Once again fuel takes centre stage on the front pages

A billion reasons to slash fuel tax says the Express

THE Government’s windfall from the spiralling cost of oil has smashed through the £1billion mark.
In just over two months since the Budget, Gordon Brown’s bonus from oil duty has soared along with escalating prices at the pumps.
Drivers facing daily petrol and diesel rises have forked out £188million in extra VAT since March 12. Over the same period, major oil firms have paid £826million to the Treasury in extra tax

Reverse says the Mirror

Drivers should not be "hammered" by the Government, Cabinet Minister John Hutton declared yesterday in a clear sign of a road tax climbdown.
The Business Secretary spoke out as senior Labour sources admitted planned increases of up to £245 a year that could hit millions of family car drivers were a "mistake".

Alongside a picture of snaking lorries during yesterday's protest,the Times leads with

Ministers driven to U-turn on road

Huge rises in road and petrol taxes for millions of motorists could be scrapped after two Cabinet ministers hinted at another U-turn in government policy.
After warnings from MPs that the party was alienating ordinary voters, Jack Straw and John Hutton suggested that the Pre-Budget report in the autumn would contain changes to plans set out by the Chancellor in March

Car tax plans that would mean millions of motorists paying increased road duties could be watered down to appease voters, ministers have indicated.

says the Telegraph

The Independent though warns

Don't be yellow, Gordon. Be green

Gordon Brown has been urged to stand firm against calls to abandon green tax rises on fuel as environmentalists warned that scrapping the proposals would risk undermining Britain's drive towards a low carbon future and send the wrong message about the Government's commitment to tackling greenhouse gas emissions

UK ready to scrap killer cluster bombs is the lead in the Guardian

Officials are paving the way for the unexpected and radical step at talks in Dublin on an international treaty aimed at a worldwide ban on the bombs.
Well-placed sources made clear yesterday that despite opposition from the military, the government is prepared to get rid of the cluster munitions in Britain's armoury: the lsraeli-designed M85 artillery weapon used during the 2003 invasion of Iraq and in attacks on Lebanon two years ago; and the M73, part of a weapons system for Apache helicopters.

The aftermath of a weekend of youth violence gains a lot of coverage,the Express says
Another day and more stabbing on the streets as it reports that

THE murder of a teenager battered to death in a public park was filmed by one of his killers, police feared last night as they investigated a wave of attacks that have shocked the nation

The Mail adds that

Two schoolboys aged 12 and 13, three 15-year-olds and a 20-year-old, all Asian, were arrested yesterday on suspicion of murder.
Police have been told the 'sustained and brutal' attack was captured on mobile phone and are now trying to find the crucial evidence.

The Times says that

The savage beating to death of a 17-year-old boy was merely the latest in a grim litany of incidents in this West Yorkshire town

Teachers offer to combat gang culture reports the Independent

Plans to tackle gang culture in and around schools have been drawn up in the first research commissioned by teachers' leaders on coping with the problem.
The study, which comes after a weekend in which two young people were killed in gang-related clashes in Dewsbury and London, recommends schools consider staggering starting and finishing times in an attempt to prevent rival groups engaging in warfare – and the use of metal detectors to flush out weapons.

The Sun leads with the headline

Toxic sofa burns 1000

A SHOCKED mum last night told how her baby son suffered blistering burns all over his body after lying on a “toxic” sofa. Little Archie Lloyd-Bennett needed hospital treatment for what the consultant branded the “worst case” he had seen.
The nine-month-old now has seven lotions, creams and pills to keep his condition under control.
He is among at least 1,000 people who suffered an agonising allergic reaction from sitting on the top-selling leather settees.

The Telegraph reports that a

nuclear submarine damaged in Red Sea crash

A British nuclear-powered submarine was damaged when it collided with rocks in the Red Sea, the Ministry of Defence has said.HMS Superb hit an underwater rock on Monday and damaged its sonar equipment, forcing it to surface.
None of the crew was hurt and the submarine is watertight, an MoD spokesman said.

Oxford's £1.25bn fundraising bid reports the Guardian

Oxford University will today launch the biggest-ever fundraising drive by a European academic institution, aiming to raise £1.25bn to pay for a major expansion and compete with the American Ivy League.
Details of the campaign, leaked to the Guardian, reveal that more than 20 influential patrons, including a former Canadian prime minister, a prominent Republican senator and a chief economist from the Indian government, have been recruited to front the campaign. The Conservative party is heavily represented with the party leader David Cameron, former Tory cabinet minister Lord Waldegrave and Lord Patten pledging support. Patrons will give money, raise money or lend their names to a fundraising drive.

The Mail is unhappy about MP's.Under the headline Pay us £100,000 a year the paper reports

MPs are demanding an extra £38,000 a year each under plans to stamp out abuse of expenses.
The move would take their annual salaries to nearly £100,000 - at a time when millions are struggling to cope with soaring living costs and police, nurses and teachers have received below-inflation wage rises.
The politicians want a pay increase of £15,000 each.

A different role for a Parliament is reported in a number of the papers

Item one on the agenda for Nepal's new parliament: evicting the King says the Independent

Nepal's last king has been told to leave the palace that his family has occupied for almost 240 years as the Himalayan kingdom last night prepared to become the world's newest republic.
The first matter of business for 575 members of a new parliament who were sworn in yesterday is to formally declare Nepal a republic. After that, the king – the last Hindu monarch in the world – is expected to leave the palace and return to his private home.

More Parliamentary scandal as the Times reports from Israel where

Ehud Olmert received money in envelopes, says key witness

An American entrepreneur described to an Israeli court yesterday how he gave wads of cash in envelopes to Ehud Olmert, the Prime Minister, who is now at the centre of a bribery investigation.
Morris Talansky, 75, a businessman and rabbi who was giving his deposition for the prosecution, also spoke of the Prime Minister’s taste for exclusive hotels, expensive watches and first-class air travel.

Tutu enters Gaza to start investigation into deaths reports the Guardian

Tutu was sent by the UN human rights council to lead the inquiry only days after the incident in November 2006. However, the Israeli government did not give him a visa and complained that the council was politicised in its criticism of Israel.
Yesterday, after several months of delay, Tutu crossed into Gaza from Egypt at the Rafah crossing point, which is usually closed and almost never used for UN or diplomatic visits, but where he did not require any Israeli travel permit.

To the American elections and the Telegraph reports that

Barack Obama gets Fidel Castro's support

The former Cuban president gave a qualified endorsement to Mr Obama whom he described as "the most-advanced candidate" in the race for the White House.
The unwelcome support of the ailing revolutionary icon is likely to give Senator John McCain further opportunity to question Mr Obama's foreign policy credentials.

The Times meanwhile reports that

McCain keeps 'radioactive' President Bush at arm's length

President Bush was helping John McCain to raise money for the coming presidential election yesterday, even as the Republican nominee did his best to hold at arm’s length the man he hopes to succeed in the White House.
They had not appeared in public together since March 5 and were scheduled to do so only fleetingly last night, with a planned photocall at Phoenix airport, in Mr McCain’s home state of Arizona, taking place long after evening television news bulletins had been broadcast.

The Guardian reports from across the border where

The Canadian foreign minister Maxime Bernier, dubbed "Bumbling Bernier" by his critics, resigned yesterday after admitting that he left sensitive government documents at the home of his former girlfriend.
Bernier,45, has come under criticism in recent weeks after it emerged that the woman concerned, Julie Couillard, had been involved in relationships with men linked to the Hells Angels.
Announcing the resignation, the prime minister, Stephen Harper, said Bernier had "left classified documents in a non-secure location. This is a serious error".

Out of their depth: the Great Barrier Reef mystery says the Independent

At first it seemed to be an extraordinary tale of survival. But the story of the two divers rescued from shark-infested waters is beginning to look distinctly fishy.

adding

From start to finish, the media cried, it was a tale of stupendous courage, almost superhuman stamina and intense drama. But, as the dust settles on the reports of their awe-inspiring struggle, those who originally praised the couple are starting to ask questions. And, unlike four days ago, when it was the operators of the boat and the pair's fellow divers who were under fire for alleged negligence, now Mr Neely and Ms Dalton are in the spotlight.

The Mirror reports that

Josef Fritzl's children to return to school

Lisa, 16, Monika, 14, and Alexander, 12, want to see pals after being shut in a clinic since Fritzl's arrest last month.
And their mother Elisabeth, 42, is ready to send them back to class in September, an insider revealed.

Statins to be given to a million more over-40s says the Telegraph

GPs are urged to trawl the records of patients aged 40 and over to find anyone with a one in five chance of having a heart attack or stroke and call them in for advice and drugs.
Four million people already take statins, mostly after heart attacks. But the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) wants healthy people deemed at high risk of an attack or a stroke within 10 years to have preventive drugs as well.

The Times reports that

Blackouts hit thousands as generators fail

Hundreds of thousands of people were hit by electricity blackouts yesterday when seven power stations shut down. The unscheduled stoppages were regarded as an unprecedented sign of the fragility of Britain’s power infrastructure.
Operations were cancelled, people were stuck in lifts, traffic lights failed and fire engines were sent out on false alarms. Householders were unable to use any appliances or make phonecalls as the blackouts hit areas including Cleveland, Cheshire, Lincolnshire and London.

Finally two stories from outer space.The Guardian reports that

Spacemen call up Earth and ask for a plumber

It is the question astronauts are asked the most: just how do you go to the toilet in space? For the three crew on the international space station, this is no longer a humorous, lavatorial question; they have had to call mission control and ask for a plumber.As one of the crew was using the toilet last week, its motor fan stopped. Since then, the liquid-waste gathering part of the toilet has been working on and off; fortunately, the solid-waste collecting part is functioning. Russian officials do not know the cause of the problem. The astronauts have jury-rigged a back-up bag connected to the toilet. A Nasa spokesman said: "Like any home anywhere the importance of having a working bathroom is obvious."

Many of the papers report on the failed high altitude jump at the weekend,the Sun reports

A SKYDIVER spent a fortune on an amazing record attempt – then watched in horror yesterday as a hot air balloon floated off without him.
Gutted Michel Fournier could only point to the sky in desperation as the £100,000 high-tech canopy broke free from moorings while being inflated with helium.
The 64-year-old ex-paratrooper stormed off to a hangar saying: “I was excited, I was certain all of the conditions were perfect. Then suddenly I see the balloon pass in front of me.”

The Independent adds

Michel Fournier was aiming to complete the world's highest skydive by leaping from the stratosphere at four times the height of a commercial jet's cruising altitude and plummet back to earth, breaking the sound barrier en route. In the end, the Frenchman failed to get even one foot off the ground.