killing its driver John Kirby, his wife Maggie and their daughter Julie.
The Kirbys' grandchildren, aged nine and ten, were last night fighting for their lives.
Brain, 35, died along with the three passengers in his Peugeot 306 – his daughter Natasha, 15, Ryan Bott, 20, and 31-year-old mother-of-one Michola Jones. Police said the cars could have had a combined impact speed of 120mph when they crashed on the A429 between Stow-on-the-Wold and Moreton-in-Marsh on Friday night. It was Gloucestershire's worst ever road accident

Across the red tops,the Mirror leads with an expose of

The 8K a week scum

Mega-rich footballers laughed and joked as they joined in the looting of handbags belonging to £5.50-an-hour barmaids who had spent the night serving them cocktails.
These sickening images show how £8,000-a-week Bradley Wright-Phillips finds it funny watching his £5,000-a-week Southampton team mate Nathan Dyer and three pals go through the girls' bags.

The News of the World reports that

GAZZA'S biggest buddy sobbed as he revealed the REAL tragic reason the broken soccer star was sectioned.
Fearful doctors locked him away in a psychiatric unit after he tearfully told Jimmy 'Five Bellies' Gardner: "I've had enough of life."
Geordie Jimmy—Paul Gascoigne's rock for over THIRTY years—told how the one-time England superstar crashed into black depression after major hip surgery left him hobbling on crutches

The riddle of Boris's slave roots reports the Observer

With his old Etonian pedigree and schoolboy mannerisms, he may appear to be to the manor born. But Boris Johnson today makes the startling claim that he is directly descended from slaves.
He says his great-great-grandmother was sold to his great-great-grandfather and that she was only set free when they married. But intriguingly, when the BBC studied Johnson's story for a forthcoming edition of the BBC series Who Do You Think You Are?, in which celebrities trace their family trees, it was unable to find proof

The Times reports that a

Hunt is on for the "Civil Serf" demon blogger of Whitehall

SHE has become Whitehall’s answer to Belle de Jour, the anonymous call girl blogger whose sexual exploits spawned a bestseller and prompted a prime time television show.
The Civil Serf - as she calls herself - claims to be a 33-year-old fast-stream civil servant ready to expose the daily chaos of the Labour government machine while lampooning ministers and highlighting the idiocy of mandarin colleagues. There are also moans about drunken advances from the opposite sex.

Some of the revelations include

claims that Alistair Darling is desperate to use his first budget on Wednesday to garner “a cheap headline” even if means announcing unaffordable new measures. She also has a dig at Gordon Brown, calling him “Velcro” because of the way negative stories have a habit of sticking to him - unlike “Teflon” Tony Blair.

The Mail reports

Brown's aides at war as his new £140,000 guru wants to oust PM's enforcer

Gordon Brown is at the centre of a fierce power struggle involving his new Downing Street chief of staff and the loyal Labour aide who acts as his Commons "enforcer".
The new man is Stephen Carter, 44, a wealthy, well-spoken business executive being paid £140,000 a year to revive No 10 after the on-off autumn Election fiasco.
The guru is said to want Mr Brown to remove his right-hand man, Ian Austin, 43, the Labour MP for Dudley who puts his strong Black Country accent to effect in his ongoing class war against David Cameron.

'Non-doms' should pay up, say Lib Dems reports the Guardian

Gordon Brown's government was mocked as 'spineless' last night by Vince Cable of the Liberal Democrats for allowing people with non-domicile status to avoid paying their fair share of tax.
The Treasury spokesman brought his party's spring conference alive by launching a sustained assault on the Prime Minister for allowing the very wealthy to pay a lower rate of tax. 'The idea that the super-rich should be elevated above taxation is immoral and deeply insulting to those on modest incomes who pay their full whack of tax,' Cable said.

Finally the Observer reports on

A lethal virus, humanity wiped out - then what?

It is the water that has the first impact. Take away people and the pumps that prevent our cities' underground railways and tunnels from flooding stop working. Within a day of humanity's disappearance, the world's metros fill up with fetid water. Then the animals break out of zoos and lions roam the streets before emergency cooling circuits on nuclear power plants fail, causing radioactive plumes to spread.

and the paper explains

It is an apocalyptic vision worthy of a science fiction film. In fact, these scenes form part of a startling new documentary, Life After People, that is to be shown on the History Channel over the Easter weekend. In addition, the book The World Without Us by Alan Weisman, which follows a similar Earth-without-humans theme, has become a surprise US bestseller. Last week the National Geographic Channel screened its version of the book, Aftermath: Population Zero, in the US

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