The Sunday Times leads with an exclusive this morning

Kidnappers claim British hostage in Iraq has killed himself

The kidnappers of five British hostages seized in Baghdad last year have claimed in a videotaped statement that one of the men has killed himself.
According to the statement, the hostage — named only as Jason — died on May 25, four days before the first anniversary of the abduction.
The claim is made in a video passed to The Sunday Times in Baghdad last week. Another hostage is shown appealing for the British government to hasten the men’s release.

Iraq is in the headlines as Gordon Brown pays a visit.

Brown sets out plan for UK pull-out from Iraq says the Observer

Gordon Brown yesterday held out the prospect of a substantial withdrawal of British troops from Iraq, possibly as early as next year, when he outlined a four-point road map paving the way for an end to Britain's involvement.
On a one-day visit to Iraq - with a heavy military presence by his side at all times - Brown declared that Iraqi forces would take over Basra airport, the main British military headquarters

Brown plans to withdraw troops as he backs Obama over 'war on terror' says the Independent

Although he is refusing to set a detailed timetable for withdrawal, it is clear Mr Brown is in agreement with the US presidential candidate Barack Obama on the need for military action in Afghanistan to take priority. Both appear to be working to a 16-month timetable.

adding that

While Mr Brown addressed troops in Basra and met Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi Prime Minister, the Democratic hopeful arrived in Afghanistan to declare the US mission there to be more important than that in Iraq. Mr Obama is expected imminently in Iraq, and he will continue on to Europe. He will meet Mr Brown in Downing Street on Saturday.

Surgeons to be given bonuses for saving lives reports the Telegraph

For the first time, they will receive performance-related pay according to the results they achieve on the operating table, with levels dependent on how well patients recover.
Leading surgeons said that this could deter doctors from taking on higher-risk patients, such as the frail and elderly, and from carrying out complex operations

More medical matters in the Express,under the headline Dr Branson will see you now,the paper reports

VIRGIN tycoon Sir Richard Branson is being courted by health chiefs planning to privatise hospital casualty units.
Tens of thousands of patients walking into Accident and Emergency departments could be treated by the private sector in sweeping reforms of the NHS.
Billionaire Branson and his 26-year-old daughter Holly, pictured, who recently qualified as a doctor, plan to bid to run the new generation of GP super-surgeries called polyclinics.

There is much debate about the Sat tests,the Independent says

More than half a million 11-year-olds will have to sit new tests in maths and English when they start secondary school next term.
Secondary school headteachers are becoming increasingly unwilling to trust national curriculum test results. That mistrust has been heightened by this year's fiasco over marking, which has already delayed some results by more than a week. Their decision to re-test pupils represents a massive "no-confidence" vote in the national curriculum tests

The Times reports that

The American testing firm responsible for the exam marking fiasco is expected to lose its £156m contract, potentially landing the taxpayer with a multi-million-pound compensation bill.
Lawyers for the government’s Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) are this weekend negotiating with ETS to ensure the firm’s deal ends, if possible by mutual consent, once the debacle has been resolved.

Political scandal for both the main parties,the same paper revealing that

A top aide to Gordon Brown has been a suspected victim of a “honeytrap” operation by Chinese intelligence agents.
The aide, a senior Downing Street adviser who was with the prime minister on a trip to China earlier this year, had his BlackBerry phone stolen after being picked up by a Chinese woman who had approached him in a Shanghai hotel disco.
The aide agreed to return to his hotel with the woman. He reported the BlackBerry missing the next morning.

The Observer reports that

The Conservative candidate for one of David Cameron's top target seats resigned yesterday, after being arrested over allegations of harassing his opponents.
Councillor Ian Oakley was released on bail by police investigating claims that prominent Lib Dems in Watford, including his rival parliamentary candidate, Sal Brinton, suffered a campaign of poison-pen letters, anonymous late-night phone calls and criminal damage.

More sleaze on the front of the Mail which headlines

Met Police chief in quiz over panel that gave £3m contract to skiing pal

Britain's top policeman is to be questioned following allegations that Scotland Yard contracts worth more than £3million were awarded to a firm run by a close personal friend.
Sir Ian Blair will be grilled by officials on the Metropolitan Police Authority, which employs him, over claims of a potential conflict of interest relating to his links with entrepreneur Andrew Miller.

The Independent looks forward to this week's by election,A Glasgow kiss for missing Brown?

It's Labour's 25th-safest seat in Britain, yet the party is facing an unprecedented challenge from Alex Salmond's Scottish Nationalists. Defeat would be catastrophic for the Prime Minister, who has stayed away from the no-nonsense constituency.says the paper

.

Politics is on the front of the News of the World which reports that a

WEEPING Cheeky Girl Gabriela Irimia told last night of the traumatic secret miscarriage she suffered after her split with MP Lembit Opik and sobbed: "Losing the baby was the worst day of my life."As she revealed the tragic truth behind her bizarre romance with the Lib Dem oddball, and the reason for their shock break-up, pop star Garbriela confessed she REGRETTED ever getting engaged to him.

Madeleine police chief to launch 'explosive' book reports the Observer

The Portuguese police investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann is heading for a stormy final act this week, with the former head of the inquiry promising 'explosive revelations' in a hastily written book.
Gonçalo Amaral, who was chief of the criminal investigation police for the Algarve region, has scheduled a news conference in Lisbon on Thursday to launch the book, just three days after the widely expected announcement tomorrow that the case is being shelved by prosecutors for lack of evidence

The Sunday Mirror has been following Heather Mills on her,£250k holiday to paradise isle with new lover

Just seven weeks after they first met, Heather, 41, flew Jamie Walker, 36, away with her on holiday to the Caribbean.
And she also paid for 20 of her loyal staff and pals to join the week-long trip to Sir Richard Branson’s private island paradise of Necker.
Heather organised the five-star holiday to celebrate the imminent final decree absolute in her bitter £24.3million divorce from Sir Paul McCartney

The Mail reports that a

choirgirl cheats death after bouncing off canvas canopy on school trip to Venice

Su Cangatin-Ripley, 16, suffered severe head, chest and stomach injuries when the second-floor window ledge she was leaning on crumbled at the Hotel Cristallo on the Lido.
The euphonium player is believed to have been leaning out the window to smoke a cigarette when the ledge gave way.

The Telegraph reports that

Pope Benedict XVI has used his final address at the closing of World Youth Day in Australia to warn pilgrims of a creeping "spiritual desert". He called on Roman Catholics to lead a "renewal of faith" against the secularism that was threatening the Church.

Gene found that limits alcohol risk says the Observer

As many as one in four Britons have a much-reduced risk of developing alcohol-related cancer thanks to their genetic make-up, scientists have discovered. Researchers have identified two genes that quickly flush alcohol out of the system, thus reducing its carcinogenic effect. People carrying one or both of the genes may have only half the chance of developing mouth, throat and oesophageal cancers that are strongly associated with drinking

Still not booked up? Then how about the first $1m holiday reports the Independent

If you've spent the past few weeks desperately scouring holiday websites or Teletext for a cheap last-minute deal to somewhere sunny, look away now. A luxurious seven-star hotel yesterday unveiled the world's first US$1m (£500,000) holiday.
Abu Dhabi's Emirates Palace Hotel is offering an eye-wateringly expensive seven-day break for two people in what is being billed as the "ultimate holiday experience".

Back to Brown's visit to Iraq and the Mail reports on the photo that he didn't want

Unfortunately, the Prime Minister’s attempt to boost his image by posing as an action man with the troops didn’t quite go to plan.
It went wrong shortly after he arrived at Baghdad Airport, when he banged his head painfully as he left the RAF Hercules transport plane which had flown him in.

and then adds

it got even worse when he switched to an RAF Puma helicopter to take him into the ‘Green Zone’ in the city centre.
After strapping himself in and donning an uncomfortable-looking flak jacket – something image obsessed Tony Blair always avoided on such trips – Mr Brown decided to have a chat with the airman in charge of the machine gun poking out of the side of the helicopter in case of attack.
As they chatted, the airman let go of the gun, which swung round and came to rest directly in front of Mr Brown, making it appear as though he were the gunner.
A Press photographer travelling with Mr Brown seized the moment and started taking pictures of the smiling Premier

Finally the Times reports that

Lunatics take over Westminster asylum

Ministers are preparing to allow people labelled “idiots” and “lunatics” by archaic laws to stand for parliament.
Though it may come as a surprise to voters, laws dating back to Elizabethan times bar this category of people from becoming MPs.
Idiots are defined as those “incapable of gaining reason” and lunatics as people only “capable of periods of lucidity”.
The rules ban lunatics from standing as MPs in “their non lucid intervals”. They also ban anyone sectioned under the Mental Health Act from standing for parliament, even if they have made a recovery.