Fresh and refreshed from the weekend, here’s our picks for Monday morning.

Two big news stories

Two from the Guardian today: firstly most papers are leading with further details of the soldiers who died in the last few days with six new names and photos to illustrate – the photos serving as a stark reminder of how young so many of our uniformed personnel are. There’s in-depth coverage of their service and the wider questions raised by the recent British deaths in Afghanistan, including, in the Telegraph, praise from high ranking military officials for Nick Clegg’s contribution to the debate.

And in the States, news emerges of a secret project run by the CIA, authorised by Dick Cheney, but kept secret from Congress.

The revelation in the US press on Sunday that Cheney played a primary role in keeping the programme secret suggests that it would have been highly contentious. Attention has focused on reports earlier this year that he oversaw an assassination programme.

One member of an intelligence committee who was briefed on the secret operation last week said that Congress would have been unlikely to have approved it.

The lack of information available on the topic does not stop the Guardian speculating about secret assassination rings.

Two must-read blog posts

• Mark reckons there’s a better way than collective responsibility – and that indeed it damages politics.
• James Graham has some typically robust views about the current by-election campaign, but concludes that “the myth that the Lib Dems are more dirty than their opponents has gained currency within political circles (partly because it is a convenient one for our opponents to push). It is high time the party centrally recognised how dangerous this could be for our future prospects.”