Tuesday's papers

The weather takes many of the headlines this morning.The Times reports that the big breeze blights the Xmas getaway

Heavy snow in the South, North and East made some roads impassable. Others became ice rinks as snow fell on ice and temperatures failed to rise above 0C. Motoring organisations reported the highest number of breakdowns for a decade. The freeze was expected to continue for two days.

whilst the Telegraph reports that

Commuters and holidaymakers were left stranded after the wintry conditions paralysed large parts of the transport network, with flights delayed, trains cancelled and roads closed.

The Mail simply asks why we can't cope? as it tells of

gridlock on roads out of London and bringing motorways across the South to a virtual standstill with drivers urged to avoid them at all costs.
There were tailbacks of more than 20 miles on the M4 out of London. The M25, M23, M40, A40, M3 and A3 were also badly affected.

The Sun describes it all as a Whitemare

The latest Come Res poll in the Independent finds that

David Cameron has failed to seal the deal with the British public, who believe the Conservatives would govern for the well-off and are not an attractive alternative to Labour.

adding that

The survey gives the Tories a nine-point lead over Labour, down one point on last month. If repeated at a general election, the figures would leave the Tories five seats short of an overall majority in a hung parliament. According to ComRes, the Tories are on 38 per cent (up one point on last month), Labour 29 per cent (up two points), the Liberal Democrats 19 per cent (down one point) and others 14 per cent (down two points).

Meanwhile as the run up to the election begins

Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg are to go head-to-head in Britain's first live prime ministerial TV debates as part of next year's general election campaign, following an agreement announced between broadcasters and the three main political parties.

The Times adds

Election debates, which have attracted huge audiences in the US, will be seen as more of a gamble for Mr Cameron than Mr Brown.

Professional workers have suffered the biggest increases in unemployment during the recession reports the Telegraph

Architects, surveyors, vets and solicitors are among those to have seen the biggest percentage increases in unemployment rates since the economic downturn began.

The Times reports that a Conservative council has signed a pioneering deal with IBM worth up to £5.4 billion to manage and provide public services in a new wave of privatisation supported by David Cameron.

The eight-year deal between the technology giant and Essex County Council is expected to transform the way that public services are provided across the county and save 20 per cent of the authority’s annual £1.2 billion budget within three years.

According to the Guardian,evidence that the British army subjected prisoners in Northern Ireland to waterboarding during interrogations in the 1970s is emerging after one of the alleged victims launched an appeal against his conviction for murder.

The funeral of Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, the eminent cleric and champion of reform, turned into a mass protest in Iran yesterday as the vast crowd chanted slogans against the government and clashed on the streets with security forces.

says the Independent

The Times adds that

Six of Iran’s 12 leading Ayatollahs went to Montazeri’s house to pay their respects despite his repeated attacks on the regime. “Qom has been under serious security over the past six months, but today they have effectively lost control of it,” said Ali Ansari, a professor of Iranian history at the University of St Andrews.

A Royal Military Police officer has been shot dead by a British soldier in a "friendly fire" accident in southern Afghanistan, according to defence sources.

reports the Guardain

A new study shows that fitness levels of British children are falling twice as fast as the global average despite the Government spending more than £1.5 billion to encourage them to become more active,reports the Telegraph

Days before Christmas, archaeologists have unveiled what they say are the remains of the first dwelling in Nazareth that can be dated back to the time of Christ – a find that could shed new light on what the hamlet was like when, according to the New Testament, Jesus lived there as a boy.reports the Independent

Finally,For most families, the main danger of Christmas Day is a touch of over-indulgence at the table.says the Mail

But for the unlucky few among us, it seems December 25 should come with a serious hazard warning.
According to hospital doctors who have to deal with festive mishaps every year, patients arrive with burnt eyelids caused by exploding tree lights, nasty bruises from poorly aimed champagne corks and stab injuries after attempts to carve the turkey.