Papers debate Arafat's visit

Amid the prominent reports and pictures of Yasser Arafat's welcome at Downing Street, a number of papers describe the Palestinian leader as a survivor.

It has been many months, probably years, The Daily Telegraph remarks, since he has looked this cheerful and confident.

The paper reminds its readers that just a few weeks ago Mr Arafat was a weak, remote figure.

After the terrorist attacks in the United States, he has adroitly positioned himself with the West in the war on terrorism.

Bullying

His manoeuvre, it considers, has left the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, looking flat-footed and bullying.

It also says that the welcome he received is the kind normally given to world leaders.

For The Independent, even Mr Arafat's many enemies would admit that the Palestinian leader is a master of making the best of a terrible situation.

A number of papers report that divisions have opened up within the Bush administration about the course of the military action in Afghanistan.

Pentagon tensions

According to the main report in The Daily Telegraph, the tensions at the Pentagon go to the heart of how the war against terrorism is conducted and what it might achieve.

The Daily Mail examines the competing arguments.

It says the Cabinet doves, led by the Secretary of State, Colin Powell, want American action to take the form of a highly-restricted bombing campaign to allow a credible government that could replace the Taleban to gather inside Afghanistan.

By contrast, the paper goes on, the Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, is pushing for rapid use of special forces and troops to seize Osama Bin Laden and set up a government acceptable to Washington.

Airport security

The Times says it has discovered that staff at Britain's biggest airport security company are being allowed to work in highly sensitive posts at Heathrow without security clearance.

It says responsibility for searching passengers and aircraft and screening luggage has been handed to individuals whose backgrounds have not been fully checked.

The paper adds that the security company, Securicor, ADI, has said that it placed staff in key jobs before they had passed a compulsory government counter-terrorist check.

But it says it has not broken any rules, as long as those staff are being supervised by someone who does have clearance.

Royal row

The main item for the Daily Mail is a report by its royal correspondent, Richard Kay, that members of the royal family have accused Prince William of over-reacting to a camera crew working for Prince Edward filming him.

These are said to include senior figures like the Duke of Edinburgh.

The paper quotes what it calls a highly-placed courtier as saying the view from the top of the family is that the criticism of Edward was unfair.

And they blame William for complaining to his father about the incident at St Andrews University last month.

Mobile misbehaviour

Finally, it would appear that thousands of people are leading double lives by keeping secret a second mobile phone, through which many conduct illicit love affairs and clandestine business deals.

According to The Times, research on the use of mobile phones around the world shows that one in 10 people have access to a second handset which they keep hidden from their partners and colleagues.

Some lovers keep second phones as a hotline between them, it says, leaving itemised bills for their first phone on open display to draw attention away from their other life.