New Year's eve papers

The old year ends on a high on many of the front pages as the Times reports that

The British hostage Peter Moore was dramatically set free yesterday after the United States handed over an Iraqi insurgent suspected of planning the deaths of five American servicemen.

The only known survivor from the group of five British hostages then requested to be taken to the canteen to have some English food before talking to his family on the telephone.says the Independent

Whilst according to evidence uncovered during an extensive investigation by the Guardian,

The five British men kidnapped in Iraq were taken in an operation led and masterminded by Iran's Revolutionary Guards

The Telegraph leads with the news that ministers have been accused of putting lives at risk by failing to order X-ray style body scanners at British airports despite fears that al-Qaeda is planning a wave of syringe bomb attacks on planes.

The scanners, which could have thwarted the attack by the Detroit bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, are already in use in countries including America and Germany, and yesterday the Netherlands and Nigeria announced they would follow suit.

says the paper

The Guardian reports that the US is planning retaliatory strikes in Yemen against al-Qaida over its attempt to blow up a transatlantic flight on Christmas Day.

they warn that finding those responsible is unlikely to be swift and say that identifying other "high-value" al-Qaida targets for retaliatory attack would also be a priority.

Meanwhile the Times says that the US military base in Afghanistan that was targeted in a suicide attack on Wednesday was being used by the CIA, according to US media.

Explosions in central and western Iraq have killed 30 people and wounded the Anbar provincial governor. reports the Telegraph

The co-ordinated bombings were blamed on al-Qaeda, with collusion from the security forces.

Most of the eight Americans killed in the attack on the base in the eastern Afghan province of Khost were CIA agents, the Washington Post reports.

Bad weather continues to grip the country

Forecasters and the rescue services warned of continuing danger yesterday after avalanches claimed the lives of three climbers. Two of the climbers were killed when they were were swept away as they ascended Ben Nevis and the third died in hospital a few hours after being rescued from Liathach ridge at Torridon in Wester Ross.

reports the Independent

Whilst the Express says that

New Year revellers are being warned to prepare for bitter conditions tonight as Britain is gripped by one of the worst winters in recent memory....

The Mail leads with a report that nearly 500,000 adults aged 35 to 44 moved back into their parents' home in the past year, research reveals today.

Devastated by the recession and rising rates of relationship breakdown, many had no option but to return to mother.
The trend has led to them being dubbed the 'boomerang generation'.

to politics and the Times reports that David Cameron has been warned that Tory backbenchers are determined to oust John Bercow as Speaker immediately after the general election.

Staying with David Cameron,the Independent reports that hisattempts to boost the green credentials of the Tories have been dealt another blow after one of his party's most senior environmentalists,John Gummer announced he is to quit the Commons at the next election.

The New Year honours are out and the Sun reports that

Status Quo veterans Rick Parfitt and Francis Rossi were rocked today - after getting OBEs in the New Year Honours list.

The actor Patrick Stewart leads a stellar cast of those honoured today for their contribution to the arts and entertainment industry, receiving a knighthood for a career spanning half a century.says the Guardian

Meanwhile the Telegraph points out that

More than 45 per cent of those honoured today are women, compared to 39 per cent last year and less than thirty per cent in the 1990s. The increase has led to an additional 63 women being honoured in this year’s list.