What the papers say

Journalist Andy Wood takes a look at Wednesday's morning newspapers.

Gerry Adams' decision not to attend the Congressional hearing into international terrorism gives the local mornings plenty to write about.

"Adams No to Uncle Sam" is the News Letter page one headline on a story which concentrates heavily on reaction from Mr Adams' political opponents.

"Running scared" and "Insulting the biggest democracy in the world" are two such points of criticism, while Ian Paisley Junior claims the Sinn Fein leader had "turned his back on democracy once and for all".

Echoing the criticism in its leading article, the News Letter asks: "Who would have thought when Gerry Adams was bending ears in London, Dublin and Washington in a bid to enter the US half a dozen years ago, that one day he would turn down an invitation to take centre stage in an American drama?"

'Political pawn'

Unless of course, the leader finishes, "Sinn Fein really does have something to hide".

Coverage in the Irish News of the same story reports the view of Irish National Caucus chairman Father Sean McManus that Adams would have been used "as a political pawn in a dirty little game".

The Irish News' leading article,which is headed "A hard lesson for Sinn Fein", says the Congressional invitation puts Sinn Fein in a " No win" situation.

According to the paper, attending the hearing would have branded Adams an official representative of the IRA, while staying away "would risk losing the good will of Irish America" -

"A dilemma of enormous proportions" the Irish News says, with little point in knee-jerk condemnations of the decision Mr Adams finally reached".

Appointment 'on course'

And there's another trans-Atlantic slant to the Irish News front page with its report that a retired Canadian judge, Justice Peter Cory, has been approached to investigate controversial murders here, including those of solicitors Pat Finucane, Rosemary Nelson and LVF leader Billy Wright.

The paper says that while the Northern Ireland Office would neither "confirm not deny" any name at the moment, it was "still on course to appoint a judge by the end of the month."

Moving to the cross-channel papers and two of them - the Express and the Guardian tie in their front pages to the first-round vote for French Presidential hopeful Jean-Marie Le Pen.

In an interview with the Guardian, Tony Blair says the far right had to be fought at every level - politically, culturally and organisationally and the prime minister warns that if voters feel real social problems aren't being tackled by those in power, they'll be seduced by what he calls "deeply unpleasant populism".

'New Nazis'

The Express moves its scutiny on from France to Britain and profiles leading members of the British National Party, which is fielding 68 candidates in next month's English council elections.

"Stop these New Nazis" is how the Express tops its coverage of the criminal records of leading BNP members.

The Express's leading article says: "No matter how disillusioned we might feel with mainstream politics, there are always far better alternatives than staying at home on election day and allowing bigots and thugs to gain a foothold."