Newspaper headlines: Sinai air tragedy and government U-turn claims
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The crash of a Russian airliner packed with holidaymakers features on many of Sunday's front pages but the cause of the disaster remains unclear.
The Sunday Times says the crash over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula provoked fears of a terrorist attack against the unsuspecting tourists. The newspaper reports that although just a few hours drive from the beach resorts of Sharm el-Sheikh, the crash site on the Sinai peninsula "is in a location infested with insurgent groups aligned to ISIS and fighting the Egyptian armed forces".
But the Independent on Sunday says experts poured scorn on the claim that militant jihadists had brought down the plane. It quotes retired pilot and aviation expert Captain Paul Wilson who says "the sorts of weapons these terrorists have would not be able to intercept aircraft at cruising altitude".
The Sunday Express highlights reports that some of Europe's largest airlines, KLM, Lufthansa and Air France are now refusing to fly over Sinai.
Several papers have photographs, posted on social media sites, by the people who lost their lives. One featured in the Sun on Sunday shows proud dad Yuri Sheina posing for the camera with his three-year-old daughter as they climb the steps of the plane - posted by his wife Olga as the aircraft prepared to take off.
The Sunday Telegraph describes how among the passengers were 17 children and a newly married couple. It also describes the scene at St Petersburg airport where distraught relatives have been gathering and quotes 25-year-old Ella Smirnova who was waiting for her parents. "I will keep hoping until the end that they are alive, but perhaps I will never see them again," she says.
Eye-catching headlines
- No marital tiffs last year? Then divorce looms - the Sunday Times tells readers not to give themselves a hard time when a couple they considered content say they are divorcing: a new study shows almost two-thirds were happy in their relationship a year before their split
- I'm converted, Rupert! Jerry Hall goes public with new love at World Cup final - the Mail on Sunday reports on the apparently burgeoning relationship between 84-year-old Rupert Murdoch and the US model, 59. The couple were pictured together watching the Rugby World Cup final at Twickenham
- Yes, your cat really is trying to kill you - the Sun on Sunday says researchers have found that domestic cats share characteristics of aggression with their wildcat relatives
- Picasso's muse provokes anger with frank views on wolf whistles - the Observer tells how Françoise Gilot, now 93, says that women should embrace "the eroticism of the streets"
'We're watching you'
The upcoming publication of the Investigatory Powers Bill - or snooper's charter as its been dubbed by its critics - has kept political correspondents busy.
The Observer says that highly controversial plans to allow the police and security services full access to everyone's internet browsing history have been abandoned - in what it calls "a dramatic climbdown".
But columnist Henry Porter writes a warning tale saying that "even with these new adjustments the bill will contain measures that are worryingly intrusive".
The Sunday Times believes judges will now be given the power to veto requests for surveillance - though ministers will be responsible for initial decisions about whether it can go ahead.
According to The Sunday Telegraph, however, Home Secretary Theresa May believes ministers must have the final say. The paper says she's heading for a dramatic confrontation with Parliament's official intelligence watchdog.
In its editorial comment the newspaper adds that although the public may be cautious when hearing the terms 'snooping' and 'power' together it is also clear that the law as it stands has not kept pace with criminals.
Game of two halves
Photos on the sports pages offer a study in contrasts.
The jubilant All Blacks are shown celebrating their victory in the Rugby World Cup with The Independent calling them "Awesome - the greatest of them all" while The Times expands on this:. "The greatest of all the World Cups had the greatest of all the finals, and just conceivably the greatest team to play in the competition," it says.
Meanwhile pictures of the Chelsea manager, Jose Mourinho, show him in disconsolate mood after his club lost to Liverpool in its sixth league defeat this season.
The paper says he was summoned for crisis talks with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich hours after the final whistle and given a last warning.
The Mail on Sunday says fans chanted their manager's name during the game but the club have made it known that they are prepared to fire him despite his popularity if the slump continues.
Making people click
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The Observer: Edinburgh's world heritage status in peril as developers move in
Sunday Express: Major London riot as 'hundreds of ravers attack cops with petrol bomb and smash buildings'
The Sunday Telegraph: How trust made secret 111 plan to hit all-important NHS targets