UK papers focus on economic woes

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The state of the UK economy invites concern from the newspapers.

The Financial Times holds back from using the word recession, but says there is clearly a "sharp slowdown".

One property developer in Cornwall is so desperate to sell his 65 new flats, says the Times, he is offering a free car with each one of them.

According to the Sun, house prices are falling at their fastest rate since the crash of the 1990s, losing 6.1% of their value in the past year.

Growing pains?

The Daily Telegraph talks of "Britain's baby boom", citing figures which suggest women are having more children than at any time since the 1970s.

Last year, it adds, almost one in four babies were born to foreign mothers.

For the Daily Express, this is a sign that Britain's national identity is being destroyed by immigration.

But the Daily Mail says that the most concerning aspect is the fact that half the children of British-born mothers were born out of wedlock.

Going postal

The prospect of an end to junk mail clogging up the nation's letterboxes excites the Times, among others.

It says Information Commissioner Richard Thomas wants to ban councils from selling the electoral roll to direct mailing and telesales companies.

The proposals could also include a clampdown on cold-calling and spam e-mails, the paper adds.

Never a title to pass up an opportunity for a pun, the Daily Mirror suggests that this could be the "last post" for junk mail.

Animal magic

A clever blackbird who has learned to mimic the sounds of ambulance sirens, car alarms and mobile phone rings is featured in the Daily Mail.

It says residents on a street in Weston-super-Mare were initially amused by the bird, but now find its modern take on the dawn chorus "annoying".

Meanwhile, the Independent carries a photo of a fox which boarded the London Underground for a one-stop ride.

It bounded off and disappeared down the edge of the platform, a witness says.