Newspaper headlines: Papers report on death of North Korean leader's sibling By BBC News

Staff Published duration 15 February 2017

The death of Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, dominates the front pages of the day's papers.

The Metro leads with the story of how the exile was apparently murdered by a woman pressing a cloth to his face at an airport in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The Daily Telegraph carries a grim rundown of how Kim Jong-un has "silenced his enemies", employing a range of weapons from flame-throwers to anti-aircraft guns to have his enemies dispatched.

In its obituary, the paper also reports that Kim Jong-nam had a lonely childhood and was allowed only one, much older friend. His large playroom is said to have been restocked each year with toys bought overseas by members of his father's personal security staff.

image copyright AP image caption Kim Jong-nam (left), the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (right), was living in exile in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

In an analysis piece, the Guardian says the death of Kim Jong-nam fits well into the "comic-book" depiction of North Korea as a "bizarre hermit kingdom, ruled by a murderous, whimsical, paranoid and overweight tyrant".

But it says Kim Jong-un's dictatorship is no joke.

The paper believes he may have been emboldened to take action against a relative when Donald Trump described Vladimir Putin as a "killer" whom he nevertheless respected.

The Times leads with a warning that the first overhaul of business rates for seven years is likely to bring a tax cut for the internet giant, Amazon, while leaving high-street stores facing large increases.

The paper says the review will create big winners and losers because the revaluations of premises are linked to property prices. That means internet-based retailers like Amazon will benefit, as they have many vast warehouses in low-growth regions.

In contrast, firms which have shops in booming urban areas are more likely to suffer.

The Daily Telegraph has a different focus on the business rates review.

It says the changes will leave NHS hospitals and GP surgeries in England and Wales facing a rates rise of £635m over five years.

The Nuffield Trust think-tank tells the paper that hospitals will struggle to absorb the increases, and may have to look at their staffing levels.

The UKIP leader, Paul Nuttall, has more questions to answer about the Hillsborough disaster, according to the Guardian.

Mr Nuttall apologised yesterday when it emerged that his own website had incorrectly quoted him as saying he'd lost close friends when fans were crushed in the stadium.

image copyright PA image caption The Guardian says UKIP leader Paul Nuttall has more questions to answer about the Hillsborough disaster

The paper carries interviews with the families of some of the 96 fans who died as a result of Hillsborough.

One accuses the politician of using one of the dead "for his own personal publicity". Another urges Mr Nuttall to provide further evidence that he was in the crowd at Hillsborough, as he has long said.

Government ministers are to reject plans for a deposit scheme for plastic bottles, according to the Daily Mail, despite evidence the initiative could "slash litter and boost recycling".

The paper says it's dismayed by the news, after fighting to get rid of single-use plastic bags.

It says similar initiatives in other countries have given children a strong incentive to pick up litter, instead of dropping it.