Saturday's papers

Varied headlines from the papers this morning.

The Telegraph returns to a familiar theme as it reports the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, has had his grace-and-favour Westminster apartment refurbished at a cost of £45,000 to the taxpayer.

Mr Bercow ordered the makeover, covering work from child-friendly redecorating to new televisions and furniture, within weeks of his election as Speaker in June.

The Independent also returns to a old theme as it claims British soldiers recreated the torture conditions of Abu Ghraib to commit the sexual and physical abuse of Iraqi civilians are being investigated by the Ministry of Defence.

The Guardian also leads with Iraq as it reports

Doctors in Iraq's war-ravaged enclave of Falluja are dealing with up to 15 times as many chronic deformities in infants and a spike in early life cancers that may be linked to toxic materials left over from the fighting

Meanwhile the news that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four others are to face prosecution over the 9/11 attacks is well covered

The Times says that the move to try them in a civilian court in New Yorkwas denounced angrily yesterday by victims’ relatives and Republicans on Capitol Hill.

Attempting to reassure Americans that the suspected perpetrators of the worst terrorist attack in history would not walk free, President Barack Obama said: "I am absolutely convinced Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will be subject to the most exacting demands of justice." says the Telegraph

The Times leads with an opinion poll which reveals that less than half the population believes that human activity is to blame for global warming,

Only 41 per cent accept as an established scientific fact that global warming is taking place and is largely man-made. Almost a third (32 per cent) believe that the link is not yet proved; 8 per cent say that it is environmentalist propaganda to blame man and 15 per cent say that the world is not warming.

According to the Mail,the post-war 'baby boomers' are now paying the price for living in good times.

Today's 60-year-olds are the first modern generation to be less healthy than their immediate predecessors.

Despite improvements in medicine and standards of living, they are more likely to be blighted by problems from aching knees and creaking hips to diabetes, asthma and strokes.

Meanwhile the Times reports that scientists advising the Government say that the calorie counts used as the basis of diet plans and healthy-eating advice for the past 18 years may be wrong. They suggest

that some adults could safely consume an extra 400 calories a day (equivalent to an average-sized cheeseburger, or two bags of ready-salted crisps).

The Sun leads with the news that

DAVID Beckham will fork out £50,000 to help England's faltering 2018 World Cup bid - by dashing to Cape Town to fly the flag for his country

.adding that

Desperate FA chiefs will pay £100,000 getting Beckham to South Africa in time for the prestigious 2010 World Cup draw next month.

There is water on the moon

Scientists said the "exciting" findings had gone "beyond expectations" as fully formed ice was found in a crater on the planet.
They said that the ice – thought to be in granules mixed with grains of Moon dust – heralded a major leap forward in space exploration and boosted hopes of a permanent lunar base.

reports the Telegraph

Finally matters closer to home as it's time to batton down the hatches

The 'worst storm of the year' is set to batter Britain today, with heavy rains and gusts of up to 80mph sweeping the country. reports the Mail

Forecasters say the gales will be powerful enough to damage buildings and topple chimney pots and trees. The autumnal storm swept in from the Atlantic yesterday - with a third of a month's rain falling in just 12 hours.