Papers focus on Middle East hatred

The hatred in the Middle East is captured in Wednesday's papers, with graphic photographs and accounts of a Palestinian "lynch mob" killing three suspected collaborators.

Under the stark headline "Bloody Revenge" the Daily Star features a picture of the body of one of the men hanging from an electricity pylon.

The Independent's Robert Fisk witnessed the event and describes how a crowd roared with delight as stones were hurled at the man's body.

His shock is all too apparent. "At first, I could not write the description of what I had seen in my notebook," he says.

The Daily Mirror contrasts the images in Hebron with another photograph showing Israeli troops gloating over bound and blindfolded prisoners.

Each terrible incident, it says, "breeds more hate and makes it even harder to achieve peace"

Le Pen 'revenge'

The campaign for the French presidency is now in full swing, and the Guardian predicts that the long, bitter history between President Chirac and Jean-Marie Le Pen means things will get nasty.

The paper believes Mr Chirac will find it difficult to defend his decision not to appear in a televised debate with the National Front leader.

But it acknowledges that he is eager to avoid Mr Le Pen, who is relishing a long-awaited opportunity for revenge.

The Financial Times thinks Mr Le Pen would have used the occasion to bring out accusations of corruption against Mr Chirac.

The Times predicts the president will win next month's final round with up to 75% of the vote.

But the Sun chooses to contemplate what would happen if Mr Le Pen caused an upset.

It suggests his anti-immigration policies would mean that the French football team would be stripped of some its major stars, such as Zinedine Zidane, whose parents come from Algeria.

Milly fears

Many of the front pages feature a photograph of the missing teenager Amanda Dowler.

The Daily Mail reflects fears that a body of a young girl found in the River Thames - less than two miles from her home in Surrey - is that of 13-year-old Amanda.

IRA probe

The Financial Times believes the congressional investigation in the United States into the IRA's links with a guerrilla group in Colombia is likely to damage Sinn Fein's reputation.

The Daily Telegraph thinks that the decision by Gerry Adams not to give evidence to the inquiry was an attempt to limit the political damage over the affair.

But the Irish News - which reflects nationalist opinion - says Mr Adams could not win on the issue.

If he had gone to America, he would have effectively been presented as an official representative of the IRA, but by staying away he risked being branded as being hostile to US security interests.

Brit flop

Finally, it seems that British pop music is no longer so popular in America.

The Telegraph reports that for the first time in nearly 40 years, there is no British act in the US Top 100 singles chart.

The paper's rock critic thinks that in recent years American audiences have preferred home-grown groups to our brand of ultra-smooth manufactured pop.

After all, he says, why import rubbish from abroad when you have plenty of rubbish in your own backyard?