Newspaper headlines: £40bn Brexit bill and Bake Off star split

BBC NewsStaff

The UK's Brexit divorce payment is the focus for many papers - with the Daily Mail saying the prospect of the UK agreeing to give more to the EU has sparked anger on the Tory benches.

The Daily Express quotes an unnamed minister as warning that Theresa May will face resignations from her government if she tries to push through a £36bn payout.

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The Sun speaks of Theresa May being branded the EU's "Santa Claus" by getting the cabinet to sign off a £38bn bill.

The i talks of a bill "as high as £40bn", saying Brexiteer MPs are already threatening to rebel, as they argue the extra money should be spent on housing and health instead.

Online - under a headline: "May blinks first" - the Independent quotes the former minister Robert Halfon as saying the public will go "bananas" if the UK offered £40bn at a time of a squeeze on public spending.

The Daily Telegraph reports that leading Brexiteers Boris Johnson and Michael Gove have agreed for the first time that Britain should increase its offer above £20bn, so long as the EU makes concessions in return - and the UK gets a good deal.

However, the Guardian observes that the cabinet ministers who agreed the new position on Monday night also stipulated that they could withdraw their support for it if they were unhappy with the final deal.

Coalition of antagonists

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In Germany, Sueddeutsche Zeitung portrays the crisis faced by Chancellor Merkel as one also for Europe and the West. The centre-left paper says Mrs Merkel is a good broker, but that is no longer enough in a "coalition of antagonists".

The centre-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung though is impressed by Chancellor Merkel's round of TV interviews. It quotes her declaring that the thought of resignation "was not in the room" and that "Germany needs stability."

As President Mugabe clings on to office in Zimbabwe, the state-owned Herald notes that his cabinet will meet later, having been summoned by the 93-year-old leader.

But the paper is not giving the impression that it is business as usual. It highlights a sit-in being organised across Harare by the War Veterans Association, as it steps up its demands for Mr Mugabe to go.

The anti-government Zimbabwean says that, so far, the President has outsmarted the generals - and taught them a hard lesson that half coups do not work.

Great British Break-up

Here, all the tabloids either lead or carry on their front page the news that the Great British Bake Off judge, Paul Hollywood, and his wife, Alex, are separating after nearly 20 years of marriage.

News imagePA Paul Hollywood and his wife AlexPA

Under the headline: "Great British Break-Up", the Sun says the couple's marriage struggled after he admitted having an affair in 2013.

The Daily Mirror and Daily Star both report that, just weeks ago, Paul Hollywood was spotted kissing a former Bake Off winner.

Elsewhere, looking ahead to Wednesday's Budget, the Daily Mail reports the Petrol Retailers Association as saying the duty on diesel will be increased for the first time in more than seven years.

However, the Sun reckons that would be "political suicide" by Chancellor Philip Hammond - and Tory MPs believe they have talked him out of it.

The Financial Times says the chancellor will signal plans to extend a crackdown on bogus self-employment from the public to the private sector.

Stolen air miles

The Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph are among the papers to report that people are to be offered NHS scans in supermarket car parks, to try to improve detection rates for cancer.

The scheme is said to be going nationwide after a trial resulted in a four-fold increase in the number of lung cancers diagnosed early. High-risk patients who have smoked are being sent letters urging them to be checked out.

The British Lung Foundation tells the Daily Mirror it welcomes the rollout, as by the time lung cancer causes symptoms, it is usually too late to be cured.

The Times reports that Russian cyber-criminals are enjoying luxury holidays at knockdown prices, using reward points they have stolen from unwitting Britons.

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According to the research firm, Flashpoint, the fraudsters buy flights, hotels and car hire at discounts of up to 75% from crooked agents on the dark web, who have obtained them with points and air miles hacked from bank and airline user accounts.

For the first time, it says, sailors from the Royal Navy are to perform the routines and drill movements required.

They will also take part in ceremonial guarding at Windsor Castle, St James's Palace and the Tower of London - to mark what the government has called "the year of the Navy".

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