Friday's papers

Failing hospitals and is Dubai going bust are this morning's main topics.

Hundreds of patients may have died needlessly at an NHS hospital due to appalling standards of care, a damning report has found. says the Telegraph.

Poor nursing care, filthy wards and lack of leadership at Basildon and Thurrock University NHS Hospitals FoundationTrust led to the deaths of up to 400 patients a year.

Dirty equipment and an absence of leadership contributed to a death rate almost 40 per cent above the national average among emergency admissions

adds the Independent

Unannounced visits by inspectors at Basildon University Hospital also found a catheter bag on the floor and patients treated on trolleys

reports the Mail adding that

The Essex hospital is run by one of the supposedly 'elite' foundation trusts, which have greater freedom to manage their finances. Last night there were angry calls for its entire management team to resign.

Fears of a dangerous new phase in the economic crisis swept around the globe yesterday as traders responded to the shock announcement that a debt-laden Dubai state corporation was unable to meet its interest bill.

reports the Times

The lack of information about Dubai’s flagship government-owned holding company, made worse by a religious holiday in the Middle East, prompted indiscriminate selling of stocks linked to the region. The cost of insuring against default in emerging markets around the world also leapt

. reports the FT

With Alistair Darling admitting that he had been forced to rip up his already gloomy forecasts for the UK economy this year, the FTSE 100 index of leading shares dropped more than 170 points – wiping £44bn off their value.

says the Guardian

The Telegraph reports that

Gary McKinnon is set to be sent to America to answer computer hacking charges after Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary, told his family that he could not block his extradition on medical grounds.

The family said last night that Mr McKinnon, who could be sentenced to up to 60 years in prison in the US, was "at risk of suicide" after being told there will be no 11th hour reprieve.

adds the Independent

It reports on rays of hope as Copenhagen approches

China has galvanised the run-up to the climate change talks in Copenhagen by announcing an ambitious target to reduce its carbon footprint. It is the first time the world's biggest producer of greenhouse gases has committed itself to a reduction, and comes one day after the US announced its own target

Meanwhile the Guardian leads with the news that

Britain's main safety regulator threw the government's energy plans into chaos tonight by damning the nuclear industry's leading designs for new plants. The Health and Safety Executive said it could not recommend plans for new reactors because of wide-ranging concerns about their safety.

Many of the papers report that The Roman Catholic Church in Ireland connived with the authorities in a cover-up spanning decades to shield paedophile priests from prosecution,

Hundreds of crimes against children were not reported as the four archbishops of the Archdiocese of Dublin remained wedded to the “maintenance of secrecy, the avoidance of scandal, the protection of the reputation of the Church and the preservation of its assets”.

says the Times

Day three of the Iraq inquiry and the Mail says that Britain's former U.S. ambassador suggested yesterday that Tony Blair and George Bush 'signed in blood' a secret deal to topple Saddam Hussein almost a year before Iraq was invaded

Sir Christopher Meyer, testifying to the Chilcot inquiry into Britain's role in the war, made it clear that once the Bush administration decided to take military action, the Blair government never considered opting out or opposing it.

says the Guardian

Labour's three million migrants reports the Sun.

shock figures revealed yesterday show that as asylum seekers and others flood in, skilled East European workers like Poles are leaving.Now fears are growing that cash-strapped Britain will be unable to cope as immigration swells its population to massive new levels.

Peers are in line to receive a pay rise in return for accepting a series of reforms to their discredited expenses system.

says the Independent

Members of the House of Lords will be paid £200 for every day they attend the chamber, up from the current £161.50, under changes proposed by an independent review of their expenses system. Despite the increase, they will still not have to produce any receipts to claim the allowance.

The latest casualty on the High Street,The UK bookshop chain Borders was placed in administration today, raising doubts over 1,150 jobs.

The firm, which has 45 branded Borders and Books Etc stores across the UK, has come under severe pressure from internet competition during the past year.
Administrators MCR said the business continued to trade while a buyer is sought for all or some of the company's stores.

reports the Guardian

Finally on a day of financial uncertainty the Independent reports that

If you want to get rich in China, the way to do it this year is to buy and sell garlic. The Chinese have always had a taste for the bulb vegetable that makes your breath smell but now there has been an incredible surge in its price, which makes the property boom look static by comparison. Garlic has been a better investment this year than gold or silver.